SOLAR POWER OFF-GRID SYSTEM

SOLAR POWER is the conversion of sunlight into electricity. Photovoltaics convert light into electric current using the photoelectric effect.

Photovoltaics were initially, and still are, used to power small and medium-sized applications, from the calculator powered by a single solar cell to off-grid homes powered by a photovoltaic array. They are an important and relatively inexpensive source of electrical energy where grid power is inconvenient, unreasonably expensive to connect, or simply unavailable. However, as the cost of solar electricity is falling, solar power is also increasingly being used even in grid-connected situations as a way to feed low-carbon energy into the grid.

WHAT NEEDED TO BUILD OFF-GRID SOLAR POWER?  

1.) Solar Panel                          3.) Battery   
2.) Charge Controller          4.) Power Inverter          5.) Breakers

STEP BY STEP TO BUILD OFF-GRID SOLAR POWER +12- VOLTS SYSTEM

Ex. Power Consumption is 0.8KWH per day.

First you need 100 Watts Monocrystalline Solar Panel. Assuming heat of  the sun is

8 hours/day. Solar Panel 100 watts X 8 hours = 800WH or 0.8KWH per day.

Solar Panel Specifications:
- Max-power Voltage 19.2 volts
- Max-power Current 5.21 Amperes
- Open-Circuit Voltage 22.8 volts
- Short-Circuit Current 5.64 Amperes

Second determine the current ratings of Solar Charge Controller PWM or MPPT. Since Solar Panel short-circuit current (I) is 5.64 Amps, so you need at least 10 Amps Charge Controller and Fuse or DC breakers between Solar Panel and Solar Charge Controller is also 10 Amps.

Third sizing of Battery Bank (Deep Cycle like Motolite Solar Master). Max-power Current 5.21 Amps X 8 hours/day is 41.68 Ampere-Hour or 41.68AH. So you need 12 Volts 100AH Battery Bank and Full Charge in 2 days. Don't discharge the Battery less than 50% DoD.

Fourth compute what Power Inverter can handle 12V 100AH Battery Bank? 12V X 100AH is 1200WH (use in 1 hour only if 1200W load) Full Charge in 2 days. So you need 12V 220V 60Hz 1200 Watts Power Inverter but I recommend 12V 220V 60Hz 1500 Watts. Some Solar store advise Power Inverter what your appliances or lightning total power load but for me I preferred to use more higher Power Inverter. Since 100W Solar Panel can produce only 0.8KWH/Day, Modified Sine Wave can handle to supply such as Electronics gadgets charger, Electrical Fan and Lightning and etc. Pure Sine Wave much better and can handle Inductive Loads but more Expensive. Fuse or DC breakers between Battery Bank and Power Inverter is 200 Amps.

And for WIRING never use smaller than #10 wire to connect your solar panels to the batteries unless your batteries are less than 5 feet from your panels. Up to 20 feet from the panels you must  use wire #10, father you must use #8 or even #6. The farther the bigger wire.

Take Note:
Battery Bank AH depends how much power load and how long to be used.

At last you have now Solar Power Generator from 12VDC to 220VAC 50/60Hz.

AC MOLDED CIRCUIT BREAKER

Koten Safety Breakers (KSB) includes two parts: Koten moulded case circuit breakers and Nema.1. general purpose enclosures, (overall moulded covers). They are for light industrial service and residential application as dryers, furnaces, air-conditioning, electric heating and lighting especially as after-meter main switches in small residence.

Specifications: 

• 240 volts AC, 60 Hz NEMA

• 1 General purpose enclosure

• 2 Pole & 3 pole, 15A-100A

• Safety: The casing is made of high insulation, heat resistant, fire retardant materials. It also has a greater resistance to breakage ordinary phonologic casing. Because of this, there is virtually no possibility of grounding or electrocution. During overload & short circuit the circuit breaker will trip automatically & is easily reset without opening the case. This eliminate the risk W/O is usually attendant in the replacement of fuses in safety switches.

• Beautiful: The color of the case easily blends with the interior wall color. The plastic case also eliminates unsoughtly corrosion.

• Ease of installation: The Koten safety breakers (KSB) can be easily installed without the need for electrician by following the simple step-by-step instruction.

• Reasonable price: The unit is priced as almost the same as safety switch. Also, there is no need to spend money for replacement of fuses. Further, a two-year warranty on the product is given.

• Please exercise caution in wiring the line side. Make sure that all electricity supply is cut off prior to touching of the wires. Subject to normal use & under our terms of warranty.

DC CIRCUIT BREAKERS/FUSES

DC circuit breakers automatically shut off the power when a circuit is in threat of becoming overloaded. This protects the electrical circuit and all devices using the power from damage.

The breaker detects a fault and immediately interrupts the continuity in the electrical flow. 

Unlike a fuse, which will blow out when it gets overloaded, a circuit breaker can be reset. In fact, the circuit breaker in your home cuts the electrical power before the fuse can burn out.

SIZING DC CIRCUIT BREAKERS

Polycrystalline

Polycrystalline, on the other hand, is identifieable by its signature light or dark blue colour, but not uniformly so: some patches are lighter than others. The differences in appearance come about as a result of the manufacturing process. 

Monocrystalline

The typical monocrystalline solar cell is a dark black colour, and the corners of cells are usually missing as a result of the production process and the physical nature of monocrystalline silicon. 

Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)

Quite a few charge controls have a "PWM" mode. PWM stands for Pulse Width Modulation. PWM is often used as one method of float charging. Instead of a steady output from the controller, it sends out a series of short charging pulses to the battery - a very rapid "on-off" switch. The controller constantly checks the state of the battery to determine how fast to send pulses, and how long (wide) the pulses will be. In a fully charged battery with no load, it may just "tick" every few seconds and send a short pulse to the battery. In a discharged battery, the pulses would be very long and almost continuous, or the controller may go into "full on" mode. The controller checks the state of charge on the battery between pulses and adjusts itself each time.

PWM charging helps the battery to reach full charge by pulse charging, The PWM pulses slower, gradually tapering off the charge as the battery fills with amps. Pulsing is good for the batteries because it mixes the electrolyte cleaning the lead plates and preventing sulphation. This technology is used in most all charge controllers.

Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT)

This section covers the theory and operation of "Maximum Power Point Tracking" as used in solar electric charge controllers.

A MPPT, or maximum power point tracker is an electronic DC to DC converter that optimizes the match between the solar array (PV panels), and the battery bank or utility grid. To put it simply, they convert a higher voltage DC output from solar panels (and a few wind generators) down to the lower voltage needed to charge batteries.

(These are sometimes called "power point trackers" for short - not to be confused with PANEL trackers, which are a solar panel mount that follows, or tracks, the sun).

MODIFIED SINE WAVE INVERTER

The terminology "modified sine wave" has come into use and refers to an output waveform that is a useful rough approximation of a sine wave for power translation purposes.

The waveform in commercially available modified-sine-wave inverters is a square wave with a pause before the polarity transition, which only needs to cycle through a three-position switch that outputs forward, off, and reverse output at the pre-determined frequency. The peak voltage to RMS voltage do not maintain the same relationship as for a sine wave. The DC bus voltage may be actively regulated or the "on" and "off" times can be modified to maintain the same RMS value output up to the DC bus voltage to compensate for DC bus voltage variation.

The ratio of on to off time can be adjusted to vary the RMS voltage while maintaining a constant frequency with a technique called PWM. Harmonic spectrum in the output depends on the width of the pulses and the modulation frequency. When operating induction motors, voltage harmonics is not of great concern, however harmonic distortion in the current waveform introduces additional heating, and can produce pulsating torques.

Numerous electric equipment will operate quite well on modified sine wave power inverter devices, especially any load that is resistive in nature such as a traditional incandescent light bulb.

Most AC motors will run on MSW inverters with an efficiency reduction of about 20% due to the harmonic content.

MOST COMMON PRODUCT FEATURES OF MODIFIED SINE WAVE INVERTER:

12V/24V/48VDC to 100-120V/220-240VAC, you can power for your electric appliances which rated power less continuously. The optional USB output port offer one more choise for user. It can charge for some digital equipments as you want.

·Compact case design, slim and high efficiency

·It designed to give you quality power ,ease of use, and reliability

·Low battery alarm : alerts you if the battery has become dicharged to 11Volts or lower.

· Low battery voltage shutdown : shuts the inverter down automatically if the battery voltage drops below 10.5volts. it protects the battery from being completely discharged.

·High battery voltage shutdown : shuts the inverter down automatically if the input voltage rises to 15volts or more.

·Overload shutdown: shuts the inverter down automatically if a short cicuit is detected in the circuity connected to the inverter’s output, or if the loads connected to the inverter exceed the inverter’s operating limits

· Over temperature shutdown : shuts the inverter down automatically if its internal temperature rises above an unacceptable level.

·The modified sine wave output waveform suitable for many electronic loads.

Protection Function : 

·Low voltage alarm & Shutdown

·Over voltage protection

·Overload protection

·Over temperature protection

·Short circuit protection

·Reverse Polarity protection

·Soft start

·Auto.reset after being in protected

·Earth leakage protection

PURE SINE WAVE INVERTER

A power inverter device which produces a smooth sinusoidal AC waveform is referred to as a sine wave inverter. To more clearly distinguish from "modified sine wave" or other creative terminology, the phrase pure sine wave inverter is sometimes used.

In situations involving power inverter devices which substitute for standard line power, a sine wave output is extremely desirable because the vast majority of electric plug in products and appliances are engineered to work well with the standard electric utility power which is a true sine wave.

At present, sine wave inverters tend to be more complex and have significantly higher cost than a modified sine wave type of the same power handling.

MOST COMMON PRODUCT FEATURES OF PURE SINE WAVE INVERTER:

·Input & Output fully isolated.

·The remote control function and 5m wire with switcher optional.

·High Surge: high surge current capability starts difficult loads such as TVs,camps,motors and other inductive loads,

·Grouding earth protection: There is grounding terminal in front of panel, you can grounding the inverter for more safety concern.

·Soft start : smooth start-up of the appliances.

·Pure sine wave output waveform : clean power for sensitive loads.

·AC output identical to, and in some cases better than the power supplied by your utility

·Cooling fan in the inverter is thermally activated and comes on when the inverters becomes warm,and turns off automatically after the inverter has cooled.

·Low total harmonic distortion : below 3%

·Two LED indicators on the front panel shows the working and failure state.

Protection Function :

·Low voltage alarm & Shutdown

·Over voltage protection

·Overload protection

·Over temperature protection

·Short circuit protection

·Reverse Polarity protection

·Soft start

·Auto.reset after being in protected

·Grouning earth protection

DEEP CYCLE (FLOODED BATTERIES)

When selecting solar batteries (deep cycle), you'll have the option to use flooded lead acid (FLA) batteries or sealed batteries (AGM or Gel cell).  Keep in mind that FLA batteries require a bit of maintenance, however, they generally last longer than their sealed counterparts. Water Miser Vent cap - Reduces Battery Watering can reduce the frequency that the deep cycle batteries need watering.  You'll need one vent cap for each 2 V cell.  Desulfater are another good low cost investment that can help prevent sulfation and boost the performance of the batteries.  Flooded Lead Acid batteries can build up sulfate crystals on their lead plates over time. 

Sealed deep cycle batteries may be a bit heavier and therefore cost a bit more to ship.  Deep cycle batteries come in many sizes: from sealed batteries that are less than 10 pounds to flooded lead acid batteries that weigh over 200 pounds each!  They can be small (and fit in a backpack) or large (2'x 2'x 1') and anywhere in between.  Generally the size and weight correspond with amp hours of storage.  So if you need a lot of electrical storage, be sure that you have the appropriate space to house the batteries.

POWER INVERTER

A power inverter, or inverter, is an electronic device or circuitry that changes direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC).

The input voltage, output voltage and frequency, and overall power handling, are dependent on the design of the specific device or circuitry.

SOLAR BATTERY

Solar batteries are really deep cycle batteries that provide energy storage for solar, wind and other renewable energy systems.  Different from a car battery, a solar battery is capable of surviving prolonged, repeated and deep discharges which are typical in renewable energy systems that are "off grid" (disconnected from the electric utilty company).

Solar Batteries (Deep Cycle Batteries) are a key component in a stand-alone renewable energy system.  If you are installing a solar panel system that will be tied to your utility grid, you will still need deep cycle batteries if you are trying to use power in the event of an outage.  Without deep cycle batteries, you can only use power at the time you produce it. (i.e. You will not have power when the sun isn't out if you don't have batteries in your solar electric system.)  In renewable energy systems, Deep Cycle Batteries provide the energy storage for your system.  Unlike your car battery, deep cycle batteries that are used in renewable energy applications are meant to be discharged and recharged (cycled) repeatedly.  To maintain healthy batteries and prolong battery life, most manufacturers suggest limiting the depth of discharge to about 20%. (That means the deep cycle batteries will be at 80% capacity or better.)  At the very least, do not allow the batteries to be discharged below 50% Depth of Discharge (DOD).  Often an Inverter will have a Low Voltage Disconnect feature that will disconnect loads at a given set point.  Low voltage alarms can provide audible warnings as well.  Ammeters, Voltmeters, Battery Monitors can help better maintain deep cycle battery health and provide statistics about the overall health of the system.

MOTOLITE SOLAR MASTER:

100AH - PHP 8,500.00

200AH - PHP 11,000.00

SOLAR CHARGE CONTROLLER

A charge controller, charge regulator or battery regulator limits the rate at which electric current is added to or drawn from electric batteries. It prevents overcharging and may prevent against over-voltage, which can reduce battery performance or lifespan, and may pose a safety risk. It may also prevent completely draining ("deep discharging") a battery, or perform controlled discharges, depending on the battery technology, to protect battery life. The terms "charge controller" or "charge regulator" may refer to either a stand-alone device, or to control circuitry integrated within a battery pack, battery-powered device, or battery re-charger.

SOLAR PANEL

A solar panel is a set of solar photovoltaic modules electrically connected and mounted on a supporting structure. A photovoltaic module is a packaged, connected assembly of solar cells. The solar panel can be used as a component of a larger photovoltaic system to generate and supply electricity in commercial and residential applications. Each module is rated by its DC output power under standard test conditions (STC), and typically ranges from 100 to 320 watts. The efficiency of a module determines the area of a module given the same rated output - an 8% efficient 230 watt module will have twice the area of a 16% efficient 230 watt module. A single solar module can produce only a limited amount of power; most installations contain multiple modules. A photovoltaic system typically includes a panel or an array of solar modules, an inverter, and sometimes a battery and/or solar tracker and interconnection wiring.