Going Solar

Uncategorized 2 Minutes

I had previously experimented with solar systems as a potential backup solution to stay online when the power was cutting out. After moving, I hadn’t used any of it. I was able to start setting up a few things to start charging the batter.

First, I have an AcoPower 40 Amp MPPT solar charge charger (model HY-MPPT40) . I added it first so that I could see the batteries state of charge. An MPPT charger constantly monitors both the battery voltage, battery temperature, and the power coming in from the array to determine whats the best voltage/amperage to apply to the battery. In addition, I have a separate AcoPower MT-50 Remote Meter LCD Display (model MT-50) that lets me monitor the information easier and adjust some of the settings. Last, I have a temperature sensor to monitor how warm the battery gets from the charge.

MPPT charge controller and display unit

I got two Thunberbolt Magnum 100 watt solar panel kits from Harbor Freight (Item #65385). I often waited for them to go on sale for $100 with a coupon each time I picked one up. In order to hook up all eight panels, I’m using a Thunderbolt Magnum 400 Watt Universal Solar Connector (Item #68689).

The good news is that these amorphous silicon solar cells work in low-light conditions and are easy to pack up. The cons are that they take up a lot of space, and add weight.

One other item I have that I didn’t hook up is a Sunforce 1000-Watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter (model 11240-1). This lets me inverts DC power into A/C voltage. This may be enough to run a small 700 watt microwave. While running off of solar, you’ll want to avoid using A/C unless it’s necessary to prevent wasting energy inverting it.

I haven’t seen the amp hours on the battery just yet, but I can only assume it is 100 Ah on a 12v battery – but you can’t use all of those amps without destroying a lead acid battery. I have my eye on replacing the battery with a Lipo battery that can use all 100 Ah and weigh only a third of the current battery, and possibly wire a second up in parallel to pull more amps at once, and have power for a longer period of time.

The funny thing with batteries is that adding a second gives off the appearance that you are more than doubling the capacity you have available.

The last item on my list is to add my Raspberry Pi Solar Logger that connects to the charge controllers communication port.

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Published by Lewis "Lewie" Moten

Lewis Moten is a full stack developer for web, software and mobile applications as well as interacting with new and legacy hardware devices and mainframes. Most of his popularity on the internet is by writing and freely distributing code that allowed websites to support uploading files with classic ASP code when most shared hosts did not provide that capability. He was also known as "Dedric Mauriac" in Second Life building and selling interactive products, primarily attracting educators and corporate librarians. Mr. Moten has a background in Industrial Design Technology through a scholarship at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, and Carpentry at Mineral County Technical School. In his senior year of high school, he was the treasurer of the Future Homemakers of America (FHA) and a member of the Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD). His early career had ranged from being a certified sandwich artist, setting up and tearing down carnival rides, to catching chickens in the middle of the night. Lewie has worked on large financial processing systems, video training systems, and past contracts supporting NASA, USCIS, and the Navy. Lewie is an active member of various service clubs in the community, a trustee at Samuels Public Library, had previously held a public office in the Town of Front Royal on the Board of Zoning Appeals, and a member of the Chamber of Commerce via his small business, Code Jamboree LLC. Professional History: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lewismoten/ Lewie is often entertaining himself with various hobbies in his spare time. Some of which are/were 3D modeling & Animation, graphic design, video editing, 3D printing, electrical engineering/robotics, vintage computing (6502/1802/Altair 8800), microcontrollers (Arduino/Raspberry Pi), Lego GBC, artificial neural networks, networking hardware, designing board games, building an arcade system, Minecraft red stone, Second Life scripting, home automation and surveillance, off-grid solar, financial investing, sewing, camping, hiking, painting, obedience and trick dog training, photography, gardening (back-yard and hydroponics), table top role playing games, playing board games, singing along out of tune with his dogs, and watching videos on the Internet. You'll often find Lewie with his companion, Teddy, the Amazing Corgi and Gwinn a Pitt/Lab rescue, or going on little adventures in his 1976 Electric CitiCar.

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