ALL MATERIALS NEEDED FOR SOLAR INSTALLATIONS
In this article I want to write about the basic components of a solar system, as someone who wants to own a solar system; this post is for you and all you need to do is get an engineer you trust, to do a well sized estimate for your loads against how much is going to cost.
The blow materials are what you need, choose according to your boughet and I tried so much to explain why some are better than the others.
Components you need..
Batteries...
Tubular batteries
They occasionally need to be topped with distilled water like once or twice a year depending on the depth of discharge(DOD)
They are a more costly.
Gel battery
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Gel batteries generally have a lifespan of 2-5years and can handle 500-5,000 cycles depending on the depth of discharge (DoD) and battery quality. The number of cycles a gel battery can handle is significantly affected by the Depth of Discharge (DoD), which is the percentage of the battery's capacity that is discharged. Lowering the DoD increases the cycle life. For example, a gel battery might last longer if discharged to 50% DoD rather than 100% DoD. A gel battery might have a cycle life of 500 cycles at 100% DoD but 1,000 cycles at 50% DoD.
Gel battery don't need maintenance. They are a bit costly.
Sealed lead acid battery
Sealed lead acid (SLA) batteries have a limited cycle life, which is affected by the depth of discharge (DoD), the percentage of battery capacity drained before recharging. Generally, SLA batteries can be discharged up to 100%, but the higher the DoD, the shorter the battery's lifespan. A typical SLA battery can last 500-1000 cycles when discharged to 50% DoD, while discharging to 80% DoD can reduce that to around 500 cycles.
Lifespan of 1-2 years. They are affordable and cheap.
CHECK OUT THIS POST: SOLAR SYSTEM MAINTENANCE METHODS
Lithium battery
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Types of lithium batteries...
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Lithium prismatic cell batteries .jpeg)
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This is the cheapest type of solar charge controller, it does the job well but is not able convert addition pv voltages to current, thereby there is a significant power loss while using a pwm controller
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Polycrystalline cells
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This kind of inverters are also called sachet inverters and the output wave format is not pure but modified and is not suitable for most loads like tv, washing machine and other inductive loads
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Lithium-ion batteries have a "cycle life" which refers to the number of charge/discharge cycles a battery can complete before its capacity drops to a certain percentage of its initial capacity. Depth of Discharge (DoD), which is the percentage of a battery's capacity that is used, significantly impacts cycle life. Generally, higher DoD leads to fewer cycles, while lower DoD results in a longer cycle life. A lithium-ion battery might have a cycle life of 3,000-5,000 cycles at an 80% DoD, but if the DoD is increased to 100%, the cycle life might decrease to 2,000-3,000 cycles. That's 10-15 years lifespan.
They the best for solar system and back up power solutions and very expensive.
Types of lithium batteries...
Lithium phosphate batteries
The battery pack is stronger and performs better than cylindrical cell types.
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These type of pack always fail compared to the prismatic cells above.
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When choosing a lithium battery make sure you choose the right battery type for your kind of load
Charge controllers...
Pwm controller
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Mppt controller
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This type of controller is costly and does convert addition pv voltage back to current to carry the load or charge the battery thereby there is very small or no power loss using this type of controller.
Solar panels
Monocrystalline cells
This type of panels generates more power especially in rainy or cloudy days more than the polycrystalline calls.
They performed well both in cloudy or sunny days and are more costly.
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These type of cell performances better in sunny days but poorly in rainy days and are cheaper
All panels have a lifespan of 35 to 55years
Inverters
Hybrid inverters_1744324115392.jpeg)
This type of inverter is transformerless and with puresinewave output power suitable for all types of load, it is hybrid because it has solar charge controller inbuilt and inverter function and grid power AC in charging system all built together. This is very costly._1744324115392.jpeg)
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Transformers based inverter
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This kind of inverter is suitable for most appliances with high surge peak power and with puresinewave output wave format, it has transformer and is normally heavier. This is a bit costly
Modified sinewave inverter
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But is good for normal loads like tv, lights(minus LED lights), sound system, laptops, phone charging etc. This is Very cheap.
Pv rails, bolts & nuts and mc4 connectors
Pv rails & bolts
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DC/ AC wires
Flexible wires
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Choose wires depending on the type of voltage connection, when going DC use higher wire gauge so there won't be too much drop on current over the distance and choose smaller gauge in AC connection but make sure it matches the load current
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DC
Breakers for safety
Ac
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Breaker box
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DC breakers are used for safe Incase there is shortcircuit in the panels connection or Incase of thunder or lightning strikes, these breakers will automatically turn off when voltage outside its rating tries to pass through it.
AC breakers are used to protect the grid power input of the inver for charging the battery.
When there is high voltage from generator or publicly power supply the AC breaker will turn off immediately
Voltage guard is used also to protect the AC in of the inverter against high voltage, it does same job as the AC breaker above but much better and it displays the parameters too and can be adjusted to desired voltage levels.
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Breaker box is the housing of all the above breakers used in fixing them on the wall.
Battery Rack
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DC loads
Bulb
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DC bulbs are Just like the normal AC bulbs but the voltage is in DC and consumes very small current and normally rated 12volts
DC fan
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These above fan looks like the normal fan you know but consumes very small power and are mostly rated 12volts
In conclusion, Solar energy is safe, it's free, environmental friendly with no noise pollution. Investing in solar is a something you will be glad over the years, just get someone who will do the estimates right and give you genuine parts.
Please leave your comments or questions below.
Thank you for the detailed explanations. I know better 🙏
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