Costco Solar Panels

[the_real_wild1]

Has anyone tried the 3 big solar panel kit from Costco for $849 yet? Seems like a good deal. This isn't in store, just online. Thinking about getting the set and running 4 6 volts batteries. Wife just picked up 2 batteries but they are having a sale so I might get an extra 2. Combine that with the three panels and I could run damn near anything except ac.

 

[doorfx]

Check out solar wholesaler they have way better panels and their prices are better.

 

[takethebounce]

I have no knowledge of the Costco kit but before you spend another dollar have a look at this guys site https://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/

There is more info on there than you may be interested in getting into but it is a great resource and anyone looking to get into solar or upgrade can learn something from that guys site.

Solar Wholesaler sells a lot of cheap Chinese mppt kits but carry some better products as well. Some of their staff are not the most knowledgeable and will provide a lot of false info.

 

[rightsideup]

There are a number of boat access only cabins which rely on a combination of both solar and generators. I am quading with such a owner today will ask him

 

[doorfx]

I have no knowledge of the Costco kit but before you spend another dollar have a look at this guys site https://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/

There is more info on there than you may be interested in getting into but it is a great resource and anyone looking to get into solar or upgrade can learn something from that guys site.

Solar Wholesaler sells a lot of cheap Chinese mppt kits but carry some better products as well. Some of their staff are not the most knowledgeable and will provide a lot of false info.

Doesn't Bob say that MPPT is the way to go ? The owner at the Calgary store seemed very knowledgable ?
This one will handle up to 48 volts and works very well. I'm not sure where it's from.

 

[takethebounce]

Doesn't Bob say that MPPT is the way to go ? The owner at the Calgary store seemed very knowledgable ?
This one will handle up to 48 volts and works very well. I'm not sure where it's from.
//uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160918/7db0e3751fa6ff52ab5e601f520bdb3c.jpg

My comment was directed at the cheap Chinese MPPT controllers solar wholesaler pushes. I have been in there several times and along with them trying to sell me on it they have sold people these products while I have been in there. They do have a good line of other products as I said. I didn't say anything about the owner. I said some of their staff.

Bob may now being running MPPT but it depends on the situation. Sure MPPT can handle several panels but the entire system shuts down when one panel shuts off due to shade as they are being run in series. One square of one panel being shaded will shut off many panels. A quality PWM with panels in parallel can do the job. Again this is situation specific. If someone never camps in shade or has a cabin or other off grid requirement that always has sunshine it's going to be easier and less wiring to go MPPT. Also MPPT can handle the higher output 24v panels and most PWM will not. A small two panel system is fine with PWM. There is really no benefit to a MPPT controller on a single panel system yet that is what Solar Wholesaler says to use and sells as a kit. 3 or more panels and MPPT is better used as long as shade isn't an issue.

More importantly than choosing the controller is getting a controller that charges the batteries to the correct voltage. Many cheap controllers either MPPT or PWM shut off too early, some at 14.2 volts or less. This is too low and can lead to decreasing the life of your expensive batteries.

It's best to determine your needs with first coming up with a safe amount of AMP hours you use a day. There are several online calculators. It's quite simple and generally calculate a little high so not to underside your needs. I have 2 220 amp hour 6 volts. You never want to regularly run your deep cycles past half so I have 110 amp hrs to use daily. This is about double my needs on my highest usage day early and late season but sunshine is never a guarantee so I can go two days without any amount of sun safely. After that I am going to look at the generator but it can take 8 hours or more of run time with the on board controller to charge the batteries. And even then they won't be charged as well as my solar controller can do.

I love solar. Aside from an initial investment it is a great way to provide a reliable source of power.




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[takethebounce]

I was able to look at the Costo Kit. It's not bad but you can get two 165watt panels and a better PWM controller cheaper. The Coleman controller is very basic.




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[doorfx]

My comment was directed at the cheap Chinese MPPT controllers solar wholesaler pushes. I have been in there several times and along with them trying to sell me on it they have sold people these products while I have been in there. They do have a good line of other products as I said. I didn't say anything about the owner. I said some of their staff.

Bob may now being running MPPT but it depends on the situation. Sure MPPT can handle several panels but the entire system shuts down when one panel shuts off due to shade as they are being run in series. One square of one panel being shaded will shut off many panels. A quality PWM with panels in parallel can do the job. Again this is situation specific. If someone never camps in shade or has a cabin or other off grid requirement that always has sunshine it's going to be easier and less wiring to go MPPT. Also MPPT can handle the higher output 24v panels and most PWM will not. A small two panel system is fine with PWM. There is really no benefit to a MPPT controller on a single panel system yet that is what Solar Wholesaler says to use and sells as a kit. 3 or more panels and MPPT is better used as long as shade isn't an issue.

More importantly than choosing the controller is getting a controller that charges the batteries to the correct voltage. Many cheap controllers either MPPT or PWM shut off too early, some at 14.2 volts or less. This is too low and can lead to decreasing the life of your expensive batteries.

It's best to determine your needs with first coming up with a safe amount of AMP hours you use a day. There are several online calculators. It's quite simple and generally calculate a little high so not to underside your needs. I have 2 220 amp hour 6 volts. You never want to regularly run your deep cycles past half so I have 110 amp hrs to use daily. This is about double my needs on my highest usage day early and late season but sunshine is never a guarantee so I can go two days without any amount of sun safely. After that I am going to look at the generator but it can take 8 hours or more of run time with the on board controller to charge the batteries. And even then they won't be charged as well as my solar controller can do.

I love solar. Aside from an initial investment it is a great way to provide a reliable source of power.




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That's good info, I am just setting my garage up to run on solar. 12 102 amp hour UPS batteries, 4 panels, MPPT charge controller, 4000w inverter. I also have the original UPS battery charger for back up. I hope I'm on the right track lol
What panels would you suggest ?
Sorry Keith!!!!

 

[the_real_wild1]

More discussion on this the better.

 

[takethebounce]

That's good info, I am just setting my garage up to run on solar. 12 102 amp hour UPS batteries, 4 panels, MPPT charge controller, 4000w inverter. I also have the original UPS battery charger for back up. I hope I'm on the right track lol
What panels would you suggest ?
Sorry Keith!!!!

12 batteries! 1224 amp hours is a lot of storage. That's a solar bank!

I am not up to speed on larger systems like that but the same principle will apply. You will want to replace your amp hours daily. Your wiring is going to huge. Make sure to size it properly. Even a %5 loss on such a large system is going to be noticeable. For a off grid house for example they suggest having %50 charge after 5 days of use. Getting that power back to the bank is going to be the most important piece to not cheap out on.

My initial thought is 4 panels may not be enough but I don't know your intended daily use.

The maximum charging rate for a battery bank is usually 10% of its amp-hour capacity measured at the 10 hour rate. Charging 1220ish Amps will be limited to 120amps which I don't believe their is a controller out there that can even provide that. Maybe there is?

I would have to put pen to paper to work out the numbers. I can deal with watts and 12v systems in my head but kWh and the higher voltage panels as I mentioned is not something I have had much experience with.

I think you likely have sized some panels. What were you looking at doing? If I have some time tonight at work I can come up with some values.




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[doorfx]

4-265 watt panels. For now it will be a 12v system as my inverter is only 12 v but in the future I would like to go to a 48v system. I will use the MPPT charge controller I posted which will auto select up to 48v.
220v 6.5 hp 60 gallon 15A compressor limited use except when using a small sandblaster
32' of t-8 fluorescent
Garage door opener
Electronic igniter on my radiant tube gas heater
Ghetto blaster
Growler 8A limited use
Cordless drill battery chargers (3)
Use plugs for cell
Mini beer fridge ( extreme use)
Overall a few hours and a few nights a week. I got the batteries and charger for free so why not. Eventually like to feed the house.

 

[takethebounce]

What are the specs on your inverter? You may want to double check. At 3300 watts (amps X volts) you compressor is going to be a lot for a 4000watt peak inverter. And obviously needs to be able to handle 220. Many are 110 but it sounds like you know that. Just keep in mind that inverter has to be able to handle the surge of the compressor starting with items like your lights already on and other items running.

Have you looked into T-8 led tubes? I haven't yet but they could provide some decent power savings. Maybe?

These guys are pretty good at giving some layout options for medium to large systems.



I am guessing the 265 watt panels put out around 8 amps/hr. Your MPPT will be able to give you a boost with them running in series but at 30-40 peak Amps produced depending on the panel output you may find you need to gather up all the wattage and amp hours of your intended use and throw it in a calculator.

I am at work but off the top of my head your 3300 watts of compressor will result in 275 amps @ 12volts. That's a big draw to your bank. Please check these figures as I am just brainstorming.


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[trlrprk]

sounds like your not to sure about what your talking about either to say that mmpt is not better than pwm considering mppt is more effient then pwm by a lot.....so if I have a 100 watt panel with mppt I get about 90 percent effenciency compared to 60-70 percent if I am running pwm hmmmm I am no genius but mppt seems better ......yes pwm works but if you want to buy a 7o's car compared to a 2016 and say there is no benefit then your wrong....

My comment was directed at the cheap Chinese MPPT controllers solar wholesaler pushes. I have been in there several times and along with them trying to sell me on it they have sold people these products while I have been in there. They do have a good line of other products as I said. I didn't say anything about the owner. I said some of their staff.

Bob may now being running MPPT but it depends on the situation. Sure MPPT can handle several panels but the entire system shuts down when one panel shuts off due to shade as they are being run in series. One square of one panel being shaded will shut off many panels. A quality PWM with panels in parallel can do the job. Again this is situation specific. If someone never camps in shade or has a cabin or other off grid requirement that always has sunshine it's going to be easier and less wiring to go MPPT. Also MPPT can handle the higher output 24v panels and most PWM will not. A small two panel system is fine with PWM. There is really no benefit to a MPPT controller on a single panel system yet that is what Solar Wholesaler says to use and sells as a kit. 3 or more panels and MPPT is better used as long as shade isn't an issue.

More importantly than choosing the controller is getting a controller that charges the batteries to the correct voltage. Many cheap controllers either MPPT or PWM shut off too early, some at 14.2 volts or less. This is too low and can lead to decreasing the life of your expensive batteries.

It's best to determine your needs with first coming up with a safe amount of AMP hours you use a day. There are several online calculators. It's quite simple and generally calculate a little high so not to underside your needs. I have 2 220 amp hour 6 volts. You never want to regularly run your deep cycles past half so I have 110 amp hrs to use daily. This is about double my needs on my highest usage day early and late season but sunshine is never a guarantee so I can go two days without any amount of sun safely. After that I am going to look at the generator but it can take 8 hours or more of run time with the on board controller to charge the batteries. And even then they won't be charged as well as my solar controller can do.

I love solar. Aside from an initial investment it is a great way to provide a reliable source of power.




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[takethebounce]

On you read the product brochure. Cute.


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