Hello, Need Opinions Please!

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Jimbeamrye
Jimbeamrye Registered Users Posts: 2
in Solar Beginners Corner #1
Hello! My names John and I'm from Pensacola, Florida. I've been recently interested in a low cost solution to use a single solar panel to charge my 12 volt deep cycle battery in my shed. I run a small radio and a couple of led lights for a few hours a night. On the www.homedepot.com web site they have two panels I am very interested in. Brand is Grape Solar and I like the 100 watt mono-crystalline 12 volt panel($277), and the other is also a Grape Solar panel 195 watts($297) but it outputs 36 volts instead of 12 volts. Personally I want the 195 watt, but it appears the mppt controller for it is over $200. On the other hand, the 100 watt one is a 12volt and the controllers are lots cheaper.

Would any of you good experienced people tell me the easiest, cheapest way to put a small 100-200 watt system together to charge a 12 volt battery. I use about 20-35% of the batteries charge a night, so its down to about 12.2 to 12.6 volts, depends how long. Even if I have to buy the panel on one site and purchase the controller on another, give me any details you can. Web sites and prices would be nice.....for all I know, I don't even need a controller for one DC battery. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!
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  • Windsun
    Windsun Solar Expert Posts: 1,164 ✭✭
    #2
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    Re: Hello, Need Opinions Please!

    What size battery - how many amp-hours is it rated at?

    This is probably our most popular solar panel for 12 volts - http://www.solar-electric.com/kykc130wasop.html
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  • waynefromnscanada
    waynefromnscanada Solar Expert Posts: 3,009 ✭✭✭✭
    #3
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    Re: Hello, Need Opinions Please!

    Hi John. You are doing the right thing by asking questions first, before you purchase. The panel that our host, Windsun has listed is "the real thing". It's high quality and designed to last decades. By comparison, the ones you mentioned from Homedepot, could be considered children's toys. The difference in quality, strength, performance and usefulness is night and day. The old saying "you get what you pay for", really applies here. Last year I helped a friend install similar low quality panels on her cabin roof, and to be honest, knowing they were junk compared to the real thing, I felt guilty doing it, and I felt very bad for her that she hadn't asked a few questions BEFORE she had made her purchase. And yes, you will need a controller to manage the charge and protect your battery. Unfortunately, there are those out there, who wrongly spread the idea that all one has to do is mount a $150 panel, or some little wind turbine on the roof and all their energy problems are over. Again unfortunately, that often results in disappointment, disillusionment and giving up on solar as being anything really useful.
    Good luck with your project.
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  • TnAndy
    TnAndy Solar Expert Posts: 249 ✭✭
    #4
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    Re: Hello, Need Opinions Please!

    Remember...nearly anything you buy at a BigBox store ( like Home Depot ) is generally supplied by the minimum bid vendor to meet the one factor so important to BigBoxes.....price......meaning it's the cheapest piece of crap on the market that meets the bare minimum of performance.

    And as for product information, warranty, and tech support......ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaa
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  • LucMan
    LucMan Solar Expert Posts: 223 ✭✭✭
    #5
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    Re: Hello, Need Opinions Please!

    I have basically the same setup for lighting in my barn, 2 -14 watt cfls. I use a 12 v Walmart trolling motor battery with a MorningStar charge controller (http://www.solar-electric.com/sg-4.html), Kyocera 40 w panel & a 400w Cobra inverter. This has been working fine for the last 2 yrs for the 30 min. or so 3 times a week that I use the lights.
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  • Jimbeamrye
    Jimbeamrye Registered Users Posts: 2
    #6
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    Re: Hello, Need Opinions Please!

    Thanks for the info! I had assumed that those PV panels at Home Depot were good for the 10-20 year warrantee period on output. I had thought that HD would back them if Grape Solar went out of business. I had justified my cheap solar venture due the fact that I didn't truly need a high quality, long lasting system. In fact, It pained me to think about spending $1000 on a high quality 200 watt system, that could get zapped useless by the endless electrical storms here, and when I know it would take over 20 years to recoup the grand spent for the wattage earned. If I saved half the cost by buying a system with half the lifespan, the ends justify the means.
    Along with the panels, controller and copper cabling, lets not forget about the doubling of the cost of storage batteries. Does anyone know what the typical lifespan is for wet, leaded batteries that drop down to 50-60% capacity every night 24-7 X 365? The longest lasting wet battery I ever had lasted 8 years before a cell went bad.

    Thanks again for the help. Any more info on good cheap beginners systems are welcome!
    John
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  • icarus
    icarus Solar Expert Posts: 5,436 ✭✭✭✭
    #7
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    Re: Hello, Need Opinions Please!

    The answer is if you are going to draw them 50% day in and day out,, they are not going to have a very long life. I think you should read the following links:

    http://www.batteryfaq.org/

    http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm#Lifespan%20of%20Batteries

    Tony
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