Another New System set up question

ceetee

We have the below system at our house

1. An inverter 900VA (it charges the battery @16.5amp current) - http://www.luminousinvertersinchennai.com/powerforruralarea.html
2. 150AH battery - 1no. (it can accept charging upto 21.5amps current)

So pls inform us

1. what capacity of solar panels to be installed for the charging the above battery using above inverter

2. should we go for a 24v panel instead of 12v ? (if we want to run our refrigerator with solar)

3. In that case if 24v solar panel used, should i change my inverter to 24v system and battery 24v system (actually i don't know difference between 12v & 24V. Pls help )

4. i found a product called solar maximiser on link http://www.torpsystems.com/products.html
Is it worth to buy this product instead of MPPT charge controller ?
Is it genuine product (or) a disguise of MPPT charge controller with heavy price tag ?

Cariboocoot

Re: Another New System set up question

Welcome to the forum.

I've moved your inquiry to its own thread to keep it from getting confused with the other.

A 150 Amp hour battery is very small on a 12 Volt system. If it meets your needs you want the solar power to mimic the inverter's charging ability. So you're looking at approximately 16.5 Amps * 12 Volts = 198 Watts, less derating would be about 250 Watt array.

If you are using a PWM type controller you need to have the panels meet the specs for charging Voltage (Vmp 17-18 ) and the total Imp total to meet the charging current. In this case you may find you need like two 140 Watt panels similar to these: http://www.solar-electric.com/kyocera-kd140gx-lfbs-140-watt-polycrystalline-solar-panel.html

MPPT controller would be needed if you were to use a 24 Volt or other "oddball" Voltage panels (sometimes known as GT panels) to correct the charge Voltage to the proper level for the system.

niel

Re: Another New System set up question

ceetee wrote: »

We have the below system at our house

1. An inverter 900VA (it charges the battery @16.5amp current) - http://www.luminousinvertersinchennai.com/powerforruralarea.html
2. 150AH battery - 1no. (it can accept charging upto 21.5amps current)

So pls inform us

1. what capacity of solar panels to be installed for the charging the above battery using above inverter

you are confusing an inverter with a charge controller. you can't stick pvs to your inverter and use it to charge your battery with.

2. should we go for a 24v panel instead of 12v ? (if we want to run our refrigerator with solar)

that depends on what controller you opt for as a 24v pv will need the mppt cc to down convert to a 12v battery voltage. btw, i don't think one battery will properly run a refrigerator for very long and we are talking maybe a half day tops if the battery voltage isn't pulled down too far. do note the run time may be far shorter as more info would be needed. example may look like-18a draw (may be less) at 12v with 150ah battery and up to 1/2 of battery capacity being useable would be 150ah/18a=8.33hrs. now this won't be constant and if it has say a 50% duty cycle this doubles the time to 16.67hrs again if the battery voltage is not pulled down too far.

3. In that case if 24v solar panel used, should i change my inverter to 24v system and battery 24v system (actually i don't know difference between 12v & 24V. Pls help )

you could if you would like to, but you must see what things look like on the drawing board with what you already have for 12v as it may not be necessary.

4. i found a product called solar maximiser on link http://www.torpsystems.com/products.html
Is it worth to buy this product instead of MPPT charge controller ?
Is it genuine product (or) a disguise of MPPT charge controller with heavy price tag ?

i can honestly say i am not familiar with that product and did not read into it. if i recall correctly though, i believe i remember somebody mentioning apollo is not in business anymore so who does the warranty work on that if you buy it?