Thoughts on Powerup Plus System

System

Considering a system from Mysolarbackup called Powerup Plus. Four, 150W panels with 4 100Amp/hour batteries (inverter, controller, etc.)...As an non-technical consumer, looking for emergency power back-up with min. fuss, does this system make sense? At min. would like to run well pump, fridge, pellet stove, couple lights in event of a prolonged blackout. Live in CT...Thanks for help!

dwh

Re: Thoughts on Powerup Plus System

There is a thread about these guys where one of their people showed up and we had a long back and forth battle. Lots of fun. I suggest you read it right through to the end and form your own opinion:

http://forum.solar-electric.com/showthread.php?t=4873&highlight=mysolarbackup


(LEGAL DISCLAIMER IN CASE ANYONE DECIDES TO WHINE (you know who you are)): My opinions are my own and do not reflect or represent the opinions of anyone but me.)

In my own personal opinion; I have no faith or trust in that company. I find their alarmist marketing tactics to be shady, insulting and in poor taste. (Love to see the Law Dogs try to parse that one.)

I haven't seen the product you are referring to, but it's very likely to be overpriced and you could almost certainly order the components and put together a comparable rig for a whole lot less.

dwh

Re: Thoughts on Powerup Plus System

Tonyct wrote: »

At min. would like to run well pump, fridge, pellet stove, couple lights in event of a prolonged blackout.

Sorry, overlooked this the first time around.

600w of PV and 400ah of battery is not a bad mix as far as being able to recharge the battery from PV harvest. It's basically about the size of a typical large RV solar system.

You have to define "prolonged".

From the loads you describe, the only red flag is the well pump. Those can be a real killer. Also, does your pump have a 240v motor? If so, does the system you are looking at put out 240v?

The other main question is: How do you plan to hook the system up to your loads? I can see an extension cord for most, but what about the well pump?

BB.

Re: Thoughts on Powerup Plus System

Before you look into purchasing any hardware--Study your loads and requirements first.

In general, for emergency power use only--a solar + battery system tends to be a very expensive solution. For almost everyone, they underestimate their loads and over estimate the amount of power a solar system can supply.

If your AC loads are small (15 amp at 120 VAC 60hz type circuit)... Get a Kill-a-Watt meter. Very handy to measure the amount of power and energy (Watts and Watt*hours) you will need for each appliance.

When you add all of that up, we can look and see what size system (solar panels and batteries) you may need to support those loads.

And, for most people, they lose power during bad weather/winter time... Precisely when the sun is hardly available. This means that a backup genset will be needed to keep everyone warm and safe...

If, you will need a backup genset anyway... Then why not get one up front and skip the solar PV system. Just have a fuel source (natural gas, propane, diesel, stabilized gasoline) that will support your minimum required loads for X number of days and be done with it.

Many times, the appliances that folks would like to power for a week or two (say an ice storm outage) simply take too much power for a cost effective emergency solar systems (I have read that pellet stoves use a fair amount of energy to run the auger and fan--as an example).

Off-grid solar (and even emergency generator power) is usually an education and journey in conservation practices... It is almost always better to conserve the energy (through new energy star appliances, and turning things off) than it is to generate the power (solar or generator).

-Bill

zeuspaul

Re: Thoughts on Powerup Plus System

It looks close to the solar backup system I am putting together.

They are using a modified sine wave inverter rated 1400 watts 2800 surge. I am using an Exeltech 2000 watt true sine wave inverter 4000 watt surge 21.5 year mtbf.

They are using 4 x 150 watt panels (600 watts). I am using 5 x 135 watt panels (675 watts)

They have 400 amp hour battery at 12 volts. I have 225 amp hour at 24 volts (450 at 12 volts)

They have two Morningstar MPPT controllers total rating 30 amps. I have one Morningstar MPPT controller rated 45 amps.

They have 40 amp AC charger 12 volts. I have 8 amp 24 volt charger (16 amp 12 volts). I am using a smaller charger with soft start so it will work with my cheapo HF 800 watt generator.

Overall it seems the components I have selected are equal or better. I never considered the cheaper modified sine wave inverters.

I think the system I am putting together is significantly better. The inverter I am using is a major improvement. Also I can double the capacity with five more 135 watt panels without having to buy another charge controller.

I figure my system will run me about $5000 including tax, shipping and wiring. Their's looks to be about $2000 more.

Zeuspaul

System2

Re: Thoughts on Powerup Plus System

Thanks for all the good advice...Last night I did read every post in a separate thread regarding the small system that MySolarBackup sells. It read like a novel.... I agree that their marketing is hype, but from what I learned last night a system of this size, may actually be useable for emergency backup. I will further investigate the actual power consumption of the devices that I mentioned and look at the cost/complexity of assembling a similar system myself. I do appreciate the expert advice given here...Many thanks...Tony

mike95490

Re: Thoughts on Powerup Plus System

Tonyct wrote: »

....and look at the cost/complexity of assembling a similar system myself. I do appreciate the expert advice given here...Many thanks...Tony

It's all just parts. You can pay to have someone else glue them together, or you can do it yourself. We'll be glad to help and advise. And in 6 years when something in it goes bad, you will know what it is, and how to replace it.

Mike