Battery Backup in Dominican Republic

KeithWHare
KeithWHare Solar Expert Posts: 140 ✭✭✭
in Off Grid Solar & Battery Systems #1
My brother and sister-in-law are living in south western Dominican Republic. (My brother is commuting to Haiti two weeks a month, but that's irrelevant for this post.) My sister-in-law is a lab technician working in a clinic in a sugar cane camp/village.

The utility power at the clinic is usually on four to eight hours a night, but is usually off during the day. This is problematic for things such as:
  • Light bulbs
  • Microscope
  • Centrifuge
  • Sewing Machine
  • Refrigerator

I'm estimating a daytime power use of 2.75 to 3.00 kilo watt hours a day of power usage.

My current plan is to install 8 6-volt T105-type 225 amp hour batteries and an inverter/charger.

Modified sine wave inverters in the appropriate size for this power load are readily available, but full sine wave inverters are harder to find. I've found one source that can get me a Magnum full sine wave inverter in Santo Domingo, but I need to make sure I get the correct model.

With the information I have at the moment, I think the clinic only has 120 volt power. Can I run the Magnum MS4448PAE on a utility input of only 120 volts?

If not, my other choice is to use a Magnum MS4024 (with no suffix), which limits the battery bank to 24 volts instead of 48 volts.

There are no plans to use PV panels at this point, but I plan to set the system up so solar could be added later.

Keith
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Comments

  • westbranch
    westbranch Solar Expert Posts: 5,183 ✭✭✭✭
    #2
    Re: Battery Backup in Dominican Republic

    Keith, did you have a query?
     
    KID #51B  4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM
    CL#29032 FW 2126/ 2073/ 2133 175A E-Panel WBjr, 3 x 4s 140W to 24V 900Ah C&D AGM 
    Cotek ST1500W 24V Inverter,OmniCharge 3024,
    2 x Cisco WRT54GL i/c DD-WRT Rtr & Bridge,
    Eu3/2/1000i Gens, 1680W & E-Panel/WBjr to come, CL #647 asleep
    West Chilcotin, BC, Canada
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  • niel
    niel Solar Expert Posts: 10,300 ✭✭✭✭
    #3
    Re: Battery Backup in Dominican Republic

    i think either one will work fine and the 4448 can operate with a 120vac input only if you desire. see page 25 in the manual.
    http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wind-sun/Magnum-MS-PAE-Manual.pdf

    these are good sized inverters for the indicated loads. do you think you will expand on those loads later? you may want to expand the battery bank to allow backup for more than your expected daytime outages. this would help in handling future loads too.

    starting with a backups type arrangement is a good and convenient way to grow the system as the solar can be piecemealed to a degree, but some items will need to be what you'd need if the full pv system was to be already present. a few examples would be the wire size must be full sized from the start and the proper capacity in your controller, but even this can be worked around to some degree if planned properly.
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  • KeithWHare
    KeithWHare Solar Expert Posts: 140 ✭✭✭
    #4
    Re: Battery Backup in Dominican Republic
    westbranch wrote: »
    Keith, did you have a query?

    Yes, but it got lost in the rest of the explanation:
    Can I run the Magnum MS4448PAE on a utility input of only 120 volts?

    Keith
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  • KeithWHare
    KeithWHare Solar Expert Posts: 140 ✭✭✭
    #5
    Re: Battery Backup in Dominican Republic
    niel wrote: »
    i think either one will work fine and the 4448 can operate with a 120vac input only if you desire. see page 25 in the manual.
    http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/wind-sun/Magnum-MS-PAE-Manual.pdf

    Thanks for the pointer. I had missed that bit in the documentation.
    these are good sized inverters for the indicated loads. do you think you will expand on those loads later? you may want to expand the battery bank to allow backup for more than your expected daytime outages. this would help in handling future loads too.

    My expectation is that if there is power, the loads will increase. For example, I didn't list any fans, but in an un-airconditioned building in 90-100 degrees (Fahrenheit), fans will show up. At this point, 8 6-volt batteries fit the available funds.

    Another reason for using the Magnum MS4xxx series is that we haven't located a smaller full sine wave inverter/charger in the DR.
    starting with a backups type arrangement is a good and convenient way to grow the system as the solar can be piecemealed to a degree, but some items will need to be what you'd need if the full pv system was to be already present. a few examples would be the wire size must be full sized from the start and the proper capacity in your controller, but even this can be worked around to some degree if planned properly.

    I have a pretty good understanding of wire sizing and voltage drop issues. I helped install a similar solar-only system in Haiti 2.5 years ago. The Haiti system is still working well, so I guess we did something right.

    Keith
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