Solar setup on an island

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noodnurd
noodnurd Registered Users Posts: 2
Hi there.

I am in the process of setting up a solar system to replace a generator setup I currently have at my camp ground. Firstly, allow me to explain that I am based on an island in Cambodia so my solar yield will be different to yours in the states. My objective is to replace a 220v genny setup which is currently running:
1 x 2.8kw genny @ 220v
2 x 10amp battery chargers
1 x 30amp battery charger
1 x 800watt water pump (occasionally)
Lots of lights;
16 x 40w incandescent bulbs along 140m of 1.5mm multi-core cable (northern track)
18 x 40w incandescent bulbs along 180m of 1.5mm multi-core cable (southern track)
6 x 40w incandescent bulbs along 70m of 1.5mm multi-core cable (kitchen)
~15 x 40w incandescent bulbs on several short lengths of 1.5mm multi-core cable (base camp)

If this is hard to visualize, I've drawn a rough diagram that you can find here. You'll need Google Earth.

Currently everything is 220v, however I'd like to move my lighting to a 12v DC setup. Now in this part of the world I don't have access to electronics shops and such so I make most of my stuff myself. Don't recommend fancy equipment because I simply can't get it here. I'm not going to be able to afford to run the pump off solar and I'll keep the genny and chargers as a backup for those times that the solar system can't keep up with the load.

The way I see it, I have two options.

1) Replace all of my light bulbs with power saving models (8-11watt), buy a decent sized inverter and maintain my 220v circuit.
2) Replace all of my light bulbs with 12v alternatives, although I don't think this method is going to work because of the distance and cable size.

The reason I went with the incandescent bulbs is because I wanted the old-school orange glow. They're all hanging from trees and sway in the wind which gives off some awesome shadows around the camp. If I change to LED bulbs I'll lose this feel which I'd rather not do. I hate white lights, although I can get the small fluro bulbs in 'warm orange' which should do the trick.
I currently have 3 panels at my disposal; 100w, 50w and 20w. I've got several 80-150ah lead acid batteries that I just going to have to do as I can't get nor afford solar gel batteries at this time. I also have 2 10amp solar charge controllers. Getting more will be tricky.
Lastly, I only need to operate camp lighting for around 4 hours a day. If I need more than that I'll simply start the generator and pump juice into the setup using the bigger charger. If this becomes a regular occurrence I'll simply get more panels and a bigger battery bank.

My question is; how should I best tackle this project? What will be the cheaper and more efficient solution? I'm leaning towards an inverter for the lighting but if I do this, do you have any tips?

Oh yes and as and added caveat; the salt content in Cambodian waters is way higher than average. This ends up in the coastal air and things like cables turn to dust in 12 months or less if exposed to the air. My setup is far from sealed and some of my cables have begun to corrode. I'll do my best to fix them but I'm guessing this will affect my system's performance.

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  • stephendv
    stephendv Solar Expert Posts: 1,571 ✭✭
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    Re: Solar setup on an island
    noodnurd wrote: »
    16 x 40w incandescent bulbs along 140m of 1.5mm multi-core cable (northern track)
    18 x 40w incandescent bulbs along 180m of 1.5mm multi-core cable (southern track)
    6 x 40w incandescent bulbs along 70m of 1.5mm multi-core cable (kitchen)
    ~15 x 40w incandescent bulbs on several short lengths of 1.5mm multi-core cable (base camp)

    Those aren't lights; they're transparent air-heating elements with the side effect of producing light ;)

    220V LED lights everywhere is the best option if you want to power this from batteries. There is a huge variety of different colours available, so you could have some of them white, and others orange or red which I think would look even more interesting. Even if you don't have a local electricity store, you could order online. I remember ordering books from amazon.com years ago when I was on an island in Malaysia- they arrived after 1 month, but they arrived.

    12v is out of the question because of the distances. A small inverter to run just the lights would be the budget solution, something like the sealed Outback inverters, or the Victron Phoenix line which is rated for marine use would be good bets. There's a Victron distributor in Pnom Penh: http://www.victronenergy.com/where-to-buy/?continentid=6 or two others in Thailand. Might be worth going on a shopping trip to Thailand to buy the inverter and lights in one go.

    WRT the batteries, have you tried sourcing large truck batteries? Not ideal, but will be better than small 80Ah starter batteries.
  • noodnurd
    noodnurd Registered Users Posts: 2
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    Re: Solar setup on an island

    Yeah I know they're not real lights, but they were very cheap and served my purposes for my first year of operation. 10 bulbs for $1... can't go wrong! But indeed they suck the juice. I'd love to kit myself out with a bunch of LED lights and I'm not opposed to ordering online, however 5 years experience has shown me that getting stuff sent to Cambodia is a very risky business. If the boys at customs notice a package that has something in it they can sell on the side, it disappears. In fact I sent myself a bunch of Roma tomato seeds from Australia a month ago and even they got pinched!
    There are some LED shops here so I will have a look around a bit more and see what I can find, but I'm 90% sure that I'm going to have to go with 8w fluro bulbs as I know for a fact that I can get them here. So let's base our calculations on them for now.

    My main battery is a 150ah lead acid battery which lives in the bar and is currently fed 70w of solar juice. In a few days that'll increase to 170w. The other ones are there as standbys in case we start running the big one flat as lead acids don't like getting discharged. Depending on how it all goes I may end up buying another one of these but a 200ah version which run for about $180US here.

    My bungalows have independent solar systems with LED lights, 40w panels and 12ah gel batteries. These work a treat but only run 6 LED lights and 1 fan.
    I'll check out Kamworks tomorrow for a decent inverter. It's looking like the easiest option by far.

    Thanks, and any more tips are very very welcome!