What kind of system do i need?

devon8822
devon8822 Registered Users Posts: 2
in Solar Beginners Corner #1
Hey, to run 720 watts 24/7 (house), how would I figure out how many solar panels and batteries I need?I not even completely sure if that is a lot of power needs. The issue is that it will be running this much constantly. Lets say mainland british columbia (Canada).
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  • NorthGuy
    NorthGuy Solar Expert Posts: 1,913 ✭✭
    #2
    Re: What kind of system do i need?

    If you want to run it in winter too, it's going to be a lot. You need 17.3kWh/day plus all the losses. And there's only 2 hours of sun in winter, so you will have to produce 22kWh or so in these two hours, meaning 11kW of panels. You will also need a battery bank about 1500AH @ 48V, which is huge.

    Does it have to be non-stop? Or is it ok for it to switch off in a cloudy weather? If you want it to be non-stop, you have to use a generator. If you rely on the generator to provide some of the energy in winter, then you can get away with much smaller system sized for the rest of the year.
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  • waynefromnscanada
    waynefromnscanada Solar Expert Posts: 3,009 ✭✭✭✭
    #3
    Re: What kind of system do i need?

    That's a huge and very expensive system. If you cannot drastically reduce your consumption, you'd be better off going on grid and forgetting solar. Or, you could go Grid Tie and use some solar to help reduce your energy costs.
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  • devon8822
    devon8822 Registered Users Posts: 2
    #4
    Re: What kind of system do i need?

    Ok, i think i could probably get it down to a 1 amp (120V) = 120 watts running 24/7, instead of the 720 watts. What kind of system would I be looking at than?
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  • westbranch
    westbranch Solar Expert Posts: 5,183 ✭✭✭✭
    #5
    Re: What kind of system do i need?

    Is that a constant load or the average of a bunch of loads?
     
    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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  • zoneblue
    zoneblue Solar Expert Posts: 1,220 ✭✭✭✭
    #6
    Re: What kind of system do i need?
    westbranch wrote: »
    Is that a constant load or the average of a bunch of loads?

    This is all too vague, mate. The key to sucess here is understanding your loads. Make a list, measure things, make a list and add it all up. What you need is Wh/day. Holler if you need help.
    1.8kWp CSUN, 10kWh AGM, Midnite Classic 150, Outback VFX3024E,
    http://zoneblue.org/cms/page.php?view=off-grid-solar


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  • solar_dave
    solar_dave Solar Expert Posts: 2,397 ✭✭✭✭
    #7
    Re: What kind of system do i need?
    waynefromnscanada wrote: »
    That's a huge and very expensive system. If you cannot drastically reduce your consumption, you'd be better off going on grid and forgetting solar. Or, you could go Grid Tie and use some solar to help reduce your energy costs.

    +1 on the grid tie IF you have a decent utility net metering plan, then a 2-3 Kw system would probably easily break even.
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