Maritime/Oceanic climates and off grid systems.

CALLD
CALLD Solar Expert Posts: 230 ✭✭
in Off Grid Solar & Battery Systems #1
Does anyone here have their setup located in such a climatic zone? You know the type where clear sunny days are rare (less than 30% of the time), with the other 70% being either partly cloudy or overcast?

If so, how do you cope - mentally that is!
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  • mike95490
    mike95490 Solar Expert Posts: 9,583 ✭✭✭✭✭
    #2
    Mentally, you have to cope with it (weather), before thinking about solar. And having to oversize the PV array and restrict the power usage is what would drive my wife nuts.
    Powerfab top of pole PV mount | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister ,

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  • CALLD
    CALLD Solar Expert Posts: 230 ✭✭
    #3
    Yeah I did adopt the oversized array strategy, and it has helped to some degree, however when you can go through up to 9 consecutive days of predominantly overcast weather the only way to ensure continuous power is by diversifying your energy mix.

    Another thing I've found is you need to have high-rate batteries like AGMs because when you do get a break in the clouds you need batteries that can suck up the available energy quickly. Batteries that require a long and steady absorption charge phase are useless in a moody climate like this...
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  • animatt
    animatt Solar Expert Posts: 295 ✭✭✭
    #4
    not sure your sig. is up to date. But I would personally find a 260ah 24v agm battery bank very limiting. Would be hard to coast through any poor whether. But realistically even a bigger bank would only coast so far.
    a small generator would be a must. Get a small quiet one and build a shed around it. Then you would at least not hear it. If constantly needed autostart would be nice.

    matthew
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  • CALLD
    CALLD Solar Expert Posts: 230 ✭✭
    #5
    Fortunately I don't need my batteries to get me even through one evening, I use the grid at night and solar by day. The batteries are only needed to coast through cloudy patches during the day or very occasionally through a 2-4hr power failure at night (rolling blackouts).

    The reason I posted this thread is because I'm considering going 100% off grid and have come to realize that it's just not possible where I live. No realistic amount of solar panels or batteries can get you through a 9 day stretch of bad weather and then still be expected to charge fully on the first sunny day afterwards. It is possible in theory if you had an enormous array and corresponding battery (think 10x what you would need on a sunny day). But even so I don't think any battery would last long if it were repeatedly asked to go for over 1week with a full charge...
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  • Dave Angelini
    Dave Angelini Solar Expert Posts: 6,891 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    #6
    If you do not love the place then leave ! If you do there are plenty of ways to make it work. I have clients in some pretty wild places and they use 4 times the solar you have. I also do not agree about having to use agm, you need more solar and at 34S this is not that hard, unless you do not like being there!
    "we go where power lines don't" Sierra Nevada mountain area
       htps://offgridsolar1.com/
    E-mail offgridsolar@sti.net

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