Newbie setting up components

FrankK · July 16

Trying to install a new system: battery + MPPT controller + pure sine wave inverter + power monitor + solar panel.

2000W 12Vdc - 120V Inverter/ Charger
30A MPPT Controller
Precision LFP Battery Monitor - Shunted 100V 350A
12.8V 110Ah - Platinum Series Battery - Standard LED

Would appreciate help wiring up the components. Ideal 'simple' configuration is illustrated in a diagram below, except for the need to charge via AC. Also plan to insert a power monitor, TF03K, between the battery and the controller(I think).

Want to also be able to charge the battery from an AC wall socket.

My inverter has connections for AC in and AC out, and wants stripped bare wires. I assume I need to provide a male and female AC plug and socket on separate cables? Where do I purchase those, or do I have to chop an extension cord? Am I on the right track? How do I ground the inverter (in the house)? Also looks like bare wires into the controller?

Would like to be able to charge USB devices, presumably via the controller, which has no USB sockets. Would that be a 'DC Load'? RS-485?

Thanks very much in advance. Apologies for all the questions, which have probably been asked before.

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BB. · July 17

Welcome to the forum FrankK!

Can you tell us a bit more about your power/load requirements (Watt*Hours per day, full time off grid or emergency backup) and (roughly--Nearest city) where the system will be installed (amount of sun by season)? Do you need backup power (Genset)?

Have you addressed conservation yet? In general, it is cheaper to conserve energy than it is to generate it.

-Bill

FrankK · July 17

I don't have the background to give you numbers, but it's essentially for emergency use. I'm in Southern Ontario, Canada, so sunlight is highly variable (about the same latitude as Buffalo).

FrankK · July 17

I've been doing a *lot* of searching and do have a better idea of how to build this system.

BB. · July 17

To give you an idea of energy usage:

500 Watt*Hours per day--Some LED lighting, cell phone charging, a bit of laptop computer usage
1,000 WH per day (30 kWH per month)--LED Lighting, Laptop+cell phone usage, some 12 VDC RV water pumping
3,300 WH per day (100 kWH per month)--Add more water pumping, some clothes washing machine operation (enough to run a very efficient smaller home/off grid cabin
10,000 WH per day (300 kWH per month)--Run a relatively efficient home

Note the above assumes heating/cooking/hot water via propane/wood/etc. Larger systems can handle some microwave, induction cook top....

A very handy tool for AC power usage--A Kill-a-Watt meter or equivalent:

https://www.amazon.com/kill-a-watt-meter/s?k=kill-a-watt+meter

Another way is to "choose" something... Like an area to mount 4x 300 Watt solar panels, or a specific battery 12 volt 100 AH, etc... And then design a system around it.

To understand your expectations.... A 12 volt @ 110 AH Lithium Ion battery (a nice choice) and a 2,000 Watt AC inverter...

12 volts * 110 AH = 1,320 Watt*Hours of energy storage

A 2,000 Watt AC inverter:

1,320 WH of storage / 2,000 Watt AC inverter loading = 0.66 hours = 40 minutes from battery full until "dead"

Normally, one would expect to "load" an AC inverter to 50% of rated energy (average continuous load)--And that battery would run for 80 Minutes until "dead" (real life, even a bit less time on battery due to inverter/battery/system losses).

A 1,000 WH per day system would be my first suggestion for an "emergency" backup system--Run LED lighting, cell phone charging, LED TV, RV Water pump, etc...

A 3,300 WH per day system is enough to keep a home going during power outages (or for full time off grid cabin with very efficient energy usage).

If you have a system cost in mind--Looking at your battery bank (usually one of the most expensive items) and figure out what you would want ($$$, capacity, how much space, etc.)... Then design a system around that.

-Bill

FrankK · July 18

OK, thanks, but I've already purchased the components and am just looking for how to wire them up :-) I.e., I have the battery, inverter, etc. My challenges come from connecting them: the wire gauges, fuses, connectors, etc. I've been researching heavily for a few days and think I have a good handle on it now.

FrankK · July 19

If it helps anyone, my set-up is very much like this:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6024911/uploads/editor/mj/t40w3dpivfsz.png

FrankK · July 19

...but I only have one battery and one panel. I decided to side-step the AC charging, AC load and USB port issues by buying a new inverter, which has those sockets/ports built in (I was surprised the original inverter/charger didn't have those, because I explicitly asked the sales rep before ordering), and a separate lithium battery charger.

A really good resource for figuring out the fuses is:
https://www.renogy.com/academy/accessories-wiring/Fuses-and-Wire-Gauge
and I'm adding the fuses to the battery terminal (different fuses for controller and inverter) using a Blue Sea Systems MRBF Surface and Terminal Mount Fuse Block from Amazon:

BB. · July 20

Yes, we recommend those BlueSea fuse blocks too...

Some things to think about. Circuit Breakers are not that expensive when compared with large amperage fuses+fuse blocks. Plus it gives you a handy on/off switch. When picking breakers (and fuses+switches), make sure they are DC rated. And many of the older breakers are polarity sensitive. If you put current "backwards" through a polarized circuit breaker, they will easily arc internally and self destruct.

Wiring needs to be rated for the current flow expected. Using the manuals for the devices is a good place to start for wire and over current protection.

Another thing to watch for, especially for high current/low voltage circuits (such as battery and solar panel circuits) is voltage drop. You may need to use larger AWG cables for longer runs (for 12 VDC, even 10 foot runs can have lots of voltage drop)... Suggest that you have 0.5 VDC Max drop for power circuits (such as inverter 12 VDC wiring), and from charge controller to battery terminals, 0.05 to 0.10 VDC Max drop at 12 VDC and charging current. You can use a voltage drop calculator to make the calculations:

https://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.html

-Bill

Newbie setting up components

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