Taranakian
New Member
Man - I just wrote a novella and then realised expecting people to read and weigh in was a big ask.
Here's the short(er) version. We were land poor for awhile after buying our property 3 years ago but still had needs that had to be met so, as a first timer, I cobbled together whatever systems I could afford that would meet our basic needs. We didn't have the luxury of spending once.
Our current Frankensteinian system consists of:
- 1x string of 6x 240W panels (22V/11A) - connected to...
- 1x Midnite Classic 200
- 1x string of 4x 240W panels (30V/8A) - (not currently connected as they were a great deal but we don't need them in summer.)
- 2x supercaps/supercap banks in parallel, one with panels, one with batteries
- 1x 2000W PowerTech inverter (Jaycar Electronics special, so far the longest lasting inverter I've bought)
- 2x 220Ah AGMs (hybrid system with below)
- 2x 200Ah drop in LiFePO4s (hybrid system with above, added less than a month ago - great deal on secondhand, unused batteries)
- 1x 100W Ampair wind turbine (not currently connected, just bought recently)
- 1x Enerdrive ePower 12v 60A battery charger
- Cheap briefcase style 2000W Generator
- Various fuses, bus bars, etc.,
I reckon that's it.
Finally, for the last three years, with very few exceptions, we use 1.5kWh/day. The biggest day of usage that I remember was 2.2kWh.
Once we got the LiFePO4 batteries and got them hooked up two things happened:
1 - It became clear that I needed more visibility and more granular details to monitor the SOC of the batteries and I've decided to go with Victron - I needed another charge controller anyways for the second bank of used panels that I bought so that's fine, plus I can then relegate the Midnite Classic to run the wind turbine when I get around to hooking it up.
2 - Suddenly we've been on a big kick of buying appliances that we finally have the oomph to run. We've got a dishwasher being delivered on Monday, we're buying a new induction cooktop, and we've got a benchtop combi-oven on order. The combi-oven and induction cooktop will only be used from mid-Spring - mid-Autumn when we have plenty of excess solar. We bought a fancy woodstove a couple of years ago that's specifically designed for cooking and we have a fire every day in the colder times of the year so already have a hot cooktop and oven. The dishwasher is rated at 560Wh/day, but we'll have it hooked up to the hot water heater directly so it should be less than that...
Now here's where I need opinions...
We already know I need two new charge controllers and with all the new appliances we're buying I'm going to need inverter capacity greater than the 2000W I have available right now, which really means the underlying DC system doesn't much matter - if 240VAC is no longer just for the fridge we should just go heavy AC and skip out on DC for everything but lighting and the water pump. I could go to the store tomorrow and buy another of the same 12V 2000W inverter to parallel and then order a couple Victron SmartSolar charge controllers some time before the winter overcast sets in. I'm just actually a little anxious about whether the short-term-ism of buying components to solve my immediate problem/match my budget has become ingrained and now that I have some more budget (or at least increased ability to rapidly pay off debt) I should be looking at spending more and getting to a point where I don't need to spend again for a real long time. Conversely, it's really addicting to be spending money again, and I'm clear I could be totally wrapped up in the thrill of the spend.
If I'm already spending on big system upgrades, are there intrinsic benefits to going 24V even if we're already well wired up for 12V and use as little electricity as we do? Worth noting, I've only considered going 24V because I hadn't really thought about buying even more batteries, but that's not a line in the sand I guess...I just don't think we use enough power to really get the benefits of 48V but really, actually, what do I know?
Finally, I should also mention that I've just taken a contract that pays very well, but will likely only last four of five months so there's no guarantee I will have the opportunity to upgrade next year or the year after the way I do now. I'm semi-retired and don't often look for work, I'm just tired of nickel-and-diming it (and buying 3 inverters, and 4 fridges, and 3 charge controllers) so I took this contract specifically to upgrade our quality of life.
So, if it were you, would you buy:
A - 1x matching 12V 2000W inverter to parallel with current inverter, 2x 12V Victron SmartSolar options to match two existing solar arrays
B - 1x Victron Phoenix 12/3000 inverter, 2x 12V Victron SmartSolar options to match two existing solar arrays - sell current inverter
C - 1x Victron EasySolar 24/1600 (inverter/charger/mppt), 24V Victron SmartSolar to match remaining solar array, 1x 24v->12v buck converter - sell current inverter and battery charger
D - 1x Victron EasySolar 24/3000 (inverter/charger/mppt), 24V Victron SmartSolar to match remaining solar array, 1x 24v->12v buck converter - sell current inverter and battery charger
E - Some entirely different set up that you'll expand on below?
Hey, I know this has been a long read full of silly anxiousness and I certainly won't be terribly unique in looking for someone smarter, wiser, more practiced than me to just tell me what to do and relieve my entirely-self-inflicted analysis paralysis. Thank you, really, for taking the time to read and for those who take the time to respond.
Here's the short(er) version. We were land poor for awhile after buying our property 3 years ago but still had needs that had to be met so, as a first timer, I cobbled together whatever systems I could afford that would meet our basic needs. We didn't have the luxury of spending once.
Our current Frankensteinian system consists of:
- 1x string of 6x 240W panels (22V/11A) - connected to...
- 1x Midnite Classic 200
- 1x string of 4x 240W panels (30V/8A) - (not currently connected as they were a great deal but we don't need them in summer.)
- 2x supercaps/supercap banks in parallel, one with panels, one with batteries
- 1x 2000W PowerTech inverter (Jaycar Electronics special, so far the longest lasting inverter I've bought)
- 2x 220Ah AGMs (hybrid system with below)
- 2x 200Ah drop in LiFePO4s (hybrid system with above, added less than a month ago - great deal on secondhand, unused batteries)
- 1x 100W Ampair wind turbine (not currently connected, just bought recently)
- 1x Enerdrive ePower 12v 60A battery charger
- Cheap briefcase style 2000W Generator
- Various fuses, bus bars, etc.,
I reckon that's it.
Finally, for the last three years, with very few exceptions, we use 1.5kWh/day. The biggest day of usage that I remember was 2.2kWh.
Once we got the LiFePO4 batteries and got them hooked up two things happened:
1 - It became clear that I needed more visibility and more granular details to monitor the SOC of the batteries and I've decided to go with Victron - I needed another charge controller anyways for the second bank of used panels that I bought so that's fine, plus I can then relegate the Midnite Classic to run the wind turbine when I get around to hooking it up.
2 - Suddenly we've been on a big kick of buying appliances that we finally have the oomph to run. We've got a dishwasher being delivered on Monday, we're buying a new induction cooktop, and we've got a benchtop combi-oven on order. The combi-oven and induction cooktop will only be used from mid-Spring - mid-Autumn when we have plenty of excess solar. We bought a fancy woodstove a couple of years ago that's specifically designed for cooking and we have a fire every day in the colder times of the year so already have a hot cooktop and oven. The dishwasher is rated at 560Wh/day, but we'll have it hooked up to the hot water heater directly so it should be less than that...
Now here's where I need opinions...
We already know I need two new charge controllers and with all the new appliances we're buying I'm going to need inverter capacity greater than the 2000W I have available right now, which really means the underlying DC system doesn't much matter - if 240VAC is no longer just for the fridge we should just go heavy AC and skip out on DC for everything but lighting and the water pump. I could go to the store tomorrow and buy another of the same 12V 2000W inverter to parallel and then order a couple Victron SmartSolar charge controllers some time before the winter overcast sets in. I'm just actually a little anxious about whether the short-term-ism of buying components to solve my immediate problem/match my budget has become ingrained and now that I have some more budget (or at least increased ability to rapidly pay off debt) I should be looking at spending more and getting to a point where I don't need to spend again for a real long time. Conversely, it's really addicting to be spending money again, and I'm clear I could be totally wrapped up in the thrill of the spend.
If I'm already spending on big system upgrades, are there intrinsic benefits to going 24V even if we're already well wired up for 12V and use as little electricity as we do? Worth noting, I've only considered going 24V because I hadn't really thought about buying even more batteries, but that's not a line in the sand I guess...I just don't think we use enough power to really get the benefits of 48V but really, actually, what do I know?
Finally, I should also mention that I've just taken a contract that pays very well, but will likely only last four of five months so there's no guarantee I will have the opportunity to upgrade next year or the year after the way I do now. I'm semi-retired and don't often look for work, I'm just tired of nickel-and-diming it (and buying 3 inverters, and 4 fridges, and 3 charge controllers) so I took this contract specifically to upgrade our quality of life.
So, if it were you, would you buy:
A - 1x matching 12V 2000W inverter to parallel with current inverter, 2x 12V Victron SmartSolar options to match two existing solar arrays
B - 1x Victron Phoenix 12/3000 inverter, 2x 12V Victron SmartSolar options to match two existing solar arrays - sell current inverter
C - 1x Victron EasySolar 24/1600 (inverter/charger/mppt), 24V Victron SmartSolar to match remaining solar array, 1x 24v->12v buck converter - sell current inverter and battery charger
D - 1x Victron EasySolar 24/3000 (inverter/charger/mppt), 24V Victron SmartSolar to match remaining solar array, 1x 24v->12v buck converter - sell current inverter and battery charger
E - Some entirely different set up that you'll expand on below?
Hey, I know this has been a long read full of silly anxiousness and I certainly won't be terribly unique in looking for someone smarter, wiser, more practiced than me to just tell me what to do and relieve my entirely-self-inflicted analysis paralysis. Thank you, really, for taking the time to read and for those who take the time to respond.