WTK solar energy

[supercharged turbo]

Yeah.They deal with solar panels and solar water heaters

[xtech]

We all know meters dont "spin" anymore.

The new types are smarter an ours has been dumbed down for spite.

The solar generator I have ordered will be primary source of electric power but will pull power from T&Tec mains to charge the batteries. Say If I run them down during the night. An will switch completely over to mains power if there is problem with the solar equipment. But main thing is there is no chance of feed back into the network during power failure.

[CBharath]

there are two types of power inverters used overseas for green energy production. The latest tech is Grid tied micro inverters an then we have off-grid regular old fashion inverters. the local restriction like they said is there should be a ban on grid tied power invertors.

These inverters has to be plugged into the mains to get a sample of T&Tec supply. It then mimics the sampled power and inputs into the mains extra electric power from the solar panels. So you are powered up by both the sun and T&TEC at the same time like jump starting a car with 2 batteries.
If the panels generate more power than u can use it will "leak" back out through the meter which would slow it or move it backwards if the excess power is high enough no money for T&TEC an then T&TEC owes u they dont want that at all.

So T&TEC said line workers will get shock if they have a to repair a line during an outage like if it was a gas generator. But the thing is the grid tie inverter cant generate power if it has no power to mimic so your home goes dead even though its day time or battery bank is full. So even though that was debunked they still rather treat it like a gas even if u using a off-grid tied solar generator.


a off-grid power inverter cant share a power line while T&TEC has power or it will burn up so it has to be set up like a gas generator with a transfer switch between the main fuse box and the meter for when u wanna switch over cause it will send out power to the lines outside if there is a power outage and no protection so that has to be installed and inspected.


I just brought a $70k off-grid solar generator so i will soon be facing the music when its time to set it up.

for 70k , what is kwh per month ?

[viedcht]

Anybody have solar systems at home? Some reviews would be nice.

[sMASH]

it costly to set up. batteries and panels have life spans, u have to get good enough inverters for it to be usable, which are costly. by the time u reach the life span of the batteries, the ttec rate will cost less.

in other countries, where the grid power is costly, it makes sense to have this as a supplementary source, but in trinidad ttec is cheaper.
then, u have to ahve enough batteries to store for use at night, and during rainy season, over cast conditions often times dont charge the batteries at all, and u have to use another source, ttec or generator.


if u have to do things like run multiple poles, or ur in the bush and use generator, thennnnn the set up cost is a viable option.
its okay, if u set it up well, but that means money to set up.
i havent been able to use the tesla batteries, which cost a sheit load more, but they give a lot better capacity and life span.

if ttec decide to raise their rates significantly, and also do the thing where different times have different rates, then this might make sense to add to the system. but i doubt they will do anyting like that any where within 10 years.

[Redman]

Subsidized electricity is killing us by stagnating investment, research and innovation in the energy sector.

[88sins]

Well you not saying what you want to buy, so I can't give you a review. But I can tell you what I know from xp.

I don't have one at home, but i have a small system at a camp on the estate. As of right now it's made up of 3 panels, 3 lead acid batteries in parallel, one regulator & a inverter (iirc it's 3kW) Works well enough for my power needs at the location which are not much. Just a few LED lights inside and outside, a radio, a fan, a small fridge, phone and tool chargers. System always states full charge, because the load isn't much and I don't live there, only there every few weeks.
They can be costly to initially set up, and for heavy power requirements like to power a home you will need a lot of panels and lot of storage capacity which means a huge battery bank or some other form of very energy dense storage system. Batteries will need changing eventually if you use lead acid, less frequently if using LiFePo4 or LTO, but the cost of batteries goes up significantly if using those. Have to consider also the cycling depth and frequency of cycling of your battery bank as this will affect the life of your batteries.

What you looking to do? I only ask because without knowing your power requirements it kinda hard to help you figure out what you may need or if it feasible.

[viedcht]

^For a year or two it's been an idea in my head, but have some funds to start, 30-35k, and looking to power part if not to the entire of a downstairs apartment. But maybe main appliances; fridge, water heater, washing machine, Aircon. It's for me so I can manage the power usage. Was just considering the viability. Was considering a system for plug-in HEV as well.

[pugboy]

solar feasible for lights
but when you start to talk motorized appliances
it’s. whole different game and cost

running a generator off lpg is the next best option

[viedcht]

Never considered that LPG part but usually the diesel/gas generator noisy as hell for me... Actually trying to do my part in reducing pollution in this lil spot on the planet, and well, solar=free. Me like free

solar feasible for lights
but when you start to talk motorized appliances
it’s. whole different game and cost

running a generator off lpg is the next best option

[sMASH]

600w usually is enough to run a deep freeze, or a power saw, from like 8 am to 3 pm. by that time we stop, to let the batteries charge back up before night hits.

[skylinechild]

ok so my input... i have solar panel at home - just there not hooked up to anything.
and when exposed to sunlight i can get 20 V DC off it. ... which is amazing.

so Ive always wanted to setup a unit at home to run my router and fan 24/7.....
and maybe if cash permits my ac system -

so my research shows you will need the solar cell ( obviously ) a charge controller ( unit that controls the flow of power ) a battery ( storage unit to store power) and an inverter ( to convert back from DC to AC)

i'll break each piece down in step by step .

solar cells - there's two types - mono crystalline and poly crystalline.

mono crystalline panels are more efficient than poly crystalline units - why ?
Mono crystalline solar panels contain cells that are cut from a single crystalline silicon ingot.
The composition of these cells is purer because each cell is made from a single piece of silicon.

As a result, mono panels are slightly more efficient than poly panels. They also perform better in high heat and lower light environments, which means they will produce closer to their rated output in less than ideal conditions.



Poly crystalline Solar Panels

Poly crystalline solar cells are blended together from multiple pieces of silicon The blended makeup of the cells gives poly panels their iconic blue color. If you look at them up close, you’ll see the texture and color is uneven due to the way the cells are made.


charge controller

theres two types of charge controllers -
PWM (pulse width modulated)
Maximum power point tracking (MPPT)


With a PWM controller the current is drawn out of the panel at just above the battery voltage, whereas
With an MPPT controller the current is drawn out of the panel at the panel “maximum power voltage” (think of an MPPT controller as being a “smart DC-DC converter”)

for beginners a PWM controller will be fine but if you really want power for bigger battery banks and bigger loads and to manager bigger solar arrays - a MPPT controller is what you will need.


battery - lead acid is fine but newer types of battery lithium ion and nickel hydride etc cost more and last longer - drawback is they will require the correct charge controller to charge those types of batteries.


inverters.
again two types - regular inverters and pure sine wave output inverters.

the difference between both is the waveform each produces.

regular inverter - when you look at the wave form the regular inverter outputs - via an oscilloscope its called step approximation- so you get something like a saw tooth waveform.
normally this will work fine of basic things like fans and lights.
when you want to power more sensitive equipment like a tv or stereo or Ac it may not work as desired.

pure sine wave output inverter . these units give a true sine wave at 58-60 hz.and devices that solely operate at this frequency will work without issues.

drawback is the cost of the inverter


so depending on what you want to power and how much power you need will determine your components you buy and ultimately its scalability...

[88sins]

^For a year or two it's been an idea in my head, but have some funds to start, 30-35k, and looking to power part if not to the entire of a downstairs apartment. But maybe main appliances; fridge, water heater, washing machine, Aircon. It's for me so I can manage the power usage. Was just considering the viability. Was considering a system for plug-in HEV as well.

Doable.
If you run a 48v system with your current budget you could power an entire downstairs minus the AC & water heater, you might need to increase your budget to about 45K for better storage options and panels if you really want to run those. From what you saying, and depending on how power will be used, start with a bare minimum of 15kW of storage if using PB-acid batteries. It sounds like a lot I know. Bu you have to consider that unless you buying true deep cycle batteries, you should only cycle PB-acid batteries down to 50% since cycling them deeper will shorten their life and capacity capabilities. So from that 15kW, you can safely draw about 7-7.5 kw for the days usage, depending on the type of ac that should be enough. that . Thats also catering for losses at the inverter, cables, current draw from the charging and management system. There are solar water heaters available that can be run entirely separate from your system if hot water is a must.
Now here's the potential problem.
For 15kw of storage using PB-acid batteries (say the larger 13 plate car batteries rated at 67aH), you would need approximately 18 of those, plus racks, and a LOT of cables and terminals and a couple fans to keep them cool. So at least battery housing will be a space issue using those. If you use EV batteries, they will take up less space and last longer but cost much more.

Is up to you what you want to do.
Good luck.

[antlind]

My front gate is solar powered. It was costing me too much to run the hard wired connection so I went with a solar option. This was back in 2013. I replaced the original battery late last year so that wasn’t bad battery life. Cost me about 1/3 of what the hard wire installation would have cost.

[viedcht]

Hmm I never thought about solar for gate thanks

My front gate is solar powered. It was costing me too much to run the hard wired connection so I went with a solar option. This was back in 2013. I replaced the original battery late last year so that wasn’t bad battery life. Cost me about 1/3 of what the hard wire installation would have cost.

[viedcht]

My front gate is solar powered. It was costing me too much to run the hard wired connection so I went with a solar option. This was back in 2013. I replaced the original battery late last year so that wasn’t bad battery life. Cost me about 1/3 of what the hard wire installation would have cost.

Read up on energysage some time ago, was more thinking same EV/lithium battery

[adnj]

There are ways that you can use solar without a purpose-built power distribution system.

Power at distant lighting locations or on poles.
Power for small or remote outbuildings.
Passive solar hot water heating.
Automated gate and garage door openers (these are great during a power outage).
48v DC inverter air conditioning units.
Proximity-sensing outdoor lighting.
Solar powered DC water reservoir lift pumps.

[NR8]

Do you guys know of anyone in Trinidad doing solar ac units beside Trifactor?

[Sateesh]

I would recommend using lithium ion batteries or deep cycle batteries, good rated charge controllers(do some research). and proper solar panels.
and after you put that up you need a generator to recharge the batteries when rain falling and a good battery charger.
It works good but you need to size the system properly and cater for batteries to not drop below 80%(lithium batteries can go very low). solar works good when you have lots of batteries. Just imagine having to change out deep cycle batteries every 4 to 5 years. They tell you that but what if you have to replace before that time. Systems now have apps where you can monitor usage, load, runtime etc. Solar can be smart but costly for me and cheap for others.

[88sins]

I would recommend using lithium ion batteries or deep cycle batteries, good rated charge controllers(do some research). and proper solar panels.
and after you put that up you need a generator to recharge the batteries when rain falling and a good battery charger.
It works good but you need to size the system properly and cater for batteries to not drop below 80%(lithium batteries can go very low). solar works good when you have lots of batteries. Just imagine having to change out deep cycle batteries every 4 to 5 years. They tell you that but what if you have to replace before that time. Systems now have apps where you can monitor usage, load, runtime etc. Solar can be smart but costly for me and cheap for others.

Battery lifespan & health are dependent on several factors, including but not limited to the type of battery, how it was made, system charging rate (both v & A) , temperature of the individual batteries/cells, cycling depth and frequency, etc. so to say "Just imagine having to change out deep cycle batteries every 4 to 5 years. They tell you that but what if you have to replace before that time" isn't the a very objective way to view it. Here's a quick example.
If you have a lithium bank with 20kW storage capacity, and your batteries/cells are supposedly good for 20000 cycles at 80% discharge but your regular usage on average only draws 5kW of energy before recharging, there is a more than likely chance that battery bank could outlive you, because you are not depleting them to 80%. Granted, this is easier to achieve with LiFePo4 or LTO batteries/cells than traditional pb-acid batteries, but if one were to run well made, true deep cycle agm batteries they'd last more than 4-5 years, 7-10 years would be more likely provided you remember to top off electrolyte every so often.
If you look at it from the viewpoint of one cycle takes a full 24hr day to complete at 80% discharge it'll take about 55 years to reach 20K cycles, & if one were to cater for losses due to inefficiencies and & battery/cell defects of 15%, that's still about 47 years worth of life out of the system.

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

[timelapse]

We have too many neckbeards down here to even consider trying that

[j.o.e]

We have too many neckbeards down here to even consider trying that

As long as natural gas is available and electricity is subsidized moving towards solar will be very slow. The payback period is just too long. Just the sheer number of street lights in T&T shows how much we care about energy consumption.

[nervewrecker]

A lot of street lights here and there have solar panels mounted on them.

Our driveway was the only driveway in the neighborhood illuminated during the blackout as I have solar lights. Going on years now they just there lighting. They use rechargeable batteries that most tv remotes use.

There is the option for lithium ion now instead of the traditional banks. Just take a look on xs power site and see the options available and space saving potential. An entire bank can be replaced by one battery that feels like an empty case. Sure it's hella expensive but you get what you pay for.

Eventually lithium will get cheaper as it gets outdated. I wanted to experiment with cells from those hybrid cars battery bank but turned out men reuse them in people cars and claim it's brand new. Bobol can't done.

I think the new np station in preysal runs on renewables and promans zandolie platform in the gulf runs on 100% renewable energy. It's not to say it can't be done, it's just that we accustomed being spoonfed.

[redmanjp]

joe, those street lights not using leds?

[88sins]

Not accustomed to being spoonfed, is just that it's actually kinda costly for a person to go solar to power an entire house, so the motivation isn't there.

As you mentioned bobol with the car battery banks, boi, if you only know eh. It's one of the reasons bandits targeting certain ev's and hybrids. But for real they would be nearly perfect for a home solar power system. Cheaper to buy used ev banks online and import them, just have to go through the little headache of load testing each cell and swapping out the bad ones.

[j.o.e]

joe, those street lights not using leds?

New highways get LED and they are phasing out the old ones but regardless of that they not solar and we install them every few meters like if the power they use is nothing.