1.

Inverter size
To determine the inverter size we must find the peak load or maximum wattage of your home. This is
found by adding up the wattage of the appliances and devices that could be run at the same time.
Include everything from microwaves and lights to computers and clocks. The sum will tell you which
inverter size you need.

Example: A room has two 60 watt light bulb and a 300 watt desktop computer. The inverter size is 60 x 2
+ 300 = 420 watts

2. Daily energy use

Next find the energy used in a day. Figure out how long each electronic device will be run in hours
during a day. Multiply the wattage of each device by its run-time to get the energy in watt-hours per
day. Add up all the watt-hour values to get a total for your home. This estimate is likely too low as there
will be efficiency loses. To get a very rough idea of the real value with system loses, multiply by 1.5. This
will help account for decreasing performance when temperature increases.
Example: Light bulbs run for 5 hours a day. Computer runs for 2 hours a day. 120 x 5 + 300 x 2 = 1200
watt-hours. 1200 x 1.5 = 1800 watt-hours

3. Days of autonomy
Now decide how many days worth of energy you want to store in your battery bank. Generally this is
anywhere from two to five.

4. Battery bank capacity

Finally we can calculate the minimum battery AH capacity. Take the watt-hours per day and multiply
them by the number you decided upon in 3. This should represent a 50% depth of discharge on your
batteries. Therefore multiply by 2 and convert the kwh result into amp hours (AH). This is done by
dividing by the battery voltage.

Example: You want the battery bank to last three days without recharging and that you use 1.8 kwh per
day. As 1.8 x 3 x 2 = 10.8kwh, this is the energy we need from the batteries. Converting this to AH we
have to divide by the voltage of your system. This can be 12, 24 or 48 for commercial application. If we
choose to use 48V, the minimum AH capacity is then 10 800/48 = 225 AH. Now if you divide by your
battery's rating you find the number of batteries you must use.

Step 2: Don't Overcharge Your Batteries!

Once you have sized your battery bank and solar panel array, determining which charge controller to
use is comparatively straight forward. All we have to do is find the current through the controller by
using power = voltage x current. Take the power produced by the solar panels and divide by the voltage
of the batteries.

Example: A solar array is producing 1 kw and charging a battery bank of 24V. The controller size is then
1000/24 = 41.67 amps. Now introduce a safety factor. Multiply the value you have found by 1.25 to
account for variable power outputs: 41.67 x 1.25 = 52.09 amps

In our example we would need at least a 52 amp controller. The Flex Max 60 MPPT Charge
Controller would fit our specifications.

Step 3:

Battery Wiring – Putting it all together

Before buying your batteries you need to figure out how many you need. Wiring is going to play a major
role in determining this number. The goal is to find a configuration that produces target AH and voltage.
There are two methods of wiring components in a circuit: parallel and series. In a series configuration
the battery voltages add up while in parallel, current adds up.
Series and parallel connections can be combined to produce the voltage and AH that you require. Just
remember:

Series → voltage adds, current does not

Parallel → current adds, voltage does not

Previously we claimed that you could find the number of batteries you would need by dividing the AH
capacity of your system by the AH rating of your batteries. This actually depends on how you wire
together your system. Also remember that if a used battery is connected in parallel to a new one, it will
degrade the fresher battery decreasing the lifespan of the whole system. Some people say that ideally
you should just use a long line of batteries connected in series for your battery bank. Unfortunately this
is not always possible due to voltage and AH requirements.

I have a problem with my solar power system, my panel is 100wts mono, battery 100ah 12vdc,
controller charger 20A, inverter is 1500wts DC-AC, total LED BULB load is 50watts, But my system will
light for only 3minutes and it will shut down, my thinking is my inverter which is too big for the
system,maybe? I need advised. Now I am running it DC supply and it works Good. But I need to know if
iwill used the inverter 1500 watts only 3 minutes the duration. The Battery I charge it for 3 days before I
energized my system. Any comment?

Correct Wire Size and Type for 100w Solar Panel

Originally Posted by dom

True re initial startup, but once the controller activates it will have another algorithm requiring panel
voltage to exceed VBatt by 1 or 2 volts. Excessive losses in the cabling can risk the MPPT measuring an
unexpected drop in voltage upon start-up to below its limit thereby triggering a shutdown for a while.
That's why with a single 12V panel I would personally try and minimise voltage drops. At even 6A over
say 6m with a couple of connections one wld be looking at a c.0.75V drop with 2.5mm^2 which one
could halve by going to 4mm. Guess I'm a bit lost as to the preference for smaller size,

As for the bog comment; not sure I get that?

Let's assume you are correct, just for a second. Let's also assume the OP is using a Victron controller
(although he isn't), which requires a 5v differential to start.

Firstly, he'd be foolish to be using such a controller with a single panel. Typical output for that panel
would be circa 18v, very inefficient to use a controller with a 5v startup differential. That 18v doesn't
take shading into account and being coachroof mounted shading is going to have a considerable impact
on panel performance.

But on to you point of a .75 volt drop triggering a shut down. If the controller requires a 5v differential
to start, then how does a .75v drop make the controller shut down when it only needs a 1v differential
to continue charging ? It doesn't.

The question was "Correct Wire Size and Type for 100w Solar Panel" i gave that answer.