Unisolar Off grid - Alternative energy store cabin system #3

26 Posts

Feb 18, 2008 01:22 pm

Hello all.
I am kinda new at the store and community and just wanted to share information on the system here. Not sure they will use these panels anymore due to availability but my system is extremely close to a package they put together so here is the review.

The original cabin #3 system used four Unisolar 64watt panels, now im using six.originally it was four.

6)Unisolar 64w panels
1)Prostar PS-30M Controller
1)Square D Homeline outdoor combiner box + breakers
1)Midnite solar 125amp Disconnect assem.
1)Samlex 1500w 3000 surge pure sine wave inverter
6)Trojan T-105 batteries (two more to be picked up soon)
Sunwize battery interconnect cables 2/0 + 10` battery cables 2/0
8` inverter cables ( my mistake only need 3`)will work on that .

I am attached to the grid but dislike the high cost of energy that doubtfully , will ever go down in cost.
So ...Started working on a system before I found the Alternative energy store ,Already had the inverter and controller.
Thanks to Chris Brown, Peter, Eric
Their help and experience helped me install a flawless system. Not one Problem ( Other than making some of my conduit runs to small).The wiring could be cleaned up a shade but I am ok with it(pictures in the gallery)

It is initially, a temporary panel array as I am waiting for my tree surgeon to get here. No cost have been incurred on the mounting yet for this reason.Four panels are stationary and two I use as floaters,moved three times a day
To get optimum sun exposure for more run time. Eventually
they will all be together,when site is prepared.

As said the system for me works flawlessly. We have some power robbing stuff here 225 watt computer(with21")Lcd monitor, 160 watt 36"TV With receiver on.
Fairly efficient large fridge with icemaker/freezer ,runs at about 225 watts except for a short 4oowatt cycle.

The batteries I,never pull down past 12.4 volts and very impressed with how fast they come up on charge. We were running around here the other day looking for stuff to plug in !

The Unisolar panels, all new are all putting out almost 5 amps peak,they make 27amps for almost three hours and it is February. Cannot wait for summer.
The Prostar controller has been bumping 30amps more than a couple times .That last amp due to edge of cloud effect ..pretty sure.

The Alternative energy stores package comes with a BZ Controller i believe,here we already had a prostar.so can only review it.

The prostar controller impressed me with its equalization charge capability for flooded cell batteries and I have seen it in action.They do not make as pretty a wiring hook up like an outback version mounted on top of the Midnite solar DC Disconnect but it does work flawlessly and for the price, more than satisfied.

Midnite solar 125amp disconnect is a nicely made unit ,nice slimline breakers, decent layout,wiring diagram right on its door. Chris talked me into the ground fault breaker that will be new code anyway(thanks mate)

The Samlex inverter is great, no noise .slight buzz with a big load but not noticed hardly unless your right on top of it.Guess its rated at about 85% efficiency.That has been put to the test to and seems to be working great.
The alarms work too (like said,It has all been put to the test LOL :>)...

Cost has been a factor in my system , as in a lot of people
i suppose "however" The system does the job around here quite well and not one complaint can be found .
Everything works as described in the manufacturers description of their product .

Being a plumber and not an electrician I found the installation a very rewarding,educational,pretty easy to do,just follow "instructions" and if you have a question ask the Alt E Guy`s they will not steer you wrong and if they do not know the answer they will find it for you.

Thanks for listening
Rob system installed 02/04/08

P.S. Will come back and disscuss some of the loads on the system what will work and what will not.

EDIT >Meant to add;
The location is Ocala Fl. Tilt on stationary and floater panels about 45degrees and is a bit off the 3 degrees
east of due south, by about 4 degrees to much towards west at this time.
(meaning it should be facing a bit more east for ultimate setup)as said the array is saving me money while i wait for THE mounting location.Think im going ground mount or top of pole when i get a few more funds.

Cheers

« Last Edit: Feb 18, 2008 01:36 pm by Robert Clay »

James Cormican

578 Posts

Feb 18, 2008 02:12 pm

Re: Unisolar Off grid - Alternative energy store cabin system #3

thanks for the kind words. you can post (copy and paste) your comments as a review of the package here.

http://store.altenergystore.com/Kits-and-Package-Deals/Off-Grid-Systems-Cabin-Systems/Off-Grid-Cabin-Special-Pkg-3/p5693/

it no longer contains unisolar modules, but remains mostly the same. the forum post may go away quickly, but the review may be helpful to others considering similar systems.

thanks for participating,

james
Alt-E staff

AltE
"Making Renewable Do-able"
http://www.altEstore.com/

Tel: 877.878.4060 x107 or +1.978.562.5858 x107
Fax: 877.242.6718 or +1.978.562.5854

John D

184 Posts

Feb 19, 2008 09:33 am

Re: Unisolar Off grid - Alternative energy store cabin system #3

Hi Robert,

My system is about the same size as yours, so I was interested in what you wrote. I have 425 watts of PV, and I've seen it produce a little over 30a at times, probably "edge of cloud" events, as you mentioned. I'm still on my "learner" set of batteries, which are about 2 years old now. They are 105ah Marine Deep Cycle, and I have four of them. How do you like your Trojans? My system is not yet automated, so I use it evenings and weekends when I can monitor it closely. I've found that I can get about 1.5kwh on a good, sunny, Saturday or Sunday. When I use the system in the evening, I get about 0.5kwh out of the batteries. These measurements were the result of connecting my Kill-A-Watt meter to the output of the inverter. The load is typically my refrigerator and freezer, or about 250-watts when both compressors are running, and maybe a light bulb or two.

I was wondering how this compares to your system's production. I suppose you do better, because of your batteries. I would like to be able to run the motors on my bio-fueled stove all night, but I'm not quite there yet. That amounts to about 185-watts.

John

Robert C

26 Posts

Feb 19, 2008 11:30 am

Re: Unisolar Off grid - Alternative energy store cabin system #3

Hi John
I'm still a learner too. :>)
The one thing i,have not done yet is monitor total use out of my inverter yet.
All that can be said right now is.Got the batteries from a golf cart store in Ocala,as refurbished from the factory with year 2007 codes,about $60.00 a piece. Really thought that would be a good deal if they were all about the same
in specific gravity and he assured me that they were like new just could not be sold as new.

Less than a month working with them they seem to be fine ,charge quickly and hold their charge..so,yes I do like their cost/performance and no shipping.
Longevity i will have to get back with you.

As you said, with 4 batteries it would be decent with all DC products,but we who use inverters and everything they own is big power pullers ..soon find out that 4 batteries does not give a lot of run time after dark running just on batteries if you are using 200 watt devices so i went to six.
That gives me enough to run the computer,monitor,TV,and receiver 5 hours and they will be knocking on the door of 12.4 volts (after turning equipment off,they come back up to 12.5 on their own )that is about 400 watts during run time.Of course usually i try to run them separately.
Right now its pretty much all tied together as one entertainment unit.
That is not running the fridge at all.

To run the fridge it would take two more batteries to get it through the night ..it is suggested not to go more than 8 batteries. Not sure right now why, perhaps because of parallel wiring (or series parallel not sure
right now.

Usually i try to run the washer ,fridge during peak current times and that way i can get the work done at or before peak hrs,till about 1 pm or 2 depending on sun and the battery bank still has time to charge to about 13.5 or .7 volts before losing charge capability and then that leaves me 5 hrs run time on 36"TV+Audio receiver
or couple hours on computer and maybe 2 hrs on the TV.

Lighting , a Xantrex Power small backup battery system
that i got for camping is used. Just recharge that back up with the bigger system it will run a bunch of led lights
all night if needed and then some if they are led`s and small (only a 63amp hr battery)they could be run on the bigger system too but it needs to stay being used and charged, so thats why it is being used for the lighting here.

It seems like your deep cycle marine batteries have treated you well. are they flooded cell or AGM`s ?

Nice to see we think alike on not wanting to ruin expensive batteries during the learning curve. That was my main reason also. Endless searches on the web seemed to show most R.V.ers using Trojans and many saying they were working for more than four years with proper maintenance perhaps longer.
They also come AGM if you need them inside but the cost is way more.

I appreciate your inquiry and interest John,
You have also reminded me to put the killawatt meter on the inverter and monitor some other readings , Thank you.

As soon as the results are in I will shoot them your way
Should have the results for you by end of tomorrow or Thursday of this week.
Hope i answered your question and did not ramble off too far.

Cheers

Rob

P.S The clothes washer runs at about 420 watts during wash cycle and spin pulls more than 1600 watts to try to spin the extra large capacity drum filled with 30 gallons of water + clothes. The Killawatt meter starts beeping warning`s along with the inverter,so i just plug it in the wall to finish that cycle right now. It is about 50` away and i only have a #12awg cord at the moment so it may be that , possibly the inverter cables losing some voltage due to 8` cables not sure if it is one the other or combination
of both...or if the surge is more than 3000watts with that big of load.cannot tell because the killawatt meter does not go higher than the 1800 rating or it will fry.
at least we know the Killawatt meter will tell you its about to blow.... lol*
take care

Robert C

26 Posts

Feb 20, 2008 07:06 am

Re: Unisolar Off grid - Alternative energy store cabin system #3

John
had a few questions I, forgot to ask you

What kind of fridge/freezer do you use ? 225 watts for both seem good for two compressors.

What kind of inverter do you use?

Where do you live if i may ask?

Was going to report to you this morning on power output from 12:00 yesterday afternoon to this morning on the power used but,been in the habit of turning my inverter off at night after use and...... You know, that erases the Killawatt memory.. (sorry me be dummy)!!
Had notes here somewhere but cannot find them but 1.5 Kw
sounds about right ,might get a little more here but that is on days when home and move my two "moveabout" panels 3 times during the day .

Are you using Led lights on the DC side?

It Would be interesting to see your biofuel stove.

When i said yesterday,that more batteries was my answer to my problem,that is only because, really cannot afford to
buy a nice Staber washer or DC Fridge,DC TV.
That would be a great thing to be able to do and a big help
on the power saving.

Using my camp stove for cooking or grill or both, with a 20lb propane tank.

About to work on the waterheater project next.
around here you could just stick a metal storage tank outside and in the afternoon it would be hot.

All the best to you.

John D

184 Posts

Feb 20, 2008 09:53 am

Re: Unisolar Off grid - Alternative energy store cabin system #3

Hello again Robert, I'll try to answer your questions:

First of all, I don't want to mislead you. I use electricity from the utility company, and natural gas for my furnace, water heater, and clothes dryer. Still, my goal is to minimize, if not eliminate, those. I'm working on that a little at a time. Most of my lights are CFL's, and I replace older appliances with the most energy efficient ones I can find.

I live in Southern Illinois, 13 miles east of St. Louis, MO.

My stove, which serves as a supplement to my natural gas furnace, burns shelled corn. I've cut my heating bill since I started using it, even though the price of corn has doubled in the past two years. I've written about it here: http://solarjohn.blogspot.com/2007/11/i-burn-corn-to-heat-my-home.html

I put up my first PV panel about 2 years ago, and I add to that whenever I can afford to. It has served us well when grid power failed, and I'm now trying to use power from the system on a regular basis in order to reduce my electric bill. I'm about to install a voltage-controlled switch in order to automate the process. Too much energy goes unused while I'm at work during the day. I write about that on my blog as well.

My chest freezer is small, about half the size of a "typical" chest freezer. Instantaneous watts ~ 100.

When I decided to buy a new refrigerator I looked for one with a low energy-star power rating. I didn't want a small one because extra trips to the grocery store use more energy than the extra electricity I'll use with a larger one. I ended up with a 25 cu. ft. Sears Kenmore, with an energy-star rating of 499kwh/yr. In reality, it uses more than that. When the compressor first kicks on, the Kill-A-Watt meter shows about 150 watts. That drops to about 120 after it has been running for a few minutes.

I don't use DC for anything. My inverter is an Exeltech 1100 watt (pure sine wave). I love it. About the only thing it won't run is my washer and dryer. The motor-starting current is just too high I suppose.

I'm interested in knowing how much you can get out of those batteries before you have to shut things down. My next major purchase will be the replacement of my battery bank, and since funds are limited, I want to choose wisely.

John

Robert C

26 Posts

Feb 20, 2008 01:33 pm

Re: Unisolar Off grid - Alternative energy store cabin system #3

Quote from: James Cormican on Feb 18, 2008 02:12 pm

thanks for the kind words.� you can post (copy and paste) your comments as a review of the package here.

http://store.altenergystore.com/Kits-and-Package-Deals/Off-Grid-Systems-Cabin-Systems/Off-Grid-Cabin-Special-Pkg-3/p5693/

it no longer contains unisolar modules, but remains mostly the same.� the forum post may go away quickly, but the review may be helpful to others considering similar systems.

thanks for participating,

james
Alt-E staff

Done James , Thank you

Robert C

26 Posts

Feb 20, 2008 02:46 pm

Re: Unisolar Off grid - Alternative energy store cabin system #3

Good day John
A small world friend. My girlfriend of twenty years was born in Rock island Illinois then when her mom met her man they moved to corn country Iowa, lol .Christine used to live on the Rock River.Thats some cold country guy,mercy.
Thank you for the link to your blog spot, we will be checking that out.

I understand how you feel about not being able to use what power the system can make ,now that we are making it (smile)
No work for me right now so ,thankfully it gives me the opportunity to monitor the system closely and learn a lot fairly quickly,from people such as yourself who have put their knowledge on the web for people to educate themselves about such really great, positive things to help our futures
including our wallet haha.

Here we also have a Kenmore. 22.6 cu ft Refridgerator
it is a side by side. energy guide said it was the lowest of the side by side /icemaker dispenser type but it calls for 686 Kwh. so..your 100 + 120 = 220 which is about the same as my combo Except for the fact that my start cycle is 400 watts for about 5 minutes if it has been unplugged, a couple hours, then it resorts to 220 watts.
That particular load sounds real close !

I learned a couple things today. When the batteries are up at about 13,13.7 volts and you turn on a device like the 160-225 watt computer(usually 160 when idle but jumps around when using some 3-D programs to 225 or so.)
The prostar will let the current push 35amps!!!!
Could not believe it. That was kind of exciting to me
was yelling the numbers as it kept soaring in disbelief.
It has been buried in clouds here today all day, fairly thick, more cloudy than sunny so the power output through the day may be down but that edge of cloud effect is awesome.
2)With the tree down (they finished this morning)it seems there is more light available even when the sun is already on the opposite side of where the tree was.

A lot of places, say that the current will come down with the Unisolar panels to their rated power after 3 to six months (3.88 amps) so I expect that to happen but it sure is cool to see them have the ability to put out 5.816 amps each right now.

On the batteries discharge I will let you know within two days. If after using everything today the charge is up to 12.9 when the charging stops...let you know tomorrow

There is a lunar eclipse tonight John
starting about 8:45 if your interested
Take care and thanks, good talking to you.

oops did not mean to lie to you , controller said 34.9 amps
(same math used however):>)

« Last Edit: Feb 20, 2008 02:50 pm by Robert Clay »

Robert C

26 Posts

Feb 21, 2008 11:57 am

Re: Unisolar Off grid - Alternative energy store cabin system #3

John
Voltage at 12.9, 7:00pm last night. We got 5.5 hrs before going to bed @12:30 am ,then this morning used another 2 hrs
= 1.160 Kwh. Controller meter said 12.2 v but was noticing after shut off in morning after use,as soon as the system was getting 1 amp charge it bumped it to 12.4. so i think it was at the top of 12.2 or about 65% battery capacity left.

According to the charts i have, thats leaving a 60% charge
in the batteries at 12.2. The controller never lit up the, only half full battery led light.Think that happens about 12.1 we do not take it there. Did that once early on to check correct operation though.

Hope that helps you

John D

184 Posts

Feb 21, 2008 01:22 pm

Re: Unisolar Off grid - Alternative energy store cabin system #3

Thanks Robert,

that information is helpful.

John

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