LipschitzWrath
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Re: Parasitic Draw on RV?
Okay guys, back from my first weekend with the solar. It performed every bit as well as I'd hoped. Solar harvest did go up while inhabited, but the solar system certainly seems to be capable of more. Our lifestyle is pretty obviously not heavy on 12V usage, haha. We didn't get the generator out of the compartment at all. That is a first for us. I couldn't be more pleased.682Views0likes0CommentsRe: Solar wasted watts/volts
Harvey51 wrote: Anyone got an explanation for what Ontario Hydro does when it’s heavily subsidized solar panels produce too much power? They give it to their good neighbours in the northern states, and sometimes pay those power companies to take it. I suspect it is due to deals made by politicians that require the utility to buy all the solar power available at prices 5 to 10 times the cost of other power sources. Electricity behaves logically but politics often doesn’t. Pretty darn close for a guess. I forget the name of the act down here in the States but it basically states that anyone who wants to put generation on the grid cannot be denied from doing so. This, coupled with the tax credits/subsidies, winds up placing large surpluses of energy on the grid at times when wind blows and sun shines. Because they are getting a tax credit, if you tell them to shut off their solar/wind, they tell you to stuff it, because they're getting paid $38/MWh for the energy they're producing, even though nobody needs it. So then they sell the energy for near-zero or even negative prices and still make money. This places the burden on other generation facilities (mainly thermal) to "regulate" the grid, which is basically balancing load and supply. In return, they can purchase this surplus energy for a fraction of what it costs them to generate and save their customers money. An added benefit is that they don't have to burn coal/gas to do it which reduces emissions and also reduces chemical costs, etc. We do this in our fleet on a daily basis. It all falls under the umbrella of what is called an "Energy Imbalance Market" or EIM. The more people you have participating, the more money there is to be "made". "Made" is in quotes because for a regulated utility, you don't "make" any money. You are really saving money, and these savings are passed back to the customer in the form of lower net power costs. In a sense, it's win-win, unless you're the American taxpayer that's paying for the subsidies.570Views0likes0CommentsRe: Solar wasted watts/volts
jolooote wrote: Have you ever wondered why, as our electric usage in our homes and businesses gets more efficient using less Watts, our electric bill gets more expensive? The power generator( Power Company) must generate the POWER regardless of whether or not its used. As for u'r local Power Co. they have the same cost of production but less income as less power being not used is also Not paid for. As for we campers, we are the producers and always must pay for it. lol I just gotta dogpile here. I am the Superintendent of Operations at a large power plant in Wyoming. Each of our 4 units has a nameplate rating of 530 megawatts. As I type this, our 4 units are generating: U1 = 394 MW U2 = 400 MW U3 = 419 MW U4 = 221 MW Why aren't they at full load? According to you, they should be, and we should be charging our customers to do it. Ironically, the reason we aren't at full load is because our customers don't need the power. And right in line with this discussion, one of the major reasons we are down on load during the day anymore is from a large increase in solar generation being put on the grid (both large generation facilities and individual rooftop solar installations). As the sun comes up, we come down. With subsidies, solar is cheaper. But you can't make power with solar when the sun doesn't shine. You can, however, burn more coal. Lest you forget, most power companies are regulated utilities. I can assure you 100% that a state's public utilities commission would never allow us to charge customers for energy they don't use or need. Another poster hit the nail on the head, you are charged for the electricity you use, nothing more, nothing less. As for why your power bill goes up over time, well that's a different story. Inflation is one reason. Federal regulations requiring increasingly expensive pollution control equipment to be installed on units is another one. You don't honestly believe the power company just absorbs the cost when a $150 million SCR is mandated to be installed, do you? You, the customer, pay for it.570Views0likes0CommentsRe: Parasitic Draw on RV?
red31 wrote: LipschitzWrath wrote: will it "count" amp-hours harvested even if it can't use them to serve loads or charge the battery? No, absolutely not. During 'regulation' the controller is basically an on/off switch, when it is on it charges but during regulation it maintains batt voltage, during the OFF time no power is generated. As the battery can not accept current (cuz it would exceed set pt voltage) the OFF time is increased, this on.off @ high frequency is how the constant voltage is maintained with increasing off time as the battery gets fuller. then it regulates float voltage the same way. So it's entirely possible that I will get out there tomorrow and it will show little/no increase in harvest compared to at home, assuming the battery is full?684Views0likes0CommentsRe: Parasitic Draw on RV?
Thanks for the information, a lot to digest. When I got home last night, the panel array had harvested more than enough power to run the RV. And that was on the side of my house where the array was partially shaded for several good sun hours due to neighboring houses and trees. We pulled it out to the lake last night and got it set up with the intent to return tomorrow night to camp over the weekend. There are no shade sources anywhere close so I am hoping to see even greater harvest. I know this question is probably highly dependent upon the individual controller I have (Renogy Adventurer 30A), but will it "count" amp-hours harvested even if it can't use them to serve loads or charge the battery? For example, if the load on my unattended camper is only 20Ah per day but the array is capable of harvesting 40Ah, would my controller say that I harvested 20Ah or 40Ah? The controller has a logging feature on the bluetooth enabled app, so when I get there tomorrow night I should be able to see what it harvested today and tomorrow.682Views0likes0CommentsRe: Suspected Converter Problem
Another question. Would it be advisable to go with Type I (cycling) or Type II (modified reset) circuit breakers in this application. My inclination is to say Type II, but I thought I'd ask. Seems like the breaker constantly cycling on and off (Type I) would be a bad idea.677Views0likes0CommentsRe: Suspected Converter Problem
BFL13 wrote: You don't need a fuse on the PV to controller line but it is handy to have some sort of switch for disconnecting that line before you disconnect the controller-battery line for any reason. Some guys use a fuse there so they can just pull it as their on/off switch. Excellent point. I "know a guy" that had energized panels connected to the controller when there was no battery connection. This caused a malfunction within his controller whereby it would show 100W+ output in pitch black. There's a thread on that somewhere. :)678Views0likes0CommentsRe: Suspected Converter Problem
pianotuna wrote: There likely is an automatic circuit breaker in the positive feed near the battery bank. Solar controllers are often wired directly to the battery bank, hence the need for a fuse near the battery bank. I tend to class these as catastrophic failure devices, so a fuse is "faster" protection than a breaker. There is a breaker that the battery is connected to on one post, and the DC panel is connected to on the other post. This would provide protection when running off battery power. The {old} converter outlet wire quickly disappeard behind a wall. I'm presuming that this wire also runs to the DC panel. There is no visible circuit protection on this wire. I don't see anything at the DC panel either. This leads me to believe this wire is not protected at all (factory setup). Thus, when you are powering your DC off the converter, the feed to the DC panel has no overcurrent protection. When running off the battery, you do. Here's is the electrical path when running off converter: Converter output --> DC Panel --> Circuit Breaker --> Battery bank When running off battery: Battery bank --> circuit breaker --> DC panel (conv output wire would also be energized, but irrelevant here) The cabling upgrades I made did not modify this. BFL is spot on - before AND after my wiring upgrades, there is no circuit protection to the DC panel when running off the converter. I intend to fix this. This all assumes there is no hidden breaker or fuse stashed somewhere on the converter output that I have yet to find.677Views0likes0CommentsRe: Suspected Converter Problem
BFL13 wrote: I found this a great help wrt fusing. See the diagrams for how each wire gets its own size fuse etc when using buss bars. http://www.bcae1.com/fuses.htm You can think of your "junction" collection points as being buss bars for this purpose. Also note the idea of the single fat wire out one side carries the total amps of the branch wires. That also applies to the neg wires. The shunt will need that--collection of thin wires at one end, and a fat wire (two in your case) out the other end to the battery. The solar controller's pos wire to battery should have a fuse on it already being a kit? Anyway, same thing-- fuse for its own ampacity as a "branch". Your idea to make a drawing of your set- up's wiring is a good one. You can then see better what is going on for "branches" and all that Good link. Truth be told, I guess I already knew that from my residential wiring experience with the NEC, but I guess I wasn't making the connection that it should also apply to low-voltage DC wiring. Said another way, it may be a code requirement when you're wiring a house, but it's just good practice on any wiring project. That link still seems to support that I could do it either way. Running two #8's off the same breaker would be acceptable, so long as the breaker is sized for a single #8. This would be analagous to wire segments B & C in his example. If either wire shorted, the breaker would open the circuit before becoming overloaded. As for the solar system, the kit I bought was a Renogy 200W kit. It did not come with any sort of circuit protection for either the battery cables or the cables from PV to controller. Odd, I know. What makes it even more odd is that there is a clear reference in the owner's manual (that I skipped over) to install circuit protection on both of those cable runs. Their recommendation is the full capability for the controller on the battery cables - 30A in my case. For PV-controller, the example they use is for a 200W array, and they suggest an 18A fuse/breaker. I'm calling it 20.678Views0likes0Comments
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