Tuesday, May 29, 2018

more panels

Finally prepping to put another 400 watts of solar into service.  I think I bought these panels about 4 years ago and they have just been sitting in their boxes (not very effective) since then.  I was short a combiner cable but finished bolting them down in time to order one from Amazon Prime around noon in order to get it delivered tomorrow.  Not quite sure where or how these will get permanently mounted yet and will decide that after I see how much more I will need to keep up with my AC.  Either it's getting hotter out here or I am getting soft in my old age. Video coming Friday... 102,108,73,0,C
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12 comments:

David Johnson said...

I think it's the hot weather because ac feels great anytime it's hot.

May 29, 2018 at 7:45 PM
John Wells said...

I was able to live with the heat for 6 years. Ever since I broke my leg, I just can't take it anymore.

May 29, 2018 at 7:54 PM
remmij said...

do Ben & Chupa get a hose down when it's 100˚+?

May 29, 2018 at 8:03 PM
WhyR said...

Is 102/108 degrees hotter than usual? Are these temps a transitory thing or something that stays for awhile, given that it's not Summer yet? I wonder what the past temp records of your location say about trends, if any. I suppose I could extract all the temp/rainfall records myself by doing a deep dig into your blog posts, but I'm just too damn lazy to do all that. The increased mentions of outside temperatures/AC issues seem to convey an urgency out of the ordinary. Checking out the extended forecasts:
https://www.weather.gov/phi/longrange
Texas looks to be the center of the current heat wave, which you may know already. I wonder how the animals without A/C are surviving...

May 29, 2018 at 8:23 PM
John Wells said...

WhyR....I would have answered your questions but you lost me at "but I'm just too damn lazy to do all that".

May 29, 2018 at 8:42 PM
WhyR said...

Here's a page that seems to work better:
https://www.weather.gov/phi/ExtendedPHI
Looks like maybe a little relief temp-wise in the 30 day outlook, but it's all a crap shoot.
Didn't anybody warn you about this?

May 29, 2018 at 8:42 PM
WhyR said...

30 day precip outlook seems to hold out some hope for central Texas.

May 29, 2018 at 8:52 PM
Robert said...

As we age our body goes through many changes heat can effect us much more than when we were younger, keep hydrated and stay out of the sun in the middle of the day and wear a big hat . Now the the fun part your building something how many panels are going up and how many watts? You will need to have enough wattage to charge while discharging on the other end,
When I calculated the the system I would need as you are doing it come out to 8 100s panels and the battery bank I think was 8 12v agm 110an set up in 48 volts.
The issue seems be charge rate on the battery bank .Do you have wind turbines? I thought you had a video of those being installed any how I wish you luck on that looks like fun.

May 30, 2018 at 9:23 AM
WhyR said...

I don't know what the current profile coming out of your inverter looks like, but you might want to keep an eye on the voltage being supplied to your refrigeration compressors. I remember the story that a mechanical tech told me of waking up in Florida one winter after a sudden cold snap- everybody in the area used heat pumps, and the compressors were all burned out because the voltage supplied by the grid had dropped to an unusable level overnight as they slept, what with all the compressors coming on.
https://www.quora.com/What-happens-when-you-run-low-voltage-to-a-refrigerator
There might be a cut-out safety device specific to the solar industry to protect compressors when varying voltage is supplied, or perhaps your inverter has such protection for its loads.
Found the manual for your inverter:
https://powertechon.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Power_Tech-on_-_USER_MANUAL_-_print_ready.pdf
It says the inverter will shut off and sound an alarm if it can't power the load, but I'm unclear on how this relates to voltage supplied to the compressor(s).

May 30, 2018 at 10:51 AM
Margery Billd said...

Settling in. They say on t.v. that the heat affects the elderly adversely. Very true. When I was 18 I could iron dampened clothes with the steam hitting my face all day and actively clean house and cook in 107 degree heat in West Texas (no fan either) and not even perspire and feel fine. But today that is a very different story even in 100 degree heat. Take the trash out and get back in the air in house. Ten years ago I mowed in increments in this heat but not now. People who are older in San Antonio and have no air are sometimes found dead in their homes.
A Texan told me that people sat outside facing the South in the shade (was breezy and pleasant early this morning in my yard facing South) and they watered the grass so there would be evaporative cooling. Old adobe homes here with thick walls and no windows are so cool and nice here in the heat. We are under water rationing here with the heat - no watering outside. An excuse for me not to water is to preserve my wildflowers (against the law to cut down) and the higher grass protects my grass so it does not die. If you had more water you might water the sand around your home. Fans do not work with hot air but good if there is air. It costs me $2,000 often to get my air serviced. I keep my dogs for protection and company and 4 cats too. Last 20 years safe here near the border.

May 30, 2018 at 1:05 PM
David Holloway said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
June 1, 2018 at 11:22 PM
David Holloway said...

11:22 PM
Whyr, I'll step up an address your low voltage question.

Better convertors (DC to AC) have a cut out setting so they do not provide low voltage output. Most of the newer convertors have an adjustment to choose the proper cut out. This setting is also important to save the battery string so as not to pull batteries down to low voltage levels causing battery damage

June 1, 2018 at 11:25 PM

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