scaleable to 10kw, boat solar system using bifacial panels, what controller?

[noah]

Hello ... I'm new to both the forum and to solar deployments.

So I've made the plunge and decided to make a solar boat. The idea for me is to have a vessel that I can use as an office. I live in Naples, Florida where we have sun most of the year and lots of calm water to float around on.

To keep the upfront costs low and flush out the scope, I've decided to start by powering my existing small office with panels, then migrate it all to the boat.

I decided to use the Sunpreme bificial panels for 3 reasons: 1) aesthetics on the boat - it's going to be the roof and should look gorgeous 2) I can fasten some reflective shades underneath to maximize the efficiency at times when I don't want sun, also can make the deck white to reflect when the shades are not drawn 3) I can see through to the sky

I'm tempted to get a entry level controller for learning / testing purposes, but also thinking to make the plunge and get a high end controller out of the gate.

The 360W Sunpreme panels are 42.2V (52.2 VOC) @ 9.2 A. I think 25 panels is the end goal, which should get me close to 10KW at peak.

The battery solution will be a custom one that I'm building out of LiPo cells.

There's a sea of controllers out there... Can anyone give some guidance on a quality controller for the deployment?

Thanks -

Noah

[lkruper]

Hello ... I'm new to both the forum and to solar deployments.

So I've made the plunge and decided to make a solar boat. The idea for me is to have a vessel that I can use as an office. I live in Naples, Florida where we have sun most of the year and lots of calm water to float around on.

To keep the upfront costs low and flush out the scope, I've decided to start by powering my existing small office with panels, then migrate it all to the boat.

I decided to use the Sunpreme bificial panels for 3 reasons: 1) aesthetics on the boat - it's going to be the roof and should look gorgeous 2) I can fasten some reflective shades underneath to maximize the efficiency at times when I don't want sun, also can make the deck white to reflect when the shades are not drawn 3) I can see through to the sky

I'm tempted to get a entry level controller for learning / testing purposes, but also thinking to make the plunge and get a high end controller out of the gate.

The 360W Sunpreme panels are 42.2V (52.2 VOC) @ 9.2 A. I think 25 panels is the end goal, which should get me close to 10KW at peak.

The battery solution will be a custom one that I'm building out of LiPo cells.

There's a sea of controllers out there... Can anyone give some guidance on a quality controller for the deployment?

Thanks -

Noah

If I interpret the tense form of the verb in the sentence above correctly, that is, present continuous, you have already started the LiPo cells and have made some (building) progress, but are not yet completed. Could you go into more detail about what you have done and what you will have once you have completed?

[noah]

If I interpret the tense form of the verb in the sentence above correctly, that is, present continuous, you have already started the LiPo cells and have made some (building) progress, but are not yet completed. Could you go into more detail about what you have done and what you will have once you have completed?

My progress so far is that I have built a custom battery enclosure using individually fused 18650 cells. Each enclosure is 64 x 18650s, configured to 16V @ ~40Ah when fully charged and (4 in series, 16 in parallel) can be scaled in series or parallel. My goal is to have 100 kWh on-board and have the majority of electronics DC.

More than likely the bulk of the electronics will run off of a 48V system, which is where I am focused now. The batteries will be set up to easily configure to whatever voltage required.

That said, I may end up with an AC electric motors, which will likely have it's own bank of batteries and dedicated converter. I'm toying with the idea of a 700V motor YASA-750, but more likely a 144V Curtis, and worst case scenario a 345V Torqeedo. A future / separate controller for that bank is most likely in order. This will mostly be based on available budget.

[lkruper]

My progress so far is that I have built a custom battery enclosure using individually fused 18650 cells. Each enclosure is 64 x 18650s, configured to 16V @ ~40Ah when fully charged and (4 in series, 16 in parallel) can be scaled in series or parallel. My goal is to have 100 kWh on-board and have the majority of electronics DC.

More than likely the bulk of the electronics will run off of a 48V system, which is where I am focused now. The batteries will be set up to easily configure to whatever voltage required.

That said, I may end up with an AC electric motors, which will likely have it's own bank of batteries and dedicated converter. I'm toying with the idea of a 700V motor YASA-750, but more likely a 144V Curtis, and worst case scenario a 345V Torqeedo. A future / separate controller for that bank is most likely in order. This will mostly be based on available budget.

Are you going to use BMS?

[noah]

Are you going to use BMS?

Yes please.

[lkruper]

Yes please.

Can you share a picture of what you have done so far?

[noah]

Can you share a picture of what you have done so far?

Ok, you busted me. The battery enclosure is not quite complete. It's based roughly on this:

http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums/showthread.php/modular-18650-prismatic-batteries-162210.html

[emartin00]

how much is 100kWh worth of batteries going to weigh? And cost?!
This must be a big boat you're talking about.

[lkruper]

Ok, you busted me. The battery enclosure is not quite complete. It's based roughly on this:

http://www.diyelectriccar.com/forums...es-162210.html

That's ok, what does it look like so far?

[noah]

That's ok, what does it look like so far?

Some 2D slides:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/11OygXIDDG8dIdX4C--5wL2atxwieUPANBArI-_tosQo/edit?usp=sharing

Take the casing out and looking at each cell, they weigh roughly 1.57 oz. My numbers below are based on 2.5 Ah cells.

Wh = mAh X V / 1000

2500 x 3.7 / 1000 = 9.25 Wh each cell or 10,810 cells @ 1.57 oz ea = 16,972 oz / 16 oz per lb = 1,060 lbs. A decent cell in mass quantity is $3 or so.

$30k to $40k in batteries, round up to 1,500 lbs with casing and wiring. 25 panels are 60 lbs each, another 1,500 lbs. The rest is carbon fiber, so pretty lightweight. But I have not sorted out the BMS or controllers, so that could raise the price substantially.

It's an electric power cat that will have 30' ish hulls that will support upwards 5 tons of weight.

[lkruper]

Some 2D slides:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/11OygXIDDG8dIdX4C--5wL2atxwieUPANBArI-_tosQo/edit?usp=sharing

Take the casing out and looking at each cell, they weigh roughly 1.57 oz. My numbers below are based on 2.5 Ah cells.

Wh = mAh X V / 1000

2500 x 3.7 / 1000 = 9.25 Wh each cell or 10,810 cells @ 1.57 oz ea = 16,972 oz / 16 oz per lb = 1,060 lbs. A decent cell in mass quantity is $3 or so.

$30k to $40k in batteries, round up to 1,500 lbs with casing and wiring. 25 panels are 60 lbs each, another 1,500 lbs. The rest is carbon fiber, so pretty lightweight. But I have not sorted out the BMS or controllers, so that could raise the price substantially.

It's an electric power cat that will have 30' ish hulls that will support upwards 5 tons of weight.

That's a lot of money for a starter system. There is a Li battery section here, I would put your details there.