just getting started..

[waterhog]

hey all, solar newbie here
i have a small cabin on a lake island in maine
looking to get some solar power just to run a few small 12v dc camper lights and an outlet for recharging phones and perhaps a radio.
i have a renology 2 panel 200w 12v starter kit with a renology wanderer 30 charge controller. first of all will this supply me enough power to do what i want? also what would you recommend i get for an inverter and battery or batteries?.
one other issue i have been told is the pole mount im going to install may need to be 50-60 feet away from the cabin to get it facing south. do you see this as a problem?.. any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated!

[organic farmer]

Welcome

I am also in Maine.

LED lighting and a am/fm radio sound pretty simple.

You have 400w of panels, that should be plenty.

You will also want a small generator.

Pole mounts are good, hang the panels nearly vertical so the snow does not stick to them. and you should ideally have the bottom edge of the panels at least 5 foot up from the ground so they do not get buried in snow.

My last set of batteries recently died. So I am shopping for new batteries.
The 'proper' battery is a Trojan or Exide L-16. They typically have a lifespan of 10 years. and they cost $400
A cheapo Marine-grade deep-cycle battery will typically last 5 years and they cost $100.

I want to upgrade to the L-16s but my wife is insisting that even by replacing them every 5 years the cheapo batteries are a better buy. $100 every 5 years, or $400 every 10 years.

The only other thing to keep in mind is that you need to figure out a method to keep your batteries from freezing. My batteries are in the house with me, so they do not freeze. I have friends who use solar power at their summer camps, they bring batteries with them as they travel back and forth.

[bcroe]

Getting it facing exactly S is not the most important thing. I would first consider
where it would be unshaded for the most hours a day, and hopefully that time is
somewhat aligned with the time mists and clouds are less common. Bruce Roe

[MichaelK!]

I really can't recommend Renogy anymore. I bought their large cabin kit years ago. Paid top dollar for panels I found to be less efficient than used panels I got off of Craigslist. For a cabin, I'd recommend skipping 12V completely, and ratchet up to a 24V system. Knowing what I know now, I can put together a 24V system with 1000W of panels and a 5kWh battery bank for about 1500$ total.

No problem with positioning a ground mount some distance away from your system. I typically wire four grid-tie panels in series for 120VDC, and send that power about 135 feet to my system. Once you forget 12V components, and get a quality MPPT controller, you can wire panels in series for high voltage DC transmission, and let the MPPPT transform the raw solar down to the battery voltage. The 50A version of this controller would work well for you. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Epever-MPPT...sAAOSwuWJbuH2K

Here are two different sine-wave inverters you might want to look at. Here is an economical model, though it's output is not that high. https://ressupply.com/inverters/saml...-wave-inverter
Here is a higher capacity inverter with more features. It has split-phase 120/240VAC, and a build in generator charging circuit.

You're thinking there's no way you need that much power. Don't worry, you'll figure out ways to use it.

[waterhog]

thanks for the replies! as for now i would just like to stick with the very simple couple of lights for reading at night and a charging station for electronics.. that is what we like about being on the island! if i hook up the system the way it is recommended will that work? need just a simple inverter im guessing? and just one or two batteries? it is only 200w total.

[chrisski]

I use these for my 12 volt USB charger. I think I used 12 gauge wire:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PN5YZX3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That above will also quick charge, but only if you have a 24 volt system. I’ve found my phone and iPad don’t take much to charge, but my sons laptop is at 125 watts.

I am thinking of getting something like these lights for a storage compartment:

https://www.amazon.com/Kohree-Ceiling-Interior-Lighting-4000-4500K/dp/B06XCDZWGB/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=12+volt+LED+light&qid=1617334660&sr=8-6

For reading, I’d install RV 12 volt Puck lights. Those are activated by touch and some are bright enough to read off.

Only way to be sure if you will have enough batteries and panels is to do some math. An example is the USB charger. That should pull 10 watts when charging at 12 volts, so if you have 2 phones, that’s 20 watt hours a day. Look at the lights you plan to get. The lights I listed pull 6 watts, and if I run those for 6 hours a day, that is 36 watt hours. You keep doing that for each device.

Maine is also not nearly as good for solar as where I’m at in sunny AZ, so you can go to PV watts to find production rates.

Solar is just so expensive, there’s no true one stop fits all like buying a generator and just adding gas when it runs low.

Here’s a good sticky to get started:

https://www.solarpaneltalk.com/forum/off-grid-solar/off-grid-solar-panel-systems/5140-solar-off-grid-battery-design

If not planned right, a lot of money can be wasted on the first system to get it right the next time around.

[SunEagle]

I use these for my 12 volt USB charger. I think I used 12 gauge wire:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PN5YZX3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That above will also quick charge, but only if you have a 24 volt system. I’ve found my phone and iPad don’t take much to charge, but my sons laptop is at 125 watts.

I am thinking of getting something like these lights for a storage compartment:

https://www.amazon.com/Kohree-Ceiling-Interior-Lighting-4000-4500K/dp/B06XCDZWGB/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=12+volt+LED+light&qid=1617334660&sr=8-6

For reading, I’d install RV 12 volt Puck lights. Those are activated by touch and some are bright enough to read off.

Only way to be sure if you will have enough batteries and panels is to do some math. An example is the USB charger. That should pull 10 watts when charging at 12 volts, so if you have 2 phones, that’s 20 watt hours a day. Look at the lights you plan to get. The lights I listed pull 6 watts, and if I run those for 6 hours a day, that is 36 watt hours. You keep doing that for each device.

Maine is also not nearly as good for solar as where I’m at in sunny AZ, so you can go to PV watts to find production rates.

Solar is just so expensive, there’s no true one stop fits all like buying a generator and just adding gas when it runs low.

Here’s a good sticky to get started:

https://www.solarpaneltalk.com/forum/off-grid-solar/off-grid-solar-panel-systems/5140-solar-off-grid-battery-design

If not planned right, a lot of money can be wasted on the first system to get it right the next time around.

I installed one of those LED lights in my RV and it is very bright. Great replacement for what was already in there. They should work great for a storage compartment.

[chrisski]

I installed one of those LED lights in my RV and it is very bright. Great replacement for what was already in there. They should work great for a storage compartment.

Thanks. I was wondering about 640 lumens, Don’t have much to compare it to except some 130 lumen LEDs I bought earlier which would not have been bright enough.

I also left this off the original post for a fuse box:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001P6FTHC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Although I have the battery fused at 200 amps, I want to fuse this box at 50 amps. I have three legs my system powers: two DC legs, and the inverter. If the OP only has one leg, then battery fusing should be fine. I used an ANL rated primary battery fuse and fuse holder, but class T may work also.