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Showing results for tags 'solar pv'.
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Anyone with experience of building a new, accessible and all electric narrowboat? Just starting feasibility and information gratefully received.
- 392 replies
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- electric
- insulation
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Is there a standard or convention regarding the fitting of MC4 connectors? Do you use the male plug part on the positive panel lead or the negative? The reason I ask is that I have seen either way connected on professionally installed panels. My own opinion is that the plug part should be on the panel positive lead so that the positive lead from the controller/battery is in the shielded socket part and will not short to the roof when disconnected. Agree or disagree?
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Hi All, I added around 500w of solar to the roof at the beginning of the year, and though it seems to be working just fine I have a couple of ideas that may improve things. Firstly is the connection of the MPPT into the batteries. i have a fairly cheap 40a mppt, standard amazon chinese job, it seems to work well in isolation, however when i start the generator (no shore power) to charge via my 1500w Invertek inverter/charger (stirling rebranded) the mppt display shows a huge reduction in charge current, I'm guessing because the control circuits in the mppt see the terminal voltage as quite high as it is being artificially boosted by the charge voltage from the inverter and believe the batteries to be "full" and thus reduce the solar current? I'm looking at reconfiguring the system to take the most advanting of the solar and have a couple of direct questions!! Firstly, My Invertek inverter does have provision for solar input, it lists several compatible MPPT's which unsurprisingly are all Invertek branded and stupidly expensive. Is it necessary to specifically use an invertek mppt, is there any data communication between the inverter and the mppt which would make it brand unique? If it is compatible, would it be a better place to connect it than directly to the battery terminals in parallel to the inverters connection. Secondly, there are three pairs of terminals on the MPPT, obviously panel input and battery output, the other pair are marked "load" I have left this disconnected as most of my pre-distribution cable is 95mm2 and the terminal struggles with 6mm2 Do I need to find a "dummy load" or something to connect to this? Thirdly, can the assembled think of a better way of doing all of it??? Thanks in advance, Bex
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Hi all, Way back last October we had Milady surveyed and bought her from Whilton Marina... 1. The survey recommended that the wiring, while OK for the BSS, would benefit from being, "simplified and tidied." 2. The 12V Lec fridge was noted in the survey report as "not working" but when we switched it on at the fridge AND the main distribution panel, it worked, but blew a 35A fuse after about a day and a half. (During the Winter, we left it off, but come spring we wanted it in operation.) 3. Matty40S installed 330W of solar panels, with a Tracer MPPT controller. Electrically, this seemed to work fine, and we could keep the fridge running - seemingly, the blown fuse was just down to a TED (Temporary Electrical Defect). 4. One day, shortly afterwards, we set off with the sun shining, and the controller voltmeter read over 13V, but after 6 hours cruising the voltage was shown as only 12.5V (see http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=67490&hl= for more details. Thanks, nicknorman, Richard10002 and Paul C for help) It seemed that the alternator was regulated to too low a voltage to do much good AND there was too much voltage drop in the charging connection. 5. Rodley Boat Centre was doing some work for us (making the weed hatch accessible) so we asked them to rectify the issue (replacing the 65A alternator with a 110A version, with higher voltage regulation, as well as more amps - so we could manage on a couple of hours cruising, and even take a day or two off, either to avoid the rain, or to laze in the sun). After describing the problem, they, like Matt before, said that the batteries were likely to be duff. "OK," we said, "can you give us a detailed diagnosis and fix the problems?" The response was to say they didn't have a load-tester and they were very busy, so couldn't give us a date to do the job. I interpreted that to mean they didn't really want the job. 6. I've found Lancashire Marine Electrical Services on the web, who apparently specialise in this kind of work and are near the Leeds Liverpool... Now cash isn't a problem, but sorting this out myself is (polymyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome, DVTs and more - let's just say, "too old") so what I'm asking for is a recommendation for a contractor who I can trust to do a good job, on a reasonably predictable schedule, so we can go cruising for the Summer, knowing when to turn up for the work to be done, without getting ripped off. So: i) does anyone know if Lancashire Marine fits this description, or ii) has anyone any recommendation for any other firm within reach, or iii) anything else to contribute? Right now we don't have big problems, but we're past midsummer's eve, so the nights are drawing in and we want to face next Winter with confidence. Thanks in advance, Roger PS I think that a larger alternator and a zero-volt charge splitter, plus solar PV will give us security of electricity supply throughout the year, leaving us free to enjoy our cruising. Our electricity usage isn't high - LED lighting, water pumps and phone/laptop charging, no TV or other 230V gear - but with my eyes, I do want lots of light to read my books, without worrying about flattening the battery bank, ditto using the laptop (charger draws 10A) and fridge (2-3A average, I believe). Other relevant facts: The domestic bank is 4x110Ah and I want them to last a long time, possibly after replacement. We are CCers, but not live-aboards - so far we spend 1/3 to 1/2 the time, 'at home' in bricks-and-mortar (actually a stone built, victorian terrace house), with periods up to a month aboard and up to a fortnight (14 day mooring limit) at home. R Edited to add: We went back to the boat today to reconnect the solar panels, talk to RBC, etc. We found the battery bank voltage at 12.7 - after 2 weeks with no draw or input. This suggests to me that the batteries are, at least, adequate: they seem to hold their charge OK. After connecting the solar, the controller was giving only 0.5A charge (granted under clouds) which supports my opinion that the batteries are good and close to fully charged - am I wrong to deduce this? If I'm right, the issue (for short days in Winter) is the alternator - regulated voltage plus voltage drop in the wiring - it ought to provide enough charging voltage (and current) to do more for the battery SOC than it is doing. THAT's the problem that I think needs tackling. We cruised up from Whilton in a few months, taking time off for Christmas and stoppages, so I'll widen my query to ask for any recommendations for electrical experts almost anywhere on the system to tackle our rewiring (splitter plus other wiring problems) and alternator issues. Can anyone help with advice about a yard or handyman who'll do a good job and solve our problems? We aren't afraid of paying for good work. Roger
- 10 replies
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- alternator split-charge
- wiring
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