Battery Bank Knowledge PDF
Battery Bank Knowledge PDF
Battery Bank Knowledge PDF
1. Components.
The Solar Panel.
Charge Controller.
Inverter.
Batteries.
2. Batteries.
Gel, Flooded or AGM.
3. Wiring Info.
4. Wiring of Batteries.
Parallel.
Series.
Series and Parallel.
5. Charge Controller.
6. Terms and Definitions.
7. Inverters.
8. Nice but not essential.
9. 12, 24, 48 Volt Battery Banks.
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1. Components.
The first component needed is one or more Solar Panels. They supply the
electricity and charge the batteries.
The 3 Basic types of Solar Panels.
1. Monocrystalline solar panels : The most efficient and expensive solar panels are made
with Monocrystalline cells. These solar cells use very pure silicon and involve a complicated
crystal growth process. Long silicon rods are produced which are cut into slices of .2 to .4
mm thick discs or wafers which are then processed into individual cells that are wired
together in the solar panel.
2. Polycrystalline solar panels: Often called Multi-crystalline, solar panels made with
Polycrystalline cells are a little less expensive & slightly less efficient than Monocrystalline
cells because the cells are not grown in single crystals but in a large block of many crystals.
This is what gives them that striking shattered glass appearance. Like Monocrystalline cells,
they are also then sliced into wafers to produce the individual cells that make up the solar
panel.
3. Amorphous solar panels: These are not really crystals, but a thin layer of silicon
deposited on a base material such as metal or glass to create the solar panel. These
Amorphous solar panels are much cheaper, but their energy efficiency is also much less so
more square footage is required to produce the same amount of power as the
Monocrystalline or Polycrystalline type of solar panel. Amorphous solar panels can even be
made into long sheets of roofing material to cover large areas of a south facing roof surface.
Charge Controller.
Inverters.
The Power Inverter is the heart of the system. It makes 220
volts AC from the 12 volts DC stored in the batteries. It can
also charge the batteries if connected to a generator or the AC
line.
For 12v applications an inverter is not required.
An inverter should only be required when it is necessary to
convert the 12v input to power a 220v standard application.
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Batteries.
Last are the storage Batteries. They store the
electrical power in the form of a chemical reaction.
Without storage you would only have power when
the sun is shining or the generator is running.
To summarize, there are four basic components: the Solar Panels, a Charge Controller, a
Power Inverter, and the Storage Batteries. You will of course need the proper wires &
cables to connect everything and a meter to keep an eye on things would be nice.
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2. Batteries info:
Storage Batteries : the fuel tank of your solar power system
Without batteries to store energy you would only have power when the sun was
shining or the generator was running. This tutorial describes the 4 basic types of
batteries & provides some good tips on the care & feeding of your batteries to
maximize their performance and life.
RV or Marine type deep cycle batteries are basically for boats & campers and
are suitable for only very small systems. They can be used but do not really
have the capacity for continuous service with many charge/discharge cycles for
many years. Regular or Car type batteries should not be used at all because
they cannot be discharged very much without internal damage. A very popular
battery for small systems is the Golf Cart battery. They are somewhat more
expensive than deep cycle recreational batteries but are probably the least
expensive choice for a small system on a budget.
Industrial strength : Flooded, Gel, and AGM sealed batteries
The next 3 types are the heavier industrial type batteries. They are all also
considered Deep Cycle and are usually Lead Acid types with much thicker
internal plates that can withstand many deep discharge cycles. These next 3 are
all designed for alternative energy systems.
2) These are Lead acid batteries that have caps to add water. Many
manufacturers make these types for Solar Energy use. Trojan, Surrette, and
Deka are probably the most well known. They are reasonably priced and work
well for many years. All flooded batteries release gas when charged and should
not be used indoors. If installed in an enclosure, a venting system should be
used to vent out the gases which can be explosive.
3) Not to be confused with maintenance free batteries, sealed gel batteries have
no vents and will not release gas during the charging process like flooded
batteries do. Venting is therefore not required and they can be used indoors.
This is a big advantage because it allows the batteries to maintain a more
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3. Wiring Info.
Correct wire sizes are essential
To connect the components of a Solar Energy System, you will need to use
correct wire sizes to ensure low loss of energy and to prevent overheating and
possible damage or even fire. Below is a chart showing the required wire size for
wire lengths to connect the solar panels to the Charge Controller. Use these
numbers for a 12 volt system to achieve a 3% or less voltage drop.
The top row represents the Wire gauge size, the left column
the number of amps the solar panels are rated at, and the
grid cells show the distances in feet between the Solar Panels
and the Charge Controller.
For example: If you have 3 solar panels rated at 6 amps each, mounted 30 feet
from the Charge Controller, then you would move down the chart to 18 amps (3
panels * 6 amps), and across to 32.5 (closest to 30), and then up the chart to
#4. You would need at least #4 gauge wire (awg) to move 18 amps 30 feet with
a minimum voltage drop of 3% or less, an acceptable loss. If you can't find the
exact numbers, choose either a larger gauge wire (smaller number) or select a
distance longer than your actual distance.
Wire chart for connecting 12 Volt solar panels to the Charge Controller
This chart shows wire distances for a 3% voltage drop or less. These distances
are calculated for a 12 volt system. Multiply distances by 2 for a 24 volt system.
Multiply distances by 4 for a 48 volt system.
Total Amps = Down Column
Wire Gauge = Top Column across.
Distances in table in feet.
#12
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#10
#8
#6
#4
#3
#2
#1 #1/0 #2/0
146
184
232
292
369
465
122
155
195
246
310
116
146
184
233
10
117
148
186
12
123
155
14
105
133
16
5.7
92.0
116
18
5.1
81.9
103
20
4.6
73.8
93.1
25
3.6
5.8
59.1
74.5
30
3.1
4.8
49.2
62.1
35
2.6
4.2
42.2
53.2
40
2.3
3.6
5.8
36.9
46.5
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Then just repeat this until you get the power you want and put
all those now 24 or 48 volt groups in parallel. Batteries for solar
power systems are available in 2, 4, 6, and 12 volts, so any
combination of voltage and power is possible.
5. Charge Controller.
Why a Charge Controller is necessary
Since the brighter the sunlight, the more voltage the
solar cells produce, the excessive voltage could
damage the batteries. A charge controller is used to
maintain the proper charging voltage on the
batteries. As the input voltage from the solar array
rises, the charge controller regulates the charge to
the batteries preventing any over charging.
Modern multi-stage charge controllers
Most quality charge controller units have what is known as a 3 stage
charge cycle that goes like this :
1) During the Bulk phase of the charge cycle, the voltage
gradually rises to the Bulk level (usually 14.4 to 14.6
volts) while the batteries draw maximum current. When
Bulk level voltage is reached the absorption stage
begins.
2) During this phase the voltage is maintained at Bulk voltage
level for a specified time (usually an hour) while the current
gradually tapers off as the batteries charge up.
3) After the absorption time passes the voltage is lowered to
float level (usually 13.4 to 13.7 volts) and the batteries draw a
small maintenance current until the next cycle.
The relationship between the current and the voltage during the 3
phases of the charge cycle can be shown visually by the graph below.
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I=E/R
R=E/I
Also, the power can be expressed as P=E*I and with a little algebra we can
combined these expressions and derive P=E / R
So what does all this mean? Well, for one thing it becomes clear that an
appliance (load) that draws 1 amp (ampere) of current at 120 volts will
draw 10 times as much current at 12 volts (1/10 the voltage) or 10 amps.
Since P=E*I then 120 volts times 1 amp = 120 watts. Also, 12 volts times
10 amps = 120 watts. So you can see that the power remains the same. As
the Voltage goes down, the Amperage increases to maintain the power
which will be determined by the 3rd factor, resistance.
Ok, now let's say you have a nice 1200 watt hairdryer. Well, that would
work out to 10 amps at 120 volts. But, when your power inverter uses the
12 volts supplied from your batteries, the amperage goes up to 100 amps to
produce the same 1200 watts! (P=E*I). This means that even the very large
cables connecting your batteries to the inverter will get warm. This is why it
becomes impractical or impossible to run say, a 4000 watt electric clothes
dryer. Even if you had large enough wires to handle the required 333 or so
amps, your batteries would not last long.
It is true that the cables will not get as warm if the current can be reduced
by increasing the voltage by using a 24 volt battery system or even a 48
volt battery system. This still will not change the amount of power that your
batteries must supply.
The 12 basic formulas for Ohm's Law can be expressed as follows :
1. Voltage = the Square Root of
Power * Resistance
2. Voltage = Power / Current
3. Voltage = Current *
Resistance
4. Resistance = Voltage /
Current
5. Resistance = Power / Current
squared
6. Resistance = Voltage squared
/ Power
7. Current = Voltage /
Resistance
8. Current = the Square Root of
Power / Resistance
9. Current = Power / Voltage
10. Power = Voltage * Current
11. Power = the Current squared
* Resistance
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7. Inverters.
The Power Inverter
Unless you plan on using battery
power for everything, you will
need a Power Inverter. Since the
majority of modern conveniences
all run on 120 volts AC, the Power
Inverter will be the heart of your
Solar Energy System. It not only
converts the low voltage DC to the
120 volts AC that runs most
appliances, but also can charge
the batteries if connected to the
utility grid or a AC Generator as in
the case of a totally independent
stand-alone solar power system.
Square Wave power inverters :
This is the least expensive and least desirable type. The square
wave it produces is inefficient and is hard on many types of
equipment. These inverters are usually fairly inexpensive, 500
watts or less, and use an automotive cigarette lighter plug-in.
Don't even consider one of these types of power inverters for a
home system.
Modified Sine Wave power inverters :
This is probably the most popular and economical type of power
inverter. It produces an AC waveform somewhere between a
square wave and a pure sine wave. Modified Sine Wave
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Check out the Watts & Power tutorial for more details on
voltage, current, and power.
How do I interpret all these voltage readings?
So, you can measure your battery Voltage to determine how
charged they are. And you can measure the Current the see the
rate of charge or discharge (how fast the batteries are gaining
or losing power). Use the chart below to interpret your battery
voltage readings.
This chart will allow you to get a pretty good idea of how
charged the batteries are. They must not be charging or
discharging for these voltages to be correct. Also, it should be
at least 1 or 2 hours since they were. A good time to check is
early in the morning before charging starts or any appliances
are turned on. This will tell you the SOC (state of charge) or
simply put, how full they are.
Battery Voltage Chart
% of Full Charge
Voltage
100 % charged
12.7 volts
90 % charged
12.6 volts
80 % charged
12.5 volts
70 % charged
12.3 volts
60 % charged
12.2 volts
50 % charged
12.1 volts
40 % charged
12.0 volts
30 % charged
11.9 volts
20 % charged
11.8 volts
10 % charged
11.7 volts
completely
discharged
11.6 volts or
less
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