Solar Power Battery Bank – Have you considered everything?

Before you go ahead and purchase a solar panel system to power your home or business, have you really checked everything necessary to ensure you’re getting the right system for you?

You’ve probably checked that there is enough space on the roof or wall to mount the solar panels, and you’ve certainly checked to see how much this will all cost you. But have you double-checked that the battery bank is big enough for your needs?

Solar power battery banks are essential if you want an energy system that works efficiently and cost effectively. The battery bank is a group of batteries that are wired together within a solar panel system, designed to store the electrical power produced from the sun when there is no sun – for example at night time. The stored power therefore ensures that your air conditioner, ventilation system and lights keep going all night long.

So, the first question is how much power you need every day. Look at your appliances and in-house systems and calculate how much time is spent using them; you can this by jotting down details each day over the course of a couple of weeks. With this you’ll know the kilowatt hours, and then you can calculate the size of your battery bank.

The deep cycle batteries that are used in solar power systems offer different amp hours, and there is a very important relationship between amps, the amp-hour requirements of your utilities and the AC or DC voltage output via the inverter. For example, if you have a 24V system working for 6 hours per day with an inverter of 3 amps, then the total hour output should be 18 (3amps x 6 hours).

But this is not an accurate calculation of the drain on the battery power. To get this, you must divide your nominal power (24V) into the total load, for example 120VAC. This equals 5, so you multiply your amp hours by this (5 x 18Ah), which means a true 90 amp hours on the battery.

The nominal output of all lead-acid batteries is 2 volts per cell, but the real voltage tends to be below this estimate, so a discharge of 1.7 volts is more accurate. The battery cells are connected in two ways: series connections, where the positive terminal of one is connected to the negative terminal of another; and parallel, where positive is connected to positive.

Connecting the batteries in series results in a higher voltage, while connecting them in parallel results in a higher amp-hour capacity. It is the amp-hour capacity that is so important since it is this that determines how long a battery can continue to power its loads. It is equally important to note that lead-acid batteries should be at a size of 20 per cent more than the required amount.

Also, where you locate your battery bank can affect their capacity, with up to 50 per cent reduced capacity in places where extreme temperature swings can happen. So it is advisable to locate a bank in a warm dry location (50F – 80F), not, for example, on a cold concrete garage floor.

These are important factors to consider before buying that solar panel system, but remember that the time taken now can mean long years of hassle-free, cost effective power for you home or business.

Solar Power Battery Bank Shopping

Solar Power Battery Bank Video

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