Hi all, I'm planning to add a 30 Kg inverter and associated panels to my off-grid system this coming spring. So far I have been installing items that require protection from the elements into steel cabinets and this is working great. But I don't relish the though of leaning in to bolt the inverter on the back of a cabinet at that weight. Oh my back! Short of building a small rainproof shed, which I might do anyway, what are people using for weather proof enclosures for large items?
My panels are covered with snow, batteries will be too cold to charge in a couple of days, 1000watts of new PV in storage and I'm thinkin' about spring. :)
The shed that i see often around here is built kinda like a parks service info shelter. Theres a wall in the middle, the bank goes on one side, the gear on the other side. The gear side has a door, teh other side is more like a veranda. Not sure this would work in wintery north obviously.
I'm coming to the conclusion, after babysitting an AGM battery bank this winter, that cold is not much of an issue for gear and batteries. After correct T-comping and lengthening the absorb cycle since they seem to be taking longer to charge at lower temps. Battery longevity is enhanced by colder temps and I suspect they'd safely take a charge at lower temps than the manufacturer suggests though I won't go below the -10C they've recommended. Rain/snow water is the main concern for every thing. Winter does tend to keep me out of the battery bank. I noticed one of the battery interconnects was 2/0 wire (somehow got in there) and the rest were 1/0 and I wanted to open the bank and balance the wiring but it is too cold to do it now.
Your shed style seems reasonable to me. Looks like I'll be getting out my hammer in a few weeks.
batteries do warm a bit when being charged, watch the Classic with the Local App, and you will see Bat temp, FET temp and PCB temp, lower right on the first screen...
Yes. I installed a wireless range extender out there a month ago and sit inside warm & cozy & keep an eye on things. Some days I even played a bit with end amps while the battery temps (mostly rise but not always when it is just too cold & falling). Super feature. That's how I know I got a full charge one day at -9.5C battery temp. Best way to get to know your batteries in my opinion.
well that sounds good, :) you are a fair bit South of me at 51.78*N and , partly due to geography, I can not make it, with this winters cloudy weather, over a 3 day dark period... with 1680W, it's close but I have had to gen set it a few times so far, with the Sat internet system on, ~40 - 50W 24/7 , for Classic monitoring , that is intermittent a best right now, RMA in progress.
I had to set Absorb to 4 hrs to get max input, otherwise it went into Float.. will back it off to 3 hrs March 21 or so... less later in the spring.
Your 900 AH battery is nearly twice the size of my bank (510). Even so it struggles to fully charge some weeks. I don't have a lot of winter loads besides lighting and my outside water pumps are winterized/off line. My system is primarily a daytime/ summer model. I probably won't even increase the battery size when my air conditioner zone comes on line this spring. I'm just going to set the system up so that it has enough PV to charge the battery and run about 800-1000 watts of load at the same time during the day. It'll be the rare day I'm running the AC zone at night. There is a zone 1 still on the mains that can take over then but it might hopefully not be needed very much. So I have 1Kw of panels that I'm putting up this spring for a total of 2.5 Kw. & the single classic can handle 2.7 Kw so I've left a spot beside the first controller just in case. Solar car charging station is down the road.
Sorry, left out that the loads right now are just the Inverter, and all the bits allowing me internet connection and online monitoring of my charging... which we are having a bit of a hiccup with right now... so no other loads...
Interesting you said your absorb phase is 4 hr. I've set Absorb to 5-hours in cold weather and I'm letting T-comped end-amps determine the switch to float. The other day we had a balmy -5C in the battery bank - so end amps on the 510 Ah bank at T-comped .01 X Capacity was 3.6 Amps and the system switched over to float after 4 hours 23 minutes of sun. An incredible amount this time of year. And we got an hour of float time after. It's tricky since I have to guess how much the bank is going to heat up during the day and t-comp to the anticipated temperature - trial and error.
well in the deepest darkest corner of BC we get s little as 2.5 hrs sun, right now it is back up to ~4 hrs. Soon the WBjr End Amps will be working again, and I will adjust the settings. Sun comes from behind the trees at 11:45, and full sun on 4 panels starts at 12:05, 1/2 hr for the next 4 panels to be full sun and another 1/2 hr for the last set then on a CLEAR day I can get about 1300W, so 1 hr for Bulk, rest is absorb and once Float can be reached I will adjust everything...
My bank is ~ 2*C and warms up at about 1*C/day when we are there, cook stove is upstairs. Ambient temp in basement is ~2*C with outside temps -10 to -15
You need to trim with a chainsaw or the Avatar in landing Mode , Just a little off the top ,125'
I could drop all my trees and still the Queens' trees would be in the path of the sun... >:( :(
Oh !!
Dang , & them are the crowns trees , Not Queenie 2.
If you Dare:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFuvj6WKDvw