wilderness power - not a sparky

slimfb · Aug 1, 2011

hi all,

i need the following setup for a permanent dwelling..........in the middle of nowhere !

no mains power

i need power for the following :

rechargable battery charger AA/AAA - main item - normal household type to plug into inverter
lighting
radio
camping kettle - uses less power - when no fire on the go....emergency cup of tea first thing !

there will be no power hungry appliances ie fridges, micros, cookers etc

i would like the following setup :

solar & poss wind to generate enough power
leisure battery - how big
inverter i have already

would solar produce enough power if on trickle all day
how best to wire it all up

thanks in advance

Graeme Harrold · Aug 1, 2011

Add up the wattage of everything you want to plug in, multiply by the hours of running (usually 8-10), multiply this by 5 (5 days rough backup), multiply by 2 (as you dont want the batteries running beyond 50%), multiply this by 1.2 (conversion losses @ 80%). This will give you the battery bank required to give you adequate and consistent power, now size your panels/turbine, inverters accordingly.

slimfb · Aug 20, 2011

right then guys.......slight change of plan.....hope this is an easy one

requirements for an initial system for solar charging AA batteries, may need 24 charged per day if poss

definate low budget on this one please

solar panel - charge regulator - deep cell battery - inverter - AA charger

i have a 12/240v inverter & AA charger

if you could point me in the right direction of what to get & where i will be v greatful

thanks guys

mark

Richard Burns · Aug 20, 2011

Just set up a basic system with about a 12W panel and 10A charge controller. You are not going to need a lot of power for the charging so your battery can be quite small.
You should be able to get a small charge controller for about £20 from sunshine solar or sunsaver.
Probably OK for an amorphous panel for about £60
Battery will only need about 5Ah but get 10 in case for about £40

Probably dont even need the controller if it is frequent use, just make sure you have undervoltage protection from the controller.