Solar Energy FAQ
Good to Know
- Solar Panels are recyclable
- Sealed Lead Acid AGM Batteries will last 5–7 years when maintained properly
- Lithium Batteries last 2,000+ cycles. They produce twice the power of SLA batteries for their weight
- Our generators can also be charged from your AC outlet by adding an optional AC wall charger
- Our small Generators are Portable
FAQ
24V Systems
Q: Could you please explain the advantage/disadvantage of the 25P 12V Vs 24V?
A: There is a link between batteries and solar panels through the charge controller. The charge controller can handle double the amount of solar power on a 24V system as it can on a 12V system. For example, the 12V system is limited to 500W from the solar panels, the 24V system can handle 1000W - same charge controller.
Stepping up to the 24V system, we graduate from a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) charge controller to an MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) charge controller. The MPPT can move power to the batteries in less than full sun (morning and evening) increasing total power delivery by 20–30%.
Going from a 12V battery bank to a 24V battery bank on that same charge controller increases charging efficiency by 9%. This means that if your panel delivers 100 watts, the 12V bank would receive roughly 85 watts. The 24V bank would receive 94 watts.
Garage Door
Q: I am interested in possibly purchasing a 25P-22-150 as an alternative to installing a new electric run. It will operate a garage door on a 20Amp circuit. Do you see any problems with this?
A: A ½ hp garage door opener uses 875 watts while running and 2350 watts to get the door moving. Plenty of battery power and inverter bandwidth to move your garage door unless it is substantially bigger than ½ hp.
Windmill
Q: Do your generators have an option to add a windmill to keep the batteries charging on cloudy days?
A: We have a charge controller (http://bepreparedsolar.com/product/hbc/) that can easily integrate your windmill with the solar generator. It can be supplied with the MPPT solar charge controller or it can be used to control power both from the solar panels and the wind turbine.
