The aging of solar panels
Check our XLS calculaction tool to see the expected solar performance of the solar panels as influneced by the aging.
Home Solar Solutions
The photo shows the example of installing the household solar solution even at the blocks of apartment buildings. Here the solar collectors are combined with thermal solar installation.
The GridFree solution can be also installed in the same way to allow microgeneration of energy to reduce the consumption of the energy from the grid.
Put more panels on the residential high-rise buildings!
The large sun-facing walls on the high-rise buildings allow to make a solar installation with no need for ground space. The vertical installations are ideal for many installations in nothern parts of Europe where the sun is shining under low angles.
Small Solar Installtions - From an Idea to a Reality
Our customers come up with many ideas where to locate solar panels:
Hole in the building. This hole makes some sound when wind is blowing. (The architect was likely a deaf man.) The idea is to cover this hole - to block the wind and to get some solar yield.
The solar wall. Many building have walls that face the sun. It is easy to place the panels on such walls.
Solar panel shading. In summer the sun is shining inside the buildings. Try placing the panels on the top part of the windows to block the sunshine and get some free energy.
Simple Balcony Installation
Another idea for the installation of the solar panels at the balcony of a family house. This kind of installation is very simple when microinverters are used.
When will you install your own panels?
A Solar Project with MicroInverters
A lot of energy from the sun can collected at locations such a balconies. See the photo of project using the MicroInverters to balance the consumption of a residential building. The PV panels are located at the railing of the balconies.
The Energy Yield from the GridFree Solar Instalation
We have prepared a simple tool to give the estimated calculation of the possible energy production (yield) from a GridFree solar installation of one panel with a microinverter.
Check here: http://www.ev-power.eu/docs/other/GWL-GridFree-EU.xls
Download the XLS and enter your values to get the results of the energy production. The values are entered into the cells marked with blue color.
Across Europe, the solar energy production may vary as follows:
- South Spain - 1850 kWh/m2 - 267 kWh/year
- Most of Italy - 1600 kWh/m2 - 231 kWh/year
- South Germany - 1200 kWh/m2 - 173 kWh/year
- Amsterdam, Berlin, Warszawa - 1100 kWh/m2 - 158 kWh/year
- North of Europe - 900 kWh/m2 - 130 kWh/year
Solar Radiation Maps for Europe and other countries
The solar radiation maps for European Countries and other global locations.
The map of “Global Horizontal Irradiation” for Europe shows the potential for harvesting the free energy from the solar sunshine. The energy level for Europe are from 1850 kWh/m2 in south of Europe to 900 kWh/m2 and less in north of Europe.
Download here: http://solargis.info/doc/71
Updated photos of the ViewStar PCM series
The ViewStar PCM series of solar charge controllers allow charging of the 12V, 24V, 36V and 48V batteries with rich settings.
The ViewStar charge controllers give good results for reasonable money.
The LCD display allows full range of settings of the voltage levels and modes of operation. (The screen shows the setting for the 36V battery level - auto detected on power-up.)
http://www.ev-power.eu/index.php?cl=search&searchparam=Viewstar
How much to have 10,000 Wh?
Q: How much cells are needed to have a 10 kWh (10 000 Wh) energy backup system?
Answer: The number and size of the LFP cells is dependant on the voltage level to be used for the DC system. Usually 12V or 24V systems are used for small off-grid installations. 36V or 48V is used for the hybrid-grid or grid-tied applications.
The calculation may be:
- 12V 800Ah = 9600 Wh (4 cells of 800Ah)
(perhaps using two 400AH cells in parallel to have 800AH) - 24V 400Ah = 9600 Wh (8 cells of 400Ah)
http://www.ev-power.eu/index.php?cl=search&searchparam=400AHA - 48V 200Ah = 9600 Wh (16 cells of 200Ah)
http://www.ev-power.eu/index.php?cl=search&searchparam=200AHA
The GF-MAC2000 Low Voltage Grid-Tied Inverter
Additional reasons why the GF-MAC2000 is better than other inverters:
- Works as safe voltage from 70V to 120V
- Multiple string inputs - easier installation + possibility to control the total inverter power
- Resistant to partial shading of the solar panels
GridFree AC Direct Invertor DC-AC 230V, 2000W CE
http://www.ev-power.eu/_d3301.html
The 2000W Low Voltage Grid-Tied Inverter
The innovative product GF-MAC2000 is a 2 kW DC/AC grid-tied solar inverter. It is a revolutionary product, because it is the first DC/AC inverter on the market to use the low voltage DC input. The GF-MAC2000 is a complete solution for photovoltaic installations with no fear of working with high level DC voltages.
The detailed specification of the GF-MAC2000 inverter
http://www.ev-power.eu/docs/pdf/GWL/GWL-GF2000-Spec.pdf
GridFree AC Direct Invertor DC-AC 230V, 2000W CE
http://www.ev-power.eu/_d3301.html
ViewStar PWM Solar Charge Controllers
Check the updated specifications and parameters for the ViewStar PWM controllers.
Three key advantages of these PWM controllers
- Support multivoltage operation /12V, 24V, 36V, 48V/
- Allow detailed voltage settings (voltage levels) over the user buttons
- Have a LCD included to have easy monitoring of the installation
Additionally these PWM controllers support the charging of the LFP cells and battery pack.
ViewStar PWM Specification
http://www.ev-power.eu/docs/pdf/GWL/GWL-ViewStar-PWM-Spec.pdf
ViewStar PWM Manual EN
http://www.ev-power.eu/docs/pdf/GWL/GWL-ViewStar-PWM-Manual.pdf
ViewStar PWM at EV-POWER.EU
http://www.ev-power.eu/index.php?cl=search&searchparam=ViewStar
Micro Energy Storage Setup
A practical realization of a small size energy storage solution with 3.2 kWh of energy capacity with 230V/230W AC grid-tied power output. The basic concept of the energy storage with easy expansion.
Components description of the complete setup
* Lithium Battery Pack 36V
Battery pack 36V 90Ah made of 3 finely balanced 12V/90AH LP batteries. The nominal capacity is 3.2 KWh of energy. There can be more batteries easily added to increase the capacity of the storage.
http://www.ev-power.eu/_d1873.html (USD430 per unit, total USD 1290 for 3 pcs)
* Solar charge regulator
The solar charge regulator protects the batteries against deep discharge and against over charge. It allows solar panels to be connected directly to the battery. The setting is set for 43V as max charge voltage and 36V as deep discharge voltage.
http://www.ev-power.eu/_d2600.html (USD105)
* DC contactor relay
The relay is designed to disconnect the invertor from the batteries in case of deep voltage discharge. The 48V DC contactor works OK with this 36V setup.
http://www.ev-power.eu/_d2650.html (USD20)
* DC/AC Grid-tied MicroInverter
The MicroInveter generates the energy to feed to the local 230V grid. The nominal power of the inverter is 230W. For higher power demands it is easy to add more inverters in parallel using the same battery.
http://www.ev-power.eu/_d3247.html (USD150)
In addition to the above key components you need the fuse for the battery protection and the cables to make the installation wiring. You can get these components locally. (Estimated price USD50)
The total cost of the Micro Energy Storage Setup installation is about USD1615.
The purpose of the installation is to store the energy in the batteries and release the energy slowly when needed.
In this setup the MicroInverter is capable running about 11 to 12 hours discharging the battery with 7A current. The connection of few solar panels directly to the solar charge regulator allows getting energy from the sun-shine during the sunny days. With 3 or more 280Wp panels it is possible to charge the battery during 5 to 6 hours of sunshine.
In addition to the above components you may wish to get additional components to get a complete solution:
* Solar panels
In order to work efficiently with this 36V installation, the solar panels need to have the MPPT at 34V and more. We recommend using the 280Wp panels (MPPT at 35V). It is possible to have more panels in parallel to increase the speed of charging during the cloudy days.
http://www.ev-power.eu/_d3246.html (USD215)
* 230VAC charger for 36V DC
You may wish to add a 230VAC charger for 36V to charge the battery pack. The battery pack may be charged from the grid at night (at the low/cheap energy tariff). In such installtion the battery pack is charged at night and the energy is released during the peak time of the day.
http://www.ev-power.eu/_d2362.html (USD305)
The design of the energy storage is fully modular and allows to increase the size of installation easily by adding more batteries, more solar panels or more inverters.
We wish to show that the DC power components from GWL/Power allow making a simple solution for energy storage.
If you need any additional help, be sure to contact us for questions related to this setup.
All the listed prices are valid at the time of publishing of this article.
PWM solar charge controllers (regulators)
Support multiple voltage levels 12V, 24V, 36V and 48V. The work directly at the battery level. No MPPT function present.
They are available in 20A, 40A and 60A versions.
These regulators are suitable for installations with a sufficiant sunshine when there is no or little need for MPPT function.
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