I agree with John also. one of the better-performing off-grid houses I worked on used a 48 to 12-V Samlex converter. The 12-volt thick-walled refrigerator was about 4 amps at 12 volts. The lights, radio, and small TV drew very few amps each/ I also used an Outback 3648 inverter, which the homeowner turned on only. when needed (wash machine, etc.), I used SQ-D QO panel board in case the owner wanted to go to 120 volt AC future breaker panel. All lighting was Edison base lamps, and all wiring was NMB Romex. I wired like a normal house except for a 120-v panel and 12-v panel I relay and momentary switch by appliance for easy turning on of AC inverter.
On Wed, Apr 24, 2024 at 8:49 AM Jay via RE-wrenches < re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote: > I agree with John. > > Most 12v fridges have small compressors. But I don’t know what they have. > Personally a major reason to go 120/ac is to get a normal refrigerator. > > But you can measure the surge/load and then size the charger accordingly. > > One feature of going charger is the lights are a lot brighter at night and > last longer because they are not at 15v during the day. > > Jay > > > On Apr 24, 2024, at 5:01 AM, John Blittersdorf via RE-wrenches < > re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote: > > > Jason, > I have a customer with the same situation except he already has a 12 V > VFX inverter, He has a sunfrost fridge and other small loads with a very > fancy custom control board > originally set up to handle AC and DC systems. We are adding a lot more > solar and I was considering a dual battery system but the owner didn't like > that idea. We are going with and Iota 12v power supply (i use one at my > house for my sunfrost) to power up all his DC loads and will be adding a > large 48 V battery bank and over 4Kw of solar using a VFXR3648 directly in > place of the 12V inverter. He complained that the existing inverter would > not handle all his current AC loads very well. My own house is fully wired > for 12VDC as well as AC (lots of #10 copper not being used) and I have been > considering getting a small LFP 12V battery to put back on by DC System. > Then use the Iota as a secondary charging method with some of my large > stash of older modules hooked up for 12V direct with C40 charge controller > to recreate my original system just for kicks. I'm only using DC for my > Sunfrost and one "emergency light" in the livingroom right now. For your > customer, a small LFP 12v battery (approximately $500 or less) to replace > his old battery bankm and more larger ones for the new AC side with 48V > inverter fed by his generator or through an Iota 48 V charger ifusing a > smaller non charging inverter. Unlike Dave, I like these challenges. Maybe > thats why I never seem to make money.!! > > John Blittersdorf > offgridvermont.com > > > On Wed, Apr 24, 2024 at 7:22 AM Jason Szumlanski via RE-wrenches < > re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote: > >> Fortunately, the owner is pretty handy and is willing to live with any >> negative consequences. That said, I want to offer him something as simple >> and bulletproof as possible. I am walking into this with eyes wide open, >> for sure. >> >> Jason Szumlanski >> Principal Solar Designer | Florida Solar Design Group >> NABCEP Certified Solar Professional (PVIP) >> Florida State Certified Solar Contractor CVC56956 >> Florida Certified Electrical Contractor EC13013208 >> >> >> On Tue, Apr 23, 2024 at 5:47 PM Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar via >> RE-wrenches <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote: >> >>> Not being helpful but I walk away from these. It will come back to you. >>> >>> *Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar >>> "we go where powerlines don't" >>> <http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/>https://offgridsolar1.com/ >>> <https://offgridsolar1.com/> <http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/> >>> e-mail offgridso...@sti.net <offgridso...@sti.net> >>> text 209 813 0060* >>> >>> >>> On 2024-04-23 2:40 pm, Jason Szumlanski via RE-wrenches wrote: >>> >>> I have an off-grid client who is working on replacing old equipment at a >>> cabin. He has a lot of 12 volt distribution in the house for lighting, >>> fans, and a 12 volt refrigerator. He also has 120 volt AC loads that run >>> through a separate distribution panel where the only source is a 2000 Watt >>> Honda generator. There is no inverter present. The batteries are charged >>> through a Trace C40. >>> >>> He currently has a few ancient solar panels and a struggling Bank of AGM >>> batteries. It's time for an upgrade. I can easily supply enough PV power >>> for what he needs. He currently has a 9 kilowatt hour battery capacity that >>> he was happy with when the batteries operated optimally. Nonetheless, I >>> would probably future-proof him with a 10 to 15 kilowatt hour LiPo to >>> double or triple his usable capacity. >>> >>> For convenience, obviously it would be nice to have an inverter to >>> eliminate or reduce the generator requirement. But he seems committed to >>> keeping his 12 volt distribution because it would be costly to replace >>> fixtures. I think he would consider replacing the 12 volt refrigerator if >>> he has an inverter. >>> >>> He definitely wants LiPo batteries. >>> >>> I don't like the idea of 12 volt direct from a battery plus connecting >>> an inverter to that same battery. It is going to be hard to measure and >>> monitor things. >>> >>> I am thinking about using a 48 volt battery with a single phase 120 volt >>> inverter, getting him to change to a 120 volt refrigerator, and using a DC >>> converter to give him somewhere in the range of 100 amps at 12 volts for >>> his existing DC lighting and fan loads. Is this a bad idea? Should I stick >>> with a 12 volt battery system? He does have a tiny 12 volt pressure pump >>> which might be an issue for the converter. I'm not sure. I am a bit worried >>> about the efficiency loss and capacity of DC converters and not sure how to >>> size it. >>> >>> Jason Szumlanski >>> Florida Solar Design Group >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance >>> >>> Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org >>> >>> List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org >>> >>> Change listserver email address & settings: >>> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org >>> >>> There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try >>> the other: >>> https://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/ >>> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org >>> >>> List rules & etiquette: >>> http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm >>> >>> Check out or update participant bios: >>> http://www.members.re-wrenches.org >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance >>> >>> Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org >>> >>> List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org >>> >>> Change listserver email address & settings: >>> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org >>> >>> There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try >>> the other: >>> https://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/ >>> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org >>> >>> List rules & etiquette: >>> http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm >>> >>> Check out or update participant bios: >>> http://www.members.re-wrenches.org >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >> List sponsored by Redwood Alliance >> >> Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org >> >> List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org >> >> Change listserver email address & settings: >> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org >> >> There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the >> other: >> https://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/ >> http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org >> >> List rules & etiquette: >> http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm >> >> Check out or update participant bios: >> http://www.members.re-wrenches.org >> >> _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance > > Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Change listserver email address & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the > other: > https://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/ > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List rules & etiquette: > http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios: > http://www.members.re-wrenches.org > > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance > > Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Change listserver email address & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the > other: > https://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/ > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List rules & etiquette: > http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios: > http://www.members.re-wrenches.org > >
_______________________________________________ List sponsored by Redwood Alliance Pay optional member dues here: http://re-wrenches.org List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org Change listserver email address & settings: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org There are two list archives for searching. When one doesn't work, try the other: https://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/ http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org List rules & etiquette: http://www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm Check out or update participant bios: http://www.members.re-wrenches.org
