Major update

 

A lot has been done since the last post.

Previously, I had 580 watts of solar panel power. One of the panels, on examination, had lost a significant amount of power. That panel was replaced by a new 100 watt panel, making the system 600 watts.

More power was needed. I ordered two Renogy 100 watt panels from ebay and added them. A few weeks later I decided to buy a couple of HQST 100 watt panels and add them.  That's ten panels in all.

The current power total is 1000 watts, or 1 kw (kilowatt). There is a noticeable differenc in the charge rate of the LiFePo4 batteries. I run the mini-fridge and the internet connection more often now, and, dependiing on the weather, overnight.

The second half of the upgrade was the mounting hardware for the additional panels. steel struts used in electrical construction in factories and institutions is the framework I chose. The necessary additional pieces along with nuts, bolts, washers, lock nuts, couplers, and strut nuts were purchased.

I believe I have reached the maximum array size for the strut framework. I'm uisng half channel Superstrut. Full channel struts would approximately double the capacity, but the phyusical size of the rray is starting to become awkward. I need to be able to single-handedly move and manage the array. A single array that size could become potentialy dangerous.

A second array would be in order.

Another option: fiberglass struts. The load bearing characteristics would have to be examined and comppared to the array loads and to the steel strut characteristics.

I neglected to add an image of my revised webpage for the solar array monitor.

In case the link on the new charts page is not working, here is that image: