Course Material For the OFF - GRID Solar power system:

For a off grid solar system you need four basic components

1. Solar Panel (PV Panel)

2. Charge Controller

3. Inverter

4. Battery

Besides the above components you need few more things like Copper Wire, MC4
Connector, breaker, meter and fuses etc.

In the next few steps I will explain in details how you can choose the above components
according to your requirement.

Step 1: CALCULATE YOUR LOAD

Before choosing the components you have to calculate what is your load, how much
time it will run etc. If any one know basic maths then It is very simple to calculate.
1 .Decide what appliances (light, fan, tv etc ) you want to run and how much time
(hour).
2. See the specification chart in your appliances for power rating.
3. Calculate the Watt Hour which is equal to product of power rating of your appliances
and time ( hr) of run.
Example :
Lets you want to run a 11W CFL for 5hour from solar panel, then the watt hour is equal
to
Watt Hour = 11W x 5 hr = 55
4. Calculate the total Watt Hour : Just like a CFL calculate the watt hour for all the
appliances and add them together.
Example :
CFL =11W x 5 hr = 55
Fan = 50 W x 3hr = 150
TV = 80W x 2hr = 160
------------------------------------------------
Total Watt Hour = 55+150+160 = 365
 Now the load calculation is over, next thing is to choose the right
components to match with your load requirement.
Step 2: BATTERY SELECTION
The output from the solar panel is dc power. This power is generated during the
day time only. So if you want to run a dc load during day time then it seems to be
very easy. But doing this is not a good decision because

>> Most of the appliances need a constant rated voltage to run efficiently. Solar
panel voltage is not constant it varies according to the sun light.

>> If you want to run the appliances during night then it is impossible.

The above problem is solved by using a battery to store the solar power during
the day time and use it according to your choice .It will provide constant source of
stable, reliable power. The solar battery is a deep-cycle lead-acid battery that
allows for partial discharge and allows for deep slow discharge. Lead acid tubular
battery is perfect for a solar system. Ni-MH batteries and Li-Ion batteries are also
used many small power application.
Before going to choose the components decide your system voltage 12/24 or 48
V. Higher the voltage lesser the current and lesser will be the copper loss in the
conductor. This will reduce your conductor size also. In most of the small home
solar system have 12 or 24 V.
In this project I am selecting the 12 V system.
RATING OF BATTERY:
Batteries capacity are rated in term of Ampere Hour.
Power = Voltage X Current
Watt Hour = Voltage (Volts) x Current (Amperes) x Time (Hours)
Battery Voltage = 12V ( as our system is 12V)
Battery capacity = Load / Voltage = 365/12 = 30.42 Ah
But batteries are not 100% efficient , assuming 80% efficiency
Capacity = 30.42/0.8 = 38.02 Ah
By taking some margin you can select a 40Ah deep cycle lead acid battery.
Step 3: SOLAR PANEL SELECTION
The Solar Panel converts the sunlight into electricity as direct current (DC).
RATING OF SOLAR PANEL :
The solar panel size should be selected in such way that it will charge the battery
fully during the one day time. During the 12hr day time the sunlight is not uniform
it also differ according to your location in the globe. So we can assume 4 hours of
effective sunlight which will generate the rated power.
So total power output of Panels = 12V x 40Ah = 480Wh
Power to be generated per hour = 480/4= 120W
By taking some margin you can choose a 125 W , 12v solar panel.
Step 4: CHARGE CONTROLLER SELECTION
A solar charge controller is a device which is placed between a solar panel and a
battery. It regulates the voltage and current coming from your solar panels .It is
used to maintain the proper charging voltage on the batteries. As the input
voltage from the solar panel rises, the charge controller regulates the charge to
the batteries preventing any overcharging.
Usually, the solar power systems uses 12 volt batteries, however Solar panels
can deliver far more voltage than is required to charge the batteries. By, in
essence, converting the excess voltage into amps, the charge voltage can be
kept at an optimal level while the time required to fully charge the batteries is
reduced. This allows the solar power system to operate optimally at all times.
Types of Charge controller :
1. ON OFF
2. PWM
3. MPPT
Among the 3 charge controllers MPPT have highest efficiency but it is costly. So
you can use either PWM or MPPT.
Try to avoid the ON/OFF charge controller as it is the least efficient.
RATING OF CHARGE CONTROLLER :
Since our system is rated 12V, Charge controller is also 12V
Current rating = Power output of Panels / Voltage = 125 W/ 12V = 10.4 A
So choose a Charge Controller of 12 V and more than 10.4 A
If you like to reduce your system cost you can make a PWM charge controller.
Step 5: INVERTER SELECTION
Solar panel (PV) that receive the sun’s rays and convert them into electricity
called direct current (DC). DC is then converted into alternating current (AC)
through a device called an Inverter. AC electricity flows through every outlet of
your home, powering the appliances.
Types
1. Square Wave
2. Modified Sine Wave
3. Pure Sine Wave
Square wave inverter is cheaper among the all but not suitable for all appliances.
Modified Sine Wave output is also not suitable for certain appliances, particularly
those with capacitive and electromagnetic devices such as: a fridge, microwave
oven and most kinds of motors. Typically modified sine wave inverters work at
lower efficiency than pure sine wave inverters.
So as per my opinion choose a pure sine wave inverter.
It may be grid tie or stand alone .In our case it is obviously stand alone.
RATING OF INVERTER :
The power rating should be equal or more than the total load in watt at any
instant.
In our case the maximum load at any instant = TV (50W) +Fan (80W) +CFL
(11W) =141W
By taking some margin we can choose a 200W inverter.
As our system is 12 v we have to select a 12V DC to 230V/50Hz or 110V/60Hz
AC pure sine wave inverter.
Step 6: SERIES AND PARALLEL CONNECTION
After the calculating the battery capacity and solar panel rating you have to wiring
them. In many cases the calculated solar panel size or battery is not readily
available in the form of single unit in the market. So you have to add small solar
panel or batteries to match your system requirement. To match the required
voltage and current rating we have to use series and parallel connection.
1. Series Connection :
To wire any device in series you must connect the positive terminal of one device
to the negative terminal of the next device. The device in our case may be solar
panel or battery.
In series connection the individual voltages of each device is additive.
Example :
Lets 4, 12V batteries are connected in series, then the combination will produce
12 + 12 + 12 + 12 = 48 volts.
In series combination the current or amperage is same.
So if these devices were batteries and each battery had a rating of 12 Volts and
100 Ah then the total value of this series circuit would be 48 Volt, 100Ah. If they
were solar panels and each solar panel had a rating of 17 volts (Osc voltage) and
were rated at 5 amps each then the total circuit value would be 68 volts, 5 amps.
2. Parallel Connection :
In parallel connection you must connect the positive terminal of the first device to
the positive terminal of the next device and negative terminal of the first device to
the negative terminal of the next device.
In parallel connection the voltage is remain same but the current rating of the
circuit is sum of all the devices.
Example :
Lets two batteries of 12v,100Ah are connected in parallel then the system
voltage is remains 12 volts but the current rating is 100+100=200Ah. Similarly if
two solar panel of 17V and 5 amps are connected in parallel then the system will
produced 17 Volts ,10 amps.
Step 7: WIRING
The first component we are going to wire is the Charge Controller .At the bottom
of the Charge Controller there are 3 signs in my charge controller. The first one
from the left is for the connection of the Solar Panel having positive (+) and
negative (-) sign. The second one with plus (+) and minus (-) sign is for the
Battery connection and the last one for the direct DC load connection like DC
lights.
As per charge controller manual always connect the Charge Controller to the
Battery first because this allows the Charge Controller to get calibrated to
whether it is 12V or 24V system. Connect the red (+) and black (-) wire from the
battery bank to the charge controller.
Note: First connect the black /negative wire from the battery to the charge
controller's negative terminal ,then connect the positive wire.
After connecting the battery with charge controller you can see the Charge
Controller indicator led lights up to indicate the Battery level.
After connecting this inverter terminals for battery charging is connected to
corresponding positive and negative terminals of the battery.
Now you have to connect the solar panel to the charge controller. At the back
side of the Solar Panel there is a small junction box with 2 connected wires with
positive(+) and negative (-) sign. The terminal wires are normally smaller in
length. To connect the wire to the charge controller you need a special type
connector which is commonly known as MC4 connector. See the picture. After
connecting the solar panel to the charge controller the green led indicator will
light if sunlight is present.
Note: Always connect the Solar Panel to Charge Controller while facing the
Panel away from the sun or you may cover the panel with a dark material to
avoid sudden high voltage coming from the solar panel to the Charge Controller
which may damage it.
SAFETY :
It is important to note that we are dealing with the DC current. So the positive (+)
is to be connected to positive (+) and negative (-) with negative (-) from Solar
Panel to Charge Controller. If it gets mixed up, the equipment can go burst and
may catch fire. So you need to be extremely careful when connecting these
wires. It is recommended to use 2 color wires i.e. red and black color for positive
(+) and negative (-).If you don't have red and black wire you may wrap red and
black tap at the terminals.
Connect the dc load or dc light at last.
Metering and Data logging :
If you are interested to know how much energy is produced by your solar panel
or how much energy being consumed by your appliances you have to use energy
meters. After wiring everything the off grid Solar system is ready for use.