nikdfish
Platinum Member
We recently had a 22'x21' metal storage building installed to house the 1025R & 3038e and various implements. I had put in some 12v 27watt tractor worklights for interior lighting & just used one of the spare SLA batteries with an Anderson Powerpole pigtail to power them when needed. That was OK as an expedient, but not really optimal for long term.
I decided that if I was going to use battery power for lights, I needed to go all in & add a solar charging component and wire everything in properly (i.e. fuses, switches, etc.) and repurpose an existing deep cycle battery to the job. I also decided to add a couple of 12v LED motion sensor floods over the doors and to replace the 14 awg extension cord I had used for light feeds with 10 awg for better efficiency.
After looking at a bunch of alternatives I ended up going with a Renogy package consisting of a 100w panel paired with a 30a pwm charge controller, which was available through Amazon for $160, delivered. 100w may be over-kill, but it didn't really save much to go with a 50w unit, and the extra capacity will help offset the somewhat shaded location on the building south facing wall (the front). I also picked up some MC4 connectors, 10 awg wire, two 12v LED motion floods, fuse block, and miscellaneous other items.
I mounted the motion sensor floods and got them adjusted before mounting the panel because they actually arrived before the panel.
This is the Renogy package contents; 100 watt polycrystalline panel, Wanderer 30 amp pwm charge controller and a couple of MC4 connector pigtails.
I fabricated my own brackets for mounting the panel from some aluminum angle stock. I decided on a 56 degree slope on the south wall as a decent year round compromise. Because I had concerns about getting the panel mounted by myself, I decided on a bracket design that would allow the panel to be hung in place before securing the hardware. Two pieces to be attached at the top corners had "L" slots that would each engage 1/4" bolts sitting crosswise between two brackets attached to the wall. Two more pieces would be struts between clips on wall & panel.
Here are the two sets of upper brackets in place on the wall and the 10 awg feed line with MC4 connectors installed.
It actually went up pretty easily. The ladder I was using had treads that extended a bit beyond the vertical rails, so it was easy to rest the bottom edge of the panel on steps as I went up. The "L" slots worked as intended & held the panel nicely while connecting the struts.
For proximity, the controller and battery were located between the two doors. I used a plywood panel for mounting the controller and wiring. To attach it to the building, I made some clips from aluminum angle stock & attached them to the building door frame tubes. The panel then was positioned behind them and secured with screws.
(the tape held the clips in place until the self tapping screws were used to attach them)
Some boxes & cable runs were roughed in
I put in a DPST switch in the upper box for disconnecting the solar panel from the controller. The controller can be damaged by a panel being connected without a battery in place. Since the deep cycle battery I'm using also is used with a portable winch on the aluma car hauler, I want to make it easy to handle it's removal & replacement. The other two boxes are for switches for the interior lights and the exterior motion sensor floods.
This is the first version of the wiring panel, incorporating the switches, a fuse block & ground block. The battery already had an Anderson Power Pole connector, but I decided to use post clamps for the battery to controller connection. This makes it less likely for the battery to inadvertently get disconnected from the controller. The power pole connector was used for the three fuse block supply connections. The bottom position of the fuse block was used for a 30 amp fuse between controller and battery connections.
I removed the old extension cord that had been used when I first put up the interior lights and replaced it with a pair of 10 awg wires.
Just for fun, I added a couple of mini LED DC voltage displays from the junk box. One at the top of the solar panel disconnect switch, and one at the fuse block. This pic was at twilight (sun below horizon) and charging had ended. The panel voltage is reading 5.09v and the battery is showing 12.8v.
Here is another view after I did a few updates (10 awg feeds and an Anderson Power Pole pigtail to fuse block) and had a 200 watt inverter connected so I could plug in a battery tender for the 8kw generator. This is late afternoon, just prior to sun down.
These are the interior lights when illuminated.
So far things look to be working OK. Just for fun & curiosity I have a couple of inexpensive DC power monitors w/shunts coming so I can compare power delivered from the panel & power distributed from the battery. I'll post when they are installed & running.
Nick
I decided that if I was going to use battery power for lights, I needed to go all in & add a solar charging component and wire everything in properly (i.e. fuses, switches, etc.) and repurpose an existing deep cycle battery to the job. I also decided to add a couple of 12v LED motion sensor floods over the doors and to replace the 14 awg extension cord I had used for light feeds with 10 awg for better efficiency.
After looking at a bunch of alternatives I ended up going with a Renogy package consisting of a 100w panel paired with a 30a pwm charge controller, which was available through Amazon for $160, delivered. 100w may be over-kill, but it didn't really save much to go with a 50w unit, and the extra capacity will help offset the somewhat shaded location on the building south facing wall (the front). I also picked up some MC4 connectors, 10 awg wire, two 12v LED motion floods, fuse block, and miscellaneous other items.
I mounted the motion sensor floods and got them adjusted before mounting the panel because they actually arrived before the panel.
This is the Renogy package contents; 100 watt polycrystalline panel, Wanderer 30 amp pwm charge controller and a couple of MC4 connector pigtails.
I fabricated my own brackets for mounting the panel from some aluminum angle stock. I decided on a 56 degree slope on the south wall as a decent year round compromise. Because I had concerns about getting the panel mounted by myself, I decided on a bracket design that would allow the panel to be hung in place before securing the hardware. Two pieces to be attached at the top corners had "L" slots that would each engage 1/4" bolts sitting crosswise between two brackets attached to the wall. Two more pieces would be struts between clips on wall & panel.
Here are the two sets of upper brackets in place on the wall and the 10 awg feed line with MC4 connectors installed.
It actually went up pretty easily. The ladder I was using had treads that extended a bit beyond the vertical rails, so it was easy to rest the bottom edge of the panel on steps as I went up. The "L" slots worked as intended & held the panel nicely while connecting the struts.
For proximity, the controller and battery were located between the two doors. I used a plywood panel for mounting the controller and wiring. To attach it to the building, I made some clips from aluminum angle stock & attached them to the building door frame tubes. The panel then was positioned behind them and secured with screws.
(the tape held the clips in place until the self tapping screws were used to attach them)
Some boxes & cable runs were roughed in
I put in a DPST switch in the upper box for disconnecting the solar panel from the controller. The controller can be damaged by a panel being connected without a battery in place. Since the deep cycle battery I'm using also is used with a portable winch on the aluma car hauler, I want to make it easy to handle it's removal & replacement. The other two boxes are for switches for the interior lights and the exterior motion sensor floods.
This is the first version of the wiring panel, incorporating the switches, a fuse block & ground block. The battery already had an Anderson Power Pole connector, but I decided to use post clamps for the battery to controller connection. This makes it less likely for the battery to inadvertently get disconnected from the controller. The power pole connector was used for the three fuse block supply connections. The bottom position of the fuse block was used for a 30 amp fuse between controller and battery connections.
I removed the old extension cord that had been used when I first put up the interior lights and replaced it with a pair of 10 awg wires.
Just for fun, I added a couple of mini LED DC voltage displays from the junk box. One at the top of the solar panel disconnect switch, and one at the fuse block. This pic was at twilight (sun below horizon) and charging had ended. The panel voltage is reading 5.09v and the battery is showing 12.8v.
Here is another view after I did a few updates (10 awg feeds and an Anderson Power Pole pigtail to fuse block) and had a 200 watt inverter connected so I could plug in a battery tender for the 8kw generator. This is late afternoon, just prior to sun down.
These are the interior lights when illuminated.
So far things look to be working OK. Just for fun & curiosity I have a couple of inexpensive DC power monitors w/shunts coming so I can compare power delivered from the panel & power distributed from the battery. I'll post when they are installed & running.
Nick
