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Hi,
I am planning to move to Hungary later this year & am looking into installing a 12v solar system for powering 12v lights in the outbuildings. I am a complete novice to solar power & have done lots of research but still a bit confused with some things. What I have planned is having a 100w solar panel, 40A MPPT charge controller & a 85ah deep cycle battery. I decided on a 40A controller in case I want to add more panels in the future. What I am confused about is what rating fuses I should use & where to put them & also what gauge of cable is needed taking into consideration future expansion. Would be grateful for any help. Thanks.
 
Hi,what number/size of lamps,are you intending to use,and how far are they spread?
That battery is smaller than me nan's pacemaker;) and you will only want to deplete it to 50%,so it will have limited capacity.
 
Hi,
I am planning to move to Hungary later this year & am looking into installing a 12v solar system for powering 12v lights in the outbuildings. I am a complete novice to solar power & have done lots of research but still a bit confused with some things. What I have planned is having a 100w solar panel, 40A MPPT charge controller & a 85ah deep cycle battery. I decided on a 40A controller in case I want to add more panels in the future. What I am confused about is what rating fuses I should use & where to put them & also what gauge of cable is needed taking into consideration future expansion. Would be grateful for any help. Thanks.

Hi, i have a small off grid set up at my home property on the go, its a off grid hybrid 400w turbine & 200w solar system 12v charging a battery bank with 2x inverters (240v)in parallel running some electric heating in the house i will pm you some pics & calcs i did for it if it might help you atall
 
Hi, i have a small off grid set up at my home property on the go, its a off grid hybrid 400w turbine & 200w solar system 12v charging a battery bank with 2x inverters (240v)in parallel running some electric heating in the house i will pm you some pics & calcs i did for it if it might help you atall
That would be great. Thanks.
 
Hi,what number/size of lamps,are you intending to use,and how far are they spread?
That battery is smaller than me nan's pacemaker;) and you will only want to deplete it to 50%,so it will have limited capacity.
Well, at the moment, it's a bit of guesswork, but expecting to run 6 12v LED lights (I've seen the ones I like at this link)
12v 7w 360 Degree CORN Style LED Bulb Low Energy - https://www.sunstore.co.uk/product/12v-7w-360-degree-corn-style-led-bulb-low-energy/
Plus 2 10W motion sensor flood lights like these
10w 12v LED Flood Light With PIR Motion Detector. 2 Year Warranty - https://www.sunstore.co.uk/product/10w-12v-led-flood-light-b-led10wpir/
Also may need to add an electric fence into the mix as we are planning to keep animals (starting a small farm). So, it sounds like that battery will be pretty much useless then. So, do I go for a higher current and/or a battery bank?
 
Hi,i have been down this track,many times,and have lots of farming and equestrian contacts....
It always comes down to the same basics,that is,you cannot get a gallon from a pint pot:)

It would be prudent,from your requirements,that you will need a bank of batteries. This then requires an increase in your charging capacity,and ensuring this can perform,when conditions are "average".

The biggest issue is optimism. You will have losses,other than the listed current drawings,there will be stand-by losses,your batteries will not like being fully depleted (neither will the charge monitoring device) and your panel outputs were probably listed in the Gobi desert;)

I am not trying to put you off,just giving a little reality check,having got involved a hundred times,when the customer's suppliers ignore their emails...and the animals are staring at each other,in the dark.

You could set up a workable system,for what you have listed,but i strongly recommend getting a small generator,which could be rigged for emergency use (vets like electricity...) or,back-up charging,for when you forgot to put a 50p in the sun:cool:
 
Thank you for the help. I'm beginning to understand things more now. There are so many 'complete solar kits' out there that claim to do so much, yet reading the specs seem incredibly under powered. I was also looking into wind power to compliment a solar system, but that seems to be a waste of time & a lot of extra expense according to some forums I have read. Thank you everyone for your advice. This does give me something to go on.
 

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