04-06-2022, 05:20 PM
I meant that my inverter has never shut down due to not being large enough. It will supply 3800 watts continuously, 4400 watts for 30 minutes, and 7000 watts for 5 seconds. It also puts out both 120 and 240 volts. There have been a couple of times where it shut down due to low battery voltage but I had my Low Battery Cut Out set at 48 volts which is pretty high so if I had set the LBCO lower that might not have even happened. The last set of batteries failed because of positive plate corrosion because I had the charging voltages set at the high end of the recommended range and I was gone a lot helping family. Under those conditions the system spent lots of time in absorb and float which overcharges the batteries which in turn causes positive plate corrosion. I will be glad to leave those problems behind.
Part of my overall plan is to get another 6 panels at 350 watts each so I can have a 6 panel array facing east, 6 panels facing south, and 6 panels facing west, all at 45° from vertical. During the summer the south facing panels will not be doing much compared to if they were horizontal but during winter that angle will be perfect. The east and west facing arrays will generate useful power from 7am through 6pm during summer and in a manner analogous to the south facing panels they will not be doing too much off season. During cloudy periods the angles don't matter nearly as much and the sheer square footage of "extra" panels will make up some of the difference. I have invested in multiple charge controllers so the question of whether putting east facing and west facing arrays on the same controller will work need not even be addressed. Multiple units also serves as redundancy, keeping you going if lightning takes out some of your system.
Part of my overall plan is to get another 6 panels at 350 watts each so I can have a 6 panel array facing east, 6 panels facing south, and 6 panels facing west, all at 45° from vertical. During the summer the south facing panels will not be doing much compared to if they were horizontal but during winter that angle will be perfect. The east and west facing arrays will generate useful power from 7am through 6pm during summer and in a manner analogous to the south facing panels they will not be doing too much off season. During cloudy periods the angles don't matter nearly as much and the sheer square footage of "extra" panels will make up some of the difference. I have invested in multiple charge controllers so the question of whether putting east facing and west facing arrays on the same controller will work need not even be addressed. Multiple units also serves as redundancy, keeping you going if lightning takes out some of your system.