GUIDE SETTING UP A SOLAR POWER SYSTEM

[nwfella]

Liking this thread.  It never ceases to amaze me just how many different types of peoples from so many diverse backgrounds and strengths can be brought together via this thing we call bitcoin!  Would love to one day have access to some serious natural energy to run a huge farm and support the network

[allcoinminer]

But for that we need the PV to be configured in 12V right?

Take the below case and how you will add a Solar Panel & Controller in this already existing setup with or without relay?

Battery 12V/100AH x 2 in Series to get 24V 100AH
Inverter 24V 1500VA
ASIC Device 12V/400W

Since the inverter need 24V the battery need to be setup in series.
So the PV modules and Charge controllers need to be setup in 24V configuration.
Then how we can obtain 12V to the ASIC? Assume the above existing setup cannot be changed except solar panels and Charge Controller
I'm not at all familiar with PV and Charge Controller so, I assume the CC never converts 24V to 12V.

Take a look at an image. http://s29.postimg.org/qri7f8ht3/Solar.png
I'm not sure the Replay connect is like that. Hope an experienced one can redesign the wiring and post an image.

[Lucky7Gaming]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qdvrwk1x7x5phse/140627_185044.png
Unfortunately I'm on a road trip, but I edited the photo.  I was thinking of using one battery on a charge controller like this in 12v mode  http://m.ebay.com/itm/351004581852?nav=SEARCH another possibility is you could use the charge controller in 24v mode and then force it into 12v with yet another converter.  That converter will however make the 12v output more steady than the direct 12v through the charge controller and battery which might be better for the miner.

[Lucky7Gaming]

Liking this thread.  It never ceases to amaze me just how many different types of peoples from so many diverse backgrounds and strengths can be brought together via this thing we call bitcoin!  Would love to one day have access to some serious natural energy to run a huge farm and support the network

Definitely cool.  I like green energy and am the electronics/programming leader for my New Jerswy award winnng high school robotics team.  I'm interested in the tech part of bitcoins  . I know some others like the finances, anonimity, and the trading of bitcoins too!

[Sector7G]

I was thinking about a solar set-up a few days ago.  I'm glad someone else is also looking into this. 

I was wondering about what happens after the sun goes down.  My idea was to lay the solar panels on my back patio.  I have flood lights that turn on/off at dusk & dawn.  I was wondering if I put the panels in a place where they'd be lit up by the flood lights, if that would allow enough power to flow into the battery overnight to keep it from running dry.  And the flood lights are 15 watt LEDs.  I guess it sounds too good to be true... using a 15 watt LED, solar panel, inverter, etc., to power an 850 watt PSU & Antminers.

[allcoinminer]

I was thinking about a solar set-up a few days ago.  I'm glad someone else is also looking into this. 

I was wondering about what happens after the sun goes down.  My idea was to lay the solar panels on my back patio.  I have flood lights that turn on/off at dusk & dawn.  I was wondering if I put the panels in a place where they'd be lit up by the flood lights, if that would allow enough power to flow into the battery overnight to keep it from running dry.  And the flood lights are 15 watt LEDs.  I guess it sounds too good to be true... using a 15 watt LED, solar panel, inverter, etc., to power an 850 watt PSU & Antminers.

Sector7G that will not work that way much. Conservation or energy is still valid.
These solar panel are very less in efficiency for convert photons to electrical energy.
Normally a solar panels efficiency is at 20%, means it will convert 20% of what you give.
Now, with 15 Watts LED you will get less than 3Watts from Solar panel. (15*.2=0.30Watts).
Even if we consider getting 3 watts you need 284 such LED lights in practical case you need more.
Do you think its viable to run such a system?

The possible two options and the best among it is to running on grid power during non solar time.
The second option is to have a lot of batteries to backup for 12 to 15 hours to run 850Watts load during the night.
That will be a mess and need a big investment and not worth the money for mining.

[allcoinminer]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qdvrwk1x7x5phse/140627_185044.png
Unfortunately I'm on a road trip, but I edited the photo.  I was thinking of using one battery on a charge controller like this in 12v mode  http://m.ebay.com/itm/351004581852?nav=SEARCH another possibility is you could use the charge controller in 24v mode and then force it into 12v with yet another converter.  That converter will however make the 12v output more steady than the direct 12v through the charge controller and battery which might be better for the miner.

Adding a converter is not an option for me. Also battery backup for the psu is necessary due to the possibility of power cut during night time.
I already have an 24V/1500VA Inverter and 2x 100AH battery. Which willl give a backup of atleast 2 hours for me during power cuts.
I'm trying to add solar to this setup without adding any more battery.
Hope keeping that in consideration you can advice further.

[Lucky7Gaming]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qdvrwk1x7x5phse/140627_185044.png
Unfortunately I'm on a road trip, but I edited the photo.  I was thinking of using one battery on a charge controller like this in 12v mode  http://m.ebay.com/itm/351004581852?nav=SEARCH another possibility is you could use the charge controller in 24v mode and then force it into 12v with yet another converter.  That converter will however make the 12v output more steady than the direct 12v through the charge controller and battery which might be better for the miner.

Adding a converter is not an option for me. Also battery backup for the psu is necessary due to the possibility of power cut during night time.
I already have an 24V/1500VA Inverter and 2x 100AH battery. Which willl give a backup of atleast 2 hours for me during power cuts.
I'm trying to add solar to this setup without adding any more battery.
Hope keeping that in consideration you can advice further.

Okay.  I didn't realize the battery was going to be used as a backup when the power goes out.  My power goes out very rarely so I never thought about that.  So your inverter goes from ac power to 24v DC?  And what charger are you using for the 2x 100a monster batteries?  The best option for this might be to charge up the battery by solar when the sun is up and then by inverter for when the sun is down.   Since you have a 24v inverter, I can't think of an easy way to make the batteries 12v without a complex switch which would disconnect and reconnect the batteries from each other to create 12v.  How are you making 12v from the batteries for backup right now? 

[allcoinminer]

I think you are confused a bit. Those batteries are not monster huge.
They are normal Tubular 100AH 12V battery connected in series. 2x means 2 no of batteries.
So in total the battery bank will give 24V 100AH. That battery is connected to a 24V/1500VA Inverter to get backup.
To reduce the power cost I'm looking to implement solar or other possible solutions like genset or so.

In my opinion if Solar is used its better to just plug the psu in inverter and connect the solar panels to battery rather
 than directly connecting 12V to ASIC devices. Then we can avoid the replay and converter. What yo think? Do you
know how efficient the generator thing is?

[wttbs]

Check this out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Z8gXaHozg

or this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5c98bJDP3w

[Lucky7Gaming]

I think you are confused a bit. Those batteries are not monster huge.
They are normal Tubular 100AH 12V battery connected in series. 2x means 2 no of batteries.
So in total the battery bank will give 24V 100AH. That battery is connected to a 24V/1500VA Inverter to get backup.
To reduce the power cost I'm looking to implement solar or other possible solutions like genset or so.

In my opinion if Solar is used its better to just plug the psu in inverter and connect the solar panels to battery rather
 than directly connecting 12V to ASIC devices. Then we can avoid the replay and converter. What yo think? Do you
know how efficient the generator thing is?

Okay.  I see.  You're taking the batteries and making ac power with the inverter and then converting it back to dc power with the PC power supply and I assume the batteries are plugged into some ac, to DC chargers? 

So is it          ac wall ->charger -> batteries -> inverter -> computer PSU -> miners
or
                      Ac wall -> PSU -> miners.  When power is up
                     Charger -> batteries -> inverter -> PSU -> miners only when power is out
100amps is pretty large...the largest ones on amazon are like 40amps and $50-60. 

I can think of many options that aren't very efficient.  When I get home tomorrow night I'll make a good diagram of this.  I feel like this'll require either a 24v to 12v step down or a whole overhauled battery charging scheme. 

[Lucky7Gaming]

Check this out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Z8gXaHozg

or this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5c98bJDP3w

Yes we both realize this.  We want to use wall power when it is available and solar and batteries as backup

[allcoinminer]

I think you are confused a bit. Those batteries are not monster huge.
They are normal Tubular 100AH 12V battery connected in series. 2x means 2 no of batteries.
So in total the battery bank will give 24V 100AH. That battery is connected to a 24V/1500VA Inverter to get backup.
To reduce the power cost I'm looking to implement solar or other possible solutions like genset or so.

In my opinion if Solar is used its better to just plug the psu in inverter and connect the solar panels to battery rather
 than directly connecting 12V to ASIC devices. Then we can avoid the replay and converter. What yo think? Do you
know how efficient the generator thing is?

Okay.  I see.  You're taking the batteries and making ac power with the inverter and then converting it back to dc power with the PC power supply and I assume the batteries are plugged into some ac, to DC chargers?  

So is it          ac wall ->charger -> batteries -> inverter -> computer PSU -> miners
or
                      Ac wall -> PSU -> miners.  When power is up
                     Charger -> batteries -> inverter -> PSU -> miners only when power is out
100amps is pretty large...the largest ones on amazon are like 40amps and $50-60.  

I can think of many options that aren't very efficient.  When I get home tomorrow night I'll make a good diagram of this.  I feel like this'll require either a 24v to 12v step down or a whole overhauled battery charging scheme.  

For a backup inverter like this 100AmpereHour is pretty common and normally used everywhere here in homes.
In youtube, I found a tons of guides and a few good ones. Thanks for wttbs to putting it here.
My current setup is like below, see the image.
Also I'm looking where Generators diesel/petrol/LPG is economic to run for this.

[Sector7G]

Sector7G that will not work that way much. Conservation or energy is still valid.
These solar panel are very less in efficiency for convert photons to electrical energy.
Normally a solar panels efficiency is at 20%, means it will convert 20% of what you give.
Now, with 15 Watts LED you will get less than 3Watts from Solar panel. (15*.2=0.30Watts).
Even if we consider getting 3 watts you need 284 such LED lights in practical case you need more.
Do you think its viable to run such a system?

The possible two options and the best among it is to running on grid power during non solar time.
The second option is to have a lot of batteries to backup for 12 to 15 hours to run 850Watts load during the night.
That will be a mess and need a big investment and not worth the money for mining.

Actually, the 15 watts is the amount of power the LED flood light uses.  But the output is equivalent to a 100 watt incandescent flood light.  It's over 1,000 lumens.  So I was just wondering if that might be enough to power the system.  I'm not sure if the wattage of the bulb is the best way to measure.  The amount of light reaching the panel is what matters. 

[Lucky7Gaming]

Sector7G that will not work that way much. Conservation or energy is still valid.
These solar panel are very less in efficiency for convert photons to electrical energy.
Normally a solar panels efficiency is at 20%, means it will convert 20% of what you give.
Now, with 15 Watts LED you will get less than 3Watts from Solar panel. (15*.2=0.30Watts).
Even if we consider getting 3 watts you need 284 such LED lights in practical case you need more.
Do you think its viable to run such a system?

The possible two options and the best among it is to running on grid power during non solar time.
The second option is to have a lot of batteries to backup for 12 to 15 hours to run 850Watts load during the night.
That will be a mess and need a big investment and not worth the money for mining.

Actually, the 15 watts is the amount of power the LED flood light uses.  But the output is equivalent to a 100 watt incandescent flood light.  It's over 1,000 lumens.  So I was just wondering if that might be enough to power the system.  I'm not sure if the wattage of the bulb is the best way to measure.  The amount of light reaching the panel is what matters. 

This is sort of irrelevant to mining but no way.   You can't get more energy out than what you put in.  The panels efficiency is 20% so there is no way this could happen.  Look on YouTube.

[Lucky7Gaming]

I think you are confused a bit. Those batteries are not monster huge.
They are normal Tubular 100AH 12V battery connected in series. 2x means 2 no of batteries.
So in total the battery bank will give 24V 100AH. That battery is connected to a 24V/1500VA Inverter to get backup.
To reduce the power cost I'm looking to implement solar or other possible solutions like genset or so.

In my opinion if Solar is used its better to just plug the psu in inverter and connect the solar panels to battery rather
 than directly connecting 12V to ASIC devices. Then we can avoid the replay and converter. What yo think? Do you
know how efficient the generator thing is?

Okay.  I see.  You're taking the batteries and making ac power with the inverter and then converting it back to dc power with the PC power supply and I assume the batteries are plugged into some ac, to DC chargers?  

So is it          ac wall ->charger -> batteries -> inverter -> computer PSU -> miners
or
                      Ac wall -> PSU -> miners.  When power is up
                     Charger -> batteries -> inverter -> PSU -> miners only when power is out
100amps is pretty large...the largest ones on amazon are like 40amps and $50-60.  

I can think of many options that aren't very efficient.  When I get home tomorrow night I'll make a good diagram of this.  I feel like this'll require either a 24v to 12v step down or a whole overhauled battery charging scheme.  

For a backup inverter like this 100AmpereHour is pretty common and normally used everywhere here in homes.
In youtube, I found a tons of guides and a few good ones. Thanks for wttbs to putting it here.
My current setup is like below, see the image.
Also I'm looking where Generators diesel/petrol/LPG is economic to run for this.

I'm going to ask some professional electrical engineers today and see what's the best for this system.  I feel like diesel generators are costly and inneficient.

[allcoinminer]

I think you are confused a bit. Those batteries are not monster huge.
They are normal Tubular 100AH 12V battery connected in series. 2x means 2 no of batteries.
So in total the battery bank will give 24V 100AH. That battery is connected to a 24V/1500VA Inverter to get backup.
To reduce the power cost I'm looking to implement solar or other possible solutions like genset or so.

In my opinion if Solar is used its better to just plug the psu in inverter and connect the solar panels to battery rather
 than directly connecting 12V to ASIC devices. Then we can avoid the replay and converter. What yo think? Do you
know how efficient the generator thing is?

Okay.  I see.  You're taking the batteries and making ac power with the inverter and then converting it back to dc power with the PC power supply and I assume the batteries are plugged into some ac, to DC chargers?  

So is it          ac wall ->charger -> batteries -> inverter -> computer PSU -> miners
or
                      Ac wall -> PSU -> miners.  When power is up
                     Charger -> batteries -> inverter -> PSU -> miners only when power is out
100amps is pretty large...the largest ones on amazon are like 40amps and $50-60.  

I can think of many options that aren't very efficient.  When I get home tomorrow night I'll make a good diagram of this.  I feel like this'll require either a 24v to 12v step down or a whole overhauled battery charging scheme.  

For a backup inverter like this 100AmpereHour is pretty common and normally used everywhere here in homes.
In youtube, I found a tons of guides and a few good ones. Thanks for wttbs to putting it here.
My current setup is like below, see the image.
Also I'm looking where Generators diesel/petrol/LPG is economic to run for this.

I'm going to ask some professional electrical engineers today and see what's the best for this system.  I feel like diesel generators are costly and inneficient.

I did some research in using fossil fuel ac generator sets. They are no where near to afford as a system for running 24hrs.
Their cost to output ratio is very high and dropped that fossil fuel plan.
Will look more into Solar + Grid Setup. As per my calculations when we combine the solar+grid ROI is 15 months and its very great.
Solar alone is expensive for this purpose due to the need for a large battery bank to get power when Sun is down.
If we are setting up a full solar setup minimum 35 12V 100AH batteries for continues 24hr 1KW/H delivery.

[Lucky7Gaming]

I think you are confused a bit. Those batteries are not monster huge.
They are normal Tubular 100AH 12V battery connected in series. 2x means 2 no of batteries.
So in total the battery bank will give 24V 100AH. That battery is connected to a 24V/1500VA Inverter to get backup.
To reduce the power cost I'm looking to implement solar or other possible solutions like genset or so.

In my opinion if Solar is used its better to just plug the psu in inverter and connect the solar panels to battery rather
 than directly connecting 12V to ASIC devices. Then we can avoid the replay and converter. What yo think? Do you
know how efficient the generator thing is?

Okay.  I see.  You're taking the batteries and making ac power with the inverter and then converting it back to dc power with the PC power supply and I assume the batteries are plugged into some ac, to DC chargers?  

So is it          ac wall ->charger -> batteries -> inverter -> computer PSU -> miners
or
                      Ac wall -> PSU -> miners.  When power is up
                     Charger -> batteries -> inverter -> PSU -> miners only when power is out
100amps is pretty large...the largest ones on amazon are like 40amps and $50-60.  

I can think of many options that aren't very efficient.  When I get home tomorrow night I'll make a good diagram of this.  I feel like this'll require either a 24v to 12v step down or a whole overhauled battery charging scheme.  

For a backup inverter like this 100AmpereHour is pretty common and normally used everywhere here in homes.
In youtube, I found a tons of guides and a few good ones. Thanks for wttbs to putting it here.
My current setup is like below, see the image.
Also I'm looking where Generators diesel/petrol/LPG is economic to run for this.

I'm going to ask some professional electrical engineers today and see what's the best for this system.  I feel like diesel generators are costly and inneficient.

I did some research in using fossil fuel ac generator sets. They are no where near to afford as a system for running 24hrs.
Their cost to output ratio is very high and dropped that fossil fuel plan.
Will look more into Solar + Grid Setup. As per my calculations when we combine the solar+grid ROI is 15 months and its very great.
Solar alone is expensive for this purpose due to the need for a large battery bank to get power when Sun is down.
If we are setting up a full solar setup minimum 35 12V 100AH batteries for continues 24hr 1KW/H delivery.

At robotics in my high school I'll talk to them about it, is having a battery bank for backup when there is no power still a viable option?

[allcoinminer]

I think you are confused a bit. Those batteries are not monster huge.
They are normal Tubular 100AH 12V battery connected in series. 2x means 2 no of batteries.
So in total the battery bank will give 24V 100AH. That battery is connected to a 24V/1500VA Inverter to get backup.
To reduce the power cost I'm looking to implement solar or other possible solutions like genset or so.

In my opinion if Solar is used its better to just plug the psu in inverter and connect the solar panels to battery rather
 than directly connecting 12V to ASIC devices. Then we can avoid the replay and converter. What yo think? Do you
know how efficient the generator thing is?

Okay.  I see.  You're taking the batteries and making ac power with the inverter and then converting it back to dc power with the PC power supply and I assume the batteries are plugged into some ac, to DC chargers? 

So is it          ac wall ->charger -> batteries -> inverter -> computer PSU -> miners
or
                      Ac wall -> PSU -> miners.  When power is up
                     Charger -> batteries -> inverter -> PSU -> miners only when power is out
100amps is pretty large...the largest ones on amazon are like 40amps and $50-60. 

I can think of many options that aren't very efficient.  When I get home tomorrow night I'll make a good diagram of this.  I feel like this'll require either a 24v to 12v step down or a whole overhauled battery charging scheme. 

For a backup inverter like this 100AmpereHour is pretty common and normally used everywhere here in homes.
In youtube, I found a tons of guides and a few good ones. Thanks for wttbs to putting it here.
My current setup is like below, see the image.
Also I'm looking where Generators diesel/petrol/LPG is economic to run for this.

I'm going to ask some professional electrical engineers today and see what's the best for this system.  I feel like diesel generators are costly and inneficient.

I did some research in using fossil fuel ac generator sets. They are no where near to afford as a system for running 24hrs.
Their cost to output ratio is very high and dropped that fossil fuel plan.
Will look more into Solar + Grid Setup. As per my calculations when we combine the solar+grid ROI is 15 months and its very great.
Solar alone is expensive for this purpose due to the need for a large battery bank to get power when Sun is down.
If we are setting up a full solar setup minimum 35 12V 100AH batteries for continues 24hr 1KW/H delivery.

At robotics in my high school I'll talk to them about it, is having a battery bank for backup when there is no power still a viable option?

Overhead cost for 35 12V 100AH batteries is huge. So its not a viable option in my opinion.
One 100Ah 12V battery will cost around 100 to 130 USD. So USD 3500 for the battery bank alone.
And the no of solar panels need to be almost doubled to charge this big battery bank.
So need atleast 15 no of 12V 250W PV Panels. $190 to $200 per PV panel cost another $2850 for 15 panels.
Adding all minimum 8000 to 1000 USD and which is very high for running such a small 1KW miner.

[biodieselchris]

If you have metered, grid-tied solar power you can receive free GreenCoins. You can mine whatever coin or what have you; there is no use-of-power requirements. As long as you have solar-powered rigs you might as well be getting your free coins. We've given out over 29 million to date and hand out another ~1,400,000 everyday, so come claims yours now!!! (PM me)