Solar battery to use

O

oscarlets

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Hi

I hope you're all well.
Please help me with advice. With Eskom 18 months loadshedding coming I'm considering getting solar battery to connect as backup for lights, tv's and laptop's. How much battery AH do I need to keep going for 4 hours? I intend to switch off fridges and not use electric kettle. Just 5 x Eurolux 5w lights, two LED Tv's , 1 x laptop.

I see batteries have AH, already I have medium solar panel, I'll need battery and voltage regulator. But how big?

Thank you in advance.
 
S

Steamy Tom

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You need roughly 500Whx4hrs so you need 2000Wh, you need at least 400Ah @ 12v if you are using lead acid. What you want is called a solar charge controller. And obviously you would need an inverter. Keep in mind losses do occur both ways
 
TheChamp

TheChamp

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oscarlets said:
Hi

I hope you're all well.
Please help me with advice. With Eskom 18 months loadshedding coming I'm considering getting solar battery to connect as backup for lights, tv's and laptop's. How much battery AH do I need to keep going for 4 hours? I intend to switch off fridges and not use electric kettle. Just 5 x Eurolux 5w lights, two LED Tv's , 1 x laptop.

I see batteries have AH, already I have medium solar panel, I'll need battery and voltage regulator. But how big?

Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...
How much watts does your medium solar panel have?

It also looks to me like you need an inverter?
 
O

oscarlets

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409
Steamy Tom said:
You need roughly 500Whx4hrs so you need 2000Wh, you need at least 400Ah @ 12v if you are using lead acid. What you want is called a solar charge controller. And obviously you would need an inverter. Keep in mind losses do occur both ways
Click to expand...
400ah you say? Yho! Here I was looking at spending 5k or less on inverter and voltage regulator, and battery. Ja neh
 
O

oscarlets

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thechamp said:
How much watts does your medium solar panel have?

It also looks to me like you need an inverter?
Click to expand...
30 watts but it charges fast. I remember when car battery was giving in I would connect it for few minutes and the car would start.
 
Pineapple Smurf

Pineapple Smurf

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i wouldnt even bother with tvs
laptop should be able to run on its own for 4hrs during load shedding
the family can use their laptops/phones/tablets etc during load shedding as well offgrid

all you need is the 5x5w lights and keep your internet alive

something simple for R5k i can suggest is this.
Shop around and you can get much cheaper as well

Sustainable.co.za Solar Power Kit Three 250Wh - Sustainable.co.za

<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>System Components</strong></p> <ul class="disc" style="text-align: justify;"> <li><a href="https://www.sustainable.co.za/raylite-r-solar-rro-50ah-12v-battery.html" target="_blank"><span>1 x Raylite R-Solar RR0 12V
www.sustainable.co.za www.sustainable.co.za

But this is proper stuff, i personally only run Victron solar chargers and inverters and absolutely love it :thumbsup:
 
TheChamp

TheChamp

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Last edited:
S

Steamy Tom

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thechamp said:
Get this

Compare Products & Prices Online | Best Price Comparison Site | PriceCheck

Compare Products & Prices Online | Best Price Comparison Site | PriceCheck
www.pricecheck.co.za www.pricecheck.co.za

And this https://sinetechstore.co.za/shop/ba...-slimline-battery-20hr-rate-maintenance-free/

Save some money and buy another battery soon afterwards. Look for the cheapest charge controller you can find with what's left.
Click to expand...

i agree with this, but you need 2 x batteries which puts him way over budget, in the same price range this battery is better: https://www.communica.co.za/products/batt-12v120-opr
 
Pineapple Smurf

Pineapple Smurf

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and seen as OP already has solar panel i suggest getting the solar charge kit for the Mecer as well
 
J

joker08

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A simple Mercer ups like this one should be enough considering the budget.
www.geewiz.co.za

Mecer 1200VA Inverter + 100AH / 90AH Battery (4 HOUR BATTERY LIFE) KIT - 720W - GeeWiz

mecer 1200va
www.geewiz.co.za www.geewiz.co.za
.
Ofcourse u have to spend money for an electrician to come over and rewire the things u want to run off this ups. So he will have to rewire the sockets u intent to use for the tv, modem/cpe and lights so that they get power through this device.

I dont see why spend on solar stuff when the budget is small and u dont need to get off grid. I am guessing it's because OP already has solar panels. Maybe a solar charging unit for the above might help.
 
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