Electrician please comment solar off grid

Roy O'Bannon

Well-Known Member
Most led strips and COBs want anywhere from 10V to 60V.

I'd definitely run higher voltage minimum 48V.

I think losses on 12V would be crazy without running really big wires right up to the fixtures.
You size the wire off the amperage, not the voltage. The insulation needs to be rated for the voltage from what I have seen.
They make some nice solar regulators, you could charge a few batteries wired in series to get the voltage you need.

Some remote sites I worked on had 4x4 solare panel, 4 deep cycles at 24v, sometimes a/c power. Had a regulator with a temp sensor built in that stopped charging the batteries when they got warm.
A relay switched between whichever power had the highest voltage. They ran them so the solar was always slightly higher V than the a/c to keep it on solar as much as possible.
This one https://www.solar-electric.com/sunsaver-ss-20l-24v-solar-charge-controller.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjw5uWGBhCTARIsAL70sLKng9hsp1potlKXxTxAc3NTVDnPUj8nNM3rmaVaK5u84K92JhHxlIsaAurUEALw_wcB
 
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MidnightSun72

Well-Known Member
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You size the wire off the amperage, not the voltage. The insulation needs to be rated for the voltage from what I have seen.
They make some nice solar regulators, you could charge a few batteries wired in series to get the voltage you need.

Some remote sites I worked on had 4x4 solare panel, 4 deep cycles at 24v, sometimes a/c power. Had a regulator with a temp sensor built in that stopped charging the batteries when they got warm.
A relay switched between whichever power had the highest voltage. They ran them so the solar was always slightly higher V than the a/c to keep it on solar as much as possible.
I didn't say you size the wires off the voltage. I said at that low voltage you need a larger diameter wire to avoid voltage drop.

also on such a low volt system 12V that would force your amperage up anyway. A 600W light at 12V = 50a
 

goofy81

Well-Known Member
I'm not talking about 12v mini LDD drivers etc
I'm talking 1000w dc to DC which has an input range in line with solar panels which output 48v which a lot of quantum style boards use.
This would eliminate the need for a battery, solar charge controller, etc. But if its cloudy, or dark you won't be getting much, if any light.

 
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