Off grid lighting doesn't have to be as some people imagine. Often the perception is of a dimly lit lamp illuminating some dark corner of a shed or barn. No, we have moved on a long way from that I can tell you. Almost anything is now possible with low voltage off grid lighting.
There are basic facts to consider when preparing to install a reliable and efficient, off grid lighting / power system. For a start it will be serviced solely by solar PV or wind power or perhaps both. So, by working off grid this means you have no available power from regular AC mains and for that reason careful planing is required to ensure high reliability. The power system will require a few but fairly simple components such as a photovoltaic panels, deep cycle storage battery, charge regulator and of course good quality cables, a fuse box, switch units for the lighting and a suitable lighting units for the rooms. Let's look at some of the things we have to think about to get going without expensive mistakes and time loss.
Okay, so let calculate how powerful our PV array need to be. It is super important to be able to get as much sun as possible to the solar PV panels so careful positioning is required. The panels should face due south and will ideally be at an optimum angle of say 45 degrees. It is important to be sure all surrounding shrubs and potentially overhanging tree branches will not add shade during the summer months. Any shade or shadow falling on a photovoltaic panel will cause severe power loss and will prevent the system operating at anything like the required power levels.
In the UK, the optimum mounting angle is around 30 to 45 degrees from horizontal and of course, as directly south facing as possible.
It is helpful to be able access your solar array for maintenance. It may be necessary to clean panels that are mounted at a very shallow angle of say 10 or 15 degrees due to the build up of moss, bird droppings and lichens. If the panels can be mounted at a good angle not only will this ensure a better yield of power across the various months of the year but it will also assist with the natural cleaning effect from general weather conditions. It also important to ensure roof mounted panels are safe and will not be dislodged by high winds.
I will like to stress that a good angle of inclination of say over 30 degrees, at least in the UK,will ensure your PV panels remain clean and yield good power.
Let's start to work out how much power we need then. First off, we need to calculate the size of our PV array based on winter power production. Of course if it is not required for winter use we can work from prime summer production. Winter yield can be considered to be an average of 1 hour per day. So from this we can basically say that a 300W system would give us around 300 watt hours of power on a reasonable winter day - in the UK anyway. There are also some losses associated with this figure so it will in fact be a little lower.
There are more steps to consider such as batteries, regulators and lighting and you can read more on our blog at the OnSolar website, see link below.
There are basic facts to consider when preparing to install a reliable and efficient, off grid lighting / power system. For a start it will be serviced solely by solar PV or wind power or perhaps both. So, by working off grid this means you have no available power from regular AC mains and for that reason careful planing is required to ensure high reliability. The power system will require a few but fairly simple components such as a photovoltaic panels, deep cycle storage battery, charge regulator and of course good quality cables, a fuse box, switch units for the lighting and a suitable lighting units for the rooms. Let's look at some of the things we have to think about to get going without expensive mistakes and time loss.
Okay, so let calculate how powerful our PV array need to be. It is super important to be able to get as much sun as possible to the solar PV panels so careful positioning is required. The panels should face due south and will ideally be at an optimum angle of say 45 degrees. It is important to be sure all surrounding shrubs and potentially overhanging tree branches will not add shade during the summer months. Any shade or shadow falling on a photovoltaic panel will cause severe power loss and will prevent the system operating at anything like the required power levels.
In the UK, the optimum mounting angle is around 30 to 45 degrees from horizontal and of course, as directly south facing as possible.
It is helpful to be able access your solar array for maintenance. It may be necessary to clean panels that are mounted at a very shallow angle of say 10 or 15 degrees due to the build up of moss, bird droppings and lichens. If the panels can be mounted at a good angle not only will this ensure a better yield of power across the various months of the year but it will also assist with the natural cleaning effect from general weather conditions. It also important to ensure roof mounted panels are safe and will not be dislodged by high winds.
I will like to stress that a good angle of inclination of say over 30 degrees, at least in the UK,will ensure your PV panels remain clean and yield good power.
Let's start to work out how much power we need then. First off, we need to calculate the size of our PV array based on winter power production. Of course if it is not required for winter use we can work from prime summer production. Winter yield can be considered to be an average of 1 hour per day. So from this we can basically say that a 300W system would give us around 300 watt hours of power on a reasonable winter day - in the UK anyway. There are also some losses associated with this figure so it will in fact be a little lower.
There are more steps to consider such as batteries, regulators and lighting and you can read more on our blog at the OnSolar website, see link below.
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