Generally when you have two batteries or a battery fail in a series connected string, the progression of domino's has already started. People replace the 2 batteries, and then a couple of months later, another one or two go out, and another, and so it goes...
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Anything less than a professionally manufactured cable compromises the entire system and is a waste of money. Cable is where all your current flows to and from your batteries. Think of it this way. Cheap cable simply cannot handle the load. If you cheap out on this component, you waste your money on everything else. Solar panels, batteries, inverter. Everything is compromised.
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We recently had a customer contact us. She wanted to add more batteries to her system because we are now in a rainy season and have less sun. Typically adding to the battery bank seems to make sense to most. For the past 3 decades this seems to be the obvious solution for most people who are running out of capacity. But this type of thinking is completely backwards.
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When choosing batteries for renewable energy, you may think it's best to buy the biggest Amp Hour battery available. However, in this case, bigger is not always best. You don’t need the 100 Amp Hour (AH) rated battery; here we explain why 20 hours is the appropriate rating for a renewable energy battery.
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Heat is an enemy of all lead acid batteries, and Flooded, AGM and Gel Cell batteries are all lead acid. Even very small increases in temperature can have a negative impact on battery life.
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Millions of people around the world rely on rainwater catchment as their ONLY source of water. It can comprise a simple barrel that captures water for use in the garden or can be an advanced rainwater catchment system that generates purified drinking water.
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Many groups and organizations provide resources regarding residential and business solar power systems. We list a few of the most helpful.
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A solar charge controller keeps a battery bank from overcharging and turns off solar panels at night to block current from reversing from the batteries to the panels, an important function since electrons can flow both ways. Learn more about how charge controllers work and how they add to battery life.
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The answer to this question starts with how much solar do you have and what size and voltage battery do you want to charge? There are two basic types of charge controllers - PWM and MPPT.
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The answer is almost always YES, apart from a really small battery and solar panel. So, you ask what is a real small solar panel… about 5 watts or less, but can’t a 5-watt panel overcharge a small 12-volt battery that’s not being used? YES, it can.
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