Stand-alone off-grid renewable Photovoltaic (PV) power systems are ideal for all types of installations
Whether its a small outbuilding, stable or shed or your whole house or business premises an off-grid PV power generation systems can be sized to meet all of the power needs.
In order to size a system correctly there are a few considerations that need to be taken into account;
1. Available space – do you have enough room to fit all of the equipment
2. Power consumption of the property – peak and daily power demands
3. Geographical location – how much sun light is available
4. Shading issues – are there trees, telegraph poles or other buildings in the way
5. Economic viability – how long will it take to get your money back?
One of the advantages of a stand-alone off grid PV system, is it can be modified and added to without having to throw everything away and starting again from scratch. Your dependency on the national grid and utility companies will be cut or potentially stopped altogether. To be entirely self sufficient is a rewarding feeling.
Stand-alone off-grid PV system
No matter what size, the off-grid PV system would require.
1. Panels
2. Mounting equipment
3. Controller
4. Cable and connectors
5. Battery storage – single or multiple batteries
6. Safety equipment – such as Fuses, Isolator switches and distribution boards.
7. Battery monitor (optional)
8. Inverter – for ac powered equipment (optional)
9. Stand-by power - generator (optional)
Solar Array Can be roof or ground mounted with a multitude of equipment being available to fit the panels to most structures. There are even trackers available which will adjust the PV array’s direction to optimise its output.
From a one panel to multi-panel system, equipment is available to meet every need.
Charge Controller
Once again there are a multitude of different charge controllers available for all types of systems with lots of different functionality. However, they all perform in much the same way with their primary function to protect the battery bank from overcharging.
Battery Bank
Probably the most important part of the system as the correct battery/batteries need to be chosen for the system. Using either the wrong batteries or incorrectly charging/discharging to correct batteries will damage them and degrade the system adding unnecessary extra costs. This the most costly aspect of the system and battery care is important.
Inverter
An inverter is required when you want to power AC devices. The inverter converts the DC power from the solar array/batteries into AC power. Again, many different types to suit all installs.
Power Demands
It’s very important to work out the power demands, both peak and daily. Peak is when the majority of devices are switched on at the same time. Daily is power usage over a 24hr period. These power demands will dictate how big the battery bank will need to be in order to store enough energy to facilitate the power demands. Once the battery bank has been sized, it is then a matter of sizing a PV array to be able to keep the battery bank charged.
System Safety
All electrical power supplies and systems can be extremely dangerous, especially DC. Only trained or competent people should work on electrical systems. The correct electrical safety devices, such as fuses, circuit breakers, isolators and distribution boards must be designed in the system.
Navitron can spec all the necessary components for your off-grid system. We have some off-the-shelf products available on our website but due to the complexity of an off-grid kit we recommend getting our help on sizing the system.