Solar power

[BLM]

I am looking at solar power to backup when we have a brown out. I've read about the stand alone and those on grid. The cost looks high and during rainy season it looks like power will have to come through a battery setup, with AC out of the question because it would drain the battery quickly. Just the frig and a fan or two is all I need to have run.

Anyone here have a solar setup or gone through the process? Would a generator be a better bet? When I was with the National Guard I remember having to refuel the generator every 4 hours around the clock. I'd rather have something that doesn't need constant attention.

[hk blues]

1 minute ago, BLM said:

I am looking at solar power to backup when we have a brown out. I've read about the stand alone and those on grid. The cost looks high and during rainy season it looks like power will have to come through a battery setup, with AC out of the question because it would drain the battery quickly. Just the frig and a fan or two is all I need to have run.

Anyone here have a solar setup or gone through the process? Would a generator be a better bet? When I was with the National Guard I remember having to refuel the generator every 4 hours around the clock. I'd rather have something that doesn't need constant attention.

I can't talk of solar systems but if you're really only looking for something to keep the fridge and one or two fans going maybe solar power is overkill - you would need a battery system and they are pricey.

Your area may suffer longer brownouts than ours, but our fridge has never failed in a brownout even a 12-hour one. Our fridge has a simple ice block in the freezer unit which is rated for 12 hours.  If you wanted, you could add a 2nd which would extend that. It's the same block as you can find in chiller boxed for camping etc. As for fans, probably buying a couple of decent rechargeable ones would suffice most of the time.

Again, your circumstance may be more extreme than mine but I'm not convinced solar is the way to go if you only want emergency backup for a few appliances.

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, BLM said:

I'd rather have something that doesn't need constant attention.

Best of luck with that.  Most use a grid tie in when using solar so when the power is out the solar does not work either.  I had a battery backup system that was good for 8 to 12 hours and that was fine for short blackouts.  A solar powered back up that stores power in batteries for up to 24 hours might be the way to go, but I could never justify the expense of all those batteries.

[fillipino_wannabe]

On grid solar is much better in terms of saving money but won't work during a brownout. Better to just get a generator if its just for brownouts, mine lasts about 12 hours+ even with 2hp of aircon on, would probably be 24 hours+ without.

[Lee]

5 hours ago, BLM said:

Would a generator be a better bet?

IMO a generator would be better.

Most are quite noisy though and would require keeping a stock of diesel on hand. A tank of fuel lasts about 6 hrs in my generator. They can be hard to start if they sit around for several months.

[Huggybearman]

We used to have regular brownouts lasting anything up to 4 to 8 hours, sometimes longer. About 8 years ago I assembled a decent sized UPS with a good quality 1000w pure sine wave inverter, a decent multi stage ‘intelligent’ battery charger and 2 x 110ah 12v deep cycle gel batteries wired to give 220ah. That worked well, I could run a large flat screen led tv, internet, two fans, several lights and it would last about five hours or so without running the batteries down to below about 50% capacity. The problem was that the batteries only lasted about 12 to 18 months before needing replacement. Even though they were quite expensive they were cheap Chinese construction and didn’t last. Having got through three sets of batteries I decided to purchase a little Honda eu10i 900 watt gasoline suitcase inverter generator. It is extremely quiet and in eco mode, running everything I ran before with the UPS, gives me over 8 hours running on a 2 liter tank of fuel. I can even run the fridge freezer as well during prolonged brownouts.
It always starts first pull and is extremely reliable. I had one many years on my boat in the UK and used it regularly over 10 years. It never missed a beat! They aren’t cheap, but you certainly get what you pay for!

[GeoffH]

Big fan of the Honda series of small petrol gasoline generators, they're typically Honda reliable, relatively quiet and meant for occasional use so they store well.

Put some fuel stabilizer in the tank if you're leaving the tank filled, change the oil once a year and it'll probably outlive the buyer.

[BLM]

2 hours ago, Huggybearman said:

We used to have regular brownouts lasting anything up to 4 to 8 hours, sometimes longer. About 8 years ago I assembled a decent sized UPS with a good quality 1000w pure sine wave inverter, a decent multi stage ‘intelligent’ battery charger and 2 x 110ah 12v deep cycle gel batteries wired to give 220ah. That worked well, I could run a large flat screen led tv, internet, two fans, several lights and it would last about five hours or so without running the batteries down to below about 50% capacity. The problem was that the batteries only lasted about 12 to 18 months before needing replacement. Even though they were quite expensive they were cheap Chinese construction and didn’t last. Having got through three sets of batteries I decided to purchase a little Honda eu10i 900 watt gasoline suitcase inverter generator. It is extremely quiet and in eco mode, running everything I ran before with the UPS, gives me over 8 hours running on a 2 liter tank of fuel. I can even run the fridge freezer as well during prolonged brownouts.
It always starts first pull and is extremely reliable. I had one many years on my boat in the UK and used it regularly over 10 years. It never missed a beat! They aren’t cheap, but you certainly get what you pay for!

I might just get a generator and avoid all the headaches. My Guard Unit used a Honda 1k generator that was like yours, always started and never had a problem. 

[Hestecrefter]

I'll support @hk bluescomment as likely best for you.

My principal residence in Canada is off-grid and I have lived that way for 15 years.  I have 3,000 watts of solar (not a big array, but enough), a 2.5 kw wind turbine and a 7.5 kw Kubota diesel generator as a backup.  The system works well, but not really cheap to install or maintain.  Although, the cost of solar panels has decreased quite a bit over the years. 

As mentioned, batteries will be an issue.  The norm is old-school lead acid batts.  I have 8 batts, described as "6CS-25PS   Surrette Solar Battery, 6V, 1156 AHr, Dual                Wall Container" for a 48-volt system.  They are 15 years old.  They are last to last 20, with care.  They cost about USD1,000 apiece and weigh 325 lb. each.  I think the heat in the Phils would shorten their life considerably.  They like cold, as do solar panels.  The panels produce more juice when cold.  The batts last much longer in a cold climate, but the cold reduces their power output.  Something like Tesla Powerwall might work better there, not so adversely affected by heat.  But, again, probably not worth it.

As for generators, probably the small Honda, as suggested.  You don't want diesel unless you spend a lot.  Small cheap ones are junk.  You need a heavy, expensive, slow-turning (1,800 rpm) diesel to have a long-lasting reliable machine.  A good one can go 30,000 hours without much trouble.

 

 

 

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, Hestecrefter said:

 I think the heat in the Phils would shorten their life considerably.

While this may be the case, replacing batteries in the Philippines is likely cheaper than Canada.

vs 

12,500 Pesos is about 1/3 the cost of 900 Canadian dollars and a person would likely be able to get that cost down.  I spent 20,000 pesos on 2 12V 200AH batteries a few years back so, with inflation, the 12.5K sounds right. Those 2 batteries would back up my 3000 amp inverter for 8 to 12 hours.  I suspect about 6 of those batteries would keep the essentials running for 24 hours quite nicely.