I have been experimenting on solar power for years but it is only recently I decided to go full speed and spent big. I want to share this project so anyone who want to DIY their home solar power project can follow.
Our country has the most expensive electricity rate in the whole south east asia so, investing in solar power is a no brainer. Sure it is a bit expensive but ROI is only around 3-4years if you do it yourself.
About my Home Solar power project
We consume about an average of 220kWh per month, that is around 7.33kWh per day. In Philippines you get a max of 5hrs accumulated sun energy. So divide 7.33kHw by 5. You will get 1.47kW, that will be the minimum solar panel power you will need. I got a good deal of 320W panel online, I bought 5pcs so the actual total power is 1.6kW.
My total load in my house in most of the time is below 300W, it only gets to around 1kW when we use our rice cooker. It gets to max 1.8kW when we use our 1hp aircon. A 2kW inverter would be enough for my needs but I decided to get a 3kW inverter instead for more headroom. The 3kw will also run cooler than the 2kW because it has more capacity.
My original plan was to use a 48V system but my budget won’t allow me. I then decided to go for 24V instead. I did choose the 100Ah lifepo4 battery because it will last longer compared to lead and sealed acid battery.
For the solar charge controller, I chose SRNE because it has many reviews on shopee and lazada. I chose the 40A version over the 60A version simple because of the price. It is cheaper to but 2pcs of 40A SRNE compared to 1pc 60A SRNE.
Materials
- Pure Sine Wave Inverter
Most cheap inverter are most likely a high frequency square wave or modified sine wave inverter which is fine for most electronic products but a problem on motorized appliances such as electric fan and washing machine. Pure sine wave inverter are usually bigger and heavier such as this one that I have chosen.
SNADI and SNAT are the same. For my project I chose the SNAT 24V 3kW inverter. This inverter has a built in Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) so you don’t have to worry, when the battery gets low, it automatically switch to grid power.
SNADI Inverter 24V 3Kw regular cost is Php 12,500 online.
320W Solar panel cost Php 4,640 from IAN Solar.
2.1m Railing pair cost Php 850 online. It can hold 2 320W panels.
8pcs 100Ah battery for 24V system. Full charged voltage is 28.8V. A total of 2.5kWh battery capacity. I got it all for only Php14,600 on sale
There are many solar charge controllers on the market. The Blue one on the picture is the cheapest PWM Solar charge controller. It only cost around Php 280 online. The black one is the cheapest MPPT SCC.
The one I used is the SRNE 40A MPPT SCC. It cost around 4000 pesos. It has a max power input of 1100W for 24V system and 550W for 12V system.
Materials Summary
320W IAN Solar panels 5 x Php 4,640
Railings Php 850/pair x 3 pairs
L foot Php 90 x 18
End Clamp Php 40 x 12
Mid Clamp Php 40 x 6
4mm double core wire Php60/meter x 20 meters
MC4 Php 80/pair x 5pairs
SRNE 40A MPPT SCC Php4000 x 2(regular price)
100AH Lifepo4 battery Php 2,150/pc x 8pcs(regular price)
24V 3kW SNAT inverter Php 12,500 x 1 (regular price)
10m AWG 12 wires – Php 30 x 10
Breakers:
125A single pole DC breaker – Php 250 x 1
50A single pole breaker – Php 100 x 4
10A 2-pole AC breaker – Php 160 x 1
20A 2-pole AC breaker – Php 180 x 1
32A 2-pole AC breaker – Php 180 x 1
10-way breaker box – Php 500 x 1