John and Gudrun’s farm power supply.
Salmon Gums, Western Australia.
Latitude 33 degrees South
Commissioned September 2000. Hybrid solar / diesel system for farmhouse and workshop. Typical remote area power supply (R.A.P.S) with 7 Kva diesel generator for backup during sustained cloudy periods. Average generator running time is less than 1 hour daily.
Power system
- 24 x Uni-Solar US-64 Advanced, thin film, triple junction, photo-voltaic panels. (1536 peak watts) Nett daily energy production (after system losses) is 8500 watt-hours in Summer and 5500 watt-hours in Winter. 12 panels are mounted on a Uni-Sun fixed array frame, and the other 12 are mounted on a Sun Dog tracking frame.
- 2 x Plasmatronic PL-20 Regulator / controllers (one for the fixed array and one for the tracker) with SH-200 current shunt and PLS shunt adaptor. This allows all solar energy generated and consumed to be monitored, greatly enhancing the users comprehension and knowledge of the power systems operation.
- 24 x Exide 2 volt 670 amp-hour, deep cycle battery cells. These are connected in series to deliver
32,160 watt-hours of energy storage. This equates to around 5 days of electrical demand when fully charged.
- 1 x Solar Energy Australia SEAP-48-3K8 True sine wave inverter. 3800 watts continuous rating, 4500 watts for 0.5 hours, 10,500 watts for 10 seconds. This powerful inverter can deliver 15 amps @240 volts continuously. Enough grunt to run practically any single phase appliance or power tool normally encountered in farm workshops. Three of these inverters can also be coupled together as a three phase set.
- 1 x SSL Industrial grade battery charger. 48 volts, 50 amps. delivers 2.5 Kilowatts input to the battery per hour of generator running time. Absolutely essential for fast recharge of large batteries using diesel or petrol generators. Minimizes running time and fuel consumption.
Notes;
This is a classic system for small to medium sized farms that we have proven throughout outback Australia.
Fossil fuel consumption is so minimal it is practically insignificant, yet the genset provides valuable energy input at critical times, delivering great flexibility in overall system operation.