You should be. Solar is not a dependable power source in times of an emergency. Batter energy storage large enough to run pumps are either very expensive, or greatly undersized.
You really need to look at a fueled generator. You can use the solar/battery and size the battery and wiring large enough to run the pump, but you are going to need a generator to charge up that battery, unless you are only looking for a very short time frame for back up. Hours, not days.
FWIW, my guitar player just bought for his home about $4,000 worth of solar panels mail order from some company in California (he is an electrician that actually specializes in solar installations). 280 watt panels for $.61 a watt. I forgot the name of the company, but I’m planning on doing the same in the next few weeks. I want to run EVERYTHING off it if necessary. I may even augment with wind power (we can get serious wind here at night because we live on a plateau).
Part of my reason for posting is to bookmark this page, since I can’t really answer your question. Yet.
If you cannot run your pump, refrigerator, and fans and also recharge your battery bank, well, you can guess what quickly happens.
You might want to look into a combination of solar and wind.
I could be wrong,not being that much of an electrical technician.....but you have a 12V. 100 watt input,need a fair amount of output,plus some power loss through that inverter. Doesn’t seem to add up to me for anything other than very short term usage. Then there’s the consideration of whether or not you can depend on the sunshine.
Redundancy
Solar+Wind+Gas or Diesel or NatGas/LPG generator.
Because some times the sun don't shine and the wind don't blow...
You can make a fairly nice windmill system cheap and use the same batteries as the Solar system.
Add up all your ac watts and divide by 120. That is your ac load in amps.
Say you have a TV that consumes 1.5 amps of AC current and you are running it off your batteries through an inverter.
In order to power that TV, you are actually using 15 Amps of DC current (1.5 Amps (AC) x 10 = 15 Amps (DC)) (The 10 comes from the relationship of battery voltage 12, to ac line voltage 120).
Therefore, if you plan to watch TV 3 hours a day, then you will consume 45 Amp Hours total (15 Amps (DC) x 3 hours = 45 Amp Hours) .
You need more, but you have to figure out how much the pump and frig are going to run over time, etc.
A 200 ah battery will supply approx. 1 amp ac for 20 hours max. (or 20 amps ac for 1 hour).
You can power a cb and lights with what you have. No way you can do the rest.
Theres a way to turn an alternator into a windmill generator. I haven’t done it but there are guides online. You can attach it to a bike as well for momentary power during low wind situations.
A 2000 watt invertor might not be able to start the 750watt pump motor. The motor will draw a lot more than 750w for a second at start-up. The invertor circuit breaker might click off on you.
I’d get a portable gas generator to run the pump for short intervals.
I’d plan on 12v peltier coolers instead of a small fridge.
I’d get a few more solar panels.
I’d get a few cheap Chinese charge controllers from ebay as backups. You can get a 30amp for like 25 dollars.
I’d downsize the 40w lights to 17watt florescents or even better LED lights.
Get at least one backup invertor.
Get a couple more deep-cycle marine type batteries at
Wal-Mart ... I got mine there and they were cheap at less than 100$
Small system Solar is good for powering small fans, low watt lights, CB radios and such...not so great for microwave ovens, fridges, air conditioners, pump mortors.
Good questions. I have the same dilemma. Energy is the big question. My well pump isn’t too deep but the pump takes 5k watt peak too start up. I think it would take a heck of a solar system to handle it. I’m leaning towards a generator and a water storage system (500 gallon tank) and a hand pump on the well if I run out of fuel. Bison hand pumps are made in America and seem to be the highest quality. Cheaper version are available from other companies. This thread will be good for other ideas.
You need lots more solar panel capacity, plus lots more battery storage capacity.
You have a single 100 watt solar panel. You can calculate its output, roughly, by: Watts = amps x volts.
So 8.33 amps x 12 volts = 100 watts.
In other words, the solar panel you have will put out about 8 amps.
You’ve got a good start with your inverter and your charge controller, but you need at least 2 more panels and at least one more battery to utilize your inverter and charge controller capacity. And that will not be nearly enough to power the things you listed.
I’ve got my own 12 volt system. I have 375 watts of charging capacity, but here in the Pacific NW we tend to have a few cloudy days...
Even on a cloudy day I get some power, but not nearly the rated amount. I can run a pellet stove for a few hours, recharge batteries for flashlights and lanterns, and recharge batteries for a low power laptop. That’s about it.
just make sure you put the alternative iv adapter into the ac outlet..and then it should be fine.
You need a huge dose of “Steve Harris”.
First off, forget powering your 750W deep well pump. That’s out. And 100W of panel just isn’t going to cut it - ever.
Here’s your primary resource -
http://www.solar1234.com
Listen to his interviews on the topic, and you’ll get a more reasonable expectation of what you can do.
Also, he has equipment lists of things that he’s tried out and approves of. Great guy.
Bump!
Bump.
The start on the pump will trip your inverter.
http://www.wholesalesolar.com/Information-SolarFolder/Invt-sizingforwellpump.html
Bfl
Those little solar flowers that flap their leaves and bob back and forth are the best solar devices known in keeping investors as close to payback as they will ever get. You can get them at The Dollar Store.
I’m no electrician but I have been researching solar systems for our mountain retreat for a couple of years. Based on what you say you have for solar power and what you need to run with it you are really underpowered.
I have learned that solar systems are not very efficient. They have to be oversized.
Well pumps take a lot of juice. You can moderate that need with one of those blue gravity vessels. Maybe you already have one. Anyway to run lights, fans, well pump, TV, fridge etc you are probably going to need at least a 1.59KW system. I would guess 6-8 265 watt panels and 6-8 deep cycle batteries. Probably $12,000 after its all said and done.
We are putting all appliances on propane except for a small efficient chest freezer. So our solar system will only be running lights, freezer, fans, well pump, washing machine etc. and we are still going to have a propane generator on hand in case we get 4-5 gray days in a row which we tend to do in GA in the winter. I’m going to order one of those plug and plays from Wholesale Solar. We figure we need about a 2.39KW system. Thats 9 265 watt panels and 10-12 batteries.
We are planning on the grid going down at some point and staying down for a year or two. We aren’t pioneer so we do not want to be without a reliable electric source. If you can afford it oversize the system and then you won’t have to worry when things go South.
Look. Don’t let some of these comments discourage you. You’ve got a good start and should be able to get an idea of where you need to go with a little experimenting.
The pump is the biggest challenge. You have a pretty good chance of being able to draw a bathtub full of water every few days or so with what you’ve got.
Try it. Your inverter should have a “surge” rating, maybe 2500w or so. It’ll carry that for a second or four prior to tripping off, which should be enough time to spin up your pump. Try relieving your pressure tank pressure down to zero to reduce the head pressure the pump sees, start with full batteries, and throw the switch. I bet it’ll work. (Don’t forget, at 750w, you’re talkin’ like 65 amps, size the wire between your batteries and invertor accordingly).
You’ll want more panel. I work with a 200w stationary set-up,20a Morningstar controller, 260ah Trojan batteries, and a 600w sinewave converter. I’m building a tracker right now which will boost panel output by about 30%. I run computers and ham radio.
When I come across a deal on more panels, I’ll get ‘em.
Anyhow, try the pump. Let us know how it goes.