Solar energy for when electric is out

[justingraham]

I hope this is the right forum

I'm trying to prepare for a power outage.

Is there anyone out there using solar panels to power the fish tank for a couple hours if the power goes out?

If so how are u able to switch to solar energy when you are not home and the power goes out. I have been googling like crazy and I must not be asking the right google.

Any idea are welcome my plan is to have 4 deep cycle batteries being charged by a 100w solar panel. If my guesstimating is correct that will give me ten hours of flow in my tank. My fish tank has two separate 20 amp circuits only using about 7 amps total so it would be easy to power it up. I just have to figure out how when the power goes out it can switch over to solar power.

Thanks in advance

Justin

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Hey, @bif24701 has a back up that lasts a couple days, with the correct switcher you can add the solar panel. Same switcher as a larger instal but smaller.
I believe the switcher is called an Automatic Load Transfer Switch.

 

[Reef_Tank_Fan_SC]

I just had some people come to my house and do a consultation about solar power for my house.. the guy told me that the way solar power works is it replaces the incoming power from you power provider. However once you lose power you also lose the solar. It doesn't produce power to its on capacitor. It just limits the amount pull from the line therefore limiting you power bill. It isn't a standalone power source though unfortunately. That is what is was told so I didn't bother going with the solar. It may be different in your area though but I would make sure you let them know what your plan is to find out all the facts. I am in South Carolina so it my be different where you live.

 

[justingraham]

I just had some people come to my house and do a consultation about solar power for my house.. the guy told me that the way solar power works is it replaces the incoming power from you power provider. However once you lose power you also lose the solar. It doesn't produce power to its on capacitor. It just limits the amount pull from the line therefore limiting you power bill. It isn't a standalone power source though unfortunately. That is what is was told so I didn't bother going with the solar. It may be different in your area though but I would make sure you let them know what your plan is to find out all the facts. I am in South Carolina so it my be different where you live.

Well see I don't want full solar I would save the "power" into the batteries to be used. There for with four 12 volt batteries holding power for when I need it. Think if it like ur car battery. Power is off but ur battery still has juice to turn on the car. The alternator charges the battery so it doesn't die. So the solar panel would be my alternator. I don't want to give any power to my electric company I just want to be able to run my tank and wifi if power is out. And u are correct full solar on the roof I agree with does nothing because u don't have a storage unit.

 

[justingraham]

And thanks salty hopefully that guy replies as I can't find anything on it

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Heres the his build thread.https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/bifs-sps-reef.303078/

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

and this. https://www.solarpaneltalk.com/foru...en-using-power-from-solar-panels-and-the-grid

 

[Reef_Tank_Fan_SC]

Well see I don't want full solar I would save the "power" into the batteries to be used. There for with four 12 volt batteries holding power for when I need it. Think if it like ur car battery. Power is off but ur battery still has juice to turn on the car. The alternator charges the battery so it doesn't die. So the solar panel would be my alternator. I don't want to give any power to my electric company I just want to be able to run my tank and wifi if power is out. And u are correct full solar on the roof I agree with does nothing because u don't have a storage unit.

I'm with you now, you just wanted enough to keep your batteries charged up..[emoji106]. Just didn't want you getting sucked into the sales pitch without all the facts my man. Those guys are basically mobile car salesman. Hahaha

 

[Skydvr]

If you are discussing grid tie-in without a method of storage, then yes it is pointless and will gain you nothing during an outage. Personally, I'll be setting up a fully off-grid system for far less than what any of those new fly-by-nite solar installers will do. It's the new hot contractor market with everything geared towards a quick profit and little thought towards the long term and no real concern for sustainability like they pretend (there are some exceptions).

If you size the system to run your tank full time with a battery storage system with a reserve that will allow you to run for a few days as backup would be a lot more reasonable than shelling out the cash for something that would be on standby serving no purpose 99.9999% of the time. Do you live in an area that loses power frequently? Judging by the question you are asking, I am assuming that you do not have the skill set to design or install the system yourself, which is where the bulk of the cost comes from.

If you lose power frequently, have a large system, or have other extenuating circumstances where you wouldn't be able to run a generator or something for a longer outage, you could use an automatic bus transfer switch to run pumps and heaters off a battery and inverter. You can have a battery maintainer to keep the bank topped up. Components that would be required for a solar powered backup system anyway.

I'm all for sustainability and natural power sources, but the cost of setting up and maintaining a system just to be a backup really doesn't make sense unless you have a very large system with high end or endanged/extinct corals and fish.
Setting up a system that would be the primary source of power that does not depend on the grid for normal demands would be a different matter that would make a little more sense.

Are you looking at this as an experiment to test the viability of solar? Do you see frequent outages or is this precautionary? What is the system you are trying to support and how much are you willing to invest to support it, and how does that ballance against the probability of you seeing an extended outage? How does the cost of installing a solar backup compare against the cost of a generator (including ethics, sustainability, environmental impact, ect)?

I applaud the idea of wanting to run with solar, but unless you are in a situation where the system would be used frequently, I personally don't see it as viable from a cost analysis standpoint as a backup system.

There is also battery maintenance to consider depending on the battery chemistry/makup that you decide upon, which also greatly effects cost.

 

[justingraham]

I actually understand electric pretty well but on automobiles just never looked into solar or mess with ac that much. This is strictly for percausion in eight months I've lost electric for 16 seconds. I just want something where if the power goes out it goes to battery backup without me being there. I have found the switch and everything might just get a ups and call it quits as it's getting expensive fast the solar route

 

[donny619]

I hope this is the right forum

I'm trying to prepare for a power outage.

Is there anyone out there using solar panels to power the fish tank for a couple hours if the power goes out?

If so how are u able to switch to solar energy when you are not home and the power goes out. I have been googling like crazy and I must not be asking the right google.

Any idea are welcome my plan is to have 4 deep cycle batteries being charged by a 100w solar panel. If my guesstimating is correct that will give me ten hours of flow in my tank. My fish tank has two separate 20 amp circuits only using about 7 amps total so it would be easy to power it up. I just have to figure out how when the power goes out it can switch over to solar power.

Thanks in advance

Justin

Do you have an off-grid system? When we got ours installed, I discovered at the time that we were required to be "tied" to the grid so we would be hosed during a power outage. Our central inverter has an outlet that during a power outage, we could run a long extension cord and use whatever solar is being generated. We didn't have the means of storing our excess energy. Things are different today with "powerwall" type batteries that allow you to store your excess energy. From what the sales guys have been telling me the powerwalls give you lots of flexibility to what source you want to draw your home energy from during certain times of the day. I haven't installed any battery system to my solar panels but I do keep a battery backup charged in case of emergency. We also have an EV that could power the home for and Honda made a unit a few years ago called the Power Exporter 9000 that uses the battery that plugs right into your car (http://insideevs.com/honda-power-exporter-9000-2015-ceatec-japan/) but I've never seen it sold anywhere.

 

[justingraham]

I have nothing but the grid powering my house I'm just looking for a way to power my two dedicated fish tank outlets when the power goes out for like 8 hours. I'm not trying to sell any power back to the anyone. If that happens then so be it but that's not my goal.

 

[DLHDesign]

The big "Tesla" thing is the Powerwall 2. It's basically a big battery and a switch (the switch is the grey box on the far right). In it's most basic configuration, it will charge from the grid (holding power) and switch "on" when the power from the grid goes out. The switch-over is near instantaneous - quick enough that the network hub didn't drop connection, at least.
I've got mine set up with solar (the white thing in the middle and the middle grey box) so that the battery will charge off that instead of the grid, but that's not required - you can have the Powerwall 2 without solar and it will provide backup power to whatever breakers it's wired into. It provides up to 30amps/5000W (anything over that causes the battery to shut down, but you can stack another battery to get up to 60amps/10kW, etc.). I'm not sure yet how long it will last - that depends upon how much draw the various devices pull from it. It's the same tech as is in their (Tesla's) electric cars and I was given the estimate that our house would last ~14hrs "at rest" (basically what the house draws which includes my DT but not my TV, for example). It would easily last 8hrs, I would imagine.

This isn't really a cost-effective option for just a tank backup, however. The Powerwall 2 runs about $8,000 (+/- install, depending upon each situation). There are devices out there that can provide power to your powerheads and lights specifically for a fraction of that cost, for example. We went this route for other reasons (providing solar-charged power at night instead of pulling from the grid). It's new tech, however (just installed last week and this is one of the first to go in), so we're not quite there yet... Still; tank is backed up, at least. After my last scare when we were out of town, I feel MUCH better about our pending vacations...

 

[justingraham]

That's exactly what I want dhl except that price tag is kinda scary ESP for new tech I wonder if I could do that with regular bus or truck batteries

 

[DLHDesign]

That's exactly what I want dhl except that price tag is kinda scary ESP for new tech I wonder if I could do that with regular bus or truck batteries

The concept is not new to this product; they've just packaged it up and provided some bells-and-whistles to the thing (there's an app, etc.), in addition to efficiency, safety, and support.

With everything on in my DT (~135gal), I pull 5amps and ~500W - well shy of what the Powerwall can provide. By which I mean it IS an overkill for your goal, for sure...
I imagine that you could figure out the power needed to run your tank for ~8hrs and chain that many batteries together. I also imagine that there are switches available as well; I never looked into piecemealing the backup system together (as I did with the solar). Seems like some of the posts above have provided information valuable to doing so. In the end, I'd suspect you're still looking at multiple-thousands of dollars for even a small backup system - it's (relatively) new tech still - as you said.

 

[DLHDesign]

Heres the his build thread.https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/bifs-sps-reef.303078/

Guessing here; but that looks even more basic than I imagined it could be:
The tank runs off the battery. The battery tender is also hooked up to the battery. So the tank will drain the battery, while the tender will charge it. As long as the tender's charge rate can stay ahead of the drain rate, the battery should stay powered up. When the power goes out, the tender shuts off, but the tank can continue to draw from the battery until it drains out.

That setup wouldn't cost thousands, that's for sure. I'm just not really sure if it's that's simple (I imagine not...)

 

[justingraham]

I agree but if that was my setup I wouldn't want the battery to continue to cycle because without a doubt the power would go out when the battery would be at 65%

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Guessing here; but that looks even more basic than I imagined it could be:
The tank runs off the battery. The battery tender is also hooked up to the battery. So the tank will drain the battery, while the tender will charge it. As long as the tender's charge rate can stay ahead of the drain rate, the battery should stay powered up. When the power goes out, the tender shuts off, but the tank can continue to draw from the battery until it drains out.

That setup wouldn't cost thousands, that's for sure. I'm just not really sure if it's that's simple (I imagine not...)

I agree but if that was my setup I wouldn't want the battery to continue to cycle because without a doubt the power would go out when the battery would be at 65%

Goofy that it would be that easy yes.But its the wattage draw you have to look at an math it. then I would assume that would dictate the switching setting. And depending on how may batteries you have and the draw, 65% could be 2 days. Also have to factor in how many solar panels you have and what size they are as that will dictate recharge rate..

I was surprised that Bif's system gives him two days. My immediate thought was If he added a switcher and panels how long could he go. Much less if he added one or two more of that same battery.

 

[justingraham]

Well from what I was reading the batteries should never go lower then 50% for some reason. I'm not worried about the bats as I have literally tons at my disposal. So o was thinking two 100w 12 volt solar panels with an auto switch inverter and battery state thing o mo bob. I'm right at two Ecotech battery back ups that don't last. Just my thought. I'm not here trying to get any money back I knew what I was getting into when I started this hobby I just want the security of a power outage to save my tank. And for the guy who said he wouldn't worry if I didn't have high end corals or fish that's kinda wrong I have nice corals and my fish are my pets so I'm a do what I have to do in order to save them u have about two hours of no electric before the damage starts so if I have to spend five hundred dollars or even a thousand to do that then so be it I've already spent over ten grand on my set up what's another grand

 

[bif24701]

You can supply Tunze and Vortech powerheads with 12v car batteries. By connecting multiple batteries in parallel you can add longer duration of power. For my Vortech I bought the Vortech battery backup cable and wired it up to a optima red top. I use a BatteryMINDer to keep it charged, also maintains these kinds of batteries. Tunze also has a emergency power breakout cable that can be connected to a battery. It provides my MP60 with about 2 full days of continuous power.