With the popularity of solar panel system, more and more families start to try to use solar panel system to power their home appliances, and expect to reduce some of their household electricity expenses in this way.
However, since the solar power industry is still an emerging technology as well as a high-tech industry, the current price of solar panel systems is still very high. For the average family, in order to improve the power supply capacity of the solar system, as far as possible to save electricity expenses, homeowners will choose for home solar panel system will be equipped with solar battery packs and other components to achieve the purpose of improving the power supply capacity.
Therefore, how many batteries should be equipped for different sizes of solar panel systems to achieve efficient operation is one of the key concerns in the industry. In this article, we will introduce you to one of the common home solar panel system sizes on the market – 100W solar panel system, how many batteries it needs to be installed and other related issues.
1. What is a 100W solar panel system?
Unlike other electrical appliances, the size of a solar panel is mainly determined by its power generation capacity, therefore, the size of solar panel systems on the market will be measured in watts. Relevant international organizations measure the size of a solar panel system as follows:
Experimenters will be a certain size of solar panels will be completely exposed to the intensity of peak sunshine (1000W / ㎡) of artificial light source, and then record its power generation in an hour as well as able to produce electricity value.
A 100W solar panel system means that the system is rated to generate 100W of power per hour under the premise of receiving peak insolation (1000W/m2) light intensity.
2. How to calculate the number of batteries needed for a 100W solar panel system?
How many batteries are needed for a solar panel system depends largely on its generating capacity, and determining the rated generating power of a solar panel system is determined to be 100W under the premise that it depends largely on the length of peak sunlight it can receive daily. With these two data known, the calculation of daily power generation watts can be carried out using the following formula:
P total (W) = P (W) x T (h)
Assuming that the average daily peak sunshine duration is 4h, and that the solar panels are good at generating electricity during the peak sunshine hours, then the power produced by the 100W solar panel system in a day is 100W x 4h = 400W.
And most of the battery packs within the current solar panel system are measured in Ah, and it is known that the 100W solar panel system usually operates at a voltage of 12V, so the conversion from daily wattage to battery capacity can be realized according to the following formula:
E (Ah) = P total (W) ÷ V (v)
The value of Ah for the battery bank within this system should then be 400W ÷ 12v = 33Ah.
However, in practice, due to the lack of sunlight resources, tall obstructions near the property, etc., the actual battery capacity should be between 20-30Ah. Therefore, when equipping a 100W solar panel system with a solar battery pack, its battery capacity should be 30Ah or more, and in the case of a sufficient budget, a battery pack with a capacity of 40Ah can also be selected.
3. Issues related to the supporting solar modules for 100W solar panel system
3.1 How long does it take to charge the battery pack in a 100W solar panel system?
A typical solar panel does not start charging until it runs out of power, it usually starts charging when the discharge rate reaches 50% using the power produced by the solar panel. If you have a 40Ah battery, it will start charging when the capacity drops to 20Ah. Converting the Ah value to charging watts according to the above formula is 20Ah x 12V = 240 W. With the solar panel producing 100W of power, it will take 2.4h.
3.2 Which battery is best suited for use as a solar panel?
Considering that the batteries in a solar panel system usually require a high number of cycles and a fast charging speed, most energy companies recommend owners to choose a lithium battery series as the solar battery pack, such as the common lithium iron phosphate batteries and so on. This type of battery has high safety, long cycle life, fast charging speed, less maintenance required later, and is generally the best choice for solar battery packs. However, compared to other types of batteries with the same capacity, it is more expensive, so when your budget is tight, you can also choose other batteries to replace.
3.3 What equipment can a 100W solar panel system with solar array run?
A 100W solar panel system with a solar array will have better power performance and be able to run larger loads than ever before. Using the above calculations for its daily power generation, it is clear that it is still too small to power an entire property, but it is capable of powering medium sized appliances such as refrigerators and air conditioners.
It’s worth noting that despite the installation of a solar array, the exact powering capacity of a 100W solar panel system is largely dependent on the abundance of sunlight resources in the property’s location. As well as any obstacles that may block the solar panels could significantly reduce the powering capacity of the solar panel system.
