Solar panel as emergency power

[mrmicbkktxl]

Every time we have a thunderstorm our electricity is gone.Sometimes for a few minutes but most of the times for a few hours.

What do  I need to run a router,55 inch tv,fan and a notebook?300-350W panel is enough?What kind of power station do  I  need?

How much is it and where to buy in Thailand?If not available in Thailand can I order it from USA or Europe without any problems?

 

[GregTN]

This is a small setup with 700 watt inverter and 12v 100 ah battery purchased from Lazada last year for about 10000 baht.  It runs my TV, router, a fan or two and small LED light for about 4 hours.

[Crossy]

Solar actually isn't very good as emergency backup due to it's non-constant availability, you are going to need batteries.

 

To keep your load going you are looking at about 500W x say 5 hours = 2,500 Watt hours.

 

2,500 Watt hours is about 200Ah at 12V so that would need 400Ah of lead-acid or 200Ah of LtFePO₄ batteries.

 

3 x 345W panels would generate that amount of energy, add a charge controller and 1kW inverter and you're good.

 

BUT

 

Those panels will be capable of generating that energy even if the batteries are fully charged, so you are effectively throwing that energy away. 2,500Wh is about 12 Baht for every day you don't have a power cut (say 300 Baht a month, 3600 Baht a year), far cheaper would be to use a mains charger, effectively a long autonomy UPS.

 

If you really want to go solar aim at running your kit 100% on solar with appropriate storage and mains backup when the sun is being shy.

  

EDIT To be honest a decent UPS with say 20 minutes autonomy plus a small genset for the longer outages would IMHO be the most cost-effective solution.

 

EDIT 1 as a for instance. We have 6.5kW of installed solar, in April the best day generated 32 kWh, the worst 11 kWh.

 

[mrmicbkktxl]

1 hour ago, Crossy said:

Solar actually isn't very good as emergency backup due to it's non-constant availability, you are going to need batteries.

 

To keep your load going you are looking at about 500W x say 5 hours = 2,500 Watt hours.

 

2,500 Watt hours is about 200Ah at 12V so that would need 400Ah of lead-acid or 200Ah of LtFePO₄ batteries.

 

3 x 345W panels would generate that amount of energy, add a charge controller and 1kW inverter and you're good.

 

BUT

 

Those panels will be capable of generating that energy even if the batteries are fully charged, so you are effectively throwing that energy away. 2,500Wh is about 12 Baht for every day you don't have a power cut (say 300 Baht a month, 3600 Baht a year), far cheaper would be to use a mains charger, effectively a long autonomy UPS.

 

If you really want to go solar aim at running your kit 100% on solar with appropriate storage and mains backup when the sun is being shy.

  

EDIT To be honest a decent UPS with say 20 minutes autonomy plus a small genset for the longer outages would IMHO be the most cost-effective solution.

 

EDIT 1 as a for instance. We have 6.5kW of installed solar, in April the best day generated 32 kWh, the worst 11 kWh.

 

Sounds difficult I would prefer plug and play.I guess the battery can store the solar energy so I can use that energy while the electricity is gone and then recharge the battery.

[BritManToo]

I have this ......... Suoer 1kw Pure sine wave inverter and 100AH deep cycle battery.

Good for 90 mins running my entire entertainment system.

You want longer, just buy a bigger battery.

5k for the battery, 4k for the inverter, switches itself over whenever the power fails.

Purchased from Lazada/Shopee.

https://shopee.co.th/อินเวอเตอร์-SUOER-หม้อแปลงเทอรอยด์-12V-1000W-มี-AC-charger-15-A-ในตัว-i.38135238.5871198162

Edited May 2, 2021 by BritManToo

[surangw]

a ups with a external battery that would run your devices would be another choice

[Crossy]

8 hours ago, surangw said:

a ups with a external battery that would run your devices would be another choice

 

I would suggest that is the easiest and most economical solution although he would need a UPS specifically intended to use an external battery due to the long run times he needs.

 

@BritManToo shows exactly what he would need but our OP would need more batteries.

[surangw]

16 hours ago, Crossy said:

 

I would suggest that is the easiest and most economical solution although he would need a UPS specifically intended to use an external battery due to the long run times he needs.

 

@BritManToo shows exactly what he would need but our OP would need more batteries.

a surplus industrial model would be best   1500w+