Watch 24 VOLT SOLAR BATTERY BANK - How To Wire It Up - Wiring Charts Included video on DTube
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I cringe every time I see someone wiring up and using a 12 volt battery bank with solar power. They are highly inefficient and chances are, if you go through any extreme temperatures, you will ruin them quickly and they will never take a charge again.
I have always recommended to homesteaders or anyone building a small solar battery bank to use 24 volt instead of 12 volt. By doubling the voltage you get double the power (Watts) at the same current(Amps). Most houses that have large solar arrays will actually use 48 volts as that is even more efficient than 24. Does that sound complicated, it's not. But its a main reason why more people are not using solar today in America and we'll cover that in another video.
Below are the mentioned wiring diagrams that we use here on the homestead. I'm not sure how these show up in Dtube as markup at this point does not seem to work, but you can see them if you go over to our steemit page and view them from there.
This diagram powers our small home and we use it to charge laptops and cell phones.
This diagram powers are greenhouse and aquaponics system.
ENJOY THE VIDEO!
Visit Us Online: http://AnAmericanHomestead.com
EVERYTHING IN THIS POST POWERED BY SOLAR 
Shared to get the info out!
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THANKS!!
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for some reason the video won't play.
the last one did.
I haven't changed a thing.
just checked..
'YOUTUBE UPDATE On My Lock OUT - The Homestead Videos WILL NOT STOP!"
works...this one doesn't.
If 24v is better than 12...is 48 better than 24? in general is more voltage better than less?
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Yes, 48 is better and more efficient that 24. Most homes with large systems are 48 because of this fact...but it cost a lot more usually in buying a battery bank that large. 16 batteries or more for the maximum effectiveness.
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As you might recall I'm currently remodeling an old (1972) houseboat. I intend for it to be a 'bug out boat'....a 'homestead of last resort'...as such it'll have as many solar panels (flexible) and batteries as I can afford. Electricly powered propulsion of course.
As such...this kinda thing is VERY interesting to me. When it comes time to buy batteries and such...I might actually have a clue.
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Yeah, go with the AGM's, I can speak from experience that they have no maintenance issues. DON'T BUY THEM FROM A RETAILER...they will charge you a lot of money. Check out AGM options online like ebay with good reviews. These Vmax batteries had excellent reviews and were a lot cheaper than others I found through dealers.
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I had AGM (or at least sealed and maint. free,) on my truck. It carried 4. I tried Gel and that was an expensive flop.
I'd rather go with a higher energy density than lead acid (AGM is that too)...I've been reading about several new technologies that are 'any day now'...zinc/air for example.
Supposed to be much lighter, much cheaper and much more powerful.
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Took a few minutes but it is playing now.
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yup...me too..then it played halfway then stopped.
me thinks DTube has some problems?
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It always seems to work better after a few hours of being up....I may open an account at Vimeo.
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reckon DTube has growing pains?
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Probably. I added a VIMEO option. Will do both from now on...wish I had a faster connection out here.
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Thanks Zac! Ours is 48 volt here :)
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How many batteries do you have?
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Thanks for the info. We are in the process of figuring out how much we need and if we can do combined solar and wind. We are leaning towards low wind velocity power generation. I would have enjoyed the video but I am still having trouble viewing in Dtube. Some videos load nd others are a no go...:(
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Just put up a Vimeo link above. Try that. It should work.
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Thanks!
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Nice! I've been considering solar for a while but haven't done any research, good to learn that 24v is better than 12v, and 48v is even better. Looking forward to your others in the series!
Note to those who are having issues streaming -- Dtube has a "download" link just under the video on the right side, so you can download it and then watch it in VLC etc. I did that and it took longer to download than YouTube videos do (which I download with KeepVid.com), and also it downloads it in "parts" so I can't start watching immediately like I can with KeepVid -- that's a great time-saving feature!, but anyway when it finished I could watch it and use the "]" and "[" keys to speed up/slow down in 10% increments. I regularly watch YouTube videos at 2x and now would like to go even faster; with VLC, I can!
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So you may think 48 is a lot more efficient than 24 volts. Its not much. Maybe 2 or 3%. The thing is with 48 is you need a lot more batts to make up your bank.If tho's are 6 volts each you would need 8 to make 48 volts. So what happens if you lose just one of tho's. Your now down all 8. Where in a 24 volt setup up. You can still use 4 and have some power.
That is where 48 volts hits a wall. All of that for 4% more efficiency just is not worth it in my book. That is why I like and use 24 volts. Hope that helps some. God Bless
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Great, thanks for the explanation, that makes perfect sense -- I'll stick to 24 volts, when I get my system going. You got a new follower. :) Blessings!
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I put up a vimeo link for those who are viewing from Steemit. I think I'll do that for every post to give people options. Great to know about the VLC. THANKS!
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I completely agree with 12v systems being no good at all. I generally only suggest 24v for less than 3kw. But for most uses I suggest 48v battery systems.
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Zack,
How much does a system like the one your building for the deep freeze cost, approximately.
Also what voltage is the freezer and how many amp-hours do you have at full charge?
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Zack I am with you. 24 volts and do not look back. Hope all is well. Thanks and God Bless
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