What you don't see is that this system was also an experiment using a LiFe battery instead of the usual lead acid or more dangerous lithium chemistries. I have been running about 2 amp loads (with peaks of about 4) for the year and it has shown to be a very good system. The only times we have run low on power, are during our 3 day storms.
I think the nicest thing about this setup has been that even though we are only using a 15 amp hour battery, it has done far better than our prior lead acid setups. The LiFe battery can completely recharge in a few hours whereas a lead acid would take days. The only real problem is that we have to have better quality light to open the gates and get the battery charging. Lead acid can charge in lower light or filthy light.Really this proves that lithium does have its place in solar power. It's not the same as a lead acid based system, and it can't compare as such. Both systems are unique and should be treated as such.
Where do we go from here? I may do a breakdown of the system, if there is enough interest, but I think it's ready for expansion. Electricity rates are climbing like crazy now, and the print shop uses A LOT of electricity, so that is a consideration in producing and using as much as we can ourselves. In our case it's not just lights. All of our equipment uses electricity, but we don't have to use the old power hungry equipment that we started out with. This all applies to our robots as well. ROB is proving to be quite the little power hog and he is broken most of the time. We also want our security bots to be solar as well, and that is going to require more capacity than we have at the moment. We'll just have to see where we go from here.
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