Solar System Installation for Home with Calculations and Cost Analysis

Solar Panels Installation plan:

Solar System Installation for Home with Calculations and Cost Analysis- How will we provide the whole village with electricity? What type of solar panels will we be using for a single home, and what type of battery source will we be using? So, in this portion, I will be discussing that and every parameter that we would need to install an efficient economic solar system for the village or House. The calculations which I will explain in this article will open your mind and then you will be able to perform your calculations even for the entire village. If you learn the very basics then it doesn’t matter if you perform the calculations for a 3 bedroom house, 4 bedroom house, small or big House, etc. I will try my best to keep things simpler, so I will perform my calculations for an average house this way you will be able to learn things very quickly.

Amazon Links:

UPS Inverter

Solar Panels

200Ah Battery

Disclosure: These are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Household loads: –

As per different houses, they have a different number of family members utilizing different loads, so we are going to install a solar wing to keep individual wings in mind, we start with common loads calculation and the solar system that would be the best fit for it.

300-watt solar system installation

Table#1 Household appliances

That’s a total of 300 watts. Keep in mind that we can use Computer instead of TV as long as it doesn’t exceed the Solar system total capacity.

Requirements

Ups/inverter =?

Battery =?

Solar Panels (300 or 250 or 150 watt) =?

UPS + Inverter:

The DC voltage produced by the solar panels cannot be used directly to power up the 110/220Vac home appliances. You will need a device to convert this DC voltage into AC voltage. So, a device that converts the DC voltage into AC voltage is called Inverter. The “UPS + Inverter” for a load should be selected keeping in mind the future load to the user may have an increased load so for keeping it in the long term and safe end we will be using a 500-1000 watt UPS of HOMAGE Company which come with multiple protection systems, i.e., overcharge protection, over current protection, and short circuit protection. Don’t get confused when I use the terms UPS and Inverter, UPS stands for Uninterruptible Power Supply. Such device which has both the functions UPS + Inverter can be used with two power sources, when there is power from the Electric Supply Company then the battery power is not used and when the power is cut from the Electric Power Supply Company then the UPS system uses the Battery voltage and the inverter converts that 12volts into 110/220Vac. So, all the modern UPS system has both these features, they can converter DC into AC and can automatically perform the switching, and can even charge the batteries. But we will not use the Electric Supply Company power to charge the battery because we are doing this whole setup to reduce the electric bill, and moreover there are areas where they have no power from Electric Supply Company.

Battery:

The next most important step is the battery size selection and its ability to provide the desired current. In the market there are very small and very big batteries and you will have to decide which battery will do the job for you? Small 12V battery will give you backup of 10 to 20 minutes depending on your load. So, at this point before you are going to purchase a battery first asks yourself how much backup time you need? You want to run your 300 Watt load for 1 hour or for 6 hours? The battery size and cost is directly proportional to the battery backup time ;). I also have a very detailed tutorial on how to make your own LEAD Acid battery at home, I made it 1/3^rd price of the new battery and it’s still working perfectly.

For Battery Calculation:

Power = Voltage × Current

P = V× I

300 = 12 × I

I = 25 A

We need 25A current. Now let’s calculate the battery size

Battery Size in AH

Let us suppose we need a backup time of 8 hour from a battery

= (W×h)/V
=(Total Load × Back up time in hours)/(Battery voltage)
=(300 ×8)/12 = 200AH
A backup time of 6 hour from a battery
= (W×h)/V
=(Total Load × Back up time in hours)/(Battery voltage)
=(300 ×6)/12 = 150AH

A backup time of 4 hour from a battery

= (W×h)/V
=(Total Load × Back up time in hours)/(Battery voltage)
=(300 ×4)/12 = 100AH

Battery type:-

Now which type of battery will be best for us to buy for a better backup i.e. Volta, AGS, Phoenix, etc. and the choice about its working

1. Lead acid battery
2. Dry battery
3. Tubular battery

So, after a deep analysis of the market, I concluded that a Tubular battery is an efficient choice for a solar system.

Battery Charging Current:

1/10^th of Battery rating

In our case 200 AH for an 8 Hour Backup

200/10 = 20 A

Total Current = charging current + Load Driving Current

= 20A+25A

Total Current of Panels = 45A

Solar Plates Power

As we have a 300-watt system so 150-watt panels are perfect for this system.

The open circuit voltage for 150-watt panels are 18-21v and the voltage drop on load happens so let us take 14v as the voltage become 14 volts in parallel of multiple plates. But the most practical approach is to use a Battery voltage charge controller, this will increase your battery life span. I have been using a battery charge controller for years, I know it will cost you a few more bucks but it really worth it.

Solar Plates Power = V×I

= 14× 45

= 630 watts

Generation for driving the load and also an 8-hour backup of battery.

No of Solar Panels = 630/150 = 4.2

So, 4 Panels of 150 watt will do the Job

Now will Discuss the prices currently available in the market

Solar Panel = 150 watt = Rs 8500

For 4 panels = 8500×4 = Rs 34000

DC Cables used panel to battery = 6mm DC Cable = Rs 250/meter

Or

8mm DC Cable single core = Rs 140/meter

Total approximated price of wire used will be Rs 3000

Fitting Stand:

4 Gauge fitting stands = Rs 3000 for 4 panels

Price of Homage Inverter:

The homage inverter available in the market are

Homage HTD-1011SCC (800 watts-12V)

Homage HTD-1211SCC (1000 watts-12V)

Homage HTD-2011SCC (1600 watts-24V)

Homage HTD-2211SCC (1800 watts-24V)

The One we are using is a hybrid inverter

Homage HTD-1211SCC (1000 watts-12V)

(1050 Watts PV Panels (600 W load can run on solar)

Price = 15000

We have an option of Inverex (AEROX 1.2 KW) Inverter but its price is Rs 24500

So, this inverter is the best so far.

Battery Price:

Instead of using 150AH 2 battery’s we are using one 230AH Tubular Battery for a backup of 5 hours

Phoenix TX 1800 (230AH) = Rs 25000

DC Breaker Price:

The Dc Breaker is a protection device for our solar system

We are using 63A Dc breaker =Rs 2500

Practical Values:-

After installing this system, the solar generates 34A of Current, which means a single plate is generating 8.5A of Current. Out of this 34A, the battery uses 15A. The load utilizes an of Current and the remaining Amps.

Total Cost Of 300-Watt System

Solar Panels = 34000

Battery = 25000

Inverter/UPS = 15000

DC Cable = 3000

Solar panels fitting stands = 3000

Extra Ducting and Fitting = 3000

Total = 83000/-

Labor Cost = 7000/-

Which may Cost Rs 90000

This is not the final cost, you can reduce the price by searching for low cost devices. The same setup I did for around 55000Rs. The 1000 watt UPS system I made at home for around 10000Rs, the Lead Acid battery I made myself for 8000 Rs, Each Solar panel I purchased for 7000Rs in a local shop. I did all the installation myself so my labor cost of zero. It’s totally up to you how you do the cost management.

Generation and Charging Ampere Practical Values: –

Conclusion:

We can calculate the load for a whole village as per their load requirement, and we can estimate the Panels, Battery backup, Inverters, and Protection devices to provide the uninterrupted supply for a village.