Basic Electricity Storage in a Battery Array
Jul 4, 2010 Energy
Jack Spirko over at TheSurvivalPodcast.com has been talking about making a basic electricity storage system recently. It’s a great, affordable idea that can be really helpful in a pinch. The other great part of this project is that it familiarizes you with almost all the basics of a 12 volt power system. Click here to get the PDF wiring diagram.
From here, it’s a really small step to add solar panels, or a wind turbine to keep the batteries charged. You can see that in the Solar Electricity Generator Wiring article.
Some things to keep in mind:
- Use the appropriate sized wire. There are charts to help you size wire according to volts and amps and such. Find one and use it. If you go with too small a wire diameter, it can result in a fire.
- Use inline fuses between power sources and loads. In the drawing, you’ll see that there is one between the batteries and the inverter. It would not hurt to have one between the charger and the batteries as well.
- Only use a battery charger with charge control. This will prevent the batteries from running down and overcharging. Overcharging can cause a fire.
- Keep the batteries in a well-ventilated area. Most batteries do give off gases that can be explosive and poisonous. NEVER smoke around batteries. One of the gases is hydrogen (extremely explosive) and another one of the gases gets converted into phosgene gas when passing through the cigarette. Phosgene gas kills in amounts of 0.1 parts per million.
I like Schumacher chargers, because they seem really well made and well engineered. Here’s a model that may be suitable for your use. I’ve used it in a couple applications and it only costs about $60. Check out the rest of the site, because they have some great free information there on battery charging and maintenance.
Solar Electricity Generator Wiring
I finally sat down and did a very basic wiring diagram of what a very basic solar generator would look like. Size your wires, battery, panel, regulator, inverter and fuses appropriately and safely. If in doubt, consult an electrician. Heck, consult an electrician anyway to be safe.
This will help you understand what I was talking about in Episode 26 – About Solar Generators.
The diagram is in PDF format – click here to download it. What you’ll see in the center of the drawing are terminal blocks, and fuse blocks. The vertical solid black lines are jumpers between the terminal blocks.
If you have any questions, please join the forum and ask them there, so we can all benefit.
The real point of this diagram is to show you that making something like this doesn’t have to be overly complicated. You can do it! Just make sure you read up on electrical safety and codes or have an electrician friend guide you.
Just think, if you can do this then you have the basics of what it takes to build a larger solar electricity plant, or an array for your home.
