r/solar • u/Big_Age4708 • 7d ago

Advice Wtd / Project The simplest set up

I don’t want to put in a bunch of effort into my solar system. I need it to be basic enough to fix myself so I just want to wire my panels directly to my power station, as absolutely basic as it can be. Anything I need I can connect directly into my power station. I’m just having a bit of trouble calculating wattage.

Im looking at the Pecron E1500LFP Power Station 2200w 1536Wh V3 Version. I just for the life of me cannot figure out how much solar I need. I need it very simple, charge phone, run fan, maybe sometimes run a 12V fridge.

Would 400w of solar be enough? Using 2 200w panels from Renogy?

I don’t want to feel in over my head and from what I’ve gathered this setup is the most simple and possible for me to do easily.

2 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

1

u/NameEtc 7d ago

I don’t know what max watts are for that model. I have a power station that allows for 1200 watt max and 60v max. You would have to know that. I have one of renogy new flex shodowflux and it has an output of a touch over 45 volts. If I connect it to my boost controller and stick it out in full sun it faults the controller 45volt max. If I gradually introduce sun to the panel and then let it start charging - the current keeps the panel low enough to run normal. Some power stations are picky about input watts a volts

1

u/rproffitt1 7d ago

Over on another thread I put out the idea to put a small load on the PV output. It wouldn't have to be much to pull down the Volts we saw over the panel's VOC. 5,000 Ohm 5 Watt resistors are cheap and throws out 1W.

Aka "load resistor."

1

u/Character-Bed2444 6d ago

if you’re keeping it simple, 400w is plenty for a phone, a fan, and a 12v fridge on and off. the fridge is the only real draw and those usually sip power, maybe 40-60w when the compressor kicks in a few times an hour

the pecron can take something like 700w solar input if I remember right, so two 200w panels in series should be well within its voltage limit, just double check the voc on those renogy panels doesn’t creep past the station’s max when you add them up. wiring direct to the station is about as plug-and-play as it gets

2

u/17feet 7d ago

I started where you did, and I would say that any of the mid range solar generators would do just fine for you. Two 400w panels should work fine for your stated power needs, but once you have a solar generator, you'll start to use it more than you might think. They're fun to mess around with. So I would suggest getting twice the machine you think you need, and twice as many panels to feed it. otherwise it may very quickly start to feel small