GETTING BETTER PERFORMANCE FROM MY SOLAR SYSTEM IN WINTER??- the more expensive remedies

We have covered the 5 least expensive solutions to problems faced with solar systems in winter in the previous post. The next 5 are the more expensive solutions that unfortunately might need to be looked at to overcome the challenges:

6. Batteries no longer giving you enough back-up hours (reporting “Battery too low” too soon??):

Usually either your batteries are not getting fully charged, or are now faulty. Batteries not getting fully charged is related to your solar panels (they are not producing enough energy to charge your batteries to full capacity) or incorrect inverter programming settings. The remedy is usually either reducing back-up power load in winter, or increasing number of solar panels. Also get your inverter programing checked.

When batteries are “faulty” it’s either they have simply reached their lifespan, or have been damaged by improper use. Improper use includes battery over drainage which can be caused by a system that has been set to battery cut-off voltage that is too low (for that particular battery type you have) and over-draining the batteries. This severely reduces the lifespan of the batteries, which effect you might start seeing in winter. The only remedy here , unfortunately, is getting your batteries replaced, and if the batteries were damaged , to avoid a repeat of the damage, get experts to install, program and give you a training and demonstration of usage.

7. You need more panels:

your panels were simply not sized for winter conditions, and are not enough. Proper design and sizing is done using winter conditions to ensure that when winter kicks in, customer will not experience challenges in adequacy of power. Remedy here is usually just getting more panels, rightly matched and optimised to suit load and usage profile.

8. You are using more energy than assumed at design stage:

Winter typically comes with higher energy needs and if these were not considered from the onset of design, your system will be inadequate, and will need to be “upgraded”. This upgrading” might include getting more panels and upgrading charge controller.

9. Incorrectly sized Charge Controller.

An incorrectly sized charge controller can deprive your system of a lot of power from the solar panels. Please see our previous post on charge controllers for more detail.

10. MPPT for PWM Charge Controller.

If panels were not sized adequately, simply upgrading from a PWT to a MPPT Charge Controller might be the perfect remedy for your system, due to the higher energy yield experienced with MPPT Charge Controllers (see previous post). Get an expert to advise you of the feasibility of this option after assessment.

Please get in touch with us for FREE expert troubleshooting, assessment, solar system design and sizing and energy audits.

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About Author:

Lovewell Chitiyo is a Mechanical Engineer with 15 years experience in the building services Engineering consultancy, renewable energy systems and sustainable design fields. He is currently studying Masters in Renewable Energy at Stellenbosch University in South Africa

Lovewell is an Accredited Professional with the Green Building Council of South Africa for Existing Buildings Performance and New Buildings; Interiors, holding several qualifications and certification in Renewable Energy and Sustainability.

Lovewell also has vast experience in design, supervision, installation and commissioning of several projects locally and regionally in the last 15 years.