I am not an electrical engineer and consequently I struggle in understanding the various electrical terms and vocabulary that everyone in this forum is comfortable with. Please enlighten me so that I can get up to speed with all of you.
As everyone in this forum knows there are many formulae that govern electricity and the most basic of these formulae being.... Watts = Amps x Volts.
However, I have been told that each time electricity is converted (or inverted) from DC to AC or vice versa, there is a loss of electrical power.
In addition, the distance between various components also affect the efficiency rate in terms conversion or inversion. And solar panels are not very efficient.
Moreover, the stock AGM batteries (2 x 6 volt) should not be discharged to a level more than 50% of maximum storage power since discharging more than 50% will significantly reduce the life of these batteries. If Lithium-ion batteries are used, these can be discharged up to 10 to 20%.
Therefore, my questions are as follows:
(1) The stock batteries (2 x 6 volts) are rated at maximum storage of 220 amp hours. However, since these are AGM batteries, it is recommended to not discharge them for more than 50% of total storage. Therefore, 110 amp hours is the maximum that can be used without a recharge. Is this correct?
(2) The 160W solar panel option. Does anyone know the correct amp hours for CH's solar panel? A simple computation will provide an answer of 160W / 12V = 13.3 Amps. However, since solar panels are notoriously inefficient I would imagine a loss factor of 1/3 or 0.333 which would result in approximately 8.93 amps. If this is correct, it would take 12.3 hours to recharge 110 amps or 50% of battery storage capacity, assuming no discharge. Is this correct? This does not seem to be a lot of electricity. How many panels or wattage do the other owners have?
(3) Although the maximum output of inverters should be determined by the estimated usage, the inverter output is also limited by the total battery storage capacity. Is this correct? In other words, installing a 3,000W inverter on a system with 220 Amp hours of battery capacity is an overkill.
220 amps hour x 12 volts = 2,640 watts < 3,000 watts. Moreover, since it is not recommended to discharge batteries to a level more than 50%, then the maximum inverter output over 1,320 watts is an overkill, particularly if one takes into account for inefficiency loss. At 90% efficiency, the maximum inverter output is 1320 watts x 0.9 = 1,188 watts (assuming 110 amp hours or 50% of total battery capacity). Is this correct?
(4) I have been told by CH that there is a switch on Platinum IIs that allow crank power from house batteries to start the engine when the engine battery goes dead. Has anybody dealt with this?
(5) How many USB outlets do you have? How many amps per outlet are there? Probably need around 10 amps per outlet to charge larger electronic items?
Thanks and I apologize for these dumb newbie questions.
As everyone in this forum knows there are many formulae that govern electricity and the most basic of these formulae being.... Watts = Amps x Volts.
However, I have been told that each time electricity is converted (or inverted) from DC to AC or vice versa, there is a loss of electrical power.
In addition, the distance between various components also affect the efficiency rate in terms conversion or inversion. And solar panels are not very efficient.
Moreover, the stock AGM batteries (2 x 6 volt) should not be discharged to a level more than 50% of maximum storage power since discharging more than 50% will significantly reduce the life of these batteries. If Lithium-ion batteries are used, these can be discharged up to 10 to 20%.
Therefore, my questions are as follows:
(1) The stock batteries (2 x 6 volts) are rated at maximum storage of 220 amp hours. However, since these are AGM batteries, it is recommended to not discharge them for more than 50% of total storage. Therefore, 110 amp hours is the maximum that can be used without a recharge. Is this correct?
(2) The 160W solar panel option. Does anyone know the correct amp hours for CH's solar panel? A simple computation will provide an answer of 160W / 12V = 13.3 Amps. However, since solar panels are notoriously inefficient I would imagine a loss factor of 1/3 or 0.333 which would result in approximately 8.93 amps. If this is correct, it would take 12.3 hours to recharge 110 amps or 50% of battery storage capacity, assuming no discharge. Is this correct? This does not seem to be a lot of electricity. How many panels or wattage do the other owners have?
(3) Although the maximum output of inverters should be determined by the estimated usage, the inverter output is also limited by the total battery storage capacity. Is this correct? In other words, installing a 3,000W inverter on a system with 220 Amp hours of battery capacity is an overkill.
220 amps hour x 12 volts = 2,640 watts < 3,000 watts. Moreover, since it is not recommended to discharge batteries to a level more than 50%, then the maximum inverter output over 1,320 watts is an overkill, particularly if one takes into account for inefficiency loss. At 90% efficiency, the maximum inverter output is 1320 watts x 0.9 = 1,188 watts (assuming 110 amp hours or 50% of total battery capacity). Is this correct?
(4) I have been told by CH that there is a switch on Platinum IIs that allow crank power from house batteries to start the engine when the engine battery goes dead. Has anybody dealt with this?
(5) How many USB outlets do you have? How many amps per outlet are there? Probably need around 10 amps per outlet to charge larger electronic items?
Thanks and I apologize for these dumb newbie questions.
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