00:00Hello everyone and welcome back to my channel. In this video I'm going to be showing you how
00:05to install your own solar system. It's actually not as difficult as it sounds. All you need is
00:11only four components and how to put them together. If you would like helpful tips on how to live off
00:16grid, don't forget to hit the subscribe button. The first component is the solar panel. It will
00:22convert sunlight into electrical energy. On the market you will mostly find monocrystalline and
00:29polycrystalline solar panels. Monocrystalline panels are smaller so they require less roof
00:34space for the same output than the polycrystalline, but slightly more expensive. If you have limited
00:39space, I would recommend monocrystalline. But if you have enough space for play, go for polycrystalline
00:47because they both last a long time. Be sure to check with brands though. The next component is
00:52the battery. It stores the energy generated by the solar panels for use when the sun isn't shining.
00:59You will mostly find lithium ion and lead acid solar batteries on the market.
01:04Lithium ion has a lot of advantages over lead acid. You get more usable energy from what you store and
01:10it can be discharged up to 80 to 100 percent compared to lead acid which is only 50 to 60
01:15percent for safe
01:16discharge. Lithium ion also has a long lifespan of 3,000 to 6,000 plus charge cycles which is around
01:2210
01:23to 15 plus years of use compared to lead acid which has 500 to 1,200 charge cycles or three
01:29to five
01:30years. The third component will be the charge controller. This regulates the voltage and current
01:35from the solar panels going to the battery to prevent overcharging or deep discharging of the battery,
01:41protecting and extending battery life. You will mostly find two types, MPPT and PWM. The MPPT will be more
01:49efficient, extracts maximum power even in varying sunlight conditions, while PWM will be simple,
01:56cheaper, but less efficient. The fourth and last component will be the inverter. This converts DC or
02:04direct current power from solar panels or battery into AC or alternating current power used by most
02:09appliances like laptops and phones. On the market, you will mostly find two types, pure sine wave inverter
02:16and modified sine wave. The pure sine wave produces a smooth, natural sine wave just like the power from
02:22your utility grid which is safe for all electronics, even sensitive devices like motors, compressors and
02:29microwaves. While on the other hand, the modified sine wave produces a stepped, choppy waveform that
02:35approximates AC but isn't smooth. Good for basic or resistive loads like bulbs. Again, don't forget to
02:43check with the right brands. At the end of the video, I will share with you my recommendations.
02:48Please stick around. You will need wires to connect the four components. Wires that connect the charge
02:56controller to the battery. Wires that connect the charge controller to the solar panel and wires that
03:02connect the inverter to the battery. Be sure to have a Phillips screwdriver and adjustable wrenches.
03:09Before you start planning your system setup, you need to know which system you want to install.
03:15The most common ones are 12 volts, 24 volts, and 48 volt system. In this video, we shall use the
03:2212
03:23volt system. So we have 12 volts, 200 watts monocrystalline solar panel, a 12 volts, 100 amp hour lithium
03:30ion battery, a 12 volts, 30 amps MPPT charge controller, and a 12 volts, 500 watts pure sine wave inverter.
03:42It's important to connect the charge controller to the battery before connecting the solar panel
03:46so that you don't damage your charge controller. Underneath you will find six holes to plug in cables.
03:52Two holes have PV negative and PV positive. PV stands for photovoltaic. This is where we shall connect
03:59the solar panel later. The next two holes are the ones where we connect the device to the battery.
04:05Bat negative and bat positive, these are the ones we are going to focus on in this step.
04:10The last two holes are for adding the load which we don't need for this video. We can connect both
04:15the
04:16charge controller and inverter to the battery at the same time. The cables that connect the charge
04:21controller to the battery have lugs on one side which connect to the battery, while the side that
04:26connects to the charge controller will be stripped. Please be sure to check which cable is positive
04:30or negative to make sure the connection is correct. In most cases, red cables are positives while black
04:37cables are negatives. To install the cables, make sure the terminals of bat negative and bat positive
04:43are open. Insert the negative cable first and screw it up with the Phillips screwdriver. Make sure it's
04:49farm enough so that the cable doesn't come out. Then we shall insert the positive cable, tighten it properly
04:55with the Phillips screwdriver. Next, we are going to grab our cables that connect the inverter to the
05:00battery and attach them to the inverter. This is done before connecting them to the battery. The cables that
05:07connect the inverter to the battery have lugs on both ends. Depending on the model of your inverter,
05:13unscrew the negative bolt and connect the negative cable.
05:19Then unscrew the positive bolt and connect the positive cable. Again, make sure it's tight enough.
05:25Now we are ready to connect the charge controller and inverter to the battery.
05:30Join the negative cable of the charge controller with the negative cable of the inverter and connect
05:35them to the negative terminal of the battery. Tighten them up properly. Please, I kindly ask you to check
05:47if the wires are connected properly, negative to negative and positive to positive. Next, we shall join the
05:53positive cable of the charge controller with the positive cable of the inverter and connect them
05:58to the positive terminal of the battery. It's always recommended to add a fuse to the positive cable of the
06:03inverter. We have a 500 watts inverter so a 60 amps fuse works fine.
06:15Please make sure everything is tight enough. So now we can see that the charge controller is
06:22turned on and the voltage of the battery is displayed.
06:29The last bit is connecting the solar panel to the charge controller.
06:34Here we are going to use the cables that connect the solar panel to the charge controller.
06:39One end has MC connectors that connect to the solar panel. And the strip side is the one that
06:45connects to the charge controller. So connect the cables to the solar panel. Make sure the negative
06:51is connected to the negative and the positive is connected to the positive. Then on the charge
06:56controller, connect the negative cable to the PV negative and screw tightly. Then connect the
07:02positive cable to the PV positive and screw tightly. After that, the charge controller will
07:07display that the solar panel has been added and the battery is charging. Awesome!
07:16Now that we have reached to the stage, the only thing left is testing our system with a load.
07:22Add your load to the inverter for example phone or lamp and test. That is all. It wasn't so hard.
07:29So now let me provide you with the price of each component and the best brands.
07:35For the inverter, I would recommend the Victron 12 volts 500 watts pure sine wave inverter.
07:40It's priced at $132. The charge controller would be the Victron 12 volts 30 amps MPPT charge
07:48controller. Priced at $125. Then for the battery, I would recommend Lee Time 12 volts 100 AH lithium
07:57ion battery priced at $209. For the solar panel, I would recommend Renogy 12 volts 200 watts monocrystalline
08:05solar panel. The cables that connect the solar panel to the charge controller can be 10
08:10gauge. Priced at $17 for 10 feet. And the cables that connect the charge controller to the battery
08:17can be 8 gauge. Priced at $27 for 8 feet. A 60 amps fuse will ran just for $6. So
08:25the total will be $682.
08:28The cables that connect the inverter to the battery usually come included with the inverter.
08:33All the links are included in the description. If you're working with a small space like a camper van,
08:40or you don't always have consistent sunlight, a solar generator can be a great option. Brands like
08:46Bluetti or Jackery make portable power stations that can be charged via solar panels, a wall outlet, or even
08:53your car. But the price will be a bit high if you include a separate foldable solar panel. All the
08:59links are
09:00included in the description as well. Thank you very much for watching until the end. I have maximum
09:06respect for your attention span. Take care.
