Solar panels and wind turbine systems can be connected to a battery bank for electricity storage.
Storing your own electricity at home will enable you to come through a blackout during the winter season or in times of natural disaster better prepared than those without power. Typically, renewable energy (RE) systems such as photovoltaic solar cells and wind turbine generators, have the option, based on the system's design, to utilize a backup battery storage system to store up to three days' worth of your home's basic electricity requirements. Alternatively, if you are not using a RE system, you can still have a backup battery bank that can be charged with a battery charger, just as you would recharge an automobile battery. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Size your deep cycle battery bank system based on the type of circuit to which you are connecting it. A 220-volt circuit, used for heavy duty appliances, such as furnaces and dryers, will require more batteries connected in a series configuration than a 120-volt circuit. Calculate the amp hours of the electronics you plan to run off the battery bank by reading the labels on each device and multiplying the amperage required to power the device by the amount of time you typically utilize the device over the span of a day. Battery banks should be sized so that their amperage exceeds the amp hours utilized over three days.
2. Lay out the deep cycle batteries with approximately 3 inches to 4 inches between each battery. The batteries should be located in a dry space with adequate ventilation, such as a basement or a protected outside storage area. If you plan to connect the batteries to an electric panel, the batteries should be located as close to the electric panel as possible to reduce the amount of wiring needed to connect the batteries to your home's distribution system. Alternatively, you can wire a power inverter directly to the battery bank and your appliances directly to the power inverter via an extension cord and power strip.
3. Wire the batteries together using specialized deep cycle battery connection cables so that they are connected in a series circuit configuration which connects the positive terminal of one battery to the negative terminal of the battery adjacent to it. Continue this pattern of connecting opposing terminals with adjacent batteries until all terminals are joined to each other in a complete circuit.
4. Wire a power inverter, using another set of battery cables to the deep cycle batteries. Power inverters convert the electricity from the batteries, which is stored in direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC). The power inverter should be sized to exceed the voltage of the batteries by at least 15 percent as well as the maximum amperage of the electrical devices by the same percentage.
Tags: battery bank, deep cycle, power inverter, backup battery, batteries should
