Solar Power Powering My Stuff

I was able to mount eight Renogy 100-Watt solar panels just above my carport, using some unused corrugated steel pipes that had been laying around our backyard for a few years. This brings in close to a full 800 Watts at times, but usually on the brightest days it pulls in over 600 Watts, powering my air conditioner, fan, television, computer monitors, laptop, minicomputer and whatever else I might plug in. I'm using a 24-Volt 4000-Watt DC-AC inverter and its display shows that the small loads amount to around 200 Watts while the 6000 BTU air-conditioner requires around 400 Watts. My two Li-Time 12.8-Volt 100 Amp-Hour Lithium-Iron-Phosphate batteries provide enough power (2.56 KiloWatt-Hours) to last most of the day and part of the night, before I switch back to house power. This often saves around 3.5 KiloWatt-Hours per day, before the batteries are drawn down to 50% of their rated power.

I also used some treated lumber to support these pipes and then mounted the panels onto the pipes using thick wires threaded through the mounting brackets and around the pipes.

Later, I remounted the panels with brackets located along both sides at the centers of the panels so that the panels could be easily adjusted to match the angle of the sun as it changes with the seasons. Two ropes are attached to each panel, one at top and another at the bottom, and these are tied off at the support posts. I shorten one rope while lengthening the other in order to adjust the solar panels' angles to the sun in order to maximize the solar input.