Tilapia farming using Solar

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underw0rld
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Tilapia farming using Solar

#1

Post by underw0rld »

Anyone here have any experience or have a set up with Tilapia farming using Solar to run the water pump and aerator? Just looking to see what size panels and batteries would be needed to run the pump and aerator 24/7 without being overkill(price wise) yet still meeting the power demand.


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Steve_In_29
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Re: Tilapia farming using Solar

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Post by Steve_In_29 »

For a good answer you need to give the size of the operation you are considering.
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Suck My Glock
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Re: Tilapia farming using Solar

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Post by Suck My Glock »

If the system is 12 volt, dividing the total watts of panel by 12 will give you how many amp hours you have at your disposal to recharge your battery.

So for instance, if your pump pulls 2 amps, and your battery is a 100 amp hour battery, you can run it 24 hrs. withdrawing only 48 amps and not dropping the charge below 50%. (Never discharge your batteries below 50% capacity or you damage them and shorten their life and performance.)

If your panel is 240 watts, that divides by 12 to 20, which means the panel can (under optimal conditions) replenish 20 amps per hour to your battery. If the battery is only drawn 48 total amps per day and night, then in just over 2 hours of direct sunlight, that 240 watt panel should replenish the entire 24 hrs worth of draw.

But in that scenario, 1 day without sufficient sunlight could see the single 100 amp battery run down below 50% and get damaged as the pump continues drawing on a diminishing bank of power. So in this particular instance, two 100 amp batteries might be prudent, or more, depending on the weather pattern of your area.
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