Re: PV: Battery Box?

["Mongo" <mongo@nortexinfo.net>]

> It gets very hot here in South Texas in the summer and often reaches a low
> in the 20s in the winter......
>
> I've thought about providing heat with a thermostatically controlled solar
> hot water system for the winter. That should be fairly practical. For the
> summer I've thought about doing the same sort of thing with well water to
> reduce the temperature of the batteries.
>
> Does anyone have any advice or experience on the subject?

I'm near Dallas, with similar problems.  Except I think my temperature
extremes are greater (i.e. hotter & cooler).

There are three issues.  Heating, Cooling, & Insulation.

Insulation:
I put my batteries in a Strawbale building for insulation.  This
provides significant moderation from the exterior temps.  You end
up with 2 sources of thermal mass also.  The stucco on the inside
of the building, and the lead/acid in the batteries.

Heating:
If the temps outside stay above 40, the waste heat from battery
charging and the inverters will keep the room near 70.
My experience here has been that when it is cold (like today) the
sun is usually not shining.  Solar just isn't a good source of heat here.
Is San Antonio similar ?  So solar heat is not a good option.
I use a small propane heater now (thermostatically controlled in
the future)  Ventilation is not a problem so far, since the battery vent
fan comes on during a charge changing the air supply in the room.

Cooling:
Heat here can be brutal (as with San Antonio).
I set-up a small evaporative cooler.  It's dryer where you are so it
would probably work better for you.  It doesn't take much power and
again can keep things in the 70's even with >100 outside.
In the swing months (spring and fall) I open the room up @ night,
the close it during the day.


-*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*--*
To unsubscribe send an email to majordomo@crest.org with the following
command in the body of the message:
unsubscribe pvusers
Email the list administrator at: owner-pvusers@crest.org
List sponsored by CREST/REPP
http://solstice.crest.org/   http://www.repp.org/