Lehigh wired client12/30/2023 ![]() Lots of $20 charge controllers on eBay will claim that they are MPPT, but they simply aren't. The solar controller warrants some particular attention: this is by far the least expensive solar controller I've seen which actually uses Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT), which is a big deal. The middle shelf holds an EPSolar Tracer 2215BN solar charge controller, a 24V-12V DC-DC regulator to provide some 12V power for the network switch and fan, and an unmanaged workgroup switch with a PoE injector for the access point on the tower. The bottom shelf holds two 100Ah 12V deep cycle lead-acid batteries, wired in series to make a 100Ah 24V bank for the solar charge controller. The electrical cabinet for this site was graciously donated to us by the Cupertino maintenance department (synergistically transferred, really?), and again is set up for growth. Getting the edge clamps for these panels to mount them to the unistrut was a huge pain, and I'm never dealing with it again. Guy gets great deal on solar panels before entirely appreciating what a pain it is sourcing 6mm frameless panel clamps. It's the timeless story: guy finds guy on Craigslist. I deeply, deeply regret having gotten frameless thin film solar panels for this project. We are going to have a very comfortable power budget (which is going to keep our batteries really happy), and this leaves us plenty of room for growth as this site gains additional sectors, point-to-point links, etc over time without us needing to revisit the power system. You might say 320W of solar panels for a single 5W router might be a little over-kill, and I wouldn't disagree with you. The solar panels are four 80W CdTe thin film solar panels (BP Solar 980L). While I was up the tower playing around with hose clamps and zip ties, the rest of the team installed the solar panels and electrical system.
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