Hi guys,
this is my first posting in this forum. I've been looking around the forum, and found a lot of very interesting discussions but could not find anything quite answering my questions- please redirect me if any such thread do exist somewhere here.
My situation is such: I have a farmhouse which is on grid power, but in summer we have quite a lot of interruptions in the service due to thunderstorms. Usually these interruptions last not more than about 2 hours before the service is restored, but every so often it could take them almost a whole day to repair the damage. Currently we are making use of candles, lanterns and a few emergency (6V rechargeable battery) lamps.
My idea is to disconnect the lights circuit from the mains power and install a 12V battery with a mains charger and an inverter to supply 220V uninterrupted current to the lights circuit. Counting all bathrooms, passages etc., the house has 15 ceiling fitted lights (all CFL globes ranging between 11 - 18W) and 2 x 36W (1200mm/4 foot) fluorescent tubes in the kitchen. I worked on a maximum simultaneous use of only 6 lights for about 5 hours a day x 18W = 540 Watt Hr./day. I plan to replace the kitchen light with 2 x 18W fluorescent LED tubes and budget for another 4 hour per day usage of those - bringing my total Watt Hr./day up to 684.
My first question is what you think of the idea? Should I rather try replace all the lights to 12V LED lights? What about the kitchen then? (- I don't really want to compromise on the amount of light - in other words I don't want my family to complain that the new system doesn't have the same quantity and quality of light as they were used to.)
Secondly, if you think my plan is worth implementing, how big should the inverter be? Are there any loss inside the inverter or should a 800W inverter be capable enough? Can one go for the cheapest inverter for that output rating or would it be advisable to rather buy a pure sine wave inverter?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Johan
this is my first posting in this forum. I've been looking around the forum, and found a lot of very interesting discussions but could not find anything quite answering my questions- please redirect me if any such thread do exist somewhere here.
My situation is such: I have a farmhouse which is on grid power, but in summer we have quite a lot of interruptions in the service due to thunderstorms. Usually these interruptions last not more than about 2 hours before the service is restored, but every so often it could take them almost a whole day to repair the damage. Currently we are making use of candles, lanterns and a few emergency (6V rechargeable battery) lamps.
My idea is to disconnect the lights circuit from the mains power and install a 12V battery with a mains charger and an inverter to supply 220V uninterrupted current to the lights circuit. Counting all bathrooms, passages etc., the house has 15 ceiling fitted lights (all CFL globes ranging between 11 - 18W) and 2 x 36W (1200mm/4 foot) fluorescent tubes in the kitchen. I worked on a maximum simultaneous use of only 6 lights for about 5 hours a day x 18W = 540 Watt Hr./day. I plan to replace the kitchen light with 2 x 18W fluorescent LED tubes and budget for another 4 hour per day usage of those - bringing my total Watt Hr./day up to 684.
My first question is what you think of the idea? Should I rather try replace all the lights to 12V LED lights? What about the kitchen then? (- I don't really want to compromise on the amount of light - in other words I don't want my family to complain that the new system doesn't have the same quantity and quality of light as they were used to.)
Secondly, if you think my plan is worth implementing, how big should the inverter be? Are there any loss inside the inverter or should a 800W inverter be capable enough? Can one go for the cheapest inverter for that output rating or would it be advisable to rather buy a pure sine wave inverter?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Johan
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