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--- opinion:more_power [2025/05/19 13:17]
frater_secessus [big picture: how close are we to the goal line?]
+++ opinion:more_power [2025/05/19 13:50] (current)
frater_secessus [supply problems]
@@ Line 58: / Line 58: @@
 Doctor - "Stop doing that."
-Some loads are mandatory and we can't "stop doing that".  Your insulin might require a powered fridge at all time. But many high-current loads newbies try to run (and crash their power setup) are easy and cheap using traditional methods.  Electric water heating vs propane water heater (or kettle over a stove), for example.
+Some loads are mandatory and we can't "stop doing that".  Your insulin might require a powered fridge at all time or a CPAP might be mandatory. But many high-current loads newbies try to run (and crash their power setup) are easy and cheap using traditional methods.  Electric water heating vs propane water heater (or kettle over a stove), for example.
 === demand scheduling ===
 Sometimes just changing when the load runs can eliminate/reduce required upgrades.  Consider a system with limited Ah capacity that sags under load and trips the inverter's low voltage protection.  Running that same load when the solar or alternator are making power can reduce the sage, reducing or eliminating the problem.
@@ Line 73: / Line 71: @@
 === charging bottlenecks ===
+Charging bottlenecks occur when the battery bank could happily [[opinion:frater_secessus:charging_faster|charge faster]] and more often but we aren't doing so.
+A major cause of underperformance is **reliance on a single form of charging**.   The sun is not always out (solar), you are not always driving (charging from alternator), and access to the power grid is not always available (shore power).
+  * solar
+    * maybe we have no solar at all
+    * maybe we have unused roofspace to devote to more panel
+    * maybe the panel we have is [[opinion:frater_secessus:beginner_mistakes#mounting_or_deploying_panels_where_they_will_be_shaded|shaded by other things on the roof]]
+    * maybe we went with portable panels but [[https://rvwiki.mousetrap.net/doku.php?id=opinion:frater_secessus:beginner_mistakes#believing_they_will_set_out_portable_panels|don't deploy them consistently]] for whatever reason.  Some mounted panel could make a big difference.
+    * maybe we went with mounted panels but park the rig in the shade.  Portables on extensions set out in the sun could make a big difference.
+  * alternator
+    * maybe we are not charging from the alternator at all
+    * maybe we are forgetting to enable charging from the alt after [[electrical:12v:alternator#disabling_alternator_charging|disabling]] it
+    * maybe the alternator has [[electrical:12v:alternator_details#current|excess capacity]] to devote to house bank charging
+  * shore power
+    * maybe we are not [[electrical:converter|charging from shore power]] at all when we have access to it
 === bank capacity bottlenecks ===
+If you can charge the bank consistently but run out of power overnight or in periods of decreased harvest you may just need more bank capacity.  Also see [[electrical:autonomy|Days of Autonomy]].
 === throughput bottlenecks ===
+These are related to the systems above, but are less obvious.
+  * panels and PWM solar charge controllers poorly matched, resulting in [[electrical:solar:pwm_tweaking#pwm_s_achilles_heel|underperformance]]
+  * insufficient panel wattage
+  * panel wattage grossly oversized for the MPPT controller (>30% [[electrical:solar:overpaneling#vs_charge_controller|overpaneled]];  this is relatively rare)
+  * DC-DC [[electrical:12v:b2b#sizing|undersized]] relative to the alternator and bank
+  * wiring undersized for alternator charging with a combiner (relay/solenoid/"isolator", etc.  Since they don't alter voltage this kind of setup is sensitive to resistance between the chassis electrical and battery bank.

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