How I Moved My Backyard Off-Grid Using BougeRV Bi-Facial Solar Panels and a 60A MPPT Charge Controller.
I live in southern California and during the summer my electrical bill goes though the roof and a big part of the reason is my big back yard and its many landscape lights, my pool light, the outdoor fridge
keeping the beer cold and the occasional movie night projecting a movie on the wall of our house while enjoying the evening breezes. With electric rates close to 90 cents per KWH in the summer evenings running all
this gets expensive fast. I have traditionally turned off the light early and tried to save on the usage as much as possible. But with the constant summer sun baking the backyard all day soooooo much energy is just
wasted and makes my backyard warmer instead of being used for something beneficial. So, I decided to try out some BougeRV solar panels and a charge controller with some batteries I had laying around to help out and save
a few dollars at the same time.
We were not financially compensated for this post and the samples were provided to us for review purposes. The opinions are completely our own based on our experience w'h the products.
Let's get this straight,
powering your backyard lights, pool lights, and even your fridge with solar power is totally achievable, and pretty cool if you ask me. You'll be saving money and reducing your reliance on the grid. To make this happen,
you'll need some key players: a solar charge controller, some solar panels, an inverter and a battery.
The BougeRV 60A MPPT solar charge controller, with its Bluetooth technology, is the brains of the operation. It's like a smart adapter that takes the variable output from your solar panels and converts it into a steady
stream of juice to charge my batteries.
The MPPT part stands for Maximum Power Point Tracking, which means this controller finds the sweet spot for your solar panels to operate at their maximum efficiency, squeezing every drop of power out of those sunshine hours.
What I love most is the remote app control feature. I can be lounging by the pool and still monitor my energy production in real-time. Plus, the flexibility to adjust settings for different battery types is a lifesaver.
It will also show statistics about how much energy is produced every day, so I can compare how much is produces over a certain time periods.
Here's the rundown on the BougeRV controller's main features:
► It tracks the power sweet spot: The MPPT magic keeps your solar panels pumping out maximum wattage.
► Works with your system: Compatible with both 12V and 24V systems, so you've got flexibility.
► Control at your fingertips: Bluetooth app lets you monitor and adjust things remotely, because who wants to manually mess with wires?
► Plays nice with batteries: Works with a bunch of different battery types, so you're not locked into one kind.
► Protects your stuff: Six built-in protections keep your system safe from overcharging, overheating, and other electrical ouchies.
For the Solar Charge controller to have any work to do it needs to get power from somewhere and this is where the muscle of the operation comes in:
The BougeRV 200W 12V 10BB Mono Bifacial Solar Panels. These solar panels are built to sit out in the baking sun day and night for years and take a beating and keep on generating.
Here's what makes them special:
► Two-sided power: Bifacial means it sucks in the sun's rays from both sides, not just the front. Extra energy, my friend!
► Tough and weatherproof: Sturdy aluminum frame and corrosion resistance mean this panel can handle the elements.
► Compact but mighty: Packs a 200-watt punch in a neat little package.
Alright, so how do these two lovebirds work together to power your backyard oasis? The solar panel absorbs sunlight and converts it into DC electricity. This DC electricity travels to the BougeRV solar charge controller.
The controller then regulates the voltage and current to match your battery bank's needs, and bam! Your batteries are juiced up by the power of the sun. From there, you can use the stored energy in your batteries to run
your backyard lights, pool lights, and even your fridge.
Keep in mind that this is a simplified explanation, and you'll need to consider the total wattage of your appliances, the amount of sunlight you get in your area, and the size of your battery bank to determine if this
setup will meet your needs. But hey, with some planning and the BougeRV duo, you can be well on your way to solar-powered backyard living!
I have had this setup running for 30 days so far and I have produced 94 KWH during that time that have all been used to make my backyard a much nicer place to hang out without wanting to turn off everything early in the
evening to save money.
So in my area electricity is in the summer around 90 cents from 4pm to 9pm and around 50c later in the evening. If we use 70 cents as an average and multiply that with the 94 KWH produced in the last month I have "saved" around
$65. Over a year that ends up being almost $800.
All the parts of my setup costs around $1200, so within couple of years year it will all have paid for itself and from there I have "free" electricity for my backyard for many more years to come.
The Gist
Configuring this setup is one of the best things I have done in a long time.
It is literaly the light of my summer nights and I do not have to feel bad about leaving all my cool backyard light on all night.
For more information check out the
BougeRV website to get you own.
BougeRV 200W 12V 10BB Mono Bifacial Solar Panel
60A MPPT Solar Charge Controller with Bluetooth
Get 20% off solar series on the BougeRV website with code: AFF20
GistGear awards the BougeRV products 6 (out of 6).
