Tony is a Geek

As you may recall, I dipped my toe into the world of solar panels and batteries in relation to taking my pond off-grid.  CLICK HERE for PART 1 . Well, how things have moved on since then!  I have learnt a lot, I have spent a lot, but as with all things, if you get it right first time, it's a fluke and you've probably not learnt anything - that's what I keep telling myself anyway. BTW - legal disclaimer, all this information I post on here is not the advice of a professional who does this as a job - this is information posted by me, as a hobbyist, an experimenter, a learner - so, if you follow any of the information here, you do so at your own risk - basically, if you are stoopid and end up burning your house down, don't come moaning to me that I mis-typed something or I mentioned something that you later relied on and that then burnt down your house.  Accept some personal responsibility.  Be an adult. right, now we've got that out of the way, let's proceed with ...

Well, this is more of a starter-kit experiment....and a venture into figuring out how solar panels, controllers, inverters and batteries all come together. I initially bought some kit as mentioned HERE . However as time has moved on I've been learning a thing or two.   One thing I've learnt is that I'm a bit of an idiot :-D ( no surprise there for my missus ).  I now have lots of "spares" in the kitchen as I have go along the journey.  BTW - this is not a cost-saving exercise, unless the price of electricity really goes through the roof by the end of 2022 and all of 2023/2024/2025.  I've spent a lot more than I'll probably ever save, however, this is more about the exploration and knowledge experience, something you cannot put a price on.  I'll keep telling myself that. So, what did I have and how did it "grow"? Well, I originally had 2x100W solar panels, an eco-worthy PWM controller and a 12v 110ah leisure battery.  They were setup, as previ...