🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <34drks$h0q@juniper.almaden.ibm.com>,
Tony Rall <trall@almaden.ibm.com> wrote:
>In article <486@solar.win.net>, John A. Stanley <jstanley@solar.win.net> wrote:
>>FWIW, I have a 4kw Onan running on propane as my backup generator
>>for my rural off-the-grid house, and it is fantastic. It starts
>>right up every time. When running, it not only powers the Trace
>>inverter's huge battery charger but it also starts up big table
>>saws, etc. 
>
>Let me get this straight.  You're going from chemical energy (propane),
>to mechanical (inside the Onan), to AC electrical, to DC electrical (the
>battery charger), to chemical (the batteries).  What percent of your
>original energy makes it to the batteries?
>
>(I know this was kind of a mean post, but I was astounded and impressed
>by the setup.  And I'd like to know what your primary system is.)

Not mean, clueless maybe.

It's pretty common in remote energy systems to use surplus generator
power to charge the battery bank.  Most generators run most efficient
at around 75% capacity, so if you're running your generator to run a
load that only uses 50% of the capacity of the generator it makes
sense to charge the battery bank as well, it's more efficient than
just running the generator to charge the battery, and it makes the battery
bank last longer.

Anyway, to your question.

Chemical energy to electrical energy ~ 20-25%
HV AC to LV DC via the Trace switching charger >90%
LV DC to CE via the batteries ~ 85-90%
CE to HV AC via the Trace >90%

Biggest loss of energy is in the generator, if you can up it's
efficiency a little bit you've gained a lot.

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