Remote Area Power Systems supplies Stand Alone or Grid Interactive Green Energy Systems made DIY plug n play or fully installed, designed for your specific requirements anywhere in Australasia the South Pacific & New Zealand.
We only use well known high quality brands with excellent backup and service policies like...
Pylontech Lithium Batteries,
Red Earth Energy Storage Systems,
SMA Sunny Island and Sunnyboy Inverters,
At Remote Area Power Systems before we make your new system we do full solar & wind analysis' to ensure your energy system generates to maximum potential giving you all the energy you require. Systems that power homes, farms, offices, businesses, workshops, remote water desalination plants, communications, weather stations, radio transmitters, isolated communities, or any project that requires quality stable reliable energy in single or three phase configurations.
We also design, supply and install fully inter-grated solar stand alone and grid connect Green Energy Systems for Australasia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. Our systems are made tough for a country renowned for bringing machinery to it's knees with searing temperatures, droughts, floods, cyclones and fires. The system you purchase for DIY or have us install is made to take the rough stuff and operate for many years.
Please contact us on 0411 424 274 or 0402 028 959 or email raps@mail.com for more information, we can send PDFs full of information to your email.
Stand alone Solar Power Systems for the home. DC systems explained.
What is a DC - DC system?
DC systems have been the most common way of constructing an off grid or stand alone solar/hybrid generator and have been in use for many years. A DC to DC system draws DC energy from solar panels usually in low voltages of up to 290 volts and 80 amps in to a "solar controller, regulator or maximum power point tracker", we will group them together and call it a "controller" for simplicity.
The controller takes the DC energy from the solar panels at varying voltages and amperages then converts that voltage in to battery charging regulated power, it's role is to charge the battery bank to it's full potential with the available energy. The controller alone may not be able to fully charge the battery bank if the solar panel array is too small so in this instance a backup generator can also be used.
When the battery bank is fully charged the controller slows down the incoming power by shutting down the incoming energy from the panels by switching off the input usually on the negative side. When the battery bank needs more power the controller will switch back on and supply power to recharge the battery.
Connected to the battery bank is an inverter, it's role is to convert battery power in to normal 240 volt alternating current as used in all Australian homes, the only difference here is that you produce and store your own energy as there is no grid connection available. DC - DC systems require a lot of wiring, circuit breakers and maintenance, they usually run at high temperatures and they tend to lose a lot of energy through the heat generated.
DC energy in it's own nature has high resistance to travelling along copper cabling so the cables have to be quite large to reduce this problem. The solar panels are usually wired in parallel and this also requires wiring that has to tackle high amperages due to the low voltages.
What is a DC - DC system?
DC systems have been the most common way of constructing an off grid or stand alone solar/hybrid generator and have been in use for many years. A DC to DC system draws DC energy from solar panels usually in low voltages of up to 290 volts and 80 amps in to a "solar controller, regulator or maximum power point tracker", we will group them together and call it a "controller" for simplicity.
The controller takes the DC energy from the solar panels at varying voltages and amperages then converts that voltage in to battery charging regulated power, it's role is to charge the battery bank to it's full potential with the available energy. The controller alone may not be able to fully charge the battery bank if the solar panel array is too small so in this instance a backup generator can also be used.
When the battery bank is fully charged the controller slows down the incoming power by shutting down the incoming energy from the panels by switching off the input usually on the negative side. When the battery bank needs more power the controller will switch back on and supply power to recharge the battery.
Connected to the battery bank is an inverter, it's role is to convert battery power in to normal 240 volt alternating current as used in all Australian homes, the only difference here is that you produce and store your own energy as there is no grid connection available. DC - DC systems require a lot of wiring, circuit breakers and maintenance, they usually run at high temperatures and they tend to lose a lot of energy through the heat generated.
DC energy in it's own nature has high resistance to travelling along copper cabling so the cables have to be quite large to reduce this problem. The solar panels are usually wired in parallel and this also requires wiring that has to tackle high amperages due to the low voltages.

Stand alone Solar Power Systems for the home. AC coupled systems explained.
What is an AC coupled system?
An AC coupled system is relatively new on the scene, developed in Germany by SMA the world's leading inverter manufacturer, these systems utilise 2 or more inverters. The first inverter called a Sunny Island actually creates a mini 240 volt grid, it measures and moves the voltage and hertz of the power up and down, the same thing that happens with the national grid. the difference here is that another inverter called a Sunnyboy which is normally used on a grid connected system is also incorporated and it takes the DC energy sent out from the panels and converts that energy to normal household AC power directly. The property during the day is therefore being run almost directly off the solar panels. The unused energy from the home is then gathered by the Sunny Island that it then converts to battery charging power. The house runs on solar during the day and the batteries are usually asleep fully charged. When the sun goes down the Sunny Island senses the drop in solar activity and seamlessly switches over to battery power, when the sun comes back up the whole process reverses.
There is also a lot more to the system, it can be expanded at any time by adding more panels and Sunnyboy's, RAPs includes a 5000 watt Sunnyboy as a minimum in all systems to allow for expansion. There is no limit to how big the system can go. Due to the fact that 70% of the energy that is used is put through the Sunnyboys we have very little loss of energy through DC distribution and heat, we have no solar controllers at all and the only wires that carry heavy DC loads are the two inverter cables that go to the battery bank. The Sunny Island also incorporates a 300 amp built in battery charger so you won't need to buy a battery charger either, it can also automatically charge the batteries in very poor solar activity by starting a generator, charging the batteries and then turning the generator off.
The Sunny Island makes your energy requirements a priority and in the event of super high energy use can call on the solar energy, the battery energy and the generator energy all at once to ful-fill it's job up to it's maximum output. Connected to the Sunny Island we have WIFI connectivity so you know all that has and is happening with the system, it also collects data for reports. In the next section we will look at the Sunnyboy but click on this link for an animation on the system, it takes about 7 minutes but you will enjoy it! http://www.sma-australia.com.au/en_AU/news-information/videos-animations/videos-animations-sunny-island.html
What is an AC coupled system?
An AC coupled system is relatively new on the scene, developed in Germany by SMA the world's leading inverter manufacturer, these systems utilise 2 or more inverters. The first inverter called a Sunny Island actually creates a mini 240 volt grid, it measures and moves the voltage and hertz of the power up and down, the same thing that happens with the national grid. the difference here is that another inverter called a Sunnyboy which is normally used on a grid connected system is also incorporated and it takes the DC energy sent out from the panels and converts that energy to normal household AC power directly. The property during the day is therefore being run almost directly off the solar panels. The unused energy from the home is then gathered by the Sunny Island that it then converts to battery charging power. The house runs on solar during the day and the batteries are usually asleep fully charged. When the sun goes down the Sunny Island senses the drop in solar activity and seamlessly switches over to battery power, when the sun comes back up the whole process reverses.
There is also a lot more to the system, it can be expanded at any time by adding more panels and Sunnyboy's, RAPs includes a 5000 watt Sunnyboy as a minimum in all systems to allow for expansion. There is no limit to how big the system can go. Due to the fact that 70% of the energy that is used is put through the Sunnyboys we have very little loss of energy through DC distribution and heat, we have no solar controllers at all and the only wires that carry heavy DC loads are the two inverter cables that go to the battery bank. The Sunny Island also incorporates a 300 amp built in battery charger so you won't need to buy a battery charger either, it can also automatically charge the batteries in very poor solar activity by starting a generator, charging the batteries and then turning the generator off.
The Sunny Island makes your energy requirements a priority and in the event of super high energy use can call on the solar energy, the battery energy and the generator energy all at once to ful-fill it's job up to it's maximum output. Connected to the Sunny Island we have WIFI connectivity so you know all that has and is happening with the system, it also collects data for reports. In the next section we will look at the Sunnyboy but click on this link for an animation on the system, it takes about 7 minutes but you will enjoy it! http://www.sma-australia.com.au/en_AU/news-information/videos-animations/videos-animations-sunny-island.html

Sunnyboy 5000TL-21 Solar Inverter. SMA 5000 transformer less all digital inverter.
The Sunnyboy 5000TL-21 is our main inverter, we use 1 for systems from 3 to 5 kilowatts, 2 for 10 kw, 3 for 15 kw.
Systems larger than 15 kw usually are three phase and then we use a Sunny Tripower unit. The Sunnyboy range is the world's number 1 inverter tried and tested all around the planet, the service and backup is exceptional although you will probably never need it. The unit has an LED screen to let you know what is happening but with our systems you will have a Sunnyview in the comfort of your home to do all that for you.
The Sunnyboy 5000TL-21 is our main inverter, we use 1 for systems from 3 to 5 kilowatts, 2 for 10 kw, 3 for 15 kw.
Systems larger than 15 kw usually are three phase and then we use a Sunny Tripower unit. The Sunnyboy range is the world's number 1 inverter tried and tested all around the planet, the service and backup is exceptional although you will probably never need it. The unit has an LED screen to let you know what is happening but with our systems you will have a Sunnyview in the comfort of your home to do all that for you.
RAPS AUSTRALIA Pty Ltd ACN 605 343 075
7/16 Grange Road, West Hindmarsh, Adelaide, South Australia, 5007. Contact: Sales: 0499 074 493 Email: raps@mail.com |
"Australia was the first country in the world to embrace solar power and
Adelaide, Australia was the first city in the world to manufacture domestic sized wind turbines for farm use, the Dunlite 32 volt DC which was sold internationally and are still sought after 80 years later" |