Kipon Mor,
Welcome to EP!
Hrmm, from your configuration it would appear your purpose is to create a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) with "solar charging back-up", but from your description you currently have a 1600VA 240V Battery Charger OR a 1600VA 24Vdc Input 240Vac output Inverter.....Typical Battery chargers only convert line voltage to a charging voltage NOT the inverse while typical Inverters Convert a DC voltage to an AC Voltage....on the other hand, a UPS is dual function....it charges its batteries and supplies an inverter while the line voltage is present then uses the stored energy in the batteries to supply the Inverter when the line voltage is interrupted....Most conventional "Inverters" do NOT have built in battery chargers, rather they typically require a specific DC input voltage and leave maintenance of the source to other system components.....
So......I am going to assume you currently have a 1600VA inverter designed for 24VDC input and 240Vac output, a 24V "Charge Controller" and 2 * 60W solar panels....AND that your "Project" is to add a line-driven 24V power supply to assist in BOTH maintaining the battery AND sourcing the 1600VA Inverter.....The solution requires knowing the "Intended Purpose" of the system....
If the intended purpose is to provide high reliability power to a critical circuit then design is pretty straight-forward.....One approach is to use a 240V relay to switch the Inverter Source from line voltage to battery voltage when the line voltage fails....to ensure uninterrupted operation place enough capacitance @ the Inverter Input to supply the inverter during the relay's transition period. Next add a line driven battery charger to ensure the batteries are always fully charged while the line voltage is present.....There are numerous other ways to achieve the same goal, all with their merits, but I suspect this is NOT your intended purpose.....
If your intended purpose is to utilize as much of the Solar Power as possible in an effort to reduce grid consumption then the project get's considerably more complicated, and the "best solution" requires careful analysis....The primary problem ALL AE (Alternative Energy) systems have is meeting transient demands efficiently.....In your case, best case, Full-Sun you have 5A @ 24Vdc available from your solar panels....this translates (best case) to 120W....If you live in an area where you can get 120W output for 10 hours a day the TOTAL AVAILABLE POWER is 1.2kWh/day....If your 1600VA inverter is 85% efficient and has an average load of 1000W, then the input power to it will be 1000/0.85 = 1176W...this means that REGARDLESS OF SOURCE, the power "wasted" by the inverter will be 176 * 24 = 4.2kWh/Day which exceeds the potential input from the solar panels by a factor of 3.5. If you plan to "store" the energy from the solar panels the scenario gets MUCH WORSE......charging efficiency for any battery << 75% with <50% efficiency being typical for lead-acid batteries. There is no "magic" way around efficiency conversions, they are very real and one of the fundamental problems with AE sources. So, in order for you to see any "positive" result from solar panels in conjunction with your inverter you would need to add 7 * 60W panels just to overcome the inefficiency of the inverter.
**SIDE NOTE** --> Alternative Energy REQUIRES fundamentally re-thinking HOW we use power....It is NEVER cheaper or easier than grid power. Solar panels in quantity can be purchased for as little as $1/W....A typical installation where solar panels are implemented efficiently typically costs >>$10/W. Assuming $0.20/kWh for grid power and $10,000/kW for a solar panel installation, this puts the "break-even" point @ 10,000/0.20 ==> 50,000kWh (regardless of size).....So the"break even" is @ month #250.....roughly 21 years. The current upfront cost for a household that uses 600kWh/Month would be 600kWh/30 days = 20kWh/Day...Assuming an average of 6 "solar hours per day" this would imply an installation of a 3.3kW array ==> ~$33,000.... Assuming 5% for "use of money" regardless if it is a loan or just a "lack of investment" cost, this places the cost to the consumer @ roughly $200/month over a 20 year period....This implies that the "actual cost" of solar would be 600kWh * $0.20/kWh = $120/month "Grid Cost" --> $200 Solar - $120 Grid = $80/Month MORE the current cost of power....HOWEVER, solar is heavily subsidized in many areas which typically makes is slightly "cash positive" over the 20-year anticipated life of the solar panels.....but without subsidies the "real" break-even point is typically between 25 and 35 years....
Now, the good news....Solar panels and other AE sources CAN be used much more efficiently if we are willing to re-think the way we use power....Take for example items most people have "plugged in" 24-7 to "charge" various mobile devices.....If these items were charged directly from solar panels then they would no longer require grid power.....If a household has 10 such "wall-wart" chargers plugged in 24-7 but only uses them to "charge" their specific devices a few hours a day AND the rest of the time the chargers are just "sitting idle" drawing ~5W each then they are "wasting" 5W * 10 * 24 * 30 ~ 36kWh/Month.....it is quite likely the grid demand could be reduced by MORE than the wattage of the solar panel used to charge them.....So it is possible to Eliminate (in this case) 36kWh per month by using a 60W panel that only outputs 10 to 15 kWh/Month. Assuming a 60W panel DIY install costs $150 and it eliminates 36kWh of grid use per month then it will "save" $7.20 per month @ $0.20/kWh.....$150/$7.20 = ~21 months < Two Years to the "break even" point. With a 20 year anticipated panel life, the savings for these 10 wall-warts could be $1728 - $150 = $1578! IF we use this type of approach to AE then it is both financially viable AND environmentally friendly....BUT attempting to use AE to produce GRID power is a fools errand....
Hehehe, sorry, got a bit carried away....
Fish
