Blog
Shepherd.com requested that I choose the five best books to understand the future potential of renewable energy. This took me awhile, but I think these books are all really important topics each in a different way. Take a look and let me know if you've read them!
The Nissan LEAF module contains 4x Lithium NMC pouch cells. It has a 2s2p configuration, so the middle terminal is to connect between the series cells.
Cell Nominal Voltage: 3.65V
Cell Voltage Range: 3~4.15V
Recommended Voltage cut-off: 4.000V
Recommended Voltage cut-off: 3.300V
Original Ah Capacity: 66.20Ah
Typical Aftermarket SOH: 65%
Usable Ah Capacity: 43.03 Ah
Main Terminals: M6
5.5±1.0 Nm torque requirements
Center Tap: M4
1.2±0.24 Nm torque requirements
Length: 11.93in / 303mm
Width: 8.78in / 223mm
Height: 1.38in / 35mm
Weight: 8.38lbs / 3.8kg
I'm happy to announce that my book, "Off Grid Solar: A handbook for Photovoltaics with Lead-Acid or Lithium-Ion batteries", made it to BookAuthority's Best Solar Energy Books of All Time:
BookAuthority collects and ranks the best books in the world, and it is a great honor to get this kind of recognition. Thank you for all your support!
The book is available for purchase on Amazon.
BookAuthority, as featured on CNN, Forbes and Inc.
I have exciting news for mi amigos in Latin America and Spain, Off Grid Solar has been translated in to Spanish! There are 21 countries that consider Spanish as their official language and many of those locations have rural off grid conditions with lots of sunshine.
I worked with Translator Andrea Miliani over the past many months as the project was a big undertaking given my poor Spanish speaking abilities. Based in Chile, Andrea is an excellent and professional translator and I highly recommend her if you have any translation needs. She also had help from a California local, Laura Galavis from Grid Alternatives. Laura helped with the finishing touches by reviewing the translation and helping with that solar industry specific language. Thank you both for your hard work!
Energía solar autónoma is available now on Amazon and Ingram Book Group. It is distributed to 39,000+ retailers (including Barnes & Noble and your local independent bookstore), libraries, schools, and universities.
Paperback available at these stores: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and your local book store!
eBook available at these stores: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, and more!
If it is not in stock, request Energía solar autónoma (or Off Grid Solar for the English version) by Joseph O'Connor, then they can order copies from their regular channels such as Ingram Book Group. Click here to find an independent bookstore new you!
The Spanish title is Energía solar autónoma, (which translates to autonomous solar energy), since the direct translation of Off Grid Solar sounds more like “out of the solar network”. This version was based on the recently published Second Edition of Off Grid Solar.
The first edition was published at the end of 2016. In the past three years I have been working with more battery systems and building more complex energy storage systems. I have more in-depth knowledge solar and battery projects now and this knowledge was transferred into this next edition.
I've added about 25 more pages to the original book. There are new sections based on topics requested from my readers, such as:
Updated and new graphs and figures
More details on batteries
Improved pricing comparisons between Lead Acid and Lithium-Ion
Included new Battery Chemistries such as Zinc-Air and LTO
More details about choosing between NMC and LFP including the problems with Cobalt
More details about all types of BMS and their components
A new section on "Second life" or repurposing used battery cells
New Microgrid section
Expanded on Inverter details including efficiency differences, low power modes, and inverter active loads
Expanded on Generators including auto transfer switches
Improved Structural Design with more roof types
Improved Building and Electrical Code Compliance
Fixed typos and errors (sorry about that!)
Temp coefficient calculation for open circuit voltage
Battery voltage expectations for sealed vs. flooded
I am delighted to announce that the second edition of my book Off Grid Solar is available now on Ingram Book Group. It is available and distributed to 39,000+ retailers (including Barnes & Noble and your local independent bookstore), libraries, schools, and universities.
The first edition was published at the end of 2016. In the past three years I have been working with more battery systems and building more complex energy storage systems. I have more in-depth knowledge solar and battery projects now and this knowledge was transferred into this next edition.
Paperback available at these stores: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and your local book store!
eBook available at these stores: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, and more!
If it is not in stock, request Off Grid Solar by Joseph O'Connor, then they can order copies from their regular channels such as Ingram Book Group. Click here to find an independent bookstore new you!
I've added about 25 more pages to the original book. There are new sections based on topics requested from my readers, such as:
Updated and new graphs and figures
More details on batteries
Improved pricing comparisons between Lead Acid and Lithium-Ion
Included new Battery Chemistries such as Zinc-Air and LTO
More details about choosing between NMC and LFP including the problems with Cobalt
More details about all types of BMS and their components
A new section on "Second life" or repurposing used battery cells
New Microgrid section
Expanded on Inverter details including efficiency differences, low power modes, and inverter active loads
Expanded on Generators including auto transfer switches
Improved Structural Design with more roof types
Improved Building and Electrical Code Compliance
Fixed typos and errors (sorry about that!)
Temp coefficient calculation for open circuit voltage
Battery voltage expectations for sealed vs. flooded
I have seen a lot of people on the internet repurposing old laptop batteries and batteries from electric vehicles. This is a great way to acquire low cost, high quality batteries, but it does require a lot of work to disassemble, test, and sort them. I think this will become a common method in the future because a battery that doesn’t work well for an electric vehicle might still be a good fit for a battery energy storage system (BESS), since the charge and discharge rates are so much lower in a BESS compared to an EV. Typically a BESS uses much lower power compared to an EV that needs to accelerate quickly.
In a recent Outside Magazine article, Alex Honnold, the free solo climber, was asked about his current reading list. I was so excited to learn that he's reading Off Grid Solar! Apparently he wants to add solar to his van and he got his hands on my book!
My wife and I just saw his new National Geographic film Free Solo about his El Capitan ascent, it is a really epic story and highly recommended.
