Solar Power
- Thread starter mamabear
- Start date
I haven't but know and have chatted with people that have both wind and solar. They have a long payback period so the power bills won't be helped much for a long time. However, the peace of mind of having a little power in times of trouble could be worth the effort. The battery array to "go off the grid" is an enormous expense so most people just feed their "production" back into the grid to offset their own usage.
ppine
Forester
The only people I know with solar panels are pretty well off. It is not economic yet really to install a system, but soon it will be. The installation is not that hard. You need to pour some concrete for the posts to secure the panels, and run the power from the controller to the panels. Then you need to connect to the power panel, which usually requires an electrician.
Government incentives are important early on in the development of green energy.
Government incentives are important early on in the development of green energy.
Pathfinder1
Well-Known Member
Hi...
Around here, you'll see a (very) few of them installed on existing home roofs.
Other than tieing it into your existing electrical system, isn't it just a matter of connecting the panels together electrically?
Around here, you'll see a (very) few of them installed on existing home roofs.
Other than tieing it into your existing electrical system, isn't it just a matter of connecting the panels together electrically?
GROUNDpounder
Rubbing stix together
Solar panel systems are actually very simple to set up. You have your solar panel(s), wiring, charge controller, battery box.
They're very easy to set up yourself and only require minimal wiring skills and the ability to tell the difference between colors and do basic math.
My cabin is entirely solar. This consists of five panels producing a total of 320 Watts in direct sunlight. The panels are mounted to the north face of a small barn. They are hinged at the top to pitch into the sun at varying angles to allow for maximum exposure for different seasons. These are wired to a charge controller which monitors the charge to a bank of deep cycle batteries. The batteries are in turn connected to a 12 volt bank and a power inverter which supplies 120 volt AC at 4000 Watts maximum. My lighting is all LED. These are very bright but consume very little power. My air circulation fans are all 12 volt as is my refrigeration system which is also very efficient. Just in case, I have a 5000 Watt gas generator. I've had to use it twice in the last ten years.
It doesn't take a genius. You just have to do the math and since I'm out and about most of the time, I don't use much power.
It doesn't take a genius. You just have to do the math and since I'm out and about most of the time, I don't use much power.