Going Solar:A Work in Progress

reply to post by jaynkeel

It's so funny you post the att u verse thing, I have been eyeing buying one of these off ebay to run my ecotech marine pump on my reef tank. The pump itself moves 1500gph and uses 12 volts and can operate off of one of those backups for about 4 or 5 days at full power even longer at half, It's amazing the things you find while researching the power your house consumes.

That's pretty cool.
Yeah,the more I search ,the variety of ways to get power during an emergency expand.
I lot better than standing in line for gas to power your generator.

reply to post by kdog1982

This looks cool.
The "Holy Grail" for me would be a power inverter that could be charged directly from a simple 12 volt solar array. Does anyone know if those are available?.(Otherwise,I could always remove the inverter battery or install my own external switch to charge it from a solar cell device,that is,if I ever have the time to get to it before it's too late.) I would also need to know the minimum and maximum charging data, if anybody out there is knowledgeable about such.
Many of us have AC power inverters nowadays,being used as battery back-ups for computers and the like.
When a power failure occurs, that solves a temporary problem, but AC current is needed to recharge the back-up.
If solar power could do the job...Wouldn't that be great? If anyone out there has any info on this, please chime in!

reply to post by Alguien


if i understand your question correctly then no. hooking an inverter up to a solar array will and can cause many problems. a battery is required to store capacity and in between the battery and the pv panel a solar controller is required to regulate the input voltage/prevent backwash and allow 'float' when the battery is charged at optimum capacity.
inverters whether pure sinewave or the digital manifestation of sine wave do require the capacity of a battery as a stable source of voltage/watts/amps. without the battery capacity to rely on then you are in the lap of the gods.

saying that i suppose the smaller the inverter in terms of it's maximum operating wattage and the higher the solar panel wattage, it would in theory work but for how long i am unsure.
hope i got the question right
regards f(uk).

reply to post by fakedirt
No,I'm talking about an inverter that would allow you to charge its internal battery with a solar-powered input.
There would have to be a ("non-shorting")switch you would have to flip to prevent the adverse effects you referred to.
Sort of like the switching necessary if one were to safely connect a generator directly to home wiring at the circuit breaker input point.
I'm not an electrician but I know enough to access the 12 volt inverter battery and rig up my own switch and charging input. However,I'm tired and lazy,and would prefer if I could get such a device already manufactured and ready to go. Also,I'd need to research the charging amperage,although,as long I stuck to 12 volts,that probably wouldn't be too critical.

reply to post by Alguien


i understand the question now. an input for a solar panel would be a cool idea and would have a potential market.
if the inverter comes with a cigarette plug for charging in the car, i'm sure it could be adapted to allow a panel or panels to be connected in. i suppose the only problem after that would be the battery capacity and how long it would take before 'float' occurs.
i have a standard emergency powerstation (six years old) missing it's charging adapter for the mains. if i leave it connected to the car battery terminals when the engine is running in the on position, it charges up well enough to use after ten or fifteen minutes. i have noticed a lot of these jump-start stations scrapped after people have abused/neglected them by draining the capacity from the internal battery too many times.
regards fakedirt.

Ok,I have been through alot of sites.
Those that are offering rentals,turn a blind eye to it.

I mean,really,a 20 year lease agreement?

Tromblee, who lives with his wife in a three-bedroom home near Albany, N.Y., hasn't turned off the refrigerator and washing machine or switched off his lights. He drove his electric bill into the cellar by putting solar panels on his roof. "I start making electricity like 6 in the morning, and usually produce it until 8 p.m. at night," said Tromblee. In April a year ago, his roof was bare -- there were no solar panels. That month, his electricity bill l was $102.64, more than six times as high as this April.

His system was installed for only a fraction of the usual cost. That's because he and his family don't own the solar energy system, they lease it. Tromblee figures if he'd bought the solar system outright, he would have had to lay out around $46,000 for panels and installation, before any grants and tax incentives. Instead, he snagged a lease deal offered by the company SolarCity. In his case, he put down $8,000 to cover all the costs for his 20-year lease.

'Black Silicon' Panels Could Make Solar Power Pay Watch Video President Obama Seeks Energy Diversity Watch Video Winter Weather: Hot and Cold Watch Video Across the country in Southern California, Jamie Christensen also decided leasing made sense. Christensen is a clerk at Costco with two young children and a wife who is staying home to raise their kids. The family was able to go solar with almost no money down -- just $500. Under their arrangement with SolarCity, the Christensens will pay a fee of about $100 every month for the next 20 years to lease their system. Electricity costs are on top of that, but with his solar panels doing most of the work, Christensen says the monthly electric bill runs around $28.00.

And before solar? "Our payments were anywhere from $200 to $300-plus during the high-energy months," said Christensen.

abcnews.go.com...

I have also been looking into the wind alternative.

Lot's of options out there,just depends on how much money you have.

www.ebay.com...

www.ebay.com... aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D163%26meid%3D3721607513178432194%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D1088%26rk%3D3%26sd%3D271095492891%26

reply to post by kdog1982


the comments section on the abcnews website linky was quite interesting. newsstands stated that the monthly 'lease' rate increases over time so in 20 years one could be paying $450/$500 per month.

another thought revolved around tromblee's 'lease' of $8000 down for twenty years. that equates to $33 ish per month. something may not be sitting right here as this seems too good to be true! i suppose the subsidies on offer allow for incentives like these but somehow this is puzzling as i cannot see any healthy revenues for the company unless they procured all their kit from a fire-sale.
interesing non the less!
f(uk)

Here is a battery chart to keep an eye on your battery.



www.solarseller.com...

Something I have noticed is that as I am running a load on the system like about 60 to 70 watts,the voltage on the battery drops to as low as 11.5 volts,but when I take the load off,I'm still good at about 12 volts.

reply to post by kdog1982


I feel like I have a pretty good batttery.

I spent like $78.00 on it, but it holds a good charge after long usage. I have used it several times for several hours of night fishing. This includes using the trolling motor a times. It takes a few hours, anywhere from 6 to 10 hours of charge time, to charge with the six amp setting.

I have a small john boat and I took it out day before yesterday( I caught some crappie in December), I threw the battery on an 110 volt charger and it charged for only about an hour.

Two days before that I took it out after dark and ran the lights, and a spotlight for a few hours. It only took about an hour to charge it then also.....

I just went into my back room and checked the voltage with my digital voltmeter and it read 12.93 volts. It is pretty chilly back there also.

I really can't complain. Except for I live at the bottom if a hill surrounded by trees. The sun it pretty far south in the sky in the winter here. The only way I get any solid sun for panels is if I chase the sun around d and Dodge the shadows.

reply to post by liejunkie01


a number of locations i have installed the polycrystalline panels have been surrounded by hardwood trees with limited sunlight reaching the panels. these panels were also positioned flat on the roof of a static caravan, for example in one installation.
there was no issue with charge and i also noticed over time that cloudy days and lack of direct sunlight didn't overly effect charge or storage ability. of course the input is diminished somewhat but not so that it proves ineffective. no complaints from the owners with 8+ years usage.

f.