Of the knowledge base here - Has anyone gone solar?

[DeepseekerADS]

I'm considering it right now. Surely there's some tips out there! Let's start a discussion.

The one thing I've learned already is that if you stay on grid, during a power outage, the generating companies turn you off too! So that's a pretty significant negative.

 

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[redbeardrelics]

I have been researching solar and wind electrical generation for a while now, and am planning on getting the installation done before the end of 2015.
In a grid tied system, the local generating company will install a shut off or disconnect between your power generation and their grid when you get hooked up. This is a safety requirement so that when the power company goes out to fix any faults that occur in their system (with their power turned off), no local solar panel or wind turbines will be back feeding power into the lines that the power company is trying to fix. They will not actually stop your solar panels, etc. from producing power, they just will not allow that power to feed back into their lines when they need to work on them. Unless you have a battery back up as part of your solar generation system, the solar panels generally will not put out a steady enough source of AC power to help much around the homestead. I am therefore wanting a grid tied system with battery back up, not so much for saving money on electrical bills, but rather as insurance in case TSHTF.

 

[Jason in Enid]

I'm considering it right now. Surely there's some tips out there! Let's start a discussion.

The one thing I've learned already is that if you stay on grid, during a power outage, the generating companies turn you off too! So that's a pretty significant negative.

HUH? If you are "on the grid" then of course you will lose power during an outage. I don't get what you're asking.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

HUH? If you are "on the grid" then of course you will lose power during an outage. I don't get what you're asking.

What I've read is that the systems where you sell your excess power back to the utility, when their grid goes down, they shut you off too. So you'd need the battery storage and a switch to disconnect you from the utility.

 

[Jason in Enid]

What I've read is that the systems where you sell your excess power back to the utility, when their grid goes down, they shut you off too. So you'd need the battery storage and a switch to disconnect you from the utility.

Ahhh, I haven't heard about that, but it makes sense for what was posted above. That is why it's illegal to back-feed a generator into your home without the proper electrical safeguards. There have been electric company repairmen killed because of it.

 

[prospect007]

I have been researching solar and wind electrical generation for a while now, and am planning on getting the installation done before the end of 2015.
In a grid tied system, the local generating company will install a shut off or disconnect between your power generation and their grid when you get hooked up. This is a safety requirement so that when the power company goes out to fix any faults that occur in their system (with their power turned off), no local solar panel or wind turbines will be back feeding power into the lines that the power company is trying to fix. They will not actually stop your solar panels, etc. from producing power, they just will not allow that power to feed back into their lines when they need to work on them. Unless you have a battery back up as part of your solar generation system, the solar panels generally will not put out a steady enough source of AC power to help much around the homestead. I am therefore wanting a grid tied system with battery back up, not so much for saving money on electrical bills, but rather as insurance in case TSHTF.

solar panels are dc voltage not ac. a battery bank is required. I power my motorhome with solar and wind, works great. I think you should research a little more.

 

[davest]

is it battery back up with an inverter that's needed? Next question, how do you figure out the wattage in solar required to run a refrig/freezer, a washing machine and a water pump?

I like this type of discussing. Batteries, how large, how many and availability, any ideas?

 

[DeepseekerADS]

is it battery back up with an inverter that's needed? Next question, how do you figure out the wattage in solar required to run a refrig/freezer, a washing machine and a water pump?
I like this type of discussing. Batteries, how large, how many and availability, any ideas?

I looked at this last year, going through my electric bills trying to figure out what kind of wattage I needed to cover over all. There was a site with pricing, and by my crude math it looked like I needed an $80,000 system. I couldn't justify that at all. But I'm thinking I was looking at it incorrectly. Dave, I have these same questions! Thanks for heading in that direction with this discussion.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

solar panels are dc voltage not ac. a battery bank is required. I power my motorhome with solar and wind, works great. I think you should research a little more.

Prospect, could you tell us a little more about your system? Did it come with your motor home, or did you install it? What are your experiences in maintenance?

How about the batteries, battery life, expense?

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I had posted a thread here in June with solar energy resources provided to me by a former co-worker. I'll be taking a more comprehensive look at this.

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/survival-tips/421739-solar-links-resources.html

During my cursory look-see of this information, that's where I came up the with $80,000 figure.

 

[davest]

a little web research led me to: WindSolarEnergy.org
They have a chart that shows the typical electrical consumption of most appliances and they also give you other places to look to find DIY energy producers.

I bookmarked it for later reading, but it looks mighty interesting.

Looking at the Harbor Freight site there is a 45 watt system for 149.00 presently, with a 25% coupon it might be worth just messing around a bit.
I think I'll go there shortly.

 

[Jason in Enid]

Prospect, could you tell us a little more about your system? Did it come with your motor home, or did you install it? What are your experiences in maintenance?

How about the batteries, battery life, expense?

Many motor homes and camper-trailers are designed and built with 12-volt systems to make powering from batteries a simpler process. Most have 12V HVAC motors, 12V lights, 12V tvs and radios and even 12V/propane refrigerators. About the only thing you NEED 120V power is to run the air conditioners. They also have inverters to provide standard plug-ins.

People who like to primitive camp with these often have battery banks to provide duration and amperage.

 

[redbeardrelics]

solar panels are dc voltage not ac. a battery bank is required. I power my motorhome with solar and wind, works great. I think you should research a little more.

Correct you are, I just assumed everyone would know that an inverter is needed to convert the DC produced by solar panels and wind turbines, into the AC that gets tied into the grid and powers the average US household appliances. Let me offer an edited quote on a more basic level, " the solar panels generally will not put out a steady enough source of AC power through the inverter, to help much around the homestead."

 

[Mad Machinist]

Solar panels are rated in watts and batteries are rated in amp hours for the sole purpose of confusing the hell out of people.

Watts/voltage=amperage.

Battery amp hours work as follows: If a battery is rated at 100 amp hours then it could put out anywhere between 1 amp for 100 hours to 100 amps for an hour.

So in essence, you need to figure out how long you want to run without grid power and how much you want to run while the power is out and size the system accordingly.

Example:

You want to run 100 hours at a 100 amp draw. You would need 10,000 amp hours of storage. (Actually you need 20,000 amp hours as you NEVER want to fully discharge the batteries. It's really hard on them.)


So if the solar panel is rated at 75 watts (actually 50 watts, I'll explain here in a little) at 12 volts you get 4.16 amps per panel per hour.

4.16 x 6 hours equals 25 amps per day per panel.

10,000 amp hours / 25 amps = 400 panels.

Now this is a situation where full recovery is achieved in one day. These are rough numbers and can be tweaked to your particular situation.

As I was saying earlier on derating the solar panels is it is ironic that solar panels need to be placed where they can get direct sunlight for maximum efficiency, yet the hotter they get, the less efficient they are.

Otherpower | Make Your Electricity From Scratch! Really interesting DIY site.

 

[jeff of pa]

there is a town near me was in the paper recently.
Actually for a few years.
a resident of the Town Went Solar.
they locked his Equipment up,
Told him he has to purchase a Million dollar Insurance Policy ,
and Purchase his power From the Borough. (buy Back)

Not all areas are open to Solar, Be sure before you spend money.
You just may find out the ones Who Cry Save the world the Most,
are the ones who Want $$$$$$$ to let you try

 

[Mad Machinist]

there is a town near me was in the paper recently.
Actually for a few years.
a resident of the Town Went Solar.
they locked his Equipment up,
Told him he has to purchase a Million dollar Insurance Policy ,
and Purchase his power From the Borough. (buy Back)

Not all areas are open to Solar, Be sure before you spend money.
You just may find out the ones Who Cry Save the world the Most,
are the ones who Want $$$$$$$ to let you try

They would have been ESCORTED off my property at gunpoint.

 

[Mad Machinist]

I played around a little with solar, kind of thrown together stuff that was available to me at the time.Was able to run lights and a few tools in a garage. I had a bank of 30 6volt golf cart style batteries making 12 volts. I'm convinced it's kind of a hobby. Unless you have a lot of money to burn. Just my opinion.

I then started looking into other ways to cut voltage or go to DC lighting,In the house, things like that. I think if shtf I want to go back to the simple ways rather than worrying about upkeep.

Not really that much money if you know where to look. A lot of government buildings replace solar panel on a regular basis. And those panels can be had for pennies on the dollar. I'll try and dig up a few sites. I got a bunch of evacuated tube collectors for a solar hot water system that way. I need to get off my dead butt and onto my dying feet and get them out of storage to hook them up.

And depending on how much time you want to spend doing this: solar cells | eBay

And here is a little know secret about a battery bank: Economy Industrial Forklift Battery 36 48 Volt Starting at Just $1 200 | eBay

Forklift batteries have a 25 year life span instead of the 5 year of the "normal" batteries used. Hell of a cost savings over the long run.


Yea, I've dug into this more than a little.

 

[davest]

I'm heading to any site I can to try to find those government replaceable panels, solar volatic or elevated tube. Sounds like a great way to save some money while moving forward.
the forklift batteries make a lot of sense too. thanks for the heads up

 

[Mad Machinist]

govliquidation.com is a good site to keep an eye on.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

govliquidation.com is a good site to keep an eye on.

Nothing there right now but a battery charger