Solar Powered Homes

Art Deco

Art Deco

Well-Known Member
Region
USA
City
Selinsgrove Pennsylvania
So here we talk about power for the rest of your time when you aren't on your ebike or even on the grid .
18 panels.jpg
Solar panels, charging and discharging batteries, inveters and chargers, running large loads during peak sun hours. Etc. etc.
@Solarcabin? @Browneye?
 
batteries are expensive. You can get others, but warranty might not apply unless you use approved batteries. But 100AH is gone in no time.

Keep the fridge doors closed the water pump off and hope they might last through the night The secure power supply is nice that way - no batteries needed.

Not easy to decide what to to. At some point you realize that being your own power company is not so easy.
1 SI for 120v = $3,000
2 SI for 240V = $6,000 +/-
Battery =min $1500, sky is the limit
Battery for over night power for a few days, probably 15-20kwh min = 4 server batteries = $6,000 SB can run stuff during the day so you only need the batteries for night time use. If you are super careful and only power fridge and a few lights at night, 5kwh might do it. Still, that is probably $10,000 right there.

Last edited: Today at 12:17 PM
 
OTOH, I could just use the 110v 2kw secure power outlet on a sunny boy a generator and a battery charger to charge a pair of deep cycle batteries (24v 200 ah total, 100 ah usable ) during our 3 or 4 hours of peak sun, and yet another inverter to run the critical loads panel from the batteries. Around and around I go, losing power with each step...
 
ability to output high voltage stuff (210 .like the well pump, water heater, induction cooktop, even a clothes dryer on the critical needs box.
If I don't try to run them at the same time, but they can be wired correctly to a High Voltage Critical Loads Box. CN box goe on the west side of house with the arrays inverters batteries, etc.
This is all beginning to make some sense.
I intend to run 110v and lower for lights, modems, USB devices, etc throughout the house. (Must rewire the whole house anyway.,this is background.)
The only high voltage (220 ) needed ever on the east side are luxury circuits for us like the HVAC and a hot tub , clothes washer and dryer ,and all run directly from the main box.
 
We will be discussing my system and my power company rates and my climate as well. You are welcome as well and I hope an EE will join in. That's often the case on EBR...
 
2 issues. First, you lay out the money to install a solar system. Everything done, you're a little poorer, but you're off grid. Mission accomplished, YAY! My first issue - for how long? Have you looked into the life expectancy of these components?

2nd issue. The environmental piece. Have you looked into what is involved in the manf. of these components? From obtaining the raw materials to producing the finished product? YUK! Now you've built it and have it in service, and times up. It quits and needs to be replaced. Not only must you repeat the above processes, you need to dispose of the timed out equipment - more YUK!
 
You're right. So what shall we do, live in the dark? Use a hamster wheel to power our phones and PCs so we can still argue fruitlessly online about how we shouldn't do anything but continue to crap on the earth in the same ways we always have?

Best we can do is save forests and plant trees to leave a better world for the two-headed frogs the human race leaves behind.
 
AHicks said:
2 issues. First, you lay out the money to install a solar system. Everything done, you're a little poorer, but you're off grid. Mission accomplished, YAY! My first issue - for how long? Have you looked into the life expectancy of these components?

2nd issue. The environmental piece. Have you looked into what is involved in the manf. of these components? From obtaining the raw materials to producing the finished product? YUK! Now you've built it and have it in service, and times up. It quits and needs to be replaced. Not only must you repeat the above processes, you need to dispose of the timed out equipment - more YUK!
Click to expand...
Quite correct..I believe the environment damage is quickly worsening and the electric power socked away in panels and batteries is only financially possible while panels and batteries are made by near slave labor with coal powered electricity in foreign countries. It's become a global market built on abuse.

This is my system designed to soften the descent of both my health and public utilities. And the odds favor the components outlasting both my life and the local power company grid.
 
I look to California and Texas for a glimpse of our energy future.
A quote from a solar forum I follow

Got 20kw diesel with 300 gallons of fuel (purchased at $2.19/gal) (worth millions now.) We started out with a small 5k inverter that we ran off of our 48V forklift (2 birds with 1 stone). That ran fridge and lights fine for a few hrs, but not a good long term multi day solution. Inverter would not run a water pump, so no water. Upgraded to 2 SI 6048 and a new fork lift battery (double duty again - use in fork when the old 17year old battery gives it up plus an extra now).

That is fine for a few weeks w/o power, but also not great for long term (running A/C 24/7).

The good thing about the SI/SB option is that you will hardly ever need the generator. SB can power house during the day light hours and SI takes power from the battery to power smaller loads at night. So you really only need enough batteries to make it through the night....

Here in Ca, solar can run all the big loads during the day, then at night you only need enugh for fridge, lights, etc. Run dryer, water pumps, etc. all during the day when the solar is available. It is sort of a big change from when peak/off peak rates meant it was best to run big loads at night. Now peak/off peak is also mostly the same and makes no sense to run anything at night anymore.

Note SI/SB refers to a model and brand of electronics (SMA) connecting the array, the grid, the generator, and the batteries to all the appliances. (Sunny Island/Sunny boy)
 
My caveman days are long gone.

My biggest goal for a grid down situation to still have running hot and cold water, a freezer full of frozen food, and plenty of power to cook it and wash up afterwards.

I still smoke my barbecue, but I do it on the patio with an electric smoker , an electric fan blowing, and a cold beer from an electric refrigerator.
 
AHicks said:
2 issues. First, you lay out the money to install a solar system. Everything done, you're a little poorer, but you're off grid. Mission accomplished, YAY! My first issue - for how long? Have you looked into the life expectancy of these components?

2nd issue. The environmental piece. Have you looked into what is involved in the manf. of these components? From obtaining the raw materials to producing the finished product? YUK! Now you've built it and have it in service, and times up. It quits and needs to be replaced. Not only must you repeat the above processes, you need to dispose of the timed out equipment - more YUK!
Click to expand...
Old arguments from fellas like us that at our age won't see a payback. But maybe we do things for the future of our youngsters? There are LOTS of studies on economics of escape from fossil fuels. Fossil fuels have FAR higher costs.
 
At my age, I'm not looking for payback, I am prepaying for power now while it's still cheap and buying insurance for when it's not available or becomes stupidly expensive...Enron style.
 
Not likely to be very popular notion here, but a lot of people that are a lot smarter than I am are saying nuclear power is the least of the available evils. From what I've seen and read, I have to agree....

They don't need to be these gigantic monstrosities we see here stateside either. There are much more compact available with the latest technology. If you're really concerned, with an open mind on the topic, it might be worth your trouble to do some reading.
 
AHicks said:
Not likely to be very popular notion here, but a lot of people that are a lot smarter than I am are saying nuclear power is the least of the available evils. From what I've seen and read, I have to agree....

They don't need to be these gigantic monstrosities we see here stateside either. There are much more compact available with the latest technology. If you're really concerned, with an open mind on the topic, it might be worth your trouble to do some reading.
Click to expand...
Yeah nuclear could have changed things, but it didn't. I live an hour from Three Mile Island now , and watched that debacle unfold 50 years ago on TV.. China is buying nuclear as well as coal now to have power to build solar panels and batteries I think.
 
tomjasz said:
There's no reason to take a cheap shot.

So how far away are those advanced technologies?
Click to expand...
Cheap shot, if there was one, completely unintentional.

In use now in Europe....
 
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