Is solar still a viable option?

[totoalas]

Solid State Relay for solar charge controller - YouTube

http://www.zeropointfuel.com/Docs/DC_Solid_State_Relay.pdf

the circuit can be found in zeropointfuel.com

youre right optocoupler and a mosfet

the UPS brand is APC MGE

thanks

[totoalas]

If you use 200W of panels and John Bedini Solar Kicker you'll get powerful charge for your battery bank. The smallest one is 10A and biggest 80W (if I remember well). For their price it would be difficult to find 200W solar panel. Charger will work in low light conditions too. I agree that it would be difficult to make such device from scratch for same $. Panels have low efficiency and they're overpriced. The only way to squeeze as much is possible from them is to use not directly but to combine with other technology.

@totoalas
Panels ratings are for ideal conditions. I can't even power my sixfilar SS from 40W at this time.
5W should be enough to keep battery topped but not during operation. Also, make sure you couple impedance of panel with your input (if you decide to run SSG from panel directly) using large capacitor rated at max panel V. Also, inverted trigger (solid state) will oscillate with couple volts input (low light).

V

Hi thanks for the advice from you quote
make sure you couple impedance of panel with your input (if you decide to run SSG from panel directly) using large capacitor rated at max panel V.

Im planning to use the 60 w panel diretcly to the SSG in between is a 3300 uf 450 v dc and 6 coiler output with another 3300 uf going to the 60 Ah battery Are there any diodes / protection needed othere the said items
just checked the panel there is a big diode in place from - to + terminal
thanks

totoalas

[Aaron]

solar power

Here is a good news video about solar: Here Comes The SUN (21 oktober 2008) - YouTube

If the govt (taxpayers anyway) isn't paying a serious chunk of the solar for you, here is our take - the average home, in America at least, waste's half of its energy that is consumed. 50% of the home energy use is a combination of heating and cooling. So the single biggest improvement anyone can make is to increase insulation for convective and conductive losses/gains in addition to radiant gain/loss. If the walls had R60 standard and roofs/ceilings had R100 standard, then we hold on to heat we make and keep out heat we don't want - of course with radiant barriers.

The point is that you can put a small % of investment into making sure the house has no leaks and it's insulation/radiant barrier package is updated to bring the home up to par. After that is done, then the amount of solar needed - if it is also to be the source of power for heating and cooling has been reduced substantially - speeding up the ROI for solar installations.

These aren't exact numbers and just show the concept, but you could put $2000 into improving the insulation package of the home and reduce your solar package need by $6000+ as an example. You have to get the most bang for your buck and putting solar on a home that is wasting half its energy to begin with is a waste of time and money. Anyone, those #'s just show the concept.

If you want the best battery charger for solar, it is the Solar Tracker III's available here. Solar Tracker III

On this comment: "Car batteries don't work well with solar since they're not storage batteries. They should not be taken down below 12.5V standing voltage while deep cycle can be discharged to 10.5 without any harm being done. Some solar controllers will not activate charging unless battery is under 10.5V. "

I'd say the car batter shouldn't be taken down below 12.0V. 12.5 is only 1/10 of a volt below isn't new resting voltage, which is 12.6v.

I just got a deep cycle 12v 75ah flooded cell battery from someone that got it at walmart. He is a hunter and he uses it to power his c-pap machine when he is sleeping in a tent - that is because he has sleep apnea. He can get 5 nights out of 1 full charge. But, this is causing small layers of sulfation/lead, etc... and will kill the battery inevitably. I didn't use a Solar Tracker III to charge it but to show an example of what these chargers do, it was resting at 11.30 volts and I put it on the 20A12 Rejuvenator (discontinued model) and it is now resting at 12.94 volts - almost 13 volts!!

And that isn't a fluffy static charge - there will be quite a bit of load powering capability before it ever gets down to 12.6 v, what it should be brand new! lol That is almost 103% of the brand new battery and this battery has been badly abused! It took 3 days on the rejuvenator non-stop to do its job but it is now better than new!

Anyway, before considering solar, make sure your home is efficiently using what it already uses before adding solar.

[kcarring]

Good points!

There is much you can do on that note. One of my more industrious friends has an energy center. In the center are: a methane gas generator, a hot water heater for the home, a very large water bath that acts as a heat sink, and a variable speed mitstubishi heat pump. The entire system is monitored and PC controlled. Currently, in the winter, his heat pump would normally operating outside in sub-zero temperatures (and yes, it does work, even then...). Instead, he is producing his own electricity with the methane genset, which inefficiently loses its heat to warm his water; and boost the heat pump. The system is operable with a natural gas generator as well; especially if the jurisdiction offers a rebate on power costs when an individual can (meter) prove they use no power during peak demand. This is because of an exhaust scrubbing process that reduces the (already low) natural gas emissions to virtually nothing. Other alternatives would include the combined approah of wind and or solar - separative electrolysis H2 containment.

It works AWESOME, and combined with insulation enhancements, as Aaron has talked about, his savings are in the 3-4K per year mark, when compared to the cost of operating his particular home, before. Total cost was 20K, ROI in 5-6 years max.

[celinaaniston86]

No matter where you live, house solar panels can be installed by professionals. There are also Solar Home Sets you can put into place on your own for less money. You can change any type of house or business into one that uses solar power to make electricity.

Sump Pumps

[avro539]

solar install

I have had 3.5 KW instalation on my roof for a year now..we are two retired people and use about 9 kw a day and export the rest back to the grid..in the 12 months we are $1600 in credit.. had a outlay of $8000 for the system will pay for its self in 5 years or less.this is as good as investing money and getting 20%.diviend...and dont have to pay tax on electricty exported back to the grid.....this is in Melbourne Australia

Anyone have any advice? I've been thinking of installing solar panels on my roof for a little while but right before Christmas, the UK government slashed the feed in tariffs

I'd still like to do it as its great for the environment etc but obviously its a huge investment and i'd need to know I was going to make something out of it too! At the moment, it all seems a bit up in the air about what the new tariffs will be Without knowing that, how can they expect us to make such a big investment without a good idea of the returns???

Though in my research I did come upon this which somewhat amused me:

David Cameron Accused Over Feed-In Tariffs By Angry Businesswoman

Serves Cameron right if you ask me!!

But anyway, what do you guys think? Is solar still a viable option?

[rogerd]

Conservation, Conservation, Conservation

As Aaron mentioned the importance of conservation cannot be stressed enough. Perfect insulation can eliminate a lot of energy loss and save you ton of money. Another aspect is making use of energy efficient appliances. Switching to energy saving devices like LED for lighting and energy star rated appliances is another option. Last but not least switch off appliances and gadgets not in use. Track your energy use to get an idea about how much energy your home will need.

Only after you take the above steps should you think about going in for solar panel installation. The above steps will save you in installation costs both on panels and batteries.