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So you think that installing solar power in a house has to be expensive? This article shows that it is possible to do it yourself on a small budget. "I put the batteries in their container, and connected the 2 together in series with a #1 Car Battery Cable from Canadian Tire that cost $14. The connectors where already on it that fit the batteries I got them, so it was convenient. So 2 X 6 volts 225 amp/hour Deep Cycle batteries connected in series = 12 Volts 225 Amp/Hours. Inverter and CableI connected the 300 Watt Xantrex Inverter (Also from Canadian Tire) to the batteries using #10 Cable. (This is plenty for the small loads it will be drawing)"
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March 28th, 2008
Excuse my ignorance, but how well do solar panels work when they’re covered with snow?
March 28th, 2008
300 watts(which those don’t look big enough to put out) isn’t enough for anything that’s actually plugged in (except for THE clock)
March 28th, 2008
Bobby : It’s not good to have the solar panels covered in snow, that picture was actually taken with the solar panels facing the WRONG way while I was setting it up. The angle is much different also. They keep a snow removal thingy from cars near the back to remove the snow from the panels.
Mr. Maigo : 225AH Batteries * 12 volts means I have a “bank” of 2700 watts of power in the batteries. (Although I don’t like to discharge more than 40%) They had NO power at this place, now they have lights, they can use their laptop and recharge their cell’s. I could have put a 700 Watt inverter and then they could use a microwave but this setup is mostly for smaller things. Not sure why you’d think A clock would take 300 watts of power.
Batteries are recharged with the solar panels in back, and they have a Generator to recharge the batteries if ever needed. (Although it has never been needed yet, the panels are charging enough)
March 28th, 2008
PLUS, they mostly use this just for lighting their house. (They used candles for over a year) so a few 13 Watt compact fluorescent bulbs (equiv. to 60 watt bulbs) makes a huge difference.
March 28th, 2008
lol, no the clock is the only thing that doesn’t use over 300 watts.
But yeah, 300 watts is much better than 0
March 28th, 2008
Yeah that’s all it is. A LOT BETTER than nothing. It changes the experience a lot to be able to have simple things like a light that can turn on by flipping a switch in comparism to finding candles in the dark. I’ve been approached by a lot of people that want something similar for their off-grid cabins.
March 28th, 2008
Les Stroud (Survivorman) did a documentary about going off the grid. I can’t imagine raising 2 kids with about that much power
March 28th, 2008
Mr. Maigo is quite the naysayer! 300W is plenty of power for running a house in the boonies. What uses more than 300W is a better question? Dishwasher, Dryer, Oven, Hot water heater, Big Guitar Amplifier….None of which are really needed (except the guitar amp of course) when you can use a wood stove for heat and cooking needs and even hot water. Bravo to you. Now get this kit up to or over 2500W and under 2K $’s and you’ll make millions
March 28th, 2008
Yes, in the boonies, not in the cities.
March 28th, 2008
I would love to lessen my demand on the grid. I hate monthly bills and having an inexpensive auto replenishing method of lighting a few of the most used rooms such as the living room and computer room would be great. I have been thinking about wind power for awhile but I am now leaning more towards solar. I am going to have to keep my eyes open for solar panel sales!
March 28th, 2008
Agreed. I’ve seen countless awesome articles on Make, Instructables.com and so on for how to generate your own power using solar, wind, etc. Except that I’m one of those geeks who’s never handled a soldering iron, and the thought of winding my own coils, mounting magnets, etc is very intimidating. That and figuring out how to take the electricity generated by the windmill or solar panel and convert it to something usable by my lights, appliances, etc (amps, volts, watts, DC to AC, etc). Although it’s fascinating to me, I’m absolutely ignorant about anything electrical. Best I could ever do was wire a cheap car stereo.
March 28th, 2008
Personally, although I have yet to actually try it, I have a feeling you get more bang for your buck with Windpower than with Solar. (Assuming you’re not surrounded by REALLY tall tree’s) However I still can’t figure out how to make my own windgenerator, (I’ve been reading and reading) so I went with Solar which is pretty simple. I plan on making a wind turbine eventually, i’m just not there yet.
March 28th, 2008
LOL, you could use some old hard drives.
http://hackedgadgets.com/2006/04/25/top-5-uses-for-a-dead-hard-drive/5/
March 28th, 2008
There are plenty of ingenious renewable resource-harvesting projects at Instructables.com such as those for a Windbelt (http://www.instructables.com/tag/?q=windbelt), Savonius wind turbine (http://www.instructables.com/tag/?q=savonius), Solar Heater (http://www.instructables.com/id/Solar-Heater/). Lots of brilliant people there. They probably read hackedgadgets.com.
April 17th, 2008
don’t let the inspector see any of this - it all looks hokey. btw.it is illegal to have the batteries indoors, having them in a container that is not vented is a good way to increase the possibility of an explosion, or poison your dog - read a book!
April 17th, 2008
ah limeybastard,
You need to read a little more … there are only 2 batteries and only 30 watts of panels. I seriously doubt the batteries will ever be charged enough to get to the point of releasing gases. ALSO, the container has breathing holes on the top and on the bottom just in case… Put it this way, how often do you see an RV with batteries hanging around the outside ? Almost all RV’s are powered with batteries and an inverter. A small setup like this is very safe, the only thing the inspector might complain about is the grounding which I will be fixing soon.
May 4th, 2008
All RVs have the batteries outside or in a location sealed off from the living space.
I take it that’s an outside door. Build a little box outside that won’t catch the house on fire if something goes rally bad.
Better off safe then sued
May 4th, 2008
Toxic Gases are emmited from batteries when they are charged to a point that they are bubbling inside.
They only have 30 Watts of panels, which is just enough to compensate for the power they use for lighting daily. The batteries have never reached a full charge, and they probably never will with the 30 watts of panels.
I know what you’re saying, but again, only 2 batteries only 30 watts of charging power. It’s in an already well ventilated box that is right NEXT to the front door. When they upgrade to 4 batteries, and have more panels to charge it, then it’ll move outside. (And I will need to make a weather proof box for the batteries to not freeze in the winter when they are low) If we could have afforded to put it all outside right away that’s what we would have done. Fact of the matter is this was a present for my sister. My mum and I stretched every dollar so that she can have lights. I researched the toxic gasses, I made my call, I know it’s safe. People saying otherwise aren’t really reading the situation.
But thanks for all comments good or bad anyways!