A Beginner’s Guide To Solar Panels

What kind of solar power setup would I need to power a single room’s energy needs?2

I live in the basement of a house and would like to run my room on solar power. I have two power strips that run a TV and DVD player, a laptop, printer and two external hard drives and I would need to use a couple floor lamps in the room as well. What kind of solar paneling setup would I need and what would be the ballpark cost on this?

Let me just say, the cost would be too much to be worthwhile. It appears you would need at least 750 watts. if you wanted to use the electrical things at night too, the system would have to deliver that much power for the equipment, and more to charge the batteries. Make it a total of 1500 watts, and you would need between 10 and 15 panels, plus an inverter, mounting rails for the panels, two fused disconnect switches and wire. I expect around $10,000 or more.

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Wind and Solar power, I need to generate electrical power for my home. Who has the best most complete plans?14

I would like to hear from a Do-It-Yourself type who has actually built a system.

You can do this yourself, but if you want to tie into the electrical grid, it is recommended that you hire an installer.

This is a great article on how to choose the right renewable energy for you: http://howto.altestore.com/Getting-Started-Renewable-Energy-Sustainable-Living/Renewable-Energy-Options-Which-Alternative-Energy-is-Right-for-You/a41/

From there, you need to assess your electric loads so that you can accurately size your system.

Here is an excellent load calculator: http://www.altestore.com/store/calculators/load_calculator/

Then, you need to find an installer and do research on incentives and tax credits.

For certified installers, go to the NABCEP list: http://www.nabcep.org/

For Incentives and Tax Rebates: http://www.dsireusa.org/

Posted: solar power home

Do you have an off-grid home in a cloudy, rainy climate? Would solar panels be worth it?3

I’ve been doing a lot of research on places to live when I finish school, and I really think Oregon is the perfect place for me. Me and my boyfriend want to build an off-the-grid house. The thing is, he says we can’t live in Oregon because it’s not sunny enough, and if we relied on solar panels it wouldn’t work out. Is there some other off-grid solution besides solar panels we could use as backup? I don’t know much about wind turbines and how much they would cost. Does anyone living in a rainy, cloudy climate make much use of solar panels? Or should I move to a state that has more days of sunshine (I’ve been considering Colorado)? Suggestions? Thanks.

There are a lot of off-grid houses in Oregon, and many sell their power back during the sunny days to balance the rest of the time. Just do a search on green houses in Oregon to find some of the projects listed. There are also cob houses in Coquille that are quite interesting. But at present. it costs more to get these off grid houses built than they recover. Most folks just starting out can’t afford to do it.

I’m looking for ways and colaborators to take an existing house and pull it off the grid - affordably. Have lots of ideas, but little free time to play with doing them. Would love to share ideas.

Posted: home solar panels

Do I need to run a ground form my solar panel?1

I installed a 60watt solar panel on the top of my patio/pergola. This is wired to a charge controller then a battery in my basement. Do I need to run a ground from the solar panel? If so, whats the easiest way to do so? Is a wire attached to the aluminum frame then connected to a foot long rod into the ground enough?

Although it is not essential for the satisfactory operation of your system, the manufacturers of solar panels recommend that solar panels be grounded. Grounding with respect to photovoltaic installations serves several purposes:
1. it bleeds off static electric charge built up from wind and rain;
2. it is an integral part of lightning protection;
3. it provides fault protection, whereby any shorts or faults in circuitry will conduct enough current to ground to trip circuit breakers or fuses and allow fault detection. It is recommended that the earth stake should have a resistance to ground of 25 ohm or less. For adequate lightning protection, between 1 ohm and 5 ohm resistance to ground gives fairly reliable lightning protection. You may need to find an electrician with a multimeter to set up a good grounding for your system. More detailed information may be obtained from the Rainbow Power Company.
From: http://www.rpc.com.au/reindex.html?http://www.rpc.com.au/products/panels/pvmodules/pvmodules.html
http://store.solar-electric.com/cipr1.html

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Where can I get good information on Solar Power Systems for a home?3

Greenpeace or a dealer

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How to make solar panels for home use?4

I am not electronic engineer.Still I am interested to try this.Please give any web site add.

While it is possible to solder together solar cells to make a panel, it would not be allowed to be connected to the house in the US, as it is not UL listed. If you are looking for a fun project that would be stand alone and power a CFL light with a battery or something like that, it is fine. You can find sites that give instructions for free, avoid the sites that tell you you can power your house for $200. You can not.

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how can i power a computer fan via solar power for my science project?2

Basicaly for science i need to power a computer fan via solar power.. how exactly do i do this?

First, pick out a computer fan. They should be marked with the type of voltage they require (such as 120 volts AC, or 12 volts DC), and the maximum amount of current they can draw at full speed (like 100 milliAmps). A fan running with less current, will still run, but will simply spin more slowly.

Try to find a fan that runs on DC voltage and current, as this should simplify your design. Many fans require AC.

Small solar cells typically produce DC voltage and current, which is why your design will be easier if you find a small fan that runs on DC. You may have to connect several solar cells in series to generate enough voltage (for example, if your fan needs 12 volts DC, and your solar cells put out only 6 volts DC, you would have to connect two of them end to end to make a total of 12 volts). You may have to connect several of the solar cells in parallel to generate enough current to make the fan move. It all depends on what voltage and current the fan requires, and how much oomph your solar cells can produce.

If you can only find fans that run on AC current, you will have to add an additional device called an alternator that converts DC current from the solar cells into AC current. Another possiblity is to find solar cells that have an AC output built in.
Good luck, and have fun!

Posted: solar power

solar panel?2

I had this calculator http://www.bookstore.umn.edu/images/system/product/9790.jpg but the screen cracked so i took it apart. I found two things useful one was this battery http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/images/products/prod_6897.jpg n the i took out the solar panel. Now i have this LED which worked when i connected it to teh battery but when i connected it to the solar panel it didnt light up.. Any help in y this happened n waht i can do to make it work???

The solar paner can’t deliver enough current to light the LED. There’s nothing you can do to make it work.

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I need to heat my home greenhouse by solar power. Where do I start?5

solar heat is from the sun. place the greenhouse in the optimal solar pathway. face south for best sun time. keep the glass clean and always pray for sunshine.

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can we manufacture solar panels at home? any guide or book available for the solar panel making & installation?8

of these solar panels? i am talking about the feasability in India. please advice.

You can use passive solar energy without solar panels. Some of those are very low-tech - solar ovens, water heaters and the like can be constructed with dark plastic, tin foil and some ingenuity if you’ve got a good set of plans to work from.

For generating electricity though, it’s trickier - though there are some people who claim to have kits and plans available that are considerably cheaper than the $25,000 and up, up, up that a contractor will charge for professional installation. Most of those savings are in the labor, I’m sure.

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