Solar Power Potpourri

[crxvfr]

Picking up from a former thread...

Contrary to what you may have heard, the solar and RE biz is in shambles. Many of the solar panel manufactures are bankrupt or soon will be. They all ramped up 3 years ago, went into heavy debt, and then the market collapsed. Many companies like Everygreen, Sunpower, etc are ghost companies in mothballs. This is where you find all the great deals on E-Bay. Most are defects, discontinued product lines, or liquidations of bankrupt companies.

Everything these days seems to be going to shambles and that is exactly why I am beginning to go solar.

I have my electric bill on bill pay. I set it two years ago and entered a monthly payment that was more than enough to pay for a months electricity hoping to build up some credits for hard times. Last month they turned my electricity off because my bill had gone delinquent. It cost me nearly $800 just to turn it back on. They turned it off again the following month even though they said I would get a grace period to pay off the balance. $300.00 more, not to mention service fees of $30 each time they flipped the switch. I have have money to pay my bills so going thru that frustrated me enough to start getting away from being on their hook.

Besides, I think sometime soon, the dollar might crash, and if that happens, it's not silly to think there might be brownouts. That being said, the strategy I am working with is not so bad. It might be a bad time for solar power companies, but considering my scenario, and strategy, now might be a good time to buy. I suspect the prices to rise so far at some point in time that it will be out of reach.

BTW: I called the battery place today and told him what I wanted (Trojan L16RE-B 6V) and what I was doing with them. I explained that I would probably be a frequent customer. I was shocked when he referred me to Sams Club for golf cart batteries! I have heard lots of people using them with no big complaints. I might give them a try unless somebody tells me they will burn my house down.

Question: Does anybody know of a charge controller with jacks for 3v, 6v, and 9v like the HF controller has? Most of the wal-warts in my house are 3,6,9 and 12 volts. Most of them say they have 3,6,9 and 12V AC output but
nothing I've tried so far won't work on dc current and I think the batteries would last much longer if I don't run that stuff thru an inverter, yes?

[Sunking]

Well if you cannot afford to pay your electric bill, then you certainly cannot afford solar battery systems or even grid tied. If you go to a battery system it will cost you 10 to 30 times more than you pay now for the rest of your life. You will have to pay for a battery system up front in advance for the next 5 years.

So if you pay say $100 per month to the electric company right now today. To go off grid battery solar will cost you a minimum right now $60,000 in cash. Then in 5 years you will need to replace the batteries at around $20,000 to $30,00. If the economy collapses, you will not be able to steal a battery even if you have gold.

Take a look at your electric bills over the last year or more. Then average out your monthly average in Kwh and get back with us with your monthly Kwh average and location. Then we can tell you what it will take to replace your utility with solar.

[crxvfr]

Well if you cannot afford to pay your electric bill, then you certainly cannot afford solar battery systems or even grid tied. If you go to a battery system it will cost you 10 to 30 times more than you pay now for the rest of your life. You will have to pay for a battery system up front in advance for the next 5 years.

I can afford to pay my electric bill. It's just that the amount I put into bill pay 2 years ago wasn't cutting it anymore.

So if you pay say $100 per month to the electric company right now today. To go off grid battery solar will cost you a minimum right now $60,000 in cash. Then in 5 years you will need to replace the batteries at around $20,000 to $30,00. If the economy collapses, you will not be able to steal a battery even if you have gold.

Good guess! That's the amount I was paying a month. ...and maybe I gave you the wrong idea, ...but getting off their hook, to me ...unfortunately, doesn't mean getting off the grid. I live by myself in my own house. Outside of the refrigerator and hot water heater, everything else I use can be run by a little dc current. I watch tv on my laptop, which requires 9v. Lights can all be replaced with dc lights. For $1100 I can buy a dc refrigerator and they make everything from hot plates to hair dryers to shop vacs that run on 12v dc. I guess getting off the hook means not being completely helpless in the event of not getting juice from the electric company.

Take a look at your electric bills over the last year or more. Then average out your monthly average in Kwh and get back with us with your monthly Kwh average and location. Then we can tell you what it will take to replace your utility with solar.

ha. I wish I could approach it professionally like you are rightfully recommending. I would love to be at that place, but for the time being, you will have to put up with mad max of the solar power world. It might be fun to watch. Then again.... you may have seen similar disasters in the past. hehe.

Will you answer this for me? Can you use 24 volt panels with a 12 volt battery array or do you have to have a 24v battery array? I'm looking at a morningstar SL-10-24V but would like to stick with 12 volt battery arrays if it can work that way.

EDIT ADD: I just found out about http://www.morningstarcorp.com/en/sunsavermppt (MPPT)

[Sunking]

ha. I wish I could approach it professionally like you are rightfully recommending. I would love to be at that place, but for the time being, you will have to put up with mad max of the solar power world.It might be fun to watch. Then again.... you may have seen similar disasters in the past. hehe.

Huh? All you gotta do is look at your past bills or call the electric company to get them. Heck I can pull the info from my computer with an account number. Bet you can too if you just try..

Will you answer this for me? Can you use 24 volt panels with a 12 volt battery array or do you have to have a 24v battery array?

Sure you can, You can use a 400 volt solar panel array to charge a 12 volt battery. All you need is a mppt controller.

FWIW your TV and toys are not what is running your bill up. It is your refrigerator, hot water heater,electric dryer, washing machine, auto dishwasher, electric cooking, electric heat, and air conditioner are doing that, Get rid or those unnecessary luxury items, and your electric bill drops to almost nothing. Then you can consider going off-grid and live like a hermit. Well you might need to get rid of the TV and Computer too.

[crxvfr]

Huh? All you gotta do is look at your past bills or call the electric company to get them. Heck I can pull the info from my computer with an account number. Bet you can too if you just try..

You haven't lost me Sunking, I'm still a newbie. That day will be like the last year of graduate school for me. I want to learn as much as I can with smaller systems before I go deep.

Sure you can, You can use a 400 volt solar panel array to charge a 12 volt battery. All you need is a mppt controller.

Gotcha, thanks. Found a SSMPPT-15L for $206 HERE.

FWIW your TV and toys are not what is running your bill up. It is your refrigerator, hot water heater,electric dryer, washing machine, auto dishwasher, electric cooking, electric heat, and air conditioner are doing that, Get rid or those unnecessary luxury items, ...

WHAT? ....luxury items? ....those are my necessities. hehe.

I live in the foothills (sticks) of the Pisgah national park in N.C. Around here it's not unusual to see people using cloths lines and woodstoves. I have both. That's not to say that I don't use real world appliances, but in a pinch (the theme of my strategy) I have alternatives.

Any other thing, ...people get an itch, then they get their feet wet, then they get deeper into it as time goes by. I think the solar industry would do well to start (somehow) blazing trails that way. I know what everybodies opinion of the HF kit is, but you know what? ...so far I am more than pleased with it. It's running an automatic litter pan and lights (with switches so I can see at night) in my kennel. 2 days in, daytime voltage at the battery is over 14v. Just the outdoor wire to string from my house to my kennel would have cost more.

Thanks a million for the encouragement. I think there might be more and more people like me crawling out of the woodwork. I'm surprised the solar industry has not recognized this as a niche.

[russ]

Quote I think there might be more and more people like me crawling out of the woodwork. I'm surprised the solar industry has not recognized this as a niche.

My friend, I don't think 'the world as we know it is coming to an end bunch' is a niche they are interested in. İf your guess is correct then they are out of business.

I am afraid you will be disappointed for years to come - kind of like the blue lighters were.

Hate to see on base their life style on this basis!

[crxvfr]

My friend, I don't think 'the world as we know it is coming to an end bunch' is a niche they are interested in. If your guess is correct then they are out of business.

ha, you know it. ...but you focused only on that part. What I was trying to express was making small systems where people can just have a way to produce electricity and get their feet wet. Start small. Replace circuits in a house instead of the whole kit and kaboodle all at once.

I am afraid you will be disappointed for years to come - kind of like the blue
lighters were.

Hate to see on base their life style on this basis!

I don't know who the blue lighters are, (neither does google or wiki)..and you don't have to be sad for me. I take each new day just like the rest. Around here, theres so many old trees that a strong storm can put you out of electricity for weeks. Last winter, I had ten days without, then another four. If I thought the world was going to end tomorrow I wouldn't be building a system at all. That's not to say I'm discounting the notion you mentioned. That's a huge off topic subject that's too weird for people to talk about seriously, which is part of the problem. ...But to tell you the truth, I kind of feel sorry for the folks that aren't prepared for the kinds of things you see happening every day these days. Right now, Oklahoma is drawing the short straw. That's why I think there is a market out there for disaster preparedness, recovery, ...and the like. I think solar is a good fit.

Being the new guy, I was just sharing my perspective about my interest in solar. I hope you don't pity me or take offense at the things I say. Granted, I am a little weird, but not completely out of touch. I say things nobody else will say without knowing why it's not normal. People that know me see it as an amusing diversion to their world in a box.

Enough of that. I want to learn about solar. I just found out about uni-solar and I have more room than I want to spend money.

[russ]

Suggest you be very cautious about Uni Solar - some people show their products do no hold up well and that the majority of their production/deliveries are phantom.

[crxvfr]

Thanks for that. Their site says they are nearly indestructible.

At $1.20 per watt, if it worked like they said, I wouldn't mind the trade off for the space it takes.