Anyone used solar power/pannels? (Not entire house)

timtim2008 · Sep 29, 2008

Anyone used solar power in a tool shead/ enclosed trailer/ or just fooled around with it, hooking up a few items?

i have a tool shead in the back, i was thinking about getting a couple of theses just to run some led lights and other small electronics (maybe a laptop, and a radio), a small lcd tv would be nice too. lol

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...&storeId=6970&productId=200263174&R=200263174

Just wanted some input, in what type of pannels/converters/regularters/batteries to buy.

Thanks

i'm NOT trying to run my entire house, just a small room.

my GOALS would be maybe
100watt pannel

-16watts (one) Compact fluorescent lamp
-45watts (one) Laptop (most macbook use 45watts max)
-5 thru -10 watts Raidio

and i'll still have a few more watts left over

i'm NOT trying to sell power back to the grid.
yeah i know i'll never get a drill or a welder to work (LOL)

anyone here have a similar setup?

mcdtommy23 · Sep 30, 2008

I use an array of harbor freight solar panels (got a deal on flea-bay). I have those panels feeding a home-built voltage regulator, and that charges 4 marine deep-cycle batteries wired parallel. Off the batteries I have a (I think) 2000 watt cont. 3000 watt peak Coleman inverter.

It's enough to run all the lights in my garage for about 5 hours plus my tv and surround sound. If it's been cloudy for a couple of days I'm lucky if I can get my lights to run for 2 hours though.

The only down side is that the inverter is a "modified" sine-wave. Some items just won't run off of it. A sump-pump comes to mind. Anything with a capacitive start won't work. Ironically, I have used my mig welder off of it and with the settings down it worked reasonably well.

Had it not been for getting the panels dirt cheap and the batteries for free, there is no way I would consider it. Run an outdoor extension cord if you have to - way cheaper and more reliable.

timtim2008 · Sep 30, 2008

so your batteries can go 5hours of use? at night? or 5hrs during day?

how low can you take the batteries? before completly killing them?

HOTFR8 · Sep 30, 2008

If you use the search function on this forum you will find similar threads on this topic.
My works office is Solar powered.

stuckinohio · Sep 30, 2008

The only person I've seen in my area using solar panels is one Amish guy. He's got one large panel outside his garage. I'm guessing it charges the battery for the lights on his buggy. Kinda funny the only guy using this type of technology here isn't supposed to be using any at all.

Matti · Sep 30, 2008

stuckinohio said:
The only person I've seen in my area using solar panels is one Amish guy. He's got one large panel outside his garage. I'm guessing it charges the battery for the lights on his buggy. Kinda funny the only guy using this type of technology here isn't supposed to be using any at all.

That is funny.

The last time I looked at solar panels they were very very expensive. They seem to make sense if you have no other alternative and do not need a lot of power. ie remote sites.

mcdtommy23 · Oct 1, 2008

timtim2008 said:
so your batteries can go 5hours of use? at night? or 5hrs during day?

how low can you take the batteries? before completly killing them?

about 2 hours just before dark and the rest after dark. I'll time it this weekend.

timtim2008 · Dec 15, 2008

kool, thanks guys

geaugafletcher · Dec 16, 2008

stuckinohio said:
The only person I've seen in my area using solar panels is one Amish guy. He's got one large panel outside his garage. I'm guessing it charges the battery for the lights on his buggy. Kinda funny the only guy using this type of technology here isn't supposed to be using any at all.

They'll use new (relatively speaking) technology _only_ if it will not interfere with their lifestyle. They're not Luddites, their emphasis is on plain living and avoiding the distractions and diversions of a too-convenient lifestyle. Plus different sects have discussed matters and arrived at different conclusions when it comes to just what would be too much of a distraction. I grew up near Amish country in Ohio...

Still, makes for a great contrast...solar panel used in a centuries-old farm setting.

timtim2008 · Jan 4, 2009

ok, thanks

timtim2008 · Jul 9, 2009

any updates to this sbj? pannels are a little cheaper now

timtim2008 · Nov 24, 2009

any updates?

Falcon67 · Nov 24, 2009

Little bit is fun to play with, but to make solar work it's really "go big or go home". I found a 224W panel for $1039 each which is a hell of a price. That's about $18K for 4kW of power. Add $3000 for a grid tie inverter and maybe $2K for batteries. Over a 20 yr span, that's about $105/mth in costs more or less. Our electric bill easily exceeds that by quite a bit, so I figure payback at about 14~15 years. About half way through the second set of batteries. Not a bad deal, especially if you put it up against wind. Now all I need is to find that $25,000 I thought I hid under the mattress....

They also sell bitty systems in Sams Club now. I still don't think you can really do much of anything except "play" unless you pony up to around 400w or so of power. A shop system might do with less panel if it's on a charge all day, run off batteries/inverter a while at night. But then Saturday, you're gonna be on the grid pretty quick. Heaters, AC, compressors - that's what makes the meter spin. Lights, not so much. A dollar is still 3/10 of a dollar or some such, but it still takes a lot of dollars to save a part of one.

Lippyp · Nov 24, 2009

I have a solar powered light with 10 leds in my woodshed in France which works nicely, gives three or four hours of light on a full charge, bright enough to go fetch some wood. I've also mounted a little 2W panel to trickle charge the battery for my ride-on mower over the winter.

timtim2008 · Nov 24, 2009

they claims, some places are making solar for $1 a WATT.. so soon retail sales of solar should be $2 a watt.. if not less..

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/research/4306443.html

timtim2008 · Apr 3, 2011

finally have a 1000watt system running now.

v7guy · Apr 4, 2011

Don't suppose you want to share a little more info do you?

isaac338 · Apr 4, 2011

I put a system in the family's summer place the year before last.. hasn't had enough use to really see how it's going to last yet, but it works damn well.

Got the panels from Sun Electric - www.sunelec.com. Cheapest I could get them, I think it was around $1.50 or less per watt.. I don't know what they charge now, though.

Really nice guys, helpful, and dirt cheap. Our system is featured on their "customer systems" page!

As usual, no affiliation...

LWW · Apr 4, 2011

Damn! I just used their solar calculator and it says I need an 11,291 watt system! And I haven't even started my garage expansion yet!

dirttracker18 · Apr 4, 2011

stuckinohio said:
The only person I've seen in my area using solar panels is one Amish guy. He's got one large panel outside his garage. I'm guessing it charges the battery for the lights on his buggy. Kinda funny the only guy using this type of technology here isn't supposed to be using any at all.

For some of the Amish sects (maybe most?), as long as they are not connected to the grid they can/will use electricity. So in fact, the idea of solar fits that ideal perfect.
They will also use generators. I am no expert, jsut some interesting info I have come across in the past.

You may now return to your normally scheduled thread

PaulR · Apr 4, 2011

I did a little research on going solar recently. The panels are getting more efficient but they are still not there yet. I'm going to wait a few more years for Multi-Spectrum Solar. There should be some big breakthroughs with this technology very soon. My research indicated the same as the guy above said, from a pure dollars and cents view panels today will take about 15 years to pay for themselves.

Falcon67 · Apr 4, 2011

LWW said:
Damn! I just used their solar calculator and it says I need an 11,291 watt system! And I haven't even started my garage expansion yet!

Our local co-op does solar installations. The engineers say that for a typical house, 8Kw is about the minimum you need to think about for any kind of meaningful billing reductions and payback times.

A29 · Apr 4, 2011

I use a $20 solar battery maintainer for my lawn tractor.

hdossett · Apr 4, 2011

I have 300 Watts on my RV with 6 x 6V GC batteries, and a 2500 MSW inverter. I have been gone as much as 58 days without generator or hookups. That was in the SW, and lots of sun. We have a satellite dish for the net, but don't have TVs in the Rig. We seldom use hookups. Stay on river banks or forest land a lot!

Going to AK last year, ran the gen a lot. Lots of rain and cloudy weather. Anchorage had 69 continuous days of some amount of rain.

If you want to hear all about small systems, try looking up an RV forum. Lots of people have Solar on the roof of their rig!

H

jam0o0 · Apr 4, 2011

if the panels take 15 years to pay for themselves then i wouldn't rush out to get them. seeing as the lifespan is expected to be about 15 years.

if solar was a good idea for places attached to the grid then electric companies would be using it.

solar only works (monetarily) if you can't buy electricity from the grid. my uncle in cali used the gov incentives to pay for a large part of his solar installation. and he does sell power back to the power company in the winter. but he's the first guy to admit that without the state of cali footing a large part of the bill he wouldn't have panels.

if i ever get my rv i'll be using solar to limit generator usage. but you will never find me using it to power my lights in a shop.

just my opinion.

paranoid56 · Apr 4, 2011

how about setup a small wind turbine cobbled together from a old alternator?

depending if you have any wind might be a cheap option

V-10 Killer · Apr 4, 2011

timtim2008 said:
Anyone used solar power in a tool shead/ enclosed trailer/ or just fooled around with it, hooking up a few items?

i have a tool shead in the back, i was thinking about getting a couple of theses just to run some led lights and other small electronics (maybe a laptop, and a radio), a small lcd tv would be nice too. lol

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...&storeId=6970&productId=200263174&R=200263174

Just wanted some input, in what type of pannels/converters/regularters/batteries to buy.

Thanks

i'm NOT trying to run my entire house, just a small room.

my GOALS would be maybe
100watt pannel

-16watts (one) Compact fluorescent lamp
-45watts (one) Laptop (most macbook use 45watts max)
-5 thru -10 watts Raidio

and i'll still have a few more watts left over

i'm NOT trying to sell power back to the grid.
yeah i know i'll never get a drill or a welder to work (LOL)

anyone here have a similar setup?

Wow, post from 2008...
Yes, my friend owns a dump bed trailer and leaves one of these panels bungie strapped to the expanded metal on the side the sun is on most to maintain the deep cycle battery. Seems to work well for him.

GarageEnvy · Apr 4, 2011

For some reason, I just can't leave this one alone.....even though the topic is old and now talking about large scale solar.
Most builders in my area (central Ca) use a 2kw solar array. It's a sales gimmick and usually way undersized to be meaningul. Larger 4kw systems are typical for most houses. Typical install cost is about $30k. I just had one last week that was installed 2 years ago for $28,950. Now, DON'T USE PAYBACK PERIOD to calculate the savings. That's a fool's bet. You are going to finance that purchase so calculate your payment on $30k vs. your savings (about $120-$150) and it's a wash or even a slight loss. Now grow those savings over time at whatever the historical or anticipated utility rate increases are and you will see some savings down the road. Now discount those savings to a present value (Excel NPV function). That's the rate you could have earned on that 5% if you'd invested in something else. With a low interest rate, modest increases in utility rates and a low finance cost you might be lucky enough to generate a present value of $5k to $10k for the solar that you just spent $30k on. IMO electric rates have to go higher and solar has to come down in price and interest rates have to stay low for solar to make good economic sense. Now, if you've got other philosophical reasons for using them then, by all means, go for it.

Anyone used solar power/pannels? (Not entire house)

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