SOLAR ENERGY ANYONE????

[justintime420]

I want to know if anyone here uses solar energy? and what is your experience with it?

Thinking about getting 10,000 watts this year or the next and im seeing prices from $15,000 and up

 

[Blue Orca]

We have solar power & wind turbines at our cabin. We bought our system from Real Goods

They'll send you a great catalog on their systems as well as a plethora of available appliances like 12-volt refrigerators, inverters, etc.

Good luck on your project.

Blue Orca

 

[EvilTwin]

Hi Justin...
Big project. I've thought about other ideas that are similar in that they use the sun. Directly rather then converting it to electric first though.

They make some interesting light traps and roof mounted collectors...different strategies to direct light inside of a building. I'd explore that possibility too, for what it's worth...
ET

 

[justintime420]

thanks for feedback blue orca and evil twin im definitely going to check out more options with solar energy. Are there any huge draw backs to solar?

 

[EvilTwin]

thanks for feedback blue orca and evil twin im definitely going to check out more options with solar energy. Are there any huge draw backs to solar?

Justin,
As you've probably already figured out, cost is the biggest factor. I'm an RVer and have used various solar panels over the years. But for a grow op, you're talking about a much larger system.

You'll have to have battery collectors, regulators and an easy system to switch over to house power for those really dark days..

I would do the math...it might not even be practiccal without having a half acre array of panels.

But if you have the money and wish to incorporate alternative energy into your lifestyle, it does pay for itself over time. You could also add in a wind generator very easily since you'd already have the controllers.
ET

 

[Blue Orca]

thanks for feedback blue orca and evil twin im definitely going to check out more options with solar energy. Are there any huge draw backs to solar?

justintime420

Besides the initial cost of the solar panels you'll need to factor in the cost of an inverter (the device that converts 12 Volt electricity to standard 120/240 electricity) and the best product for that is Xantrex (i.e. Trace inverters) and this is an area that you can NOT go for the cheap price. Trust me.

HTH

Blue Orca

 

[-v-]

I suggest at least 40-60 percent excess the total wattage you want to pull at whim. Setting up for a garden, thinking 10kw will do the trick. Smart play is to get at least 14-16kw worth of panels batteries the works if you plan on relying on 10kw. Personally i wouldn't settle with less than double the intended draw.

is this grid tied of totally off grid? if it is grid tied the excess is not a big deal.

do it to it brother, paying for juice is for the birds.

 

[Aeroguerilla]

check out sanyo 215w hit panels highest efficiency rating can get a pallet of 34 for like 30gs. good deal. although give it 5 years and the tech will be UNREAL they got these new panels with nanotechnology little antenae that collect the solar energy pretty neat stuff.

 

[-v-]

some panels are even rigged to track the sun collecting the maximum amount of energy at a given time of the day!

 

[Maj.Cottonmouth]

Anyone ever check out a fresnel lens? I think a person could setup a nice steam turbine generator using them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGtA8E5iw3k

http://www.sciplus.com/singleItem.cfm/terms/13603/cartLogFrom/froogle

 

[Blue Orca]

some panels are even rigged to track the sun collecting the maximum amount of energy at a given time of the day!

They're called 'solar trackers' and these devices contain your solar panels and as the sun moves across the sky they shift the solar panel grid to maximize their ability to produce electricity at their maximum designed output.

Well worth the money, IMHO

Blue Orca

 

[Hephaestus]

We're planning to get off grid here in the not too distant future... Tab is projected running well over 50k - hardware only, not all those lil bits n pieces and install... But we're looking at the mountains where solar is only a partial solution.

However, pretty much anyone looking off grid needs to look multiple redundancies - wind to backup solar (if it's not sunny it's probably windy) and generator as a backup still...

Our systems going to be small amounts of solar (about 1000w); substantial wind, solar heating, Ammonia based cooling systems, microhydro... Battery bank of course, but we're planning to do another storage technique - hydro storage - pump water up to an upper basin when excess power is available; when batteries are low open up the valve to feed a small hydro turbine to recharge... But we're also probably going to do a proper wind driven pump - so the systems recharging anytime the wind is blowing - cheaper and more efficient.

Just about everything is available as a 12v system these days (rv's have EVERYTHING) a lot of it is better left as DC rather than loosing a lot in the conversion to AC...

 

[justintime420]

i did some research and to power my grow completely the system i want is $150,000 kinda pricey but i know it would pay for itself over years worth of time. Also takes up 6000 sp ft of panels....not too practical at the moment. Thats judging a 60k system that collects sun 5 hours a day. I was thinking if I do a loan or finance this i might get away with a monthly payment close to my current electricty costs and atleast i wouldnt be throwing money away, i would be putting it to an investment of never paying for electricity costs.

Thoughts????

 

[Maj.Cottonmouth]

I heard about this place but I have not looked into it much but it might be an option for you

http://www.solarcity.com/

 

[lid]

Another plus is the fact that u can sell your excess electricity to elec. company. I know of people who do this and get a check every quarter.

 

[Lazyman]

Honestly you'll be MUCH better off finding a place that has a year-round stream. Water power is tons more reliable, efficient, and economical compared to solar, and wind turbines are kind of a joke for large power draws. Most of the BIG ones are thousands of dollars to generate 2-4KW, but only when it's super windy. The rest of the time they do nothing.