solar power for indoor?? - Indoor Grows - Soil - International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums

mybeans420 · 07-30-2004, 02:12 PM

anyone out there ever run a indoor grow using solar power?
specifically i'd like to know if say a 1200 awtt grow could be sustained overnight without draining the energy stored during daylight hours. this would be done in hawaii so the days and nights would be relatively even year round.
any input?

BuzzBob · 07-30-2004, 04:32 PM

Hey MB --

I saw this post right after you put it up, but did not respond right away as I do not have first hand knowledge. But since its been idling for a couple of hours now, I thought I'd toss out my two cents worth...

I thought about this some as well... But then I did a search on "solar" over at OG, and read through some of the posts. Bottm line, it doesn't sound good unless you have a ton of cash to drop!

However, I heard one time {long time ago} that if you have solar panels on your house, that there's a way to integrate the power produced into your main house system, and that it will actually reduce your electric bill. And in fact, if you happen to produce more elcetric than what your home consumes {fat chance if you're running a grow lighting system} that the public utility companies actually have to buy it back from you! That could be an Urban Legend though, I don't know...

Anyway, I am still thinking long-term of the possibility of installing a few panels on my South Facing roof line in order to reduce my electric bill...

Food for thought, in any case...

-Bob

mybeans420 · 07-30-2004, 10:52 PM

unfortunately i have to do solar, it's not an option but a neccessity in my case. i'll be completely off grid and it will cost me less to put in solar than to do everything the state requires to get permanent on grid service. my question is really one of capacity. i was trying to find out if anyone has done this to find out what kind of battery backup is needed to power a grow throught the night hours.
i guess i could do wind also. a hybrid of both would probably be most efficient though. i guess no one here has done this before.

Mr GreenJeans · 07-31-2004, 01:07 AM

mybeans420
I haven't done this myself, but I have looked into solar. The secret is to measure what your kilowatt hour useage will be total through the house, and then size your batteries to run 1 day at 115% of what you estimate your kilowatt hours are. Roughly a 1200w of lighting would draw 14.4 kwh for a 12 hour period. You also have to factor in the draw of any fans and movers you have running. 14.4 kwh + the draw of other equipment is not insignificant, my guess is at worse you'd have to add a few more batteries +/- an extra panel to make sure you can charge them to capacity during the day. If you are in the planning stages just figure out how many watts total everything will draw and multiple by the number of hours they will run, and add that into the estimate for the house.

The other thing to keep in mind is to put most of your appliances on a power strip, as most modern appliances today do not power off but go into a "sleep mode" so startup times are quick. I read somewhere that as much as 1-2 kwh / day is drawn by these "phantom power" appliances in the average home.

There are very good books on solar homes that also give other considerations on small changes to lifestyle / equipment useage that will significantly decrease daily power requirements.

Good luck! -MGJ

chosen · 08-01-2004, 01:24 PM

YOu could do an online search for solar panels and solar cells. I did it once. They said that for what I wanted to run it would cost quite a bit. I still dream of being able to do it one day...

08-01-2004, 01:54 PM

I'll just in and give my 2 cents on Solar Power. I'm going to be taking a class or two on it at a Major university and will get a greater knowledge on it. This is what i came up with for my plans. There are two kinds of units. One that you store power into batteries like you've been talking about and the other is where you run the meter backwards. The second unit is the unit i'm looking to install once i move to Hawaii. The reason i'm choosing this type of unit is the following reason.

You don't have to have a room for a large amount of batteries. You don't have to replace them as time goes by, and they do get costly replacing them, and last. If you get a large enough unit. Meaning, more panels then you need. When you run the meter "backwards" the power company pays "you" a check at the end of the month for the power you have put back into the grid that was extra. What happens with these units, is that you run your house hold off of the power from the sun in the daytime and supply the power grid also. "If" you have a larger unit then your uses of power per a day. At night you feed off the electric company's powed and supply power back into the grid in the daytime. The trick is t, get a large unit that will power more then you ever use, and get them to pay you ever month. Another thing people don't think about solar panles, is that you should run your lights during the day 12/12, and have all but a little light for mother plants going 24hours. Running the larger lights that will be in 12/12 mode running during the day say, 7am to 7pm will mask the heat signature. By the time night falls the panels will still have heat in them and your larger lights will be off and you don't have to worry about cops looking into your house with IR and other bullshit high tech shit.

Now for the bad news.
Some of these units are a shit load of money, but there is some good news on the purchase of these units. Alot of states will kick back a shit load of cash if you buy one of the larger units and some of the smaller units. I don't have all the states that is doing this, but i know that Cali, Hawaii, and Fl. are at the top of the list. If you got the money, this is the way to go. Get the largest unit you can afford and run as many light as the power panels can handle and off set your power bill.

Once i get over to Hawaii and get everything setup. I'll be doing a whole thread on Solar power and how it is setup and it's uses. I'll also have plenty of picture and data to go along with it. You can bet you ass, i'm going to have the biggest system i can find and have setup of there. The units i'm looking at now, also tracks the suns movement through the day to give you maxium solar collections. I hope this helps, and once i start the Solar class, i'll be starting a full thread with all the info i learn in school.
Take care

BuzzBob · 08-01-2004, 02:02 PM

Good scoop, BG!

So its not an Urban Legend that the power company has to buy back your unused electric! Cool!

I look forward to the info you pick up from your classes, and the setup you create when you get to the islands...

-Bob

08-01-2004, 02:33 PM

Urban Legend Buzzbob, Cali with all the Black-out and Brown-out love it when home owner add these units to there houses. It helps them with the power supply problems they have in the summer months, just like this month. Aug, is really bad for Cali. It's their hottest month and everyone is using their AC at their max. I'll post everything i can, once i get started in the first class. It should be fun, and give me the proper information to design the right unit for my Big Island project.
Take care

PS, Big Giant wind power mills are another opion also. Good on islands and out in the mid-west.

08-01-2004, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BillyGoat

PS, Big Giant wind power mills are another opion also. Good on islands and out in the mid-west.

BG you nearly took the words out of my mouth... I was thinking that gor someone off the grid (esp on volcanic islands) would be served best by the solar/battery system supplimented by a windmill and/or a geothermal source...

mybeans420 · 08-01-2004, 03:43 PM

i appreciate all your replies. i really want to do it the way you're talking about doing it BG. sounds like we have alot of the same ideas

the problem i'm having is that there are all kinds of hoops to jump through to get grid power in hawaii when you dont have a permanent structure in place on the land. when i first get there i'll most likely be putting a dome up till i can get a house built. construction of a foundation is extremely expensive i'm told. they do allow you to run temporary power for one year but if you dont get an approved structure up in that year you're cut off. granted this is a few months off that i'll actually be getting the land. (i have friends there keeping an eye out for me) and probably another year before i actually move there, but i'm really trying to get all my ducks in a row, so to speak.
when are you going to be starting your classes BG? i'm looking forward to that thread

thanks again everyone

07-30-2004, 02:12 PM	#1
mybeans420 resident slackass Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: somewhere that has a pool table Posts: 1,053	solar power for indoor?? anyone out there ever run a indoor grow using solar power? specifically i'd like to know if say a 1200 awtt grow could be sustained overnight without draining the energy stored during daylight hours. this would be done in hawaii so the days and nights would be relatively even year round. any input? __________________ "POWER TO THE PEACEFUL" micheal franti LET LOVE GUIDE YOU LEAVE YOUR CLOWNSHOES AND YOUR NEGATIVITY AT THE DOOR PLEASE.. THANK YOU "The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this." Albert Einstein, "My First Impression of the U.S.A.", 1921 "Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." Abraham Lincoln, U.S. President. 18 Dec. 1840 PLEASE don't PM me for seeds or cuts,.. Thank you
	Quote

07-30-2004, 04:32 PM	#2
BuzzBob aka Buzz'dBob Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: State of Misery Posts: 1,149	Hey MB -- I saw this post right after you put it up, but did not respond right away as I do not have first hand knowledge. But since its been idling for a couple of hours now, I thought I'd toss out my two cents worth... I thought about this some as well... But then I did a search on "solar" over at OG, and read through some of the posts. Bottm line, it doesn't sound good unless you have a ton of cash to drop! However, I heard one time {long time ago} that if you have solar panels on your house, that there's a way to integrate the power produced into your main house system, and that it will actually reduce your electric bill. And in fact, if you happen to produce more elcetric than what your home consumes {fat chance if you're running a grow lighting system} that the public utility companies actually have to buy it back from you! That could be an Urban Legend though, I don't know... Anyway, I am still thinking long-term of the possibility of installing a few panels on my South Facing roof line in order to reduce my electric bill... Food for thought, in any case... -Bob Last edited by BuzzBob; 07-30-2004 at 04:39 PM..
	Quote

07-30-2004, 10:52 PM	#3
mybeans420 resident slackass Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: somewhere that has a pool table Posts: 1,053	unfortunately i have to do solar, it's not an option but a neccessity in my case. i'll be completely off grid and it will cost me less to put in solar than to do everything the state requires to get permanent on grid service. my question is really one of capacity. i was trying to find out if anyone has done this to find out what kind of battery backup is needed to power a grow throught the night hours. i guess i could do wind also. a hybrid of both would probably be most efficient though. i guess no one here has done this before. __________________ "POWER TO THE PEACEFUL" micheal franti LET LOVE GUIDE YOU LEAVE YOUR CLOWNSHOES AND YOUR NEGATIVITY AT THE DOOR PLEASE.. THANK YOU "The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this." Albert Einstein, "My First Impression of the U.S.A.", 1921 "Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." Abraham Lincoln, U.S. President. 18 Dec. 1840 PLEASE don't PM me for seeds or cuts,.. Thank you
	Quote

07-31-2004, 01:07 AM	#4
Mr GreenJeans Sat Cat Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Digging at an Arakeen Melange Blow Posts: 3,922	mybeans420 I haven't done this myself, but I have looked into solar. The secret is to measure what your kilowatt hour useage will be total through the house, and then size your batteries to run 1 day at 115% of what you estimate your kilowatt hours are. Roughly a 1200w of lighting would draw 14.4 kwh for a 12 hour period. You also have to factor in the draw of any fans and movers you have running. 14.4 kwh + the draw of other equipment is not insignificant, my guess is at worse you'd have to add a few more batteries +/- an extra panel to make sure you can charge them to capacity during the day. If you are in the planning stages just figure out how many watts total everything will draw and multiple by the number of hours they will run, and add that into the estimate for the house. The other thing to keep in mind is to put most of your appliances on a power strip, as most modern appliances today do not power off but go into a "sleep mode" so startup times are quick. I read somewhere that as much as 1-2 kwh / day is drawn by these "phantom power" appliances in the average home. There are very good books on solar homes that also give other considerations on small changes to lifestyle / equipment useage that will significantly decrease daily power requirements. Good luck! -MGJ Last edited by Mr GreenJeans; 07-31-2004 at 01:14 AM..
	Quote

08-01-2004, 03:43 PM	#10
mybeans420 resident slackass Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: somewhere that has a pool table Posts: 1,053	thanks alot guys i appreciate all your replies. i really want to do it the way you're talking about doing it BG. sounds like we have alot of the same ideas the problem i'm having is that there are all kinds of hoops to jump through to get grid power in hawaii when you dont have a permanent structure in place on the land. when i first get there i'll most likely be putting a dome up till i can get a house built. construction of a foundation is extremely expensive i'm told. they do allow you to run temporary power for one year but if you dont get an approved structure up in that year you're cut off. granted this is a few months off that i'll actually be getting the land. (i have friends there keeping an eye out for me) and probably another year before i actually move there, but i'm really trying to get all my ducks in a row, so to speak. when are you going to be starting your classes BG? i'm looking forward to that thread thanks again everyone __________________ "POWER TO THE PEACEFUL" micheal franti LET LOVE GUIDE YOU LEAVE YOUR CLOWNSHOES AND YOUR NEGATIVITY AT THE DOOR PLEASE.. THANK YOU "The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this." Albert Einstein, "My First Impression of the U.S.A.", 1921 "Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." Abraham Lincoln, U.S. President. 18 Dec. 1840 PLEASE don't PM me for seeds or cuts,.. Thank you
	Quote

08-01-2004, 01:24 PM	#5
chosen Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 1,034	YOu could do an online search for solar panels and solar cells. I did it once. They said that for what I wanted to run it would cost quite a bit. I still dream of being able to do it one day...
	Quote

08-01-2004, 01:54 PM	#6
Guest Guest Posts: n/a	I'll just in and give my 2 cents on Solar Power. I'm going to be taking a class or two on it at a Major university and will get a greater knowledge on it. This is what i came up with for my plans. There are two kinds of units. One that you store power into batteries like you've been talking about and the other is where you run the meter backwards. The second unit is the unit i'm looking to install once i move to Hawaii. The reason i'm choosing this type of unit is the following reason. You don't have to have a room for a large amount of batteries. You don't have to replace them as time goes by, and they do get costly replacing them, and last. If you get a large enough unit. Meaning, more panels then you need. When you run the meter "backwards" the power company pays "you" a check at the end of the month for the power you have put back into the grid that was extra. What happens with these units, is that you run your house hold off of the power from the sun in the daytime and supply the power grid also. "If" you have a larger unit then your uses of power per a day. At night you feed off the electric company's powed and supply power back into the grid in the daytime. The trick is t, get a large unit that will power more then you ever use, and get them to pay you ever month. Another thing people don't think about solar panles, is that you should run your lights during the day 12/12, and have all but a little light for mother plants going 24hours. Running the larger lights that will be in 12/12 mode running during the day say, 7am to 7pm will mask the heat signature. By the time night falls the panels will still have heat in them and your larger lights will be off and you don't have to worry about cops looking into your house with IR and other bullshit high tech shit. Now for the bad news. Some of these units are a shit load of money, but there is some good news on the purchase of these units. Alot of states will kick back a shit load of cash if you buy one of the larger units and some of the smaller units. I don't have all the states that is doing this, but i know that Cali, Hawaii, and Fl. are at the top of the list. If you got the money, this is the way to go. Get the largest unit you can afford and run as many light as the power panels can handle and off set your power bill. Once i get over to Hawaii and get everything setup. I'll be doing a whole thread on Solar power and how it is setup and it's uses. I'll also have plenty of picture and data to go along with it. You can bet you ass, i'm going to have the biggest system i can find and have setup of there. The units i'm looking at now, also tracks the suns movement through the day to give you maxium solar collections. I hope this helps, and once i start the Solar class, i'll be starting a full thread with all the info i learn in school. Take care
	Quote

08-01-2004, 02:02 PM	#7
BuzzBob aka Buzz'dBob Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: State of Misery Posts: 1,149	Good scoop, BG! So its not an Urban Legend that the power company has to buy back your unused electric! Cool! I look forward to the info you pick up from your classes, and the setup you create when you get to the islands... -Bob
	Quote

08-01-2004, 02:33 PM	#8
Guest Guest Posts: n/a	Urban Legend Buzzbob, Cali with all the Black-out and Brown-out love it when home owner add these units to there houses. It helps them with the power supply problems they have in the summer months, just like this month. Aug, is really bad for Cali. It's their hottest month and everyone is using their AC at their max. I'll post everything i can, once i get started in the first class. It should be fun, and give me the proper information to design the right unit for my Big Island project. Take care PS, Big Giant wind power mills are another opion also. Good on islands and out in the mid-west.
	Quote