Solar Energy System

[JB Books]

Do any of you have one, or any experience with them?

Are they very practical?

Are they simply good for a "back up?"

What about in combination with wind power?

 

[JesseR]

Well JB something we can talk about.

I researched this about 18 months ago as an option for my farm. I did find the combination of wind and solar to be a valid option thanks to the Oklahoma winds. There is a small private company in Iowa that produces/sales some solar options that were very appealing. I'll need to pull my research file to to get the names and links.

The concept worked because you could have a custom wind mill built based on the amount of sustained wind and the power output you needed. The combination of these two options allowed for continuous power for a standard home.

The solar option with the required number of panels ran about $35K with the windmill costing another 40K. In total it was almost $80K to get the initial setup but could be offset by "Green" tax credits. Add the fact that you can back feed your meter* it could pay for itself.

*back feeding your meter is a complicated issue. You must meet the quality of power as outlined by PSO, you must ensure a failsafe so you don't back feed a line when it's down therefore hindering the lives of the men working on the line. There are some other requirements, but PSO will purchase excess energy from you therefore resulting in a zero or Positive electric bill.

Back to the topic, both of these are great options for Oklahoma thanks to the number of sunny days and the abundance of wind in the region. I'll pull the names of the companies I considered for you, but with advances in solar panels and wind generators, it does seem to an option, albeit an expensive one. My calculations showed it could be beneficial depending on how far "off the grid" you wanted to be!

 

[doctorjj]

I looked into it a couple of years ago. A couple of factors kept me from diving in. First, electricity is so reliable and so cheap where I live. I have some of the cheapest electricity in the country. The cost of solar at the time was also higher. Those two factors make me hold off on buying a system. The only quote I got, from a local solar company was way out of whack with reality. The price of solar panels has come way down recently as well. There is a glut of panels on the market currently. Your best bet is to design and purchase the system yourself and have a competent eletrician install it. The Xantrex XW 6048, stacking up to 3 of them together as you need, is a good component to build it all around. It has the capability of using wind and/or solar as well as a battery backup, and a generator and tie it into the grid.

My current plan which I'm going to pull the trigger on shortly is to go with 3 xantrex xw 6048's, stacked, and a full battery backup. The next step would be to add a generator. The best part of this, is that you can buy a much smaller generator that doesn't have to run all the time. If you want a whole home generator, you'll have to calculate the potential loads that could all be on at once. This forces you to buy a much bigger generator than needed. And then it has to run any time you want power. With the invertors and batteries, it will switch instanteously, without any loss of power to your house, to the battery bank. As they drain down, it will kick the generator on and off as needed to keep the batteries full. When the grid power is restored, the invertor switches back to using the grid power.

 

[JB Books]

Thanks guys, I'd really love to see the info and specs on your systems.

I have a natural gas generator with and automatic transfer switch. In the wvent of a power loss, it is large enough to run the majority of my house (which is good sized) as long as the gas is flowing.

I'm thinking about buying some land here and building a small house (some place to BUG out to and also to take my nephews shooting, fishing and hunting when they get older).

 

[kd5rjz]

Solar isn't very cost effective at the moment... not only due to the solar panels, but the battery bank required.

I'd revisit this thread in 10 years.

 

[jrusling]

I am in the process of having a storage/shop building put up. I am putting a solar system for most of my use. If I am going to be using a lot of power tools, then I will just start up my generator. The system that I have ordered will produce 76 kwh per month based on 5 hours of good sunshine. Right now you can get a 30% tax credit on anything solar. You can check out some of the smaller systems here http://www.wholesalesolar.com/RV.html#sundancer

 

[JB Books]

Solar isn't very cost effective at the moment... not only due to the solar panels, but the battery bank required.

I'd revisit this thread in 10 years.

I'm not so concerned about the cost effectiveness of it as I am about the reliability of system. In other words, if my regular system in BFE (propane? Electric?) went to Hell in a handbasket, would a solar system work.

 

[kd5rjz]

I'm not so concerned about the cost effectiveness of it as I am about the reliability of system. In other words, if my regular system in BFE (propane? Electric?) went to Hell in a handbasket, would a solar system work.

In that case... yes, it will work.

IF you maintain your battery bank meticulously... but I wouldn't expect to power much off of it.

 

[EFsDad]

Also to take my nephews shooting, fishing and hunting when they get older.

Aww, Uncle JB, I knew I could count on you. I like to fish for bass and my favorite hunting is turkey followed closely by deer, but I am about to turn 40 so hurry up!

 

[Werewolf]

I'm not so concerned about the cost effectiveness of it as I am about the reliability of system. In other words, if my regular system in BFE (propane? Electric?) went to Hell in a handbasket, would a solar system work.

Solar - no - at least not if you wish to power a large home off the grid.

Wind - however is a different matter. Wind turbine technology has come a long way since its inception. If you're willing to pay for it you can power a large home easily and go completely off the grid - or stay hooked up and make the power company buy your excess (they have to - at least in OK - its the law - or used to be way back in the mid 80's anyway). For reliable heat and air - geothermal is the way to go.

If you're actually serious about a bug out home you will want to investigate a wind turbine that does not use solid state component DC to AC conversion. The turbine should drive an AC generator which can be regulated voltage wise thru the use of mag amps and a clutch/brake system (simplest) to keep the power at 60 Hz - probably have to be custom built. Why no solid state? EMP will kill anything with solid state components. If your turbine uses static inverters it will die if hit by EMP and that expensive power generation system will become useless in a couple of milliseconds. Same goes for any car with even the simplest electronic ignition system let alone the most modern computer controlled systems.

Something to think about anyways.