PV Gap

Danny Said:

what kind of solar panel would i need to charge i car battery?

We Answered:

More watts is more power, because watts are a measure of power. Most solar panels produce the right voltage to charge a car battery, but you should really have a charge controller too. See the source for some ideas.

Derek Said:

Can I connect a solar panel charger to my car battery without interfering with the alternator?

We Answered:

High wattage High temperature Diodes is your answer.
One on wire from solar panel charger to battery's positive.
Another on wire from alternator to battery's positive.
Current will only from solar panel charger and alternator to battery.
Both solar panel charger and alternator can charge battery simultaneously.
Convenient - no switching needed.

Mathew Said:

What solar panel type to power a conventional typical light bulb?

We Answered:

You want to use as little power as possible, so do not use a regular incandescent light bulb. Most of their electricity is used for heat, not light. Use a CFL (twirly bulb) or LED bulb. You can get them in DC power, so you don't need to convert the DC power (like a battery) to AC power (like what you plug into your wall outlet). They are more expensive, but will save you a lot of money in the long run.

How many hours a day would the light be on? Let's do the math with 1 hour, you can multiply it by how ever many hours you need it.

15 watts x 1 hour = 15watt hours (wh). (If it's 2 hours, that's 30wh) Take that number and put it in a solar calculator like http://www.altestore.com/store/calculato… It asks how many days you want to store in case you have no sun, how cold it gets there, and how many volts. That will tell you how big of a battery. 2 days, really cold, 12V, you'll need a 10ah battery, that's really small.

Then it will ask where are you, to decide what size solar panel you need. Here in Boston, I need a 5W panel.

To make sure the battery doesn't get over charged, you should use a charge controller.

15W DC CFL Light bulb (equal to 100W incandescent) - http://www.altestore.com/store/Lighting-…

6W 12V panel - http://www.altestore.com/store/Solar-Pan…

12V 12ah battery - http://www.altestore.com/store/Deep-Cycl…

4.5A 12V charge controller - http://www.altestore.com/store/Charge-Co…

Or buy one already made with solar, lights, and batteries built in - http://www.altestore.com/store/Lighting-…

Jessie Said:

How does Solar Panels works and what is the cost of getting a solar panel installed.?

We Answered:

Solar panel is made up of a collection of special cells known as photovoltaic cells. These cells are joined together with copper wire and each of them can to generate 5 volts of electricity. You can install as many cells as per your requirement. These solar panel generate AC power which is converted in DC by using an inverter.

Normal installation cost of a solar panel at home is around $5000 but it is true that if you have zeal to learn you can build a solar panel of your own within $200. Making a solar panel is not much difficult but you need to follow a good DIY guide to do that.

For more information visit: http://www.howtobuildasolarpanel.info

Calvin Said:

How can a solar panel work for me?

We Answered:

Sounds like you would just like to have some fun with solar panels, nothing serious.

For charging phones or iPods, try looking at www.solio.com , or google "solar iPod charger" for example. It's not worth converting the solar energy to 120 volts in order to plug in your normal wall adapters, unless you start to spend more money.

A stereo could easily be powered by a solar panel, that is, something like a boombox that already uses a 12V adapter. You would need to find the right power plug from Radio Shack, and wire a 12V panel in, yourself. If you're not handy with electronics, you'll need the help of a friend who is.

If you want to power a lamp, you could just get something like from

http://www.ledwholesalers.com/store/inde…

I've seen the particular device listed there. While the lamp is mediocre for an LED light source, the panel is excellent - real polysilicon wafers, in an aluminum frame. Same construction as the kind of panels in commercial installations.

Frederick Said:

What is needed for a solar panel set?

We Answered:

Go to Radio Shack and get some small, inexpensive solar panels. They come ready for experimenting and are pretty durable. Dont worry about volts, ma or size. The ones you will find there are about 1.5 vots to 3 volts. I also just got a pretty cool kit from them for $20 that has a small solar motor, fan, lamp, solar panel and plenty of hookup wire.

Get yourself a volt meter while you are there.

Simply hook up the leads from the volt meter to the solar panel leads and move it around to get the maximum voltage output.

As the solar panel gets more direct sunlight, it puts out more voltage.

That's it.

Cecil Said:

How to connect a solar panel to an outlet?

We Answered:

A typical solar panel will deliver 50 watts of power in the form of 24 volts DC. You need 120 volts AC. So here is what it takes:

Since you will need at least 200 watts to do a small TV, you need four solar panels, and a solar controller. Then you need a 24 volt solar type battery to load the output of the panels.

Next you need an inverter. This is a device that changes 24 volts DC into 120 volts AC, which you can wire to a standard outlet for the TV set.

Solar panels cost around $6 per watt of power. 200 X $6 = $1200
Solar Controller will cost around $150
The battery will cost around $100
The inverter will cost around $200

You could get by with less than 200 watts of solar panels if you just let it charge the battery all day and only use the TV for an hour or two in the evening with the TV running on the inverter which is powered by the battery.

The link is for a similar system ready to go.

Wind is not a viable option.