PV Gap

Sheila Said:

How many solar panels would I need to power my washer machine?

We Answered:

Solar panels produce power in proportion to the amount of sun light and inverse proportion to the temperature. To use solar power you will need in addition to the panels a bank of batteries a charge controller and an inverter to convert to 120v. The panel(s) will only be used to recharge the batteries and the batteries connected to the inverter is what is going to run your washing machine. You therefore need to know how long is the machine going to run, how often and how much charging can you expect to get from each panel in order to figure out how many panels you will need and how many batteries. If you do only one load very infrequenly, you will be able to use a smaller battery bank and charge at a lower rate.

Francis Said:

Calculate the amount a solar Panel can save on a monthly basis?

We Answered:

Prices for electricity usage in the US are currently running close to 10 cents per kwh.
If you are paying $1000/month, you are using approximately 10000 kwh per month. This is really high, BTW. It implies that you are using about 14 kw 24/7.

Anyway, of those 14 kw, you want to offset some of it with a 175 watt (0.175 kw) panel (which costs $890), so you would be saving 0.175/14, or about 1.25% of your total load. Your savings (not allowing for depreciation on the price of the panel) would be about $12.50 per month. And that's assuming that your panel is functioning 24 hrs/day, which it can't. Assuming 12 hours of darkness cuts that savings in half to about $6.25 savings per month.

Another way to look at it would be to say that the 175 watts from the panel are guaranteed to be used by the house. Again, let's assume that the panel can actually provide that level of power for 12 hours a day and that the price of electricity is $0.10/kwh. You have 0.175 kw for 12 hrs = 2.1 kwh or 21 cents per day of savings. Assuming an average of 30 days per month gives you $6.30 savings per month, a figure that agrees well with the analysis above.

$6.30 savings/month times 12 months = $75.60 savings/year

$890/75.60 = 11.7 or about a 12 year payout on the panel (by which time it may very well need to be replaced).
Also remember that the panel's 175 watt rating is based on optimum operating conditions. Cloudy days, morning/evening sun, dirt accumulation and other conditions will reduce its output.

I think you may begin to see why photovoltaic power generation is still in its infancy.

Joan Said:

is a solar panel to inverter combination capable of charging Gel cells witht the given sunlight duration?

We Answered:

Pull one of your pens out of your pocket protector and do the math.

We ARE very impressed with your eruditacallaciousness.

Alan Said:

Can we mix different wattage and types of panels in Solar installation?

We Answered:

Yes, Definitely you can do that . Give parallel connection, you can add all these wattage together by parallel connection.

Congrats and best of luck 4 UR installation

Jessie Said:

what is the price of a Sharp 160W solar panel in Europe?

We Answered:

For a complete run-down on solar prices per watt and module goto here ......

http://www.solarbuzz.com/Moduleprices.ht…