PV Gap

Sergio Said:

Buying inverter for a solar panel?

We Answered:

I'm guessing that each of those solar cells is just 0.5 volt at max power, so if you make a 12-inch square panel, you will get 2 volts - not enough for the inverter.

A car inverter is notoriously inefficient, but it would work if you connect it to a 12-volt battery. You cannot generally connect such an inverter to solar panels alone. The battery supplies the peak current that the inverter needs, and the panel charges the battery.

To charge a 12-volt battery, you will want 36 cells, generally, which give you an 18-volt panel. You can buy an inexpensive charge controller somewhere.

If your laptop will run off 12 volts directly, you can skip the inverter and be much more efficient. Or if the laptop runs of (say) 19 volts, you can use about 40 cells to get 20 volts, get the proper power plug from Radio Shack, and plug the panel directly into the laptop.

Betty Said:

Single Solar Panel savings?

We Answered:

No matter what or how you do it it is best to get off coal and nukes. So it cost a little bit of money you are buying 30 years of electric. How much will you spend adding in cost of living increases over the next 30 years? Solar really is pretty cheap if you take the time to do the long term math. If you use your cost at to days rates it does seem like a lot. But if you do the math like in real life with 3.5% compounded cost of living increases per year and 6.5% fuel increases per year. Well, you pay a lot more renting power.

One other thing to think about and Al Gore keeps pointing it out is, Will your off spring be alive in 50 years from now if you don't buy the solar panel? Kind of like not going to the doctor because you can't afford the bill. Well I would rather owe a bill to a doctor that I will have trouble paying then not be alive at all to try.

If you don't have the money to jump in and go full blown Green you should buy a starter system. You can get a system that can be expanded to 3000 watts (enough to power an energy efficient home). Would cost you about $8000 USD to get started and then you could add three solar modules at a time till you get it up to the 3000 watt max. And even have backup power. Or you could just buy a 1000 watt system for about the same price and just add 3 of them over the years.

There are many ways to get started. The deal is everyone needs to get started even if it is a small system.

If all 150 million homes in the USA would install a small 1000 watt system with 4 hours of sun light a day. We would provide (1000 watts times 4 hours times 365 days times 150 million homes) 219,000,000,000,000 watts not from coal or nuke plants per year. I wonder if that would help?