PV Gap

Melanie Said:

solar panel System?

We Answered:

First buy the pannels(depending on how many cost maybe $5k to $15k) buy the battries($1k) and an inverter(mabe $1k to $10k) mount them faceing south(on roof or poles) and wire in.A rule of thumb is generator is cheapest,to go to wind power then X10 cost,to go to solar cell then X 100 cost (of gen)

Paul Said:

solar panel system without batteries?

We Answered:

It is possible although it is not recommended. I have done this with a small power inverter and a solar panel. I used it to charge a phone with a 110 charger. The inverter kicked in and out based on solar output from charger. It did need an auto reboot inverter though. www.OutsideSupply.com should be able to help. http://www.outsidesupply.com/definitive-power-inverter-guide.aspx

Holly Said:

How do you connect solar panel?

We Answered:

You need a charger Controller

but 55 watt panel is not a whole lot of power. So yes you can buy a very good one but it will cost a lot more. For a 55 watt panel you only need a 4 to 7 amp controller. But why not buy a 10 amp so you can add a second solar panel etc...

A PWM (Pulse Width Modulated) is the cheapest and most robust type

MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) These controllers actually detect the optimum operating voltage and amperage of the solar array and match that with the battery bank. The result is additional 15-30% more power out of your array versus a PWM controller

So unless you have a system over 200 watt the PWM works very good

I have two of the PWM myself

Felix Said:

I am goin to order a 360 watts solar panel system will this be enough power to power my central air?

We Answered:

How many watts is your central air conditioner? I'm betting about 5000W. How many hours would it run, let's say 12? 5000W x 12 hours = 60,000 watt hours (wh) a day, or 60 kwh (kilo watt hours) needed.

Depending on where you are, you probably get no more than 6 sun hours a day (during air conditioning season). Sun hours is different from hours of sun, it's the equivalent hours at a standard test condition that the panels are rated at. 360W x 6 sun hours = 2,160 wh, or 2.1kwh generated a day. So, it will only be able to generate a small fraction of what you need.

Let's do the math the other way 60,000 wh / 6 sun hours = 10,000 watts (10kW) of panels needed. That's not figuring in losses or inefficiencies, it's probably closer to 13kW.

I may be way off on your load, you'd need to find out how many watts and for how many hours the A/C is on. Then you can do the math yourself.

Edit: Wait a minute, are you talking central air for a home or car? I have no idea how much the draw is for a car A/C.