PV Gap

Pedro Said:

Realistic usage of all-solar system?

We Answered:

You are in a great position to set up an off grid solar system. With a few changes your $20,000 will easily power your entire cabin with solar energy.

There are a LOT of things that will determine how many watts of solar panel you'll need to power your property including your latitude, access to sun and the devices you'd like to power with the solar panels.

We use solar power on our boat in Mexico in the winters (link below) and the two things that take the most energy are the fridge and the laptop. All of the lights are LED which require very little energy and fans have a small energy draw. Bilge and water pumps are also run by the solar panels

It's impractical from a power standpoint to use photovoltaic panels to power a desktop computer, desktops use a LOT of power.

Switching your fridge and computer to super energy efficient models will have a big impact on the cost of your solar power system and I'd use the generator for the washing machine (and a solar water heater for hot water).

If you make those changes, and depending on your latitude, you'll be able to live comfortably with 500 to 700 watts of solar panel.

Below are some links to more solar info.

Geraldine Said:

How much solar power is necessary for my 850 W PC?

We Answered:

Solar panels produce DC current, not the AC current your computer plugs into. To convert from DC to AC you need an inverter. The inverter takes the DC and outputs AC. For the inverter to run properly it needs a certain incoming voltage and amperage, which would be obtained by daisychaining the panels in a certain manner based on the output voltage and current of the cells.

In all of this, due to losses, you only have roughly 65-75% of the output from the nameplate wattage on the cells. And that is when the cells are producing at full capacity, which they generally will not be. You will only get full capacity during the noon time high sun. Any other time of the day when the sun is shining it will only be some fraction of the nameplate rating.

Of course, this means you can't run your computer at night and need to oversize your array to handle the less-than ideal sun.

Even in the ideal world that assumes you could pull it all off, installed cost is $5-$10 per installed watt. You'll need at least 1000W, so you have $5-10k in your solar system at the ideal case.


Edit:
To the comments about the computer using DC. Of course, but the technology already exists for doing conversion from DC to AC and providing a conditioned power signal. That is the key, really. Yea, you could Frankenstein some DC wiring to the mobo, but you'll need to engineer a way to condition the power so that the computer isn't fried the first instant you try to power-on.

My point in even answering this question was to indicate how ludicrous it is. Really, if the guy has the money for the capital investment and wants to off-set his power usage, he should get a proper solar install wired to the home's electrical system. If he creates more than he uses, it goes back to the grid for credit. Use more than you produce, and you just supplement from the grid. Now you have the benefit of solar power to decrease your usage off the grid, but the computer isn't going to shut down every time the sun goes behind a cloud.

Paul Said:

Why seem so concerned about global warming?

We Answered:

Wrong , Wrong .wrong Fossil fuels do produce CO2 when burned . so if u study u would know that plants with photosynthesis removes the C From the CO2 ,The earth has done that for several million years. Where do u think the original fossil fuels came from????
The ozone layer is produced when the solar winds collide with the earth's magnetic field. It has nothing to do with CFC and I don't think u can affect it.

Bob Said:

are solar panels still useful even in raining season?

We Answered:

no, because it work with sunlight in the absence of heat that panels are not in working condition & are not useful in rainy season.

Kathryn Said:

Average temperature of a Solar panel??? HELP!?

We Answered:

Everyone knows it's 78 degrees.

Joe Said:

Where the rubber meets the road. I do all that is recommended to reduce all pollution.?

We Answered:

Well let's see, based on the laws of thermodynamics, heat (the sun) converted to energy (electricity) means that heat is lost. So I guess this would stop global warming, course we would all die in the ensuing ice age. Large dairy farming operations create methane gas and some Co2, however termites account for the largest volume of those gases. Course we can't exterminate the lowly termite!

CFL's are great until it comes to dispose of them, they are filled with mercury and henceforth are considered hazardous materials.

A garden is great but what about the water you will waste growing it?

A hybrid will help to reduce our need for foreign oil, of course so will drilling and refining it here.

Global warming is just the latest hot button topic. A few years ago we were causing a hole in the ozone layer. Course that hole expands and contracts and we don't hear anything about it now, since the grant money ran out.

25 years ago we were told we were entering an ice age and would all die, course that grant money ran out too.

Only time will show us what calamity is next. So save your money, or better yet spend it on duct tape and plastic.