PV Gap

Victor Said:

Need Solar Panel Guru.....?

We Answered:

Basically, the answer to your question is forget it. Your approx 8 tons of AC will require about 28 KW of electricity just to run them. Add the rest of the house requirements and your talking a load of 50KW or more. Even if your state has a subsidy program, (and most of them are out of money now), it's a $200,000. system. Making your own panels would be a mistake. Reliability and survival are the key measures for a panel system and homemade panels are just not going to be reliable enough to survive the cold winters. In the end, it is always cheaper to buy good, conservatively rated commercial panels, especially in view of the fact that prices have been tumbling lately. Often, the mounting, interface and conversion costs are greater than the cost of the panels themselves. You might save some bucks by fabricating a mounting framework yourself and installing it, but such a system would not qualify for most state programs and.... you had better be an expert architect or engineer to put together something that will work well. The basic problem after all of this is that your maximum demand will be at night and the panels put out nothing at night. Better to forget about a 100% solution. You can install a modest 10 - 20KW system for perhaps $50,000 costs after rebates and subsidies and perhaps ... it might cover about 1/4 of your energy needs and might just, pay the investment back in 10 to 15 years. Get first rate equipment and professional installation, if you want the system to perform reliably. Solar voltaics make a lot of sense for Arizona and perhaps Florida. For anyone north of the Mason Dixon line however, fossil fuels are cheap, reliable and work far better.

Seth Said:

If I have a Global Solar 12W 12V Framed Solar Panel and a Xantrex 400-Watt DC Powerpack how do I connect them?

We Answered:

You will also need a few other items unfortunately. I believe the Xantrex needs 110V input which means you need an inverter to change the 12v to 110v. Most solar panels won't be able to power the inverter directly so you will also need an old car battery.

There are some great videos at http://4solarpower.net showing how it's all done.

Marian Said:

How to keep solar panel cooler?

We Answered:

You could use a combination of fans and heat sinks, but it shouldn't be necessary. It's getting hot because it's sitting in the sun, which it is designed to do. I wouldn't worry about it.

Beverly Said:

Do I need to run a ground form my solar panel?

We Answered:

Although it is not essential for the satisfactory operation of your system, the manufacturers of solar panels recommend that solar panels be grounded. Grounding with respect to photovoltaic installations serves several purposes:
1. it bleeds off static electric charge built up from wind and rain;
2. it is an integral part of lightning protection;
3. it provides fault protection, whereby any shorts or faults in circuitry will conduct enough current to ground to trip circuit breakers or fuses and allow fault detection. It is recommended that the earth stake should have a resistance to ground of 25 ohm or less. For adequate lightning protection, between 1 ohm and 5 ohm resistance to ground gives fairly reliable lightning protection. You may need to find an electrician with a multimeter to set up a good grounding for your system. More detailed information may be obtained from the Rainbow Power Company.
From: http://www.rpc.com.au/reindex.html?http://www.rpc.com.au/products/panels/pv…
http://store.solar-electric.com/cipr1.ht…

Patsy Said:

Grounding solar panel frame?

We Answered:

You should run it to a driven ground rod or equivalent, and use a size commensurate with the probable current expected. I used #8.