Solar needs!!

[Doug]

Ok. I need to do a load sheet. Figure out my current power usage and then buy that much solar, great!



I just need $10,000 and I will be all set.



Time for a GoFundMe??



Or....



How about this...



Only start with a few or one panel and then base my needs off of what power I can make.



See what problems can be solved with little or no money.



See, money disrupts our problem solving capability.



We stop learning and rely on money.



Here...you solve my problem and I will give you this imaginary thing, that everyone else accepts to solve their problems too.



Can't we just bypass money, if we restructure how we interpret information?



We have no problem shifting our debt around, why can't we just share information and we can work to solve our own problems.



We are here for, Freedom, right?



Well, there is work involved.



No permission asking. You know how to not be a dick.



We can share information and, pay it forward.



Such an odd phrase to have in our current economic paradigm.



Yet there it is. So why don't we use it?



We can build the internet. We already did.

We can build our roads. We already did.

We can build communities. We already do.



So why do we keep, passing the buck? Hehehe



Peace

Doug



Freedom is the effect. Are you the cause?

[chiepass]

People make solar too damn complicated.

you can get cells,CHEAP-online

Glass is CHEAP-they throw away 34 x 76 inch fogged units all the time,cut them open and clean 'em

get a Cheap charge controller

A few CHEAP AGM batteries

A CHEAP truck-stop inverter (800 watts or so)

Bingo-Bango...you are offline

I've been here 20+years,Lovin' it!

[Caly]

Hi Doug



As an specialist in off-grid and appropriate technology infrastructure, I'm somewhat experienced with solar systems.



First you need to know your needs, and if you can adapt your consumption in any way for better economy, or as I prefer to see it, making for a more portable system.



Second, what other factors are there? Are you looking to have battery storage indoors, outdoors or in a well ventilated space?

Do you have any preference for Lithium Ion or Lead-acid? Or even Edison batteries? Space or wight limitations?



Are you looking at primarily running applications on AC or DC? 120 or 230V nominal ac? How much load would you use for respective current type? Does your equipment require a pure sine-wave inverter?

Since you might want to avoid some critical systems blacking out if an inverter fails or fuses out, you might want to run things like phones, radios, other battery chargers, strategic lights etc, on a DC circuit.

How and where are you planning on mounting the panels? How many sun hours does your area get? (There are services online for finding it out for your local spot.)



What are your climate factors? In hot weather panels need better air circulation (higher brackets), in very cloudy or mobile applications, mono-crystalline thin film PV's are preferred, as they performs significantly better under lower light intensity, and are insensitive to partial shading. Traditional poly-crystalline PV's have slightly higher top performance and typically takes up slightly less space.



Don't forget to include cables, PROPER fuses and connectors, in your costing, and use a cable diameter vs. length calculator to make sure you don't use too thin cables. With DC it is imperative that you don't underestimate the importance of this step, since seemingly unimportant extensions can critically overload a DC cable, resulting in cable fire and/or costly short-outs.





For example, for my own plans, an ultra-light bicycle camper-trailer/rolling tech-nomad lab, I got me 3x100W Fuji mono-crystalline thin film roll-up panels, with a very high voltage, as to charge high voltage lithium packs and electric pedal assist drive system for the bike (recumbent trike), using upwards 50VDC and 500W, saving me a bulky step up device, but steps down easily to 12VDC for other applications. Sans battery the whole kit weighs under 7kg. I have thus far hacked everything to run on DC, and most things has it's own battery, so I have no need for any inverter.