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NotTheOne | 09-29-2008 08:34 AM
Solar Power Systems I did a search but apparently this has not been discussed; at least not the way I'm interested. Does anyone operate a large scale pv system? I'm looking to install a 3-5 kw system on the roof. There are some companies out there but I'm curious if anyone has such a system. In some states there are rebates available through state programs, but alas, NJ has cut their funding for this program and is not accepting any new applications. From what I can find out, the program was too successful and the applications overrun the available $'s. I would consider installing a system without the rebate if it was reasonably priced. But with the current prices I've seen, one doesn't recover costs until about 30 years without the rebate. I don't think I have that much time. So anyone got one?

damoc | 09-29-2008 10:00 AM
Re: Solar Power Systems the problem with big alternate energy systems is storage unless you want to be grid tied. do you want to be self sufficient on energy? instead of running your whole house of electricity and needing such a huge pv array and probably close to 10000 dollars in battery storage and 13 to 15k just for panels.start looking at where you can reduce or change your energy usage to save money on your installation costs. like electric heating very wastfull of electric energy or that AC unit wood heat and fans could take care of your heating and cooling change all bulbs to low power hang cloths on line i dont like washing my cloths by hand so i am going to keep my washing machine but wash day i will probably run a generator which will at the same time top of batteries. my biggest energy hog is water pumping from a well but i need this for my business and farm.instead of having all the battery storage to run the well pump directly into the house from 300 feet below ground i will have above ground water water storage which will fill when the sun shines or wind blows and can then be gravity fed into the house as needed. its cheaper and more efficient to store water than the electricity needed to pump it on demand. the only self sufficent alternative to electric stoves is a wood stove but for now i will just stick to propane 100 gallons of propane will last me a very long time cooking as much as i do. water heating can be done much cheaper using the suns heat directly with solar hot water panels instead of electric heating elements. and you can always have a wood heat backup.or a dump load from your wind power turbine.wast heat from a generator could also be used. someone here at gim was going to build a generator wast heat recycler i dont know if they ever finished it but it sounded like a good idea. also consider that energy costs will rise even if we go back to nuc power they will always rise.

nub | 09-29-2008 10:27 AM
Re: Solar Power Systems Great advise, cutting back or doing with out is something people like me who have been of grid (pv array) for 20+ plus years accept as a way of life......I have all the creature comforts now but we need to start cutting back the extra consumption takes it's toll on the battery, mine is very expensive to replace and a pain in the ass

NotTheOne | 09-29-2008 10:31 AM
Re: Solar Power Systems My intention is to lower the electric bill. As you mentioned, costs will always rise, so why not find a way to lower them? I plan to be grid tied as the whole battery, inverter way is is just too expensive. Not everyone's name ends in Trump or Getty. I have changed 90% of my lighting to flourescent bulbs, even the flood lights. All the windows in my house have been changed to high efficiency triple pane, with argon gas, and solar E reflective coatings. My a/c unit is the highest efficiency unit available at the time of install, EER=18. The compressor is a dual speed unit. The condenser is variable capacity with humidity control. I can cool approx 2400 sqft in mid July for about $25/month of electricity. Just looking to lower the bill. :D Oh, and a 3kw system is currently running about $20k-$30k (without rebates) to do that (depending on the installing company).

damoc | 09-29-2008 10:43 AM
Re: Solar Power Systems this is something that i dont understand spending all that money to save maybee a little over 20 to 30 years and when the grid goes down as it does here 2 to 3 times a year at the moment you are still without power? not to mention if you are prepping for possible nuc/emp problems being tied to grid puts you at much greater risk of damage and loss.

Fullpower | 09-29-2008 01:00 PM
Re: Solar Power Systems Outback inverter, with programmer: $2000 TEN 130watt solar panels : $6500 (12) L-16 batteries : $3000 Copper cables, mounting hardware, charge controllers, breakers, fuses, miscelaneous electrical connection supplies: say $1000 I have about twelve grand in my setup. Runs the whole house for a while, washing machine, well pump, freezer, fridge, etc. not much sun around here, still have grid power to take up the slack, but my battery solar system is automatic and will use available solar, and switch to battery if grid power fails.

flash91 | 09-29-2008 01:08 PM
Re: Solar Power Systems Quote:
Originally Posted by Fullpower (Post 1320403) Outback inverter, with programmer: $2000 TEN 130watt solar panels : $6500 (12) L-16 batteries : $3000 Copper cables, mounting hardware, charge controllers, breakers, fuses, miscelaneous electrical connection supplies: say $1000 I have about twelve grand in my setup. Runs the whole house for a while, washing machine, well pump, freezer, fridge, etc. not much sun around here, still have grid power to take up the slack, but my battery solar system is automatic and will use available solar, and switch to battery if grid power fails.
I'm interesting in those L-16 batteries - Got a link? I'm not satisfied with the battery setup I have.

Tn...Andy | 09-29-2008 01:21 PM
Re: Solar Power Systems The L-16 battery encompasses a wide bunch of batteries of different amp hour and cycle ratings. I went with the Deka 8L16, which is a 420 amp hour 6v battery. This is a TALL, HEAVY battery, about twice the size of the normal L16 golf cart batteries. I paid slightly over 200 bucks each for 8 of them, locally from a Deka dealer. http://www.affordable-solar.com/8L16...battery.mk.htm

NotTheOne | 09-29-2008 01:33 PM
Re: Solar Power Systems Quote:
Originally Posted by Tn...Andy (Post 1320321) You're going to have an inverter no matter what you do IF you plan to tie to the grid or use 120v AC power in any way.
I tend to not be clear in my statements. It's a fault of mine. I was trying to say that the battery addition is an added complication I'm not willing to add now. Yes, I know I will have an inverter anyway. I don't have tons of sunshine avail as I am in the NE, but with a south facing roof with almost no shade to speak of, I am considering the addition. I posted this topic to try to learn if anyone has a pv system and either how they did it; self install or installed by others. If by others, who did they use. If by themselves, who did the buy major components from. tnx. For the poster who can't understand why we want to do this, all I can say is that some of us just like being different.

flash91 | 09-29-2008 01:35 PM
Re: Solar Power Systems Thanks for the link. Enough good stuff there that this thread should have started with it. Have you gone full cycle very often? Right now I'm using gold cart batteries, and they still work but I'm thinking they will fail eventually.

PatColo | 09-29-2008 07:30 PM
Re: Solar Power Systems this solar article is pretty entry level, but a good overview... "The New Age Of Photo" http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuild.../021192056.pdf Friend in CA installed a grid-tied solar system on a rental duplex this year. If you go with the grid system there, with PG&E as your provider, and taking advantage of the state's solar incentives, it's a deal loaded with fishhooks. They could only install as many KW system, per duplex unit, as the tenants' electricity usage over the past year indicated they actually use. So one unit, a 3BR/2BA got 20 solar panels, the other unit, a 2/1, got only 12 panels. They have their own inverters and 2-way electric meters installed. But when these tenants move and new tenants move in, they're all stuck with solar production based on the usage of people they never knew who lived there in '07-'08. If they don't change their consumption, the electricity component of their energy bill should be pretty much eliminated month to month. If they pushed more back to the grid than they used, they get a credit, which does not count towards their nat gas usage... the credit just builds until another month when they use more electricity than they produce. If they move out and close their PG&E account, and if there's a net electricity credit at that time, they do not receive a check for this (nor does the owner)... PG&E just keeps it. Basically CorpGuv in CA has the grid-tied solar thing sewn up to make sure it's only beneficial to PG&E... reduce your electricity consumption to below the solar output, they'll take the difference and sell it to someone else, but at no point will they pay the producer cash for the surplus their solar investment produced, even upon closing the account.

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