Posted: 7/16/2007 6:58:26 AM EDT
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A few years ago i met a guy who lived in a camper in a wooded area not far from my house. He had roughly a square foot of solar panels attatched to an telephone pole by his "house" and a battery bank consisting of marine deep cell batteries which he informed me were not the best, but all he could afford at the time he set up his system. He claimed he spent ~$700 total for his solar setup which ran a LOT of stuff. He had a 12v fridge/freezer, microwave, indoor lights on 12v, lots of outdoor lights, a koi pond w/ 12v pump, etc... He said the only thing he couldn't power w/ the solar was his TV; I never asked about AC; not sure he even had any... He was an old alchoholic who supported himself by scrapping metal occasionally, we would go use his little 50 yd range to plink untill he moved, went to jail, whatever happened to him. Anyways, I never got to ask him enough questions about his solar setup, but was intrigued by it. I've done a lot of research of my own online, but, where I live here in western Pa, it doesn't seem to be ideal for solar power, we recieve little sunlight as opposed to other parts of the country annually. My short term goals are similar to this guy's (not the alchaholic scrapping metal part  ), I want to buy some land, and throw a trailer on it untill the land is paid off, then build a house, but the idea of supplementing power w/ solar just seems to good to pass up. the ability to still have running water, lights, comms, freezer space, etc..w/o relaying on the power company is obvioulsy a goal of many of us here, but for the life of me, according to all the stupid online calculators for my region of the us, it just seems expensive.Here is my goal for solar power, short and simple, provide enough juice year round to power a full size fridge, chest freezer, well pump, and a few lights w/ enough juice leftover to recharge batteries (AA and FRS radios). According to my research so far, a typical system able to do this for me here in western Pa would cost about $7k  there has got to be a cheaper way and this Arfcom solar gurus is why I ask for you're help; anyone know how to achive these goals for less?Fwiw, i will be using both propane or oil and wood/coal for heat in my future home, and as such would probably need power for the forced air fans in the furnace too I suppose for the really cold nights, solar system should be capable of handling that burden as well in the winter time when there is less sun. Running a genny to wash clothes or run an AC in the summer is expected as I'm sure any solar system capable of that would be VERY expensive. So, what say you SF? Any suggestions or am I living in a solar pipe dream? Speed |
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Given your expected usage, I'd say you are in the "solar pipe dream" category. Best course of action is to consider very energy efficient appliances, that will use very little power. Something like a SunFrost refrigerator/freezer, would be a good start. The normal fridge and chest freezer will likely take more than $7k worth of panels alone to run, without even anything else involved. The well pump is basically off the list entirely, unless it is a small surface pump. A deep well pump is out, unless you have a huge power supply with a giant inverter that can handle 240V with alot of current. Very expensive. First clue, the guy you described either didn't run all the stuff he had on that "square foot" of solar panels, or he sat in the dark without any power alot. |
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It sounds like a stretch to pull off your hopes with $7k of solar. Do you have the breakdown of the expected loads and run times? For a fridge (guess 1500w) and well pump (depends on voltage) if you want to run off of batteries at night, you probably need to add another $4-5k. |
Do some research on wind power, that may be more workable for your area, provided you get some wind on your property. From what little I have seen, you need about 12mph winds to get some decent power. You can build your own generator fairly inexpensively. Me, when I get to it, I am going arfcom- getting both  http://www.wind-works.org/articles/air403pc.html http://www.instructables.com/id/E0T6AVT19OEP286NG5/?ALLSTEPS http://otherpower.com/ and here is one that shows just how little knowledge and materials you need if you have the willpower and ingenuity to just go for it. this guy just trips me out. http://www.williamkamkwamba.typepad.com/ Random solar stuff http://www.williamkamkwamba.typepad.com/ http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/solar_panels.htm http://www.dsireusa.org/ http://www.homepower.com/ http://partsonsale.com/products.html#anchor957558 http://store.solar-electric.com/index.html http://www.siliconsolar.com/index.php http://store.altenergystore.com/ |
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When going off-grid, reducing your electric footprint pays huge dividends. I wish I could speak from experience but my project has been delayed for years now. Anyway, step 1 is a high-R-value building envelope which requires little to heat or cool. Then add the most energy efficient appliances, lighting, heating, cooling and water handling you can get away with. Solar is probably not the best generation option for PA. I'd look more into hydro (find property with a fast flowing stream) and wind (find a good hilltop) than solar. Solar's nice because it's quiet and doesn't have moving parts, but unless you live in the right area of the country it is expensive. Alpine |
| If you can afford it, take a lesson from Les Stroud. In his "Off The Grid" show he described how he setup both solar and wind power to charge his batteries and power 12 VDC lights and appliances. The solar works during the day, while the wind tends to pick up around a dusk and takes over. The wind turbine he got was fairly small, not some huge windmill. |
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I've been living totally off the grid for 12 years, solar powered. Reducing the power usage, by getting ultra-efficient appliances is half the battle. The prices of those things will significantly drop the cost you have to sink into the solar panels. It more than offsets the cost difference. Efficiency of use is the name of the game, when providing your own power. |
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