How to Go Solar Without Breaking the Bank

I get a lot of calls at Outside Supply from customers and individuals tired of high utility bills, energy surcharges, and the whole mess. They call me looking for a solution to their problems. They want to go all solar for their homes to get rid of their bill and also become more green in the process. Having had a little experience with attempting to go solar on my house, I have usually start with a question regarding the person's average electric bill. Invariably, I get numbers from $200 dollars to $800 dollars a month. I am then quick to explain that it will be very roughly estimated at a cost of $40,000 per hundred dollars of actual energy charges.I can usually hear most individuals jaw hit the floor as I tell them the estimated number. It is almost funny how far we all think our alternative energy technologies have come. Unfortunately, they haven't come far enough for us to continue to live in super inefficient homes that waste tons of power.

When I first looked at solar for my house, my monthly energy charges were around $400 bucks a month. My system was estimated at about $200,000 dollars. As I picked my jaw up from the floor, I choose to take a different tack. I decided to go more efficient. I read somewhere that for every dollar I spent getting more efficient, I would save $7 to $10 dollars on solar. I also figured that I would save money every month as well by using less. I then determined that nothing could be "greener" than actually just using less power. Greener for the earth and greener for the wallet, what a concept! So we changed our air conditioner, foamed (insulated) our house, and upgraded a few outdated inefficient appliances. I still wanted some solar power though. I felt it was something I needed to do. So I set up a small test bench for me to get an idea of how I could proceed.

Here is what I did for my small solar setup:

I used the following items from Outside Supply:

• 
  20 Watt Unbreakable Solar Panel
• 
  4.5 Amp Solar Charge Controller
• 

  Go Power 300 Watt True Sine Inverter
• 65 AH Deep Cycle Marine Battery

The solar panel would charge the battery at 12 Volts 1.2 Amps. Using a simple lean to solar setup, I got it set up with the best orientation to the sun.  I decided I would run my laptop off the setup and see how much usage I could get. My laptop uses about 120 Watts of Power when charging and operating at the same time. 

• 120 Watts/Hour / 12 Volts = 10 Amps/Hour

• The panel should work in my area about 5 hours per day on average during the year.

• So my solar setup should charge:

• 5 hours X 1.2 Amps = 6 Amp Hours

• So based on 10 Amps/Hour 

• 6 Amp hours / 10 Amps/hour =  36 Minutes of Run Time Per Day.

I will post results of my run times based on this 20 watt solar setup. Pardon any math errors I might have made. 

1 10 Watt Unbreakable Solar Panel

1 2X4 Treated

2 Stainless Steel Screws

2 Stainless Steel Washers ( Large Enough to keep screw and washer from going through grommets.) You will also need proper charge controller and battery for charging. OK this process takes a little math and also some wood cutting. If you are not familiar with the math, we found a site to help. If your not familiar with cutting wood, get someone who is to help you. First Calculate the angle you need to place the panel at to achieve the best charging. I like to calculate for making a winter mode and summer mode set of Lean-To legs. If you can only use one set then do a winter mode set. A quick rule of thumb is to have your panels lean (Your Latitude - 15 Degrees SUMMER) or (Your Latitude + 15 Degrees WINTER) More Exact information can be found here at the Optimum Orientation of Solar Panels page written by Charles R. Landau. He has made a very detailed approach at the getting the best angle for optimum efficiency. Once you get the angles need you will need to calculate the length of the legs and also the angle to cut the 2X4 . Right Triangle Angle And Side Calculator Here is my example: New Orleans is about 30 degrees Summer Legs 15 Degrees Winter Legs 45 Degrees Plug the length of the panel into the above calculator. (SUMMER) 20" for side C (10 Watt Panel Length) 15 Degrees for Angle A or B Side A is 5.18 Inches on the longest side. It will also be cut at a 75 Degree Angle. (WINTER) 20" for side C (10 Watt Panel Length) 45 Degrees for Angle A or B Side A is 14.14 Inches on the longest side. It will also be cut at a 45 Degree Angle. There are two grommets on the 10 Watt Unbreakable that I use to screw directly into the wood. I use a nice size Stainless washer and stainless steel wood screws. http://www.macslab.com/optsolar.html http://www.csgnetwork.com/righttricalc.html]]> tag:blog.outsidesupply.com,2007:/solar//3.103 2007-06-09T21:37:14Z 2007-07-14T02:36:51Z