what do i need to build a Solar energy system to run three tv’s a microwave?
Filed in DIY Renewable Energy, DIY solar panels on Apr.27, 2009
simba asked:
three 12btu air condition a washing machine a dryer a music center with a Surround sound system a computer a large fridge an electric stove a water heater,lighting and a water pump ,etc.
three 12btu air condition a washing machine a dryer a music center with a Surround sound system a computer a large fridge an electric stove a water heater,lighting and a water pump ,etc.
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April 27th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
about 50-90 thousand dollars of solar panels
plus a few grand in batteries
goodluck!
you have to start reducing the power you use before you can use solar
April 30th, 2009 at 6:11 am
A lot lot of money for solar arrays and batteries. I’d guess at US$100k at least. You will need a whole room to store the batteries.
Get the ratings on each item, and add them up. Discount where an appliance is not used continuously. For example, a microwave oven may be rated at 2000 watts but is used only 10 minutes a day, which is about 0.6%, so average usage is 14 watts.
Or look at your electric bills for the last few months (include a hot summer month) to get kW-hrs.
Then there are a lot of decision points. Do you want to sell power to the power company when you have excess and buy it from them when the sun is not shining? that saves you having to buy a bank of a hundred or so expensive batteries.
How many hours do the batteries have to supply power when there is a long period with no sun? (it could be days). Remember that one $400 battery can supply only about 1000 watt-hrs (1 kW-hr) of energy. That is enough to run all of your appliances for a minute or two. (a stove can use 10kW, that is 1kW-hr every 6 minutes).
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May 1st, 2009 at 5:49 am
You start by revising your standards of life and improving your accuracy (a 12btu air condition(er) is a toy – more like 12,000 Btuh) You certainly don’t need to run all of those at the same time, so you need to figure out your allowable work load – that will tell you the inverter capacity you need, which will tell you the battery capacity you need which will tell you how much solar panel area you need in the area according to the average solar delivery – then you have to increase it to accommodate for low solarization in winter, etc.
You need also to analyze your needs as to what is the most economical way to “get off the grid”, and changing the electric stove and dryer to gas – propane or natural – is likely to save you thousands of dollars on panels and batteries.
May 2nd, 2009 at 7:16 pm
To get an estimate that is even close, the best thing is to look at your electricity bill for the past year. Subtract the meter reading on the bill from one year ago from the meter reading today. Then post here (or in another question), stating how many kWh’s you used in a year.
However, I agree with the other posters, that you will need a large system, and the cost will be high.