I am interested in setting up a solar power system but I am not really sure where to start. Are there any guides on how to go about doing this?
1963177
YouTube is where I learned about how to set up a small solar system. Lots of videos, how to's and overall good advice.
1963178
I just read an article in Home Power Magazine that may help you get started the right way.Look up Home Power 157, October & November issue. The article is called "An Educated Move Off-Grid". A lot of people might respond to your question with questions, the big one would be What do you want to do with Solar Power? What are your needs? What is your amp load? All these are answered in this article, so you should do your best to get it asap, read it, and go from there.
1963179
Yes sir. You can Google different sites to find a watt calculator step one. When you figure out how many watts you need to run the equipment you want to run you can figure out how many watts of solar panels you need. You can also find site's that will help you with your battery bank as well. If you decide to go off grid? Grid tied is another story and I can't help with that. When you put that all together you'll know what type of inverter you'll need to supply your house, cabin, RV etc. If you do your homework you'll find that solar is a very good choice.. Good luck. Do your HOME WORK first!!
1963180
Depends what you want to do. For off grid: if you want to run an electric motor as in fans pumps ac etc..y. ou will need a pure sine wave inverter. Definately use an mppt type charger. And good batteries.The cheapest solar setup would be on grid with no battery backup....just solar panels and appropriate controller hooked up..The first question to answer is on grid or off. Off grid=not hooked to power company linesTh first question to answer is
1963181
I just read an article in Home Power Magazine that may help you get started the right way. Look up Home Power 157, October & November issue. The article is called "An Educated Move Off-Grid". A lot of people might respond to your question with questions, the big one would be What do you want to do with Solar Power? What are your needs? What is your amp load? All these are answered in this article, so you should do your best to get it asap, read it, and go from there.
178576
no instructions, the polarity should be marked though and specs should be sticker on back of panel. Connectors can be purchased online (a bit pricey $15) good if you plan on moving it alot. As for installation/operations you'll need to have some knowledge in electricity to figure out what it can run by itself and or you'll need a charge regulator, deep cycle battery (higher Amp Hours the better) and inverter ( a P.S.W.I. = pure sine wave inverter ) ive been told is safest/better than M.S.W.I. = modified sine wave inverter. And whatever your running shouldnt pull more than 30% of the battery system charge. theres a formula for it, cant remember off top of my head. you can also google some solar forums, join, browse and asks questions there about set-ups/applications or google DIY systems on youtube and wing it. good luck and i hope i helped direct you in some direction that can inform you better than i can about solar power applications.
1055545
I recommend you read my review. I managed to make this work but DO NOT EXPECT the solar to do anything at all. The panel it comes with is only 1/3 the power required to run the system. It is a 10W panel and you need 30W. They will happily sell you additional panels. The batteries are also worthless. The system has no way to charge them. You actually need to connect them to an external charger to do this. The solar won't charge them. They will also sell you a solar charging module. In the end I removed the solar and the batteries and have it wired to A/C power. Oh and another thing, I have replaced the main control board 3 times since I bought it. The customer service to make this happen as horrible. I am now out of warranty and if the system dies I will simply spend the money and replace it with a higher quality one. Now I am basing this on the kit I purchased 2 years ago. It would be nice if they have changed it but I would not count on it. I hope this helps.
2114348
Make sure you plug in and attach the top solar panel first. It's in the bottom of the box. Mine came on immediately, I didn't have to charge it. Good luck.
1103656
There is just a solar panel. And you would have to mount it to some post and may need some additional wire to connect it to solar charge controller.
270175
You must use a solar charge controller and absolutely 'not' connecting the solar panel to the battery bank directly. I'm using Xantrex inverter, but there're a few brands work well also. Make sure it's a "true sine" wave inverter, well worth the money. You also want to look into if you want just an inverter or an inverter with charger? The combined unit may save you some time in troubleshooting problems later on. Talk to a few RV installers before making purchase, and avoid the shops who say they'll do whatever you want.
1937197
hi, there is a 'solar community' discussion group on Amazon that you can ask if you want to-http://www.amazon.com/tag/solar/ref=tag_gam_bkt_itdp_4
85794
Sorry. This must be used in iff grid system.We can offer on grid system, but we are not sure a diy solar system can sell electric power to government also? And its economic?
518544
Nothing's free. You still have to invest in lenses, pipes, turbines, and all the other infrastructure. And then, of course, it's variable according to when and how much the sun shines. Of course, if it's really feasible, go ahead and design the system yourself and see if you can make some money.
971639
I'm looking for back-up power. Can I use any solar power for household appliances? I am thinking 2012.
352793
Based on my experience, I think you would need two units. And you would need a maximum power point type of solar battery charger as well. I use two units in parallel to feed a maximum power point type of grid tie inverter and the maximum power that I get, when the sunlight is optimal, is 150 watts. And that is usually less because the sunlight is not always optimal.
1768769
Yes, It need grid potential to operate. During utility power outages you solar system is nonoperational.
480361
You can hook up a 30 watt solar panel directly without a solar controller. I posted a picture of my set up in the customer images section. If you had a regular 30 watt solar panel instead of the Goal zero like mine you could skip one of the wiring components.
731911
well you will need a few items if all you have is are the solar panels, i am going to assume you are completely off grid? if so you will need to have some sort of storage (batteries) and a charge controller from the panels to the batteries. you are going to want a fair size battery bank depending are your power requirements? from there i see you are looking for an inverter, i have the Magnum 4024 inverter and absolutely love it!! along with the inverter you are going to want to purchase a magnum remote like the me-rc50 to program the inverter. and then appropriate wiring to hook everything up. i recommend looking at some of the videos on You Tube to get info on sizing your solar system and how to set it up. there are many variables that can effect how you design the system so with a little research and homework you can gather all the info you need online.
1961411
I do not believe that this is possible, though I could be wrong. I was under the impression that this requires a bit of skill, perhaps a designated solar breaker, etc. The battery required, would be a solar battery (deep cycle battery). You would wire this from the panels to a solar charge controller, battery and an inverter.
338107
Go on YouTube and look up a page called greenpowerscience . There are a set of around 7 ish videos on how to make a solar panel diy...I followed these and mine puts out 19 volts
1509654
I highly recommend using a charge controller with any solar panel to eliminate problems that you are speaking of. After I started using a charge controller I have not had any problems at all. Even on a 5 watt panel I would use a charge controller.