Solar Power For Home

Question by David Schwarz: I need a lightweight form fitting solar panel with the best power potential?
it will be form fitted to a kayak boat, obviously must be waterproof and provide me with as close to 400 watts or more that I can get. It will be a solar powered kayak. The important factors are waterproof first, then weight, then power output per area, then form fitting. I could mount the panels even if they are not flexible to the hull of the boat, but of course I would like it to look nice and flex around the boat.

Best answer:

Answer by Rudydoo
Hey David, the device you are looking for is called an, “Amourphous,” solar panel. They are flexible, sometimes made to be rolled up and stuffed inside a backpack for camping, or they can come in a roll with adhesive backing, and so forth.

It sounds like you might not have done the math on this one yet. I assume you have calculated 400 watts by looking at what the motor will use, that would be around 2/3 horsepower or so. Are you driving the kayak with an electric trolling motor? The kayak will run fine, but a 400 watt amourphous panel will need almost 50 square feet of exposed sun area to run at that output. I’m guessing your kayak doesn’t have the square footage.

I did see a home built electric kayak like this in Seattle once, it was really very impressive, all wood, with just the motor end of a trolling motor mounted below the hull just ahead of the rudder. The driver steered with his feet of course, but had a small flat wood surface area just ahead of him that a thin panel was glued down to. It was probably only 20 or 30 watts, but the output was used to charge a marine battery that was mounted on the floor between his legs. He could troll for quite a while on the battery at various speeds, but the panel would slowly recharge the battery anytime it was in the sun, this included sitting on top of the roof of his truck while he was driving. It also acted to extend the battery time while kayaking in the sun, as it added an amp or two to the battery while the motor was taking 20 or so out.

There is also the fact that a battery acts as a natural voltage regulator for a solar panel, so the voltage being fed to the motor stays right near 12 volts instead of varying from 1 to as high as 19 depending on how much sun there was and what speed the motor ran at. If you end up building this, you also have to consider a charge controller, or the lack of one. A rule of thumb is if the maximum amp output of the panel you are using is less than 2% of the battery amp hour capacity, then you do not need a controller. Controllers cost money, and they are usually what breaks down first in a solar system. Let’s say you have a marine deep cycle trolling battery, it might be rated at 80 amp hours. If you bought a 30 watt panel, which is usually wired for 18 volts, then its maximum amperage would be 1.6, which would just work. (30 watts / 18 volts = 1.6 amps) (80 amp hour X 2% = 1.6 amps) Anything above this 2% and you’ll need a charge controller to keep from overcharging the battery. If you decide to go with more solar and use a smaller lighter battery for weight, that’s fine, just make sure you get a charge controller that can handle whatever amperage your total solar array will develope. I’ll list some sources for you to check out below David. Good luck on your kayak, and take care ,Rudydoo

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Question by : How can I get my solar-power-system connected up and its rebate in SA?
I live in SA and i want to know about connecting my solar-power-system to my house and the grid so that I can sell my overflow electricity to the grid and still use the grid electricity if and when i need it.
Also I want to know if I could get a rebate for the costs of installing the system (because its Eco-friendly).
I don’t know where to find the info for this kind of procedure with SA government so anyone got any clue of even where to start?

Best answer:

Answer by J.
http://www.gov.za/

http://www.info.gov.za/view/DynamicAction?pageid=528

If you do not find the information there, chance are there is no rebate.

One option for you is to wire your house to have a second set of wirring dedicated to the solar power system.

If it were me- I would not worry about connecting it to a grid, that is just social engineering to keep people attached to the grid.

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Question by Perfection Queenie: What are some good cheap solar power refridgerater,ovens and microwaves?
I’m mainly looking for a solar power refridgerater,i found one online but it looks too small and doesnt come with a freezer!
I live somewhere where the electricity men always take my electricity out for 2 hours and all my food goes bad,you would think I could get money from my insurance for my food going bad but no way!

would it just be cheaper to get that back up power supply thing or could I save money with one of these?

Best answer:

Answer by Stephen M
It would be far cheaper just to have a backup generator that kicks on and powers things when your line voltage is out.

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Question by Jake: Could someone help me with this Solar power Advocacy speech?
So i need to write an advocacy speech about solar power. Does anyone have any useful resources or tips on this topic? Since its an advocacy speech i need to try and persuade my audience into believing in my topic, or something like that. It only needs to be 7-9 minutes long so its not too in depth, any help full solar power resources or tips on how to write an advocacy speech would be awesome.

Best answer:

Answer by Rudydoo
Hey Jake, here’s a few facts for your speech: If you invest properly in solar power today and take advantage of any grants and tax incentives, even if your electric rates do not go up as they are forecast too, you will get your money back over time, well within the lifetime of the equipment, and sooner if there is a rate increase in the future. There are also enviromental benefits. At one time there was an argument that a solar panel will never produce as much power as was used to manufacture it. First of all, this is not correct. The, “Embodied Energy,” in a solar panel is earned back in 2 – 6 years, depending on the type panel, where the raw materials were shipped from, and how it was installed and used in the end. Most panels are warrantied to last at least 25 years, and most last much longer than that. But the argument is not important anyway. We have been living with electricity for over a century now, so it isn’t going away anytime soon. The question is, “What is the best way to produce it?” If you build a panel, and put it along side a similar sized natural gas fired turbine generator for example, which earns back its embodied energy sooner? The answer is the gas turbine never does, because once you build it, ship it and install it, you now have to feed it natural gas for the rest of its life, so it keeps on digging itself a deeper and deeper embodied energy hole that it can never crawl out of. At least the panel has a chance to get even environmentally. So manufacturing and using solar panels in the end releases less pollution into our environment.

There are also mechanical and political benefits. We all know after the oil embargo of 1973, and the gulf war what it means for our country to rely on foreign oil. Wouldn’t it be nice if we only shipped in 20% of our energy instead of 60% the next time something like that happens? Our home has been powered by the wind and sun for years now, but we still remain connected to the electric grid. Last year alone there were two power failures in our county that lasted about a half day each. In both cases, we were not aware of them because our solar array kept on feeding the house. It’s difficult to put a price tag on something like that. Did you know that there are over 100,000 homes and businesses in the United States alone that use some level of solar power to operate their electrical devices, that’s good news.

Beyond the mechanical, political and environmental benefits however, lies a less obvious benefit, the social benefit. Right now we pump oil out of the ground, and mine for coal. The process of getting those materials to market involves shipping, military escorts and other activities that use up a good portion of that energy as well as putting lives at risk. Jobs in alternative power are higher tech than jobs in coal mining, oil drilling and shipping, and there are more of them. Using more alternative power would require us to put more people to work, and increase our education base because the work involved requires certain skills. I would personally like to take all those people out of the coal mines, send them to school and put them to work building solar panels. Nobody would have to die again in one of those dark holes in the ground trying to find food for our hungry power plants. They could work on a factory floor where they would not be exposed to coal dust, radon and other toxins and dangers. Most of our solar and wind resources are spread pretty evenly over the middle half of our globe, so everyone has access. This puts people in Bogota on a more equal footing with people in Boca Raton by giving them access to electricity, heat and clean water, and the education to use the solar, wind and biomass resources that provide those things. Oil, coal and natural gas is generally piled up in a few places, such as Russia and the Middle East. This gives those countries and the richer governments that rule them more horse power in bargaining for the other resources of our planet. These are the things that wars are made of.

There are other reasons, but I think you get the picture. For us, solar energy has become something of a hobby It will probably never save us any real money, utility power in most places is really very inexpensive, but it’s a little like growing your own tomatoes. It’s usually cheaper to buy them at the grocery, but lots of people go to the work and expense to maintain a garden instead. We just grow electrons in ours. If you really want to learn more about the subject, there are some great sources to look into, I will list some below. Good luck, and take care, Rudydoo

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Question by monkeyalien: What can you tell me about rebate incentives for residential solar panels in New York state?
Also, where can solar panels be purchased in the Binghamton/Liberty/Jeffersonville area? Home Depot has some on their website & I would like to see them in a store before purchasing or ordering them.

Best answer:

Answer by Bobbie
Enacted in August 1997, this personal income tax credit originally applied to expenditures on solar-electric (PV) equipment used on residential property. The credit, equal to 25% percent of the cost of equipment and installation, was expanded in August 2005 to include solar-thermal equipment. The solar-thermal provisions apply to taxable years beginning on and after January 1, 2006. The credit is capped at ,750 for solar-energy systems placed in service before September 1, 2006, and capped at ,000 for solar-energy systems placed in service on or after September 1, 2006.
Solar-energy equipment is defined as “an arrangement or combination of components utilizing solar radiation, which, when installed in a residence, produces energy designed to provide heating, cooling, hot water or electricity.” The credit may not be used for pool heating or other recreational applications. Any amount of credit that exceeds a taxpayer’s liability in a given tax year may be carried forward for the five following taxable years. Any portion of the system cost provided by a non-taxable federal, state, or local grant is not eligible for this credit.
Systems must comply with the 10 kW capacity limit on residential, net-metered solar-energy systems*. In 2007, legislation was passed increasing the capacity limit to 50 kW for condominiums and cooperative housing associations. In addition, members of condominium management associations and tenant stockholders of cooperative housing associations are now allowed to claim a proportionate share of the total system expense towards the tax credit. These changes took effect beginning in the 2007 tax year, but as with other portions of the tax credit, they do not have an expiration date.
*The language of the tax credit generally requires that PV systems conform to the state’s net metering law, thereby limiting system size to 10 kW. In August 2008, the state net metering law was expanded by S.B. 7171 to permit net metering for residential PV systems up to 25 KW. It is unclear at this point whether the state intends for the new net metering limits to apply to the tax credit described above. The 2009 Solar Tax Credit Form IT-255 does not specifically address this issue.

http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/incentive.cfm?Incentive_Code=NY03F&re=1&ee=1

Contact:
Taxpayer Assistance – Personal Income Tax Information Center
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance
W.A. Harriman Campus
Albany, NY 12227
Phone: (518) 457-5181
Phone 2: (800) 225-5829
Web Site: http://www.tax.state.ny.us

Hope that you find the above enclosed information useful. 09/19/2011

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Question by Brittany Klein: What are the costs of installing solar panels in a school?
I have to do a brochure project on Solar Panels for my school. I need to include costs, benefits, political concerns, economic concerns, and social concerns.

I need this information ASAP!

thanks in advance(:

Best answer:

Answer by Tudorsolar
Hi
There are two types of solar panel installations one is domestic (the one you are using in your home) and another one is commercial (used for business like your school)

Domestic installation are up to 4kW and usually you can install them without any special permits. Installation process takes about 2 days if you want to find out benefits of that kind of installation go to
http://www.tudorsolar.com/cost-calculator/ and enter your postcode and the size of the system you would like to install ( ex: 4.00kW). There is also a lot of useful information you could use for your project like..
-Why solar?
-How much you can save and what are your benefits.

Political concerns… Government encourage people to install solar panels. The offer FIT’s (Feed in tariffs for 25 years (UK)) and also grants for some businesses and privates houses. Government will spend millions on this project. They also have the right to pick the sup-players which mean that that some small businesses will get bust.

Concerns:
Electricity prices will go up. Electric providers will have to make up the lost in business by putting prices up in UK this year 18% for electricity and 16% for gas.

Solar panels are now produced faster then ever. They produce clean pollution free energy however there is waste created during manufacturing process.

After Solar Panel life time expire this is about 30-40 years. It will turn to the wast which will have to be utilise.

Solar panels do save a lot of money but to start with you have to have money to install them in first place. If you don’t you will be the one who will have to pay electricity for the people who had many for it. The gap between poor and wealthy will get even bigger.

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Question by goatshower12: How much would it cost to power my home using solar power?
What would be the approximate cost to power a 3500 squ. ft. home and a water well through solar power?

Best answer:

Answer by Joey h
Chinese made or Sri Lankan made Solar panels ?

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Question by Z Dude 23: Can you connect amorphous and monocrystalline solar panels together in a parallel?
I have a large monocrystalline solar panel I just got today and I want to hook it in parallel with a couple amorphous solar kits. There is a total of seven amorphous panels and one monocrystalline panel. Would the monocrystalline panel burn the other panels up? Just want to be on the safe side, thanks!

Best answer:

Answer by thor
You can, but you wouldn’t be getting all the power possible. I’m guessing the monocrystalline is much more efficient than the amorphous panels, but in parallel you’d only be getting the power output of the lowest efficiency cell.

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Question by Alison Armitage: Can solar panels be used for heating water?
We are soon having solar panels installed. As we will then need to use as much electricity as possible and we have gas central heating, is it possible to have a system linked up to create hot water during the day instead of the gas boiler firing up every time we turn the hot tap on? Any ideas on cost would be an advantage too please.

Best answer:

Answer by Crazy man
It is a good decision. If I were you I would prefer the vacuum tube solar collector which is very efficient although it is about 20% more expensive but in no time you will recover the additional cost. I have one and I have never needed to use the electrical backup even with three or four overcast days. Even with no sunlight they will obtain heat from the infrared waves of the light. I live in the tropics but it will be even more useful for those living in th e temperate zone.

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Question by Mostafa: how big should be the solar cells to power an office cool/warm water dispenser?
I want to design a solar powered water dispencer and it also cools and/or warms the water for drinking.Is it practical to install a 1square meter solar cell?

Best answer:

Answer by roderick_young
I just checked our water cooler, and it has a maximum draw of 144 watts. There is a type of cooler that dumps transfers heat from the cold side to the hot side, and that might do what you want. But I would not expect boiling water for tea, just warmer than room temperature, and chilled on the other side. A solar panel of 1 square meter could do this, but you would have to charge NiMH batteries to power the compressor, as the power draw is on and off, and you would not want to waste the energy of the solar panel when the compressor is off. The reason I say NiMH is that lithium would be expensive, and any kind of lead-acid, even sealed, is inappropriate for a food appliance.

You would want to heavily insulate the hot and cold reservoirs, and I assume that warm and cool water is not a critical application, so if the sun doesn’t shine or the batteries run out, there’s no harm.

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