I needed an excuse to get started so, not having a man cave shed, I thought I'd start with the existing 110vac Christmas lights on the shrub in the backyard! And then I'll look at some of those 12v garden spotlights in the spring.
So far I have these parts:
25W PV panel
panel to be mounted on...
Many calcs of breakeven fail to include the "opportunity" cost of capital. This means:
Loan interest charges, if you are borrowing the money, or
Alternative Income earned, if you have the cash and invest it elsewhere
Throw in the extra cost of managing, building and operating your own power...
Hi all, and Happy New Year!
Love Will's videos and book and currently making a small hobby system to play with, learn from and drive a few lights in the yard. Seems to me this type of tiny, inexpensive solar system has been largely overlooked and I hope to change that.
I've been lurking for a...
Going solar off-grid means understanding and accepting certain constraints and restrictions relative to your former grid-tied lifestyle with unlimited power (at a price). In a nutshell, you will be constantly trying to balance cumulative intermittent Power Consumption (all household loads) with...
Be it resolved that with the advent of chat AI (chatgpt, and the like) the world will never be the same.
It represents a major inflection point in the history of life on earth.
Hopefully our descendants will apply it to benefit all mankind.
(And, I hope it doesn't turn out to be a bad thing...
Does anyone have any info or opinions about the newly announced Tesla inverter?
https://www.tesla.com/support/energy/solar-inverter/tesla-solar-inverter
Is this something of interest to DIY people or will it be strictly marketed by the company and installed by pros?
For the past 2 years - including winters - I've been using my Li yard lights despite all the warnings about not charging Li below freezing.
Daytime temps here in Ottawa are consistently below freezing for weeks (months?) on end. Yet they continue to light up every night if there's been enough...
Let's get the ball rolling with an over-simplified example:
The goal is to make a PV system that can produce electrical power cheaper that your local utility. (Let's assume rates in NA are around $0.10 to $0.30 per kWh, depending on cost of production at your location, time of day metering...
Idea for using a small solar-powered system to power a small 12v bilge pump in an open, uncovered unattended boat.
Components:
12v bilge pump
small battery
small solar panel
inexpensive 10A solar charge controller - with load output with settings for low voltage disconnect and voltage...
Interesting article
https://www.electricbike.com/how-to-run-your-off-grid-tiny-house-with-an-ebike-battery/
From my experience most 48V consumer-grade ebikes have batteries in the range of 10 to 20 Ah (so 480to 960 Wh) but he's recommending extra big ones for this purpose.
Comments, anyone?
The answer to many DIY solar questions will depend where you're located:
Insolation and climate/weather
Jurisdiction - power company, approving authorities, local electrical code
Equipment supplies - distribution areas and availability
So let's try to keep this bigger picture in mind when...
Something new to consider if you're thinking of going grid-tied!
Depending where you live your grid operator may unexpectedly control your PV system.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2022-02-16/solar-how-is-it-affected-by-renewable-energy-curtailment/100830738
This is my very simplistic description of the flow of power, as controlled by a Solar Charge Controller (SCC) from the solar panels (source) to the battery bank (storage) to the output (load) in the course of a typical 24-hour day and night. For this simplified example the only load is "lights"...
In many countries around the world the cost of road infrastructure construction and maintenance is funded by large taxes at the gas pump. (As the oil companies love to point out!)
If more and more people switch to EV's in the future where is this money going to come from?
Many governments are...
Seems to me that there's a need for some kind of screening process to help people decide if they realistically should take on a DIY Solar project. I've occasionally seen posts from people who obviously should not be doing this. Encouraging people that realistically have no chance is just...
Seems to me there's an opportunity here to encourage new entrants to get their feet wet in solar by building a tiny, inexpensive system using commonly available parts from the local big box or automotive supply store.
For example; one could learn a lot by building a quick-and-dirty $100 system...
What's a good, inexpensive way to remotely monitor charging and discharging cycles on a 12v system.
I see Automotive Bluetooth battery monitors available or about $40. Are these any good?
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07MD71GW1/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A2CNLEIJ5AXMGN&psc=1
Or there's the...
I've read the FAQ's and forums and looked at the YouTube videos but I'm getting mixed signals.
For my small hobby system I have a 12V 25W panel and a 10A PWM controller. I'm thinking, just as an experiment, I'd like to add my little automotive 12V 2W battery tender panel to see if that gives me...
Hi Will! Loved your book. Read it cover-to-cover and now I'm working my way through it again.
I have a suggestion for the "Second Edition" if and when .....
Seems to me there's a new category of system you could include under your Lazy Method:
I'd call it The Hobbyist and it could look something...
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/04/solar-stocks-are-getting-slammed-as-supply-chain-bottlenecks-hit-renewables-sector.html
Are people experiencing problems getting solar equipment?
If you've ever wondered why a web system is free, it's because you ARE the system.
Have you ever noticed that the more a person knows about the web, the more concerned they are about Privacy on it?