Friday, October 6, 2017

solar budget


SOLAR BUDGET
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note: most excellent author and article ( how we are sheep, but not in the current definition ):
http://epsilontheory.com/sheep-logic/
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Thank goodness, nowadays you can REALLY own a budget solar system.  Before, “budget” or “cheap” or “affordable” was all relative.  My first system was $360, for 45 watts of power.  Today, that goes for $200 and is 100 watts.  And we are only talking a ten year time difference.  Of course, as always, I must insist that you buy panels NOW.  No, better yet, yesterday.

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 How many of you wish you’d bought $90 Mosin-Nagant bolt action guns with 22cent rounds of ammunition?  Don’t get me wrong, I hate the gun, but buying imported goods before they are embargoed is always a great idea.  You never know how long $1 a watt panels will last.  Once China and Russia completely scrap the PetroDollar-any day soon-Chinese goods might, mostly, disappear. 

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And while I’ll cover the frugal system, let’s also talk about upgrading that system.  All for cheap.  It is like food storage.  You only need to buy a bucket at a time, not the whole amount costing a grand or two.  Building your off-grid hovel, you need only build a room at a time ( this is where the geodesic plate kit comes in.  $109 for the kit, $79 for two by fours, some bolts, chicken wire and cement saturated sheets or blankets.  Boom, done.  $240 a room plus insulation ).

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 Power systems are the same.  Just buy as you can.  Of course, no, you can’t have a deep fryer, hair dryer, shag carpet ( throw rugs only, no vacuum needed ) or huge freezer, but as long as you require little and are thankful for the little luxuries, all is well.  Only damn fools, or fools with money to spare, try to duplicate on-grid power with solar.  Your area might differ, but my system uses the easy formula of “one hour charge equals all power used that day”.  It worked for me for years.  I have 45 watts in generation, I used 40-50 watts total in a day.

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I started writing at home rather than at work, I bumped it up to 70 watts production ( adding an hour of netbook computer use-and damn, even if that was cheaper than the initial system of $7 a watt, it was STILL $3, and that was with the new improved moly panels ).  Now I never run out of juice, or run down the battery, even with days of storms.  Don’t worry about actual verses claimed production, or the energy used to charge the battery.  This is just a broad guideline.  Now, if you ARE using too much power, that factors in of course ( panels perform 20% less than stated, 10% loss charging and try to avoid the inverter as that is another 10% ).

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All you need to start is $200.  That is one 100 watt panel and one RV/Marine battery, with a $10 charge controller.  Yes, you need wiring, but how hard to scrounge is that?  You can do a LOT with this system.  A LED bayonet bulb uses 4 watts, a standard size lamp bulb in LED, 8 watts.  I trust you’ll try to stick with 12v DC and eliminate the inverter ( you can buy laptop DC power units to replace your wall outlet ones ), so let’s stick with 4 watts.  In winter, 4pm to 10 pm, plus 6am to 8am lighting, 32 watts usage.  I used a truckers 12v TV, a dinky seven inch screen, but it only used 12 watts.  So, about 20 watts a night for TV ( why do you want a bigger screen to watch broadcast TV full of ads? ).  That leaves an hour and a half computer use.  In the summer, you can waste far more.

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From then on, if you want to power your toys, it is only $100 for another panel.  The average cold crank battery rating is 600 watts ( my easy to use if not completely factual rule of thumb is the cold crank amount is how much you can safely draw down the battery ), so take the number of cloudy days and that 600 watt usage into consideration, then add batteries from there.  I would recommend separating the batteries as stand alone units rather than in a bank-but that is just me being paranoid.  Remember, this is NOT the optimal equipment.  This is your frugal solar system.  FRUGAL.  Not “best”.

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Want a microwave ( great saver of propane )?  $500, for 400 watts of power and another battery.  A small oven will only use 400 watts in a half hour, and that is a LOT of cooking.  Potatoes only take four minutes to pre-cook.  Flat bread only 2 minutes per 200 calorie bread.  Heat water your solar unit only got lukewarm.  Of course, then you need a $100 extra for a 1,000 watt inverter if you don’t already have one.  But you can also use that, in theory ( turn off the fridge while nucking ), for your $500 solar refrigerator. 

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Even with a gifted or trash picked propane fridge, the gas costs $300 a year, so a $500 solar fridge makes much more sense.  A fridge is great for a single guy to buy cheap meat.  You go to the store, buy a family pack of meat, then keep in the fridge a few days, cook the rest up and save those a few days. 

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You can use a few 12v rotary fans to replace AC, assuming you are under shade.  Even without trees, although far from cheap, in an off-grid small structure a second raised roof not only delivers a rain catchment system but keeps you cool enough.  Fans and shade are all you need, not air conditioning.  Consider how often the grid crashes from overuse in the summer.  Record hot summers, record blackouts.  You’ll be glad you lack AC then.  How about a solar panel and inverter for hand tools?  Would that be easier than those rechargeable tools?  Even if all you’ve done is convert a backyard Mother In Law shed to an off grid back-up, solar is smart, easy and cheap.

END ( today's related link http://amzn.to/2xZPSki )
 
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13 comments:

  1. Careful there sir, you are making too much sense for this old boy to handle - I have to read this slowly and let it sink in slowly. :^)

    The small netbook / computers / Kindles are pretty safe with this system? No wifi but very good reading can be had out there without lugging around books.

    Thanks for the post.

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    1. I went through my cheap $40 400 watt Wal-Mart inverter to power my netbook and never had any issues, for years. If you bought the dedicated 12v power cord for your computer you don't need the inverter, but the issue with 12v cords is the silly glass fuse that seems to always want to blow ( a couple of times a year with the TV, which powered from a cig lighter plug ). I prefer using the inverter, but I also need that for my hair clippers and a DVD player anyway. Kindle you can charge from the USB port on the inverter and don't even need to power it up.

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  2. I’ll have to look again, but I think the setups that I wish listed at Amazon were 100 watts for around $140, and they came with the charge controller. I only plan on charging some batteries for my LED lighting, and powering a small notebook PC. I might consider getting a small TV, but I’m the minion that pretty much avoids all modern television, so I’d have to factor in a DVD player, unless I can pick up one of the retro stations. It appears that I have cell coverage at my junk land according to the coverage map, but I haven’t verified it yet. I also have the kindle app on my tablet, and as long as you don’t need to sync, that should work off-line I think?

    If I recall correctly Jim, the systems that I looked at had a USB port in the charge controller, as opposed to the inverter, so the inverter could be optional.

    I read that the panels function at about 10% to 20% efficiency on cloudy days, so if you need a certain amount of power year round daily, you must factor this in. If you live in a cloudy area nearly year round, it will add up, unless your power needs are rather minimal.

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    1. For $140, it better come with more than the controller. 100 watts is $112, and a controller $10. Throw in your own wires from salvage. Just make sure the connections are water proof. Although, the controller I use might not have a USB. Just saying, don't assume a kit is a good deal.

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    2. Okay, I’ve narrowed it down to the one in the link below, and chose the 30A for a $162.99. Your thoughts? And if you feel that it’s a rip off, do you have a suggestion? (with an included link if possible).

      https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GVVE2WI?th=1

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    3. I do NOT recommend the polycrystal panel. You want to stick with the monocrystal.
      Types compared ( hint: the mono's last longer )
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      http://energyinformative.org/best-solar-panel-monocrystalline-polycrystalline-thin-film/
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      Here is the mono kit:
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      https://www.amazon.com/HQST-Monocrystalline-Display-Charge-Controller/dp/B018ZU2KQS/ref=sr_1_5?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1507338764&sr=1-5&keywords=100+watt+monocrystalline+solar+panel+kit
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      You are of course overpaying for the kit. I made brackets out of hammered out L brackets you'd use for a small shelf and I mounted on a wood pallet and set up on a mound of dirt. The inverter was $10-$15. A huge assortment of bolts was $10, with plenty left over. You may wish to pay extra for the kit if you don't want to mess with it, but my feeling are if I can cobble it together anyone can. Here is just the panel:
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      https://www.amazon.com/HQST-Monocrystalline-Connectors-Battery-Charging/dp/B018BMGTTO/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1507338764&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=100+watt+monocrystalline+solar+panel+kit&psc=1
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      The controller, you can go cheap to have a back-up or try a quality one. I went with multiple cheapos. Here it is.
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      https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KWWSCJC/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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      Hope this helped.

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    4. Re: Kindle app - It doesn't NEED to sync, & if it does it syncs to another of your devices. So if you only have one device...

      I have a Kindle and I don't sync it & I transfer books by downloading them then via Calibre E-Book app (free)

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    5. Thanks Jim, I’ll look into it. I did come across something in my research that suggested that modern manufacturing processes have more to do with the longevity of the panels vs Mono or poly. Have you heard anything to that effect?

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    6. I'm sure that is correct, as it makers sense, but I can't deny or verify. One the one hand, Wal-Mart gives Chinese manufacturing a bad name, but on the other hand computers from China work great years later and the solar panels from them seem to also work great ( knock on wood, both ).

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  3. Firstly - that was an excellent link at the top of this post. I actually got quite a bit out of it.

    Secondly - I'm super keen on solar power, so thanks for this strategy of acquisition. I agree that panels aren't going to exactly be available forever, well they will be, just not at a price White Trash Irregulars can afford

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    1. Twenty years ago, solar was not only expensive, it was not consumer friendly. Now? The world is our oyster.

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  4. Jim, what do you think about the small solar chargeable batteries, that recharge small devices (smartphones, tablets etc.) through USB ?

    I have one but haven't tested it extensively. it works, but its color is black, and thus it gets hot, quite quickly.

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    1. I'm only familiar with the devices that charge AA, AAA, D & C batteries. Those I love. However, having said that, anything solar is to love, right? Not sure about the overheating. My wall charger to charge my tablet also gets rather hot. Perhaps this is a normal "thing"?

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