Solar panel/Wind Turbine question

[mustang592]

I am looking to start buying solar panels andwind turbines to help power my house and eventually go off the grid (well use the grid as backup) but i have to start slowly and gradually work my way up

is there any books or someone to help me understand how these works?

when i was looking up solar kits they use watts and electric companies use kwh

 

[Proud Prepper]

Go with modular solor panals and tesla batteries. You add to them one complete power bank at a time. Wind turbines are only good in ideal locations.

 

[Mountain trapper]

There are many books on the subject. Do an internet search. Theres also online sizing calculators that will help you choose the system that's best for you. I'm no expert on solar power but I am living 100% off the grid, primarily on generator power for now. I recently bought a complete solar system that will provide more than enough power most of the time. There are many pros and cons to every battery type. I went with 8 lead acid 6 volt deep cycle batteries for a 48 volt system. They seemed the best choice for me. If needed I can always add additional batteries. For the inverter I went with a Magnum Pure Sine Wave inverter/charger. Also got a charge controller, auto generator start, remote generator start and 10 - 365 watt US made solar panels. The backup generator is a 12 kw Perkins diesel plumbed to a 55 gallon fuel tank. All the gear will be housed in an insulated building with the solar panels mounted on a single pole mount with an auto tracker about 200 feet away. So far only the generator is set up in the power plant building. The rest of the gear is sitting in a big pile in the barn and on the trailer. I should have the generator, inverter, battery bank, charger and charge controller on line within a week or so. It might be next spring before I can get the solar panels set up. Once everything is working I'll add a wind generator to the system. We get a lot of wind here in the fall, winter and spring. That should help cut the run time on the generator during that time. I guess I'll have about $40 - $50k in my system by the time I'm done. It's not cheap but in my location there isn't any other option.

 

[Brent S]

I am looking to start buying solar panels andwind turbines to help power my house and eventually go off the grid (well use the grid as backup) but i have to start slowly and gradually work my way up

is there any books or someone to help me understand how these works?

when i was looking up solar kits they use watts and electric companies use kwh

Just google it, there's loads of info out there.

 

[Brent S]

I knew a guy here that put in a professionally installed solar system for twenty five thousand. Then he added a ten thousand battery system. It was great, but that's a lot of money to not pay a power bill....

 

[Maverick]

I knew a guy here that put in a professionally installed solar system for twenty five thousand. Then he added a ten thousand battery system. It was great, but that's a lot of money to not pay a power bill....

Brent, it cost me 80k in 1982 to bring power out to the property here, if it wasn't for the kiln drying mill not far from the property at the time, the power company wouldn't have done it at all. Many places ain't suitable or cost effective to bring power out to remote locations nor is it reliable enough to justify the cost. Given I don't use a lot of electricity, today I would go solar out here.

 

[Mountain trapper]

Brent, it cost me 80k in 1982 to bring power out to the property here, if it wasn't for the kiln drying mill not far from the property at the time, the power company wouldn't have done it at all. Many places ain't suitable or cost effective to bring power out to remote locations nor is it reliable enough to justify the cost. Given I don't use a lot of electricity, today I would go solar out here.

It would likely cost me a couple mill to being power up to my place. And since the ranch is completely surrounded by National Forest I probably wouldn't live long enough to get the permits. In my situation solar power is the only way to go, and is a bargain. Not having a power bill is also a big plus as well as not having any ugly power poles to look at.

 

[Maverick]

It would likely cost me a couple mill to being power up to my place. And since the ranch is completely surrounded by National Forest I probably wouldn't live long enough to get the permits. In my situation solar power is the only way to go, and is a bargain. Not having a power bill is also a big plus as well as not having any ugly power poles to look at.

There is a forest service building east of me that's been using a mobile diesel generator for the past 40 years, they still can't get approval for power being ran in.

 

[Brent S]

One thing to consider too is how much power do you really need. With some slight modifications during construction you can make a building much more energy efficient. Also with some lifestyle adjustments you can function with much less power needs. Things like airflow thru a home, large overhangs for shade, addition of a wood stove, etc. there are many ways to cut your dependence on electricity.

 

[Mountain trapper]

One thing to consider too is how much power do you really need. With some slight modifications during construction you can make a building much more energy efficient. Also with some lifestyle adjustments you can function with much less power needs. Things like airflow thru a home, large overhangs for shade, addition of a wood stove, etc. there are many ways to cut your dependence on electricity.

These are all very good points to consider when building a new home that will be powered by solar. In addition to extra insulation I'm building my house in a small valley surrounded by trees to protect it from the winter winds and shaded from the summer sun. I have a 12 kw generator for backup to the house. The barn has a 10 kw generator, which will eventually be replaced with it's own solar system, maybe next year. And the well has an 8.7 kw generator for primary power. I have a solar panel, inverter and deep cycle battery to run a heat lamp for winter in the pump house, as well as a propane wall heater.

 

[Joe SA]

I knew a guy here that put in a professionally installed solar system for twenty five thousand. Then he added a ten thousand battery system. It was great, but that's a lot of money to not pay a power bill....

Priceless when the grid fails. [emoji1]

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

[WGregMiller]

Hey AD, we had the bottom of our roof deck sprayed with foam, about 6 or 7 inches. Living in the southeast, our big power hit is cooling, and it got cut in half. Our heat bill is pretty low, since the attic traps the heat from inside.

The day before we had it sprayed, it was 80 degrees and sunny outside. The attic at the peak was about 140. The day after the spray, it was about the same temp and sunny outside. It was 85 inside the attic....

It took 2 years to pay for it. Oh - I chalked the crap out of everything also.

 

[Brent S]

Hey AD, we had the bottom of our roof deck sprayed with foam, about 6 or 7 inches. Living in the southeast, our big power hit is cooling, and it got cut in half. Our heat bill is pretty low, since the attic traps the heat from inside.

The day before we had it sprayed, it was 80 degrees and sunny outside. The attic at the peak was about 140. The day after the spray, it was about the same temp and sunny outside. It was 85 inside the attic....

It took 2 years to pay for it. Oh - I chalked the crap out of everything also.

That's a really impressive drop in temp! I wish the price of the spray would come down a little! I have a galvanized metal roof and will probably paint it white one of these days, both to cool it off and protect it some.

 

[WGregMiller]

The guy who did ours did it when he was slow, so we got a bit of a deal. I think it was about $2500, but for us, it paid off pretty quick. Our bills in this house, built in 1939, are around $150 average a month. And that’s for everything, so if ya figure $25 a month for water and sewer plus another $20 for garbage, it ain’t too bad for 3200 square feet....

 

[Mountain trapper]

Hey AD, we had the bottom of our roof deck sprayed with foam, about 6 or 7 inches. Living in the southeast, our big power hit is cooling, and it got cut in half. Our heat bill is pretty low, since the attic traps the heat from inside.

The day before we had it sprayed, it was 80 degrees and sunny outside. The attic at the peak was about 140. The day after the spray, it was about the same temp and sunny outside. It was 85 inside the attic....

It took 2 years to pay for it. Oh - I chalked the crap out of everything also.

Yeah that's some good stuff. One of the departments where my wife works does spray foam insulation in the oil fields. We're thinking about shipping the equipment down and getting one of her crews to do the house next year. For the cabin and generator building we're using thick fiberglass insulation with sound suppression panels.

 

[user 6789]

1000 watts is a kilowatt. First learn basic electrical knowledge. then think about solar. Unless you are rich or don't have any electronics its doubtful you will run your house on solar and wind.

 

[Mountain trapper]

1000 watts is a kilowatt. First learn basic electrical knowledge. then think about solar. Unless you are rich or don't have any electronics its doubtful you will run your house on solar and wind.

The solar electric system we had designed will provide all the power we need for the house, cabin and shop. For heavy loads like a welding machine, or during heavy overcast in winter, the generator will automatically start to meet the extra demand.
The great thing about solar is that it can be expanded as additional money becomes available.