A Million Green Ideas

Question by Jasmine G: Would you want a solar power plant near your home?


List some good reasons you would/wouldn’t want a solar power plant near your home. This is for a school project so please list some good answers.

Best answer:

Answer by Joe U
I would like a solar power plant FOR my home. I have no problem with such things nor would I complain about a ‘wind farm’.
The current coal-fired plant (about 5 miles from me) pollutes every day. It is a “clean burn” plant but the operators seem to have found a way to conceal their pollution. I can see the yellow haze being emitted in the steam plume from the cooling towers (where nothing but steam is supposed to be) on sunny days.
I’ve told the local EPA about that but nothing has been done. Grift and bribery I would guess.
Anyway, the solar and wind plants are clean and efficient when operating and fueling them does not require deforestation or mining.

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Question by Greg H: What features should I look for when purchasing a home solar power system?


Just wondering if some experts out there could give some advice on what to features to look for and to “look out” for when purchasing and having installed a home solar power system. Of course I know sizing it properly is a big issue. However, are there certain brands of the various components that should or should not be used, etc.

Best answer:

Answer by Amy
The biggest things to look out for is making sure the installer is qualified, and the equipment is UL Listed. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out there now claiming to be installers, but have never done it before, or have no training and are doing it wrong. It’s not the same as regular house electrical work, not just any electrician can do it.

NABCEP is an organization that certifies solar installers. They have to have years of experience and lots of training to even be able to sit for the exam. Just because an installer isn’t certified, doesn’t mean they aren’t good, but having the certification is a great way to be sure they know what they are doing. If you don’t have a certified installer in your area, try to find an installer who has done a number of installs and talk to their references.

As far as equipment, any reputable installer will use quality equipment. It has to be UL Listed to pass inspection, so unless this is their first, they’ll know the good stuff.

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Question by Aristotle: Anyone help me to know what to consider when designing solar power for the home?


Hello,
I know little on solar power for the home. I understand that it is possible to convert power to chemical form then use it as electricity. My question is, what elements are involved and how is the sizing being done?
I need the power design to power lights (say 10), TV and radio.

Best answer:

Answer by billrussell42
There are so many things to consider.

First of all, chemicals have nothing to do with this, except that you may want a storage battery as part of the system.

This is going to cost you thousands of dollars.

You want about a 500 watt capability, from what you say. 10 CFL lights at 20W, 200w, medium sized TV, 200w, radio, 50w

Assumption 1: you will use this power only when available, ie, when the sun is shining brightly, for perhaps 6 hours a day in the summer, a lot less in the winter.

If this assumption is not valid, then you need large storage batteries, a much larger solar array, and lots of money.

Assumption 2: a small 50 amp-hr sealed lead acid battery. This will provide power for about an hour after the sun is down. You need a battery anyway to smooth out the irregularities in the output from the array.

point 3: electronics are a small charge controller and a 500 watt sine wave inverter.

point 4. You need a 500 watt array that will put out 14-16 volts in the sun. It will need to be mounted somewhere where it gets direct sunlight with no blocks.

put that all together, with a lot of time and money….

Pay back: 500 watts for 4 hours/day for 20 days/month is 500*80=40000 or 40kW-hrs, which you can buy from your power company for about $ 3 per month, depending on your rates.

So is a savings of $ 36 per year worth a $ 1000 investment?

This is why people tend to go with a larger unit, the payback is better. You can arrange it so that you sell power to the utility company when the sun is shining and you buy it from them when the sun is not shining.

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Question by Josh C: How can I use Solar Power in my home?


I am wanting to power just a couple household items with a small solar panel. What will I need? I know I need a solar panel, and some kind of AC-DC converter, and a battery perhaps? How would I wire it up?

I do NOT want to spend a fortune doing this, I am only in an apartment, so it needs to be small and self-contained.

Thanks!

Best answer:

Answer by redscott77092
You might have trouble doing this in an apartment, since apt managers don’t usually like tenants adding things like that.

Powering any appliance will require a PV panel at least 4 feet wide and you’ll have trouble using that in an apartment. Anything small enough to fit on your balcony or deck will not make much power.

That said, if you use a battery set and charger you can charge with almost any panel and operate any device that runs on the juice available from your batteries. In an apartment you won’t have space for very big batteries.

Recreational vehicles use appliances like TV, coffemaker, refrigerator etc designed to run on 12 or 24 volts and will be easier to run on a low volt system. 120 volts will require a bigger PV panel.

Remember, volts is not the only thing to think about. You must also consider the amperage & watts. A fridge will require more amps & watts than a radio.

There are hundreds of websites that teach how to choose (size) the PV panel to run the appliances that you need. If you were in your own home then you could look at “net metering” and not care about batteries, but not in an apartment.

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In the Herefordshire countryside a couple use solar panels at home to heat water and generate electricity and help them to lead the good life.

Solar Energy Village in Germany (Freiburg). en.wikipedia.org www.tve.org
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Question by mercy me: How many solar panels or wattage does it take to run the lights in the home?


I want to save money by using solar power, where I can.I already turn off lights when I am not in a room. I live in a 16 X 80 2000 trailer. But I only use the kitchen and my room most of the time. I have already bought a oil filled heater just for my room for the winter, instead of turning on the furnace. Can anyone help go green and save money.

Best answer:

Answer by tim h
you can determine the system you will need by the total watts you use. check your bill for this. so if you use 2 100 watt bulbs then you would need something capable of outputing after losses of around 200 watts. now this is the essence of it but the details can get trickier with peak loads sunlight time effeciencies and more. but this is an idea and start. you can probably get 2-4 panels roughly 2′x4′ in size to get you thru but you have to remember the invertor and charging systems and your local requirements will probably make you hook it to the grid unless you made your own circuits as well. and the biggest costs would be the batteries to store your elec. hope this gives you an idea and you can get surplus panels for alot cheaper and systems already setup and ready to go if you can invest.

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Question by fourtwenty: I want to power my new home I am building on solar power alone what will the cost be roughly?


I also want to stay off the electric grid . It would cost an additional ten thousand dollars to be hooked into it and I want to be independant from utilities. Would solar panels and batteries power lights and T.V , computer , washer dryer ect.

Best answer:

Answer by more slack
TV, lights and small appliances, yes. Washer, maybe. Dryer, not likely unless it’s gas – consider a clothesline. Electric range or oven, no. Hot tub, no unless it’s converted to a gas heater.

The raw panels are about $ 3-8 per watt. So for 6Kw figure about $ 18k for the panels. The charger/inverter and batteries, figure $ 2-3k more. Figure about $ 30k including the installation.

You might also consider a generator. The off-grid houses I’ve seen tend to have them, even if they have batteries too. Add $ 3k for that.

Do you have a creek? Consider small-scale hydro too.

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Question by BAYOUKIDD: when it come to home solar power why do some choose 24v and others 12 v systems?


i want a solar power system, but dont know if i choose 12v or 24v and why.

Best answer:

Answer by Vernal H
24 is better but 12 is cheaper.

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Question by hey: how many solar panels would I need to power my home?


or how many watts? i dont use much electricity. i have on a couple of lights and a computer, sometimes the tv. how many solar panels would i need to power those constantly throughout the day, and maybe charge batteries for night? the air, refrigerator and hot water heater i would still use regular electricity.

Best answer:

Answer by TallPaul
Solar panels produce DC electricity, not AC. So, they would have to charge a bank of batteries, then you’d need an inverter to convert DC to AC.

You need to find what your peak wattage is (consumption) and how long you want to run things for and work backwards from there.

Suffice to say, a roof-full of panels probably won’t be enough.

What do you think? Answer below!