Homemade Solar Panals

[ztrjim]

thanks for all the great info!

 

[boggen]

i am going to join in the band wagon, of the others that have replied. have a small 20 x 24 cabin, with a 3000watt generator that supplies power to lights, microwave, fans, window a/c unit. the cabin approx 1/2 mile away from nearest power line. it costs a good amount of cash for full solor grid / off grid setup, or running power to the cabin. it is just a get away / weekend cabin so no need for actual full power doings.

batteries can be a pain in rear to deal with, the cost of them, but also maintenance on them, batteries can and do go bad, along with all the charging circuits, and misc electronic devices that make up a full off-grid package.

if you have power right there, then get "grid power" and be done with it. if you want solar, then get a setup, that does not require batteries.

your all up in smoke about the gas line on property, have you actually called local electrical company to come out and give you a quote? normally local power companies have some sort of dedicated person that goes out to folks homes / business, and figures things out and gives estimates. there should be no real issue about a gas line on your property, beyond were it is. so no one digs / cuts into it. i would assume there are a few extra codes/regs, but they shouldn't be nothing major.

having a background or even some book smarts via highschool or collage class in DC electronics, can help ya go a bit further with off grid setup. and better understand this or that. and were you might need to pay extra attention to. to have a longer lasting overall setup without that much maintenance.

 

[bumperm]

With a few LED lights, you can certainly get by with a lot less power....and batteries.....but throw in refrigerator and air compressor, you're up to a fairly decent size system.

A 20v5amphr battery, for example, could run (assuming zero system loss) 100w for an hour, or 50w for 2hrs, and so on. You could run a couple of low watt LED for several hours. That is quite doable.

If you can make do with just LED lighting, then install a 10 watt solar panel and hook directly to a removed from service auto battery (assuming there's still some life in it). With a panel that small there's not need for a charge controller. System cost, excluding LED light, $35. Add a nice LED flood (see ebay) for another $35.

You can do the system right with all new stuff, including battery for 2 to 3 hundred. New 12 volt battery, 100 watt solar panel, 10 amp solar charge controller, and if you have the need to run small AC power tools, throw in a 400 to 700 watt inverter for $50 more. It only get's pricey when you want to run the bigger loads.

Before doing the above, I'd still look to running AC in ground, either in conduit or direct burial.

 

[EddieWalker]

How far is the shed from your house or source of power? Crossing the gas line is just a matter of digging it by hand. I just ran water and power across my gas line Thanksgiving weekend. It took a few hours, but I dug 20 from where I thought the gas line was in both directions with a shovel for a total of 40 feet. I went two feed down and never found the gas line. I'm guessing it was about three feed down, I've heard it's supposed to be four feet down. I just don't trust the people who install those things to go as deep as they are supposed to. I've seen on the news where contractors have hit them at less then two feet.

For all the money this is going to cost you, digging the trench and running wire always makes more sense to me then dealing with solar panels and batteries. Especially knowing that the batteries are temporary.

The other option is to not have anything plugged in there and just get a small generator for when you do need power. I have a little Honda 2000 generator that starts easy, is fairly quiet and runs all day on a tank of gas.

Eddie

 

[2LaneCruzer]

There's always passive solar that can provide heat at the very least...and hot water if you need it...and you can build it yourself.

 

[Oaktree]

If you can make do with just LED lighting, then install a 10 watt solar panel and hook directly to a removed from service auto battery (assuming there's still some life in it). With a panel that small there's not need for a charge controller. System cost, excluding LED light, $35. Add a nice LED flood (see ebay) for another $35.

That's more or less what I did for a shed of mine that's far enough away from the house to make trenching in AC non-practical. Just used one of those battery maintainer solar panels, an old car battery and several cheapie LED "driving lights" I picked up at Walmart. Just the lights and an old car radio. Does the job. It's been there maybe 4 years now, still works just fine with the original battery.

Obviously, you're not gonna run power tools, refrigerator, etc. on a setup like this.

 

[Redneck in training]

Batteries can last long time but at a cost. Their life depends on the level of discharge during the battery cycle. When discharged to 90% they will last many years but you would have buy large battery bank. If you allow discharge to 60% battery life will be significantly shorter but you spend initially less money. In any case off grid system make sense only when running electric line is cost prohibitive.
To install solar DIY you have to select right components so you don not die (hehe assuming you have only basic knowledge) while doing it. The problem is that when the panels are illuminated they are ON and hard to turn OFF. If you use string inverters you are dealing with large voltages and currents that can kill and burn the stuff. But if you use microinverters or buy panels with inverters built in it is a piece of cake. You deal with low or no voltages until you turn power on. There are only few connections you actually have to make using tools. The rest is just plugging connectors together. The system is actually quite simple no more complicated than installing new breaker or outlet.

I also agree that solar trickle charger, car or golf car battery and 12VDC/110AC inverter would provide power for intermittent load such as lights or small power tool for few hundred bucks. Running a cable would cost you about the same amount unless the distance is large. In example I run 1050 ft of direct burial 350 cable for about $1200 including ditch witch rental.

 

[bumperm]

That's more or less what I did for a shed of mine that's far enough away from the house to make trenching in AC non-practical. Just used one of those battery maintainer solar panels, an old car battery and several cheapie LED "driving lights" I picked up at Walmart. Just the lights and an old car radio. Does the job. It's been there maybe 4 years now, still works just fine with the original battery.

Obviously, you're not gonna run power tools, refrigerator, etc. on a setup like this.

Yeah, but for a shed, it does make you smile when you flip the switch and the lights come on, knowing you are "offing" the power company . . . kind of a warm feeling - for a shed.

 

[dave1949]

You would never burn $100 worth (25 gal.) of kerosene in an oil lamp. Those are good for sheds too if you just need a little light, plus you can warm your hands on one.

W.T. Kirkman Oil and Electric Lanterns: Dietz Lanterns

 

[kevin37b]

How far is the shed from your house or source of power? Crossing the gas line is just a matter of digging it by hand. I just ran water and power across my gas line Thanksgiving weekend. It took a few hours, but I dug 20 from where I thought the gas line was in both directions with a shovel for a total of 40 feet. I went two feed down and never found the gas line. I'm guessing it was about three feed down, I've heard it's supposed to be four feet down. I just don't trust the people who install those things to go as deep as they are supposed to. I've seen on the news where contractors have hit them at less then two feet.

For all the money this is going to cost you, digging the trench and running wire always makes more sense to me then dealing with solar panels and batteries. Especially knowing that the batteries are temporary.

The other option is to not have anything plugged in there and just get a small generator for when you do need power. I have a little Honda 2000 generator that starts easy, is fairly quiet and runs all day on a tank of gas.

Eddie

We have hit 2 " HP mains while pulling curb , It was in the concrete . Locator said minimal 2 ft of cover or it is not a liability .