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Step 3Basics done.
Now come's the basic ending!
What you've done by now is connected your PV cell to a charge controller, your charge controller is also connected to your battery. Here's the next step, which is getting an inverter in there.
Why an inverter?
What you have before the inverter is power! Yay! You can light a light bulb using the sun's energy stored in a battery - terrific. Now lets hookup my labtop to the battery.
NO.
What an inverter does, is takes (in this case) DC current, and "inverts" it to AC current. This is a must for all U.S. appliances that are a bit more complicated than a lightbulb!
So here's the next step: Buy your inverter... It must have an input of 12V DC. Your output should be 120 volts if you're satisfied with having just a wall plug, this is the most convenient (if you know how to use other outputs, go for it). The wattage on inverters varies, and you can get them ranging from 50 watts to multiple thousands, if you want to run a standard (large) laptop, I suggest you get something over 200 watts.
Here's a site that shows you different wattage for different appliances:http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/howmuch.html
XBox 360 / PS3 = 150-200 Watts,
Laptop ~ 100 Watts
Computer & LCD screen 150-340 watts.
OK! So, be careful what you plug in, or you'll drain that battery lickity-split. [Battery life & power is measured in Amp/Hours - read up on this to be safe] Now take a look at the drawing below, what I have done is actually connect the inputs of the inverter to the battery. This will not only take power from the battery, but also, if the sun is out, will be taking energy from the PV array as well - offsetting energy used by the battery!
Once you have done all of this, guess what, you have made the most basic renewable energy power converter there is! (Kinda... not really) But what comes next is efficiency! This is where YOU can help ME help YOU!
What you've done by now is connected your PV cell to a charge controller, your charge controller is also connected to your battery. Here's the next step, which is getting an inverter in there.
Why an inverter?
What you have before the inverter is power! Yay! You can light a light bulb using the sun's energy stored in a battery - terrific. Now lets hookup my labtop to the battery.
NO.
What an inverter does, is takes (in this case) DC current, and "inverts" it to AC current. This is a must for all U.S. appliances that are a bit more complicated than a lightbulb!
So here's the next step: Buy your inverter... It must have an input of 12V DC. Your output should be 120 volts if you're satisfied with having just a wall plug, this is the most convenient (if you know how to use other outputs, go for it). The wattage on inverters varies, and you can get them ranging from 50 watts to multiple thousands, if you want to run a standard (large) laptop, I suggest you get something over 200 watts.
Here's a site that shows you different wattage for different appliances:http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity/howmuch.html
XBox 360 / PS3 = 150-200 Watts,
Laptop ~ 100 Watts
Computer & LCD screen 150-340 watts.
OK! So, be careful what you plug in, or you'll drain that battery lickity-split. [Battery life & power is measured in Amp/Hours - read up on this to be safe] Now take a look at the drawing below, what I have done is actually connect the inputs of the inverter to the battery. This will not only take power from the battery, but also, if the sun is out, will be taking energy from the PV array as well - offsetting energy used by the battery!
Once you have done all of this, guess what, you have made the most basic renewable energy power converter there is! (Kinda... not really) But what comes next is efficiency! This is where YOU can help ME help YOU!
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