This instructable will tell you how I went about building a 12v Solar setup to run my Air Cooler during our hot Summer and a 12v 120 litre Fridge/Freezer during the cooler months.
It will include some of the things I got right and the things I got wrong while building my "Sun Suckers".
Please keep in mind that I am not qualified in this area and that my methods were based on a "research then trial and error" system.
Please use the ideas presented as a guide and improve on them wherever you can.
I won't be covering "in detail" panel building as such but will include helpful stuff (mostly discovered by the afore mentioned "trial and error' ) that wasn't covered in the many panel building Instructables and articles I read while doing my research.
It will include some of the things I got right and the things I got wrong while building my "Sun Suckers".
Please keep in mind that I am not qualified in this area and that my methods were based on a "research then trial and error" system.
Please use the ideas presented as a guide and improve on them wherever you can.
I won't be covering "in detail" panel building as such but will include helpful stuff (mostly discovered by the afore mentioned "trial and error' ) that wasn't covered in the many panel building Instructables and articles I read while doing my research.
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1: Learning. Think beyond today.
If you spend as much time as I did scouring the web for every bit of information available you'll probably get as confused as I did at first.
There's a lot of good info out there but there's a lot of rubbish too.
As a rule of thumb the greater the number of people say something, the more likely it is to be correct. Usually. But not always.
There are already some "Instructables" on panel building on this and other sites that contain credible and very useful information.
Very few of the articles etc. that I read, however, pointed out the life expectancy of the Solar Cells you'll be using versus the materials used in constructing the DIY panels.
The first Solar cells ever made still produce electricity and look likely to continue doing so for many years to come!
A piece of painted plywood used to mount your Cells on, on the other hand, will have a very limited lifespan under the hot conditions inside a panel.
Most articles I read are concerned with building panels "on the cheap" as I did.
I built more than 300 watts of panels, all on plywood.
I will eventually need to somehow remove the Cells from the plywood and rebuild the panels on something more substantial, not sure what ( or how ) yet....maybe aluminium or Tedlar? Not a job I'm looking forward to but all part of a fairly steep learning curve.
Think outside the square and make Google your friend. A search of "solar panel backing" returned 98000 results including this one.. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/08/cotton-castor-beans-combined-solar-panel-bio-backsheet.php
My advice......research thoroughly then do it once and do it right.
There's a lot of good info out there but there's a lot of rubbish too.
As a rule of thumb the greater the number of people say something, the more likely it is to be correct. Usually. But not always.
There are already some "Instructables" on panel building on this and other sites that contain credible and very useful information.
Very few of the articles etc. that I read, however, pointed out the life expectancy of the Solar Cells you'll be using versus the materials used in constructing the DIY panels.
The first Solar cells ever made still produce electricity and look likely to continue doing so for many years to come!
A piece of painted plywood used to mount your Cells on, on the other hand, will have a very limited lifespan under the hot conditions inside a panel.
Most articles I read are concerned with building panels "on the cheap" as I did.
I built more than 300 watts of panels, all on plywood.
I will eventually need to somehow remove the Cells from the plywood and rebuild the panels on something more substantial, not sure what ( or how ) yet....maybe aluminium or Tedlar? Not a job I'm looking forward to but all part of a fairly steep learning curve.
Think outside the square and make Google your friend. A search of "solar panel backing" returned 98000 results including this one.. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/08/cotton-castor-beans-combined-solar-panel-bio-backsheet.php
My advice......research thoroughly then do it once and do it right.
Visit Our Store »
Go Pro Today »
i need to some details for solar system
first one
bulb -10
fans -04
Air conti-01
TV-01
fridge-01
how many watt this want?
but this also 220V .
please tell me
18 watt high efficiency light bulbs produce the equivalent to 60 watt incandescent so 10 of them = 180 watts.
My multi speed house fan uses 50 watts x 4 = 200 watts.
My 22 inch LCD TV uses 65 watts.
A refrigerator, when the compressor is running, uses between 200 and 500 watts depending on size and energy rating.
An air conditioner will use up to 6000 watts depending on its size. Have a look at my instructable "How I Use The Sun To Cool My House" for ideas on converting a 240 volt electricity guzzler to a 12 volt very efficient unit.
Please note that you will lose some of your panels output when running 12 volts through a 12v to 220v inverter.
I hope this is of some help Akmal.
Best regards.
Rob.
where an American Engineer Explain everything about Solar Panel
Look through his Blog about DIY Solar Panels
People make some unrealistic claims about how cheaply you can convert to solar power....like the "less than 3 months electricity bills" claim.
As for grid tied DIY solar....I'm not sure that would be possible. The safety issues would most likely prevent it. Nothing wrong with a "stand alone" setup like mine where the panels charge a bank of batteries. Independence is a nice thing, especially when the grid goes down and your air cooler is the only one working on a 45 C (108 Fahrenheit) day
Whatever the cost we Do need to get off our duffs and get it done regardless of where we live and who our fossil fuels come from.
Here in Aus there's a big stink at the moment because our government has done the right thing and put a price on carbon emissions as a step down the road to ending our reliance on fossil fuels and turning to clean, green energy sources.
Selfish people do tend to make the most noise.
Email me at heppycamper@dodo.com with any more inquiries.
Best regards.
Rob.
Where are you located in country NSW?
Thanks for your positive comment.
I'm in Bethungra, a little village in the Southwest slopes.
It is most satisfying building panels and supplying even a fraction of your own energy.
It becomes even more satisfying on a 45 deg C day when the power grid goes down and your aircon is the only one working!
Go for it.
If you're interested I have sets of cells for sale that will make nice 150 watt panels.
Best regards.
Rob.
Thanks for sharing this instructable.
I have a question about the solar tracking.
Generally, do the panels rotate on only 1 axis or do they need to move on 2?
Tom
A dual axis tracker will point the panels in exactly the optimum direction all day but cost became a limiting factor for me ( a 3 panel one sold on ebay a few days ago for $700 including freight, I could build a kilowatt of panels for that much :-) ).
I opted to build mine so that the day to day following of the sun is done by the tracker and the seasonal adjustment is done manually by me.
This probably loses me a small percentage of output but, them's the breaks.
Cheers Tom.
Rob.
Personally I would ask for everything on paper. No Telephone calls.
In my area of Australia the govt has set a price (60 cents) per unit (kilowatt hour) that the suppliers must pay you for the power you produce.
To the question of Grid tied or Battery.......
The answer is Both, if possible. It's quite satisfying to be sitting in the cool comfort of your "solar" aircon or grabbing a cold beer out of your "Solar" fridge during a blackout on a 45 deg C summer day. If you go solely grid tied you lose this flexibility and when the grid goes down so do you.
Cheers.
Rob.
Sounds like I need to live in AU. Here in Las Vegas NV USA.. we are paying nearly the highest price for power in the US. 1.21 per KWH.
Because of medical problems.. I have a very hard time with the HEAT. Last years power for my home and A/C was over $500 USD a month!! Inside we kept the temp around 77.
-------------
I bought my friend a Wind Turbine (missouriwindandsolar -dot- com) for around $700. It is a 1000 Watt (up to 1400 watt) Custom LOW WIND turbine. (how cool is that!) Going to set it up on his Rural property and see how good it really is. $700 is a very low price for such a turbine!
If his performs well over the next 6 plus months. I'll see about installing one on my home here in Vegas. I live very NORTH here in the Valley. We get a lot of wind up here. So the investment = returns should be better than solar. The only problem is maintenance. Solar when grid tied is usually maintenance free.
Thanks for the reply.
GENE
How has the wind turbine been performing? It been almost six months.
Any info would be appreciated
The wind turbine continues to work AOK.
Unfortunately the way its wired up.. (there are solar panels on another circuit) I'm not able to see how much power it brings in.
I'd like to add that any owner would most likely have to:
Do a close visual inspection of the turbine. Make sure all the nuts are still tight. And re-grease it. At least once a year.
------------
Our air conditioner finally died in November 2011. We got an incredible DEAL at only $6500 installed. Costco was hawking a place that wanted almost twice as much for less. Go Costco huh?
Since the replacement.. Our power bills have dropped to the lowest they have ever been. It isn't summer yet.. I'm sure that we will be nearly HALF of what it was last year. $$$$$ SAVE MONEY check your existing air conditioner.. etc.
I really want to move into an EARTHSHIP home. Check that out. earthship.com. No utility bills. Totally off grid.
If our finances come together.. me and the wife may do that. Get the hell out of Vegas and move to Taos NM.
The wind turbine was a bargain and probably the best gift ever!
Is it up and running yet? I'd like to know how it performs.
I bought a 300-500 watt Chinese built one a year or so ago but failed to take into account the wind turbulence where I lived. It needs an even breeze to perform at its best.
I'll get it set up one day.... somewhere.
Cheers Gene.
Rob.
Man I am SO SORRY for not getting back to U sooner. I've been either SICK.. laid up in bed for weeks. Or crazy busy. In fact I'm running out the door for a frantic 7 day business trip.
We did Indeed get the 1000 low wind turbine up and running.
http://www.missouriwindandsolar.com/Diagrams_Facts_sheets.html
It went up just as advertised. The sellers are pretty unique.. AND their product is what it is. In this case you DO get what you pay for. That aside.. It is a very GOOD low wind generator! It "Does the job" that much higher cost generators do. I highly recommend it.. if you follow their (crummy) instructions to the letter. Use their suggested Welding cable (remember I'm not a tech person) etc.
My friend who I gifted it to.. is going to replace the wire (he was trying to save money piecing together several wires.. now he is going to use ONE LONG wire). Duh.. Trying to save a nickel cost us probably 10 hours of sweat!
To directly answer YOUR question.. This requires 6-8 MPH to get ANY power going. Which compared to OTHER systems is fantastic. Most won't even kick in until the turbine spins up to 25 - 30 mph.
Missouriwinandsolar.com are the REAL deal.. and I suggest you give them a go. But like I wrote above.. please PLEASE don't cut any corners. Use the right wire. Their choice for Pipe is a good one.. They bring a lot of direct experience to the table.. use it.
Take care.. got to run!
GENE
The white stuff I was referring to was a light build up of corrosion, which covered the silver.
Thank you.
Rob.
Cheers.
Rob.