Born_to_build

Thank you. It is connected to the metal frame of the solar panel.

yes it is

You are welcome! When you do, share the experience.

Thank you! You are right about those tree roots. You probably cannot tell by the pictures, but the 330 tote is only a few feet from a nice size tree.

Thank you! Burying those totes is just too much work. After a while, the totes fit right into the backyard decor.

Batvette, as a reflector, I could not tell to what degree, the dish help. However, as a means for me to adjust the antenna so that I could get the maximum signal, the dish was invaluable. The dish allowed me to adjust the antenna horizontally and vertically. Also, I could tweak the angle of the antenna. The dish has these adjustment points which made that possible. The extended arm allowed me to adjust the antenna horizontally. The proper positioning was the key factor in me receiving all those channels.

Great point! I used my zip code.

Thank you! Go for it and share the experience.

Great, how is it working out?

Thanks!

You are welcome! Go for it.

That lightning strike was very frightening. The light, noise, and smoke haunted me for days. For a while, I was apprehensive about going outside in backyard when we had heavy rain or thunderstorms.

Thank you!

You are welcome! Go for it.

Awesome! I was very surprised at the result I received. However, because of this, I'm seriously considering divorcing Uverse at the house.

You are welcome! Please share your experience.

My apologies Gene, I was referring to Monocrystalline panels. I know they are better and more efficient. But are they worth the extra cost?

I know, it is a topic worth exploring. What's your input? Are they worth the extra cost?

Go for it. The journey form shed-solar has been a memorable one.

You are welcome. I hope you will post it. We can all learn from each other's experience.

You are welcome!

I appreciate this information. The power-hungry tools (table saw, miter saw, and drill press) will not be on a continuous daily basis (30min of actual usage when using) and those I definitely will use at high noon. On the days when I'm working late evenings and nights l primarily will be using the cordless tools. The system then will be running the Tv, and lights (5w /20w) and at times the PS3. I was using a line from the house but I wanted the off-grid experience for the Shed-cave. I try to focus on my budget ($1k or less) more than the math. If I follow the math, I probably would not have taken it off the grid.

John, as Gene stated, the charge controller regulates the current going to the battery. It prevents the battery from overcharging by cutting off the juice from the solar panel. The charge controller and watt meter gets its power from the battery so a small amount of power is being used by the system. I can hear my controller clicking off as it maxes the battery capacity and then on as it drops below. This happens while the inverter is off.According to the research, it should not affect the components. As Gene said, it was made for such operation.

You are welcome! I do hope you will share your experience. There is still so much I need to learn about this free-energy operation.

I'm with John, I believe your experience will be a tremendous benefit to this community.

The actual cost including all the wiring, the led lights, the materials for the panel and the watt meters $578.24

I Agreed. The actual panel spec: V=17.2v and A=5.81. According to the calculations, the distance from panel to the batteries should factor in the determining the size of the wires. This is important for efficiency (smaller wires generate more heat over the distance). Mine was a distance of 24ft. Also, I will be adding another panel in parallel in the future.

Because of the cost involve in setting up off-the-grid systems, I decided to start small and add as needed. This is a basic system which meets my winter need for the shed. When my work picks up in the spring, so will my power consumption. Most of the tools I use during this time are cordless tools (circular saw, jigsaw, drills, etc). Presently, I'm deciding on the best heat source so I have not spent more than an hour each time in the Shed-cave. So far I have tested it running a 5W light, gaming, charging a single battery but mainly during high sunshine days. Battery holds up with not much drainage during this time. There is still more test for me to do. I know what the theory says, I just want the practical base on my specific location, design, and application.You can use this same setu…

Because of the cost involve in setting up off-the-grid systems, I decided to start small and add as needed. This is a basic system which meets my winter need for the shed. When my work picks up in the spring, so will my power consumption. Most of the tools I use during this time are cordless tools (circular saw, jigsaw, drills, etc). Presently, I'm deciding on the best heat source so I have not spent more than an hour each time in the Shed-cave. So far I have tested it running a 5W light, gaming, charging a single battery but mainly during high sunshine days. Battery holds up with not much drainage during this time. There is still more test for me to do. I know what the theory says, I just want the practical base on my specific location, design, and application.You can use this same setup with a higher wattage inverter. A 2000W circular saw will need at least a 2000W inverter with a 4000W surge. I would use a 3k/6k inverter just to be safe. Light use, while the sun is shining, would work even though it would be a great demand on this system. You would see a significant drop in battery voltage.My thought is this, the more the demand, the bigger the supply has to be. The more power hungry tools I use, the bigger the battery (ah) and/or more amps to keep the battery charge.I will be purchasing a 1500w or higher PSW inverter in near future. This will power my table saw and higher amperage tools. I also will be adding another panel and batteries. I intended to spend some good quality time in the Shed-cave.

Whenever you have more info, please share. The cost of MPPT's is why I chose the PWN.

I appreciate the information and will consider for a future build.

Now I can put a sun tracker on my to-try list.

Thanks for your keen observation. The picture was intended to be used as an example of a parallel connection and not a 12v battery array. I guess it does make sense to 12v example since I'm talking about a 12v system.

Thank you for your encouraging words.

Thanks for your keen observation. The picture was intended to be used as an example of a parallel connection and not a 12v battery array. I guess it does make sense to use a 12v example since I'm talking about a 12v system.

I appreciate your encouraging words.

Thank you! I'm thinking about adding some kind of wind turbine to this post. If not, I will definitely consider making the adjustment for a center pivot.

Got it!

Thank you. I did an instructable called "Off the Grid Shed-cave" which provided information on what I used, where I got them, and the cost.

Thank you. I realized that afterward and cork it.