Solar panel grow

[DeRail]

I will jump in now I am currently putting together a solar system here is a list of what i have picked up already I bought most for 70 cents on the dollar shopping around ebay and craigslist everything is new. except the batteries
2 outback gvfx 3648 inverters $2K retail about 4K
Outback MX60 $350 500+ new
outback hub4 $75 125 new
outback mate2 $200
flexwear 1000 electrical panels and mounts $1000
12-Surrette Rolls 4-KS-25PS 4V DC, 1,900AH @ 100HR Deep Cycle Solar Battery
paid 3K for the set 3 years old cost 18K new

I still need to buy panels this is going to be a 7K system 7200 watts 48 Volts
the cheapest panels i found Ar Kyocera or Kaneka around 99 cents a watt if you buy by the pallet

http://sunelec.com/

 

[budfriend]

Thanks Derail for posting. So your keeping this off the grid? Also you plan on running 7k worth of lights with this system? Please keep us updated.

 

[MASSES 420KING]

:smiley_joint::scared0016::character0110:

 

[noone88]

This topic is similar to the diesel generator thread on icmag.

I'm thinking a hybrid diesel generator + solar panel + ass ton of batteries can definitely keep you off the grid.

But, you'll have to pick up a lot of trade skills along the way if you want to maintain this by yourself.

 

[twopair4me]

My friend priced a portable system like this good for a house and 3000 watts HID.It was 7500.00.At my electricl costs it would pay itself off in 2 yrs.My husband and I are definitely looking into doing this.I will post a link to the company when I'm home...peace

I would be very interested in hearing about your talk with this person. :fighting0084: That don't sound bad at all :animal0048:

 

[twopair4me]

I will jump in now I am currently putting together a solar system here is a list of what i have picked up already I bought most for 70 cents on the dollar shopping around ebay and craigslist everything is new. except the batteries
2 outback gvfx 3648 inverters $2K retail about 4K
Outback MX60 $350 500+ new
outback hub4 $75 125 new
outback mate2 $200
flexwear 1000 electrical panels and mounts $1000
12-Surrette Rolls 4-KS-25PS 4V DC, 1,900AH @ 100HR Deep Cycle Solar Battery
paid 3K for the set 3 years old cost 18K new

I still need to buy panels this is going to be a 7K system 7200 watts 48 Volts
the cheapest panels i found Ar Kyocera or Kaneka around 99 cents a watt if you buy by the pallet

http://sunelec.com/

Wow, great deals. Good luck and please do update.

 

[metalsmoker]

@6.2 Cents a Killowatt hr I will keep on my Grid.

 

[swisscheese]

A lot of people dream of being totally off the grid, we definitely need more qualified people sharing their input in here.

 

[cemchris]

LOL again a 7k system will not run 7k worth of HPS. It doesnt work like that. Do the research.

 

[cemchris]

in 2011 you will Be able to sell Excess power to Utility Companies Here In Southern California. I'am A Certified PV Installer, It Is possible To Install a 6k System On a house For Wayyyyy Less Than $100K... After Incentives & Rebates You'll Be looking at about $3 Per Watt. Residential Systems Could Pay for themselves in 10-15 years. Imagine If you Grew your Own medicine with one It could easily pay for itself In 1-2 Years. Wind Turbines Need too Much open Space To operate efficiently, anyone Looking to Grow using a Solar System Should Go with either an BiModal system ( Using Batteries for storage + Grid Capapbilities) or Go Completely Off-grid With a Standalone System. Being that Soon enough we will be able to Sell power back to the grid I prefer Going BiModal. You never know when U will have a system problem and Could always use the Grid as back up. If Anyone Wants to Know More or has any Projects Coming up that they Need Help With or Looking to get done PM me.

The other thing is the power you sell back is usually at a discounted rate. They quoted me 40% which ended up being 6 cents per KW. Also you have to pay for all the equipment on both ends. Plus to make it economical you need to sell back alot which is going to be bigger then a 10k system which goes with grid study impacts ect. That starts getting expensive. I'm not trying to argue or crush dreams just speak a little reality. For Southern cali people its doable but up north its not.

 

[Dirty White Boy]

LOL again a 7k system will not run 7k worth of HPS. It doesnt work like that. Do the research.

Ya'll really might wanna listen to what this man is saying right here.

Heres a link that should help some of ya out. Tells you how to calculate your real world output of a system.

 

[budfriend]

bump...anyone doing this right now???

 

[Olyver]

I luv Alberta, it's windy. Set up a 10KW wind turbine, 100 ft tower and you can have enough power for a 5 light set-up. Offset power from grid during low windspeeds, or charge batteries during lights off. It's a big expense, but a used 10KW generator is about $10G, some are more expensive, different blade designs. Read somewhere a wind turbine was used but was a few hundred feet on a hill beside the property, and had a small tower. Place wasn't busted, it was a grower, I think was in Europe.

 

[John Smith Esq.]

the maximum possible efficiency of photovoltaic cells is 40%. An average commercial unit will be 20% efficient however. In the UK an average family of 4 could easily spend over 10 years recouping the costs of installing solar panels on their home.
Wind Turbines aren't much better, max theoretical efficiency according to Betz law is 59% and in optimal conditions 35% is achievable with most commercial units.

In my humbled opinion both technologies are a nice goal to work toward but need refinement before they can truly be of benefit in sole use situations.

Using Solar or Wind with your local Coal/Gas/Nuclear plant is beneficial but very costly and can take up to a cats lifetime to recoup the initial outlay costs alone.

(i sold Renewable Energy Products for a spell)

Peace

 

[SSHZ]

I believe Obama's rebates are capped at $1500 so it isn't gonna help out much if you're spending $63K............. 63,000 X 30%= 18,900 rebate calculation but you can only claim 1500.

 

[webeblzr]

The amazing old world of Gasification, fresh from 1780's!!
Reborn, reengineered, and selling well, from what I hear.

IMHO, to really be self sustaining, one of these, could greatly help you. IF, your in a wooded area, or once your garden is perpetually running, as many know, you get a ton of stalks....why not make power from them. OR power when ever you want it or NEED it....from dry pieces of wood!!



I have nothing to do, nor get ANYTHING from this site, just goose bumps, considering electricity from scraps of wood.

 

[jimbobthe3rd]

I was going to try this. I had planned to buy a 10kw solar panel system, for muchos $$$$$ to find out, i could only run 2k worth of lights for 14 hrs per day permanently (18 hrs for 30 days then 12 hrs for 60 days).

So the efficiently can be anywhere from 15~25% where i live. 10kw system = not even 4 x 600w lights... solar is still fail at the moment. I'd need to buy a 50kw system to run 10kw of lights, (10 x 1k hps). 50kw system = 200,000$ kthx?

 

[420king-MASSES]

Anyone have any suggestions or ideas about setting one up with about 6 k worth of HID light? if money was no option what would it take for an ideal efficient set up?

go to ''my solar backup.com'' these are off the grid type deals each unit pumps 1800 watts and its portable panel generator and cables all included:party0023:

 

[ookiimata]

I've done a little research into a totally off the grid setup, which I hope to one day achieve (realistically, not one day soon). And as someone else mentioned, fuel cells seem to be the most reliable method considering our particular hobby requires that energy be available on days when there is no sunlight. A backup generator would help, but that seems crude and inefficient over the long term. But a reversible fuel cell uses solar power to produce hydrogen through an electro-chemical reaction, then the created hydrogen is stored in a tank, then the hydrogen is used to fuel the house's electrical needs. You can also use propane in place of solar to provide the initial electricity needed to generate the hydrogen. Wind as well. Not sure if anyone here is familiar with some of "Uncle Fester's" chemistry methods, but what's happening in the generation of hydrogen in the fuel cell is similar to the electric methods he uses in the newer additions of his book, ie, placing a specific type of metal into a specific liquid solution and running electricity through it to produce the chemical reaction. Fester is just aiming for a different end product.
Some large facilities are already using this type of fuel cell and generating the electricity from a dedicated propane line run to the unit, and I hear claims that they spend about 30% on propane of what they paid for the straight electricity. Not sure how solid those claims are. I've seen some companies offering home units that run off propane. It's not inconceivable that someone with the funds and interest could have such a unit modified to run off their solar or wind source. I've got a few books on the technology and it makes interesting reading. I could build one if I could find companies willing to make one-off prefabs of some of the needed components.

Here's a YouTube video showing a small unit in action and the guy gives a little explanation of how it works. Cool stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LiPl9ITuT4

 

[Tesseract]

I've done a little research into a totally off the grid setup, which I hope to one day achieve (realistically, not one day soon). And as someone else mentioned, fuel cells seem to be the most reliable method considering our particular hobby requires that energy be available on days when there is no sunlight. A backup generator would help, but that seems crude and inefficient over the long term. But a reversible fuel cell uses solar power to produce hydrogen through an electro-chemical reaction, then the created hydrogen is stored in a tank, then the hydrogen is used to fuel the house's electrical needs. You can also use propane in place of solar to provide the initial electricity needed to generate the hydrogen. Wind as well. Not sure if anyone here is familiar with some of "Uncle Fester's" chemistry methods, but what's happening in the generation of hydrogen in the fuel cell is similar to the electric methods he uses in the newer additions of his book, ie, placing a specific type of metal into a specific liquid solution and running electricity through it to produce the chemical reaction. Fester is just aiming for a different end product.
Some large facilities are already using this type of fuel cell and generating the electricity from a dedicated propane line run to the unit, and I hear claims that they spend about 30% on propane of what they paid for the straight electricity. Not sure how solid those claims are. I've seen some companies offering home units that run off propane. It's not inconceivable that someone with the funds and interest could have such a unit modified to run off their solar or wind source. I've got a few books on the technology and it makes interesting reading. I could build one if I could find companies willing to make one-off prefabs of some of the needed components.

Here's a YouTube video showing a small unit in action and the guy gives a little explanation of how it works. Cool stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LiPl9ITuT4

There was a show on TV with a guy that built a system like that. Solar power - batteries - inverter - hydrogen splitter - hydrogen tanks.

The system was amazing. He invested $100,000 and powers a 3500 sq house and a small detached warehouse. He still generated enough power to sell back to the grid.

T