solar panels

[Ike990]

Hey just just wondering if any of you could recommend a few quality brands that I could check out. I'm going to be running a few lights and recharging batteries at first but I hope to have my 5th wheel all set up off the grid. I live in WA so some that work in cloudy weather would be the best. Thanks

[PA PATRIOT]

Solar is expensive and should be done the right way the first time for larger applications such as your 5th wheel.

I would suggest you just Google or Bing Solar websites and a list of dedicated forums will pop up.

They will have a lot more information and will be more able to direct you.

For minor re-charing of small tools, phones and portable lights I would recommend,

http://www.harborfreight.com/13-watt...ger-68750.html

Use a 20% off coupon found in most outdoor magazines and its a very good deal which I use myself.

[alienb1212]

Yeah, good, reliable solar systems are pretty involved. I did enough research on my own to realize I just want to hire a professional to do it when it comes time to get my home off grid completely.

[RiggerGod]

We are planning on building fairly soon and part of the research we are doing involved solar.
After careful consideration we decided that it wasn't for us. We looked into both grid tied and standalone options. The return on the investment was almost always way too near the life cycle of the equipment to make it worth it for us. (also power here is relatively cheap 6.5Kwh, so efficiency seemed to be the wiser way to spend our limited resources)
As funds allow I plan on messing around with some small (low investment) systems. I'd like to have something that could power a small freezer &/or fridge.
For a home system I'd definitely look a professional. I can recommend a good one did in Western Washington. Did a system for a friend of mine that is very nice.
For an RV... I'd be tempted to try my hand at it. But I guess it would depend on the complexity of the system.
As for the hardware....
Kyocera makes a pretty nice panel:
http://www.amazon.com/Kyocera-KC65T-...328795&sr=8-12
But the panels are just a part of the system!

[LEXUSF]

good point on cost! I guess I too was thinking of solar power but when you factor in equipment life it does seem never to be cost effective.

[WillBrink]

Hey just just wondering if any of you could recommend a few quality brands that I could check out. I'm going to be running a few lights and recharging batteries at first but I hope to have my 5th wheel all set up off the grid. I live in WA so some that work in cloudy weather would be the best. Thanks

I'm having 30-50 panels added via this company:

http://www.sunrunhome.com/

Nothing out of pocket (on the plan I got via a promotion they did with Home Depot), and a big reduction in my electric costs (approx 30-40% first year, and going down more after that depending on facts such as how much the electric company raises their rates, etc) and "on paper" looks like they have a very smart business model.

Guy is coming today in fact to finish details, but no actual experience yet to report.

[alienb1212]

I'm having 30-50 panels added via this company:

http://www.sunrunhome.com/

Nothing out of pocket (on the plan I got via a promotion they did with Home Depot), and a big reduction in my electric costs (approx 30-40% first year, and going down more after that depending on facts such as how much the electric company raises their rates, etc) and "on paper" looks like they have a very smart business model.

Guy is coming today in fact to finish details, but no actual experience yet to report.

Looks like a good deal if SHTF...but i dont think I'd want someone else owning the equipment on my house long-term otherwise. Not like they're going to come yank the stuff off your house if some significant event happened.

[WillBrink]

Looks like a good deal if SHTF...but i dont think I'd want someone else owning the equipment on my house long-term otherwise. Not like they're going to come yank the stuff off your house if some significant event happened.

Exactly. I'm going to have approx 80% of my KW covered with approx 50k worth of equipment, nothing out of pocket, similar to what phone company, cable company, etc all do: they don't sell you the equipment.

Me, I thought it a brilliant idea, and hopefully I still do after I have some time/experience with them as a company.

May not be optimal if your interest is strictly being off the grid for SHTF planning, I honestly did it to drastically lower my damn bills.

[Ike990]

This Sunrun company sounds like a great idea for a home! They need to expand to WA!. I have looked around a bit and this for a 5th wheel I will be using the solar panels and a small wind generator also. I live on the coast so it is always pretty windy here.

[alienb1212]

This Sunrun company sounds like a great idea for a home! They need to expand to WA!. I have looked around a bit and this for a 5th wheel I will be using the solar panels and a small wind generator also. I live on the coast so it is always pretty windy here.

I will be hopefully factoring in a whole off-grid solar/wind setup when it comes time to build for my wife and I..

Not really that concerned about ROI, much more interested in being able to have power that is not dependant on the grid. Will probably end up with a grid-tie system, but eventually seek to expand it's capacity to go completely off.