Solar Talk 🌞

[GH41]

Why not just use portable power stations with portable solar pannels?

What do you want to do? Charge your cell phone or run your air conditioner?

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

Been producing our own power since the late 90's. Started with just 1,600 watts of solar- back when solar was $6.25 per watt (you read that right). Back then we would run the 12KW diesel genset a couple times a day to pump water, top off the battery bank, usually about 30 minutes in the morning. Around 2009 we added more panels and currently still run 5KW in solar through a bank of 28 L16 batteries.

My initial array of now 23 year old Kyocera 130 watt panels are still functioning well. The batteries are the only "moving part" in a true off grid system. We get on average about 8 years on L16s. Just replaced most of our bank this spring and they were from 2014 with just a few not worth saving- the others went into a smaller solar project near one of our wells.

We are not "grid tied", this is a stand alone system. Back in the 90's no one knew WTF about any of this, so grid tying then would have been a PITA with a bunch of bubbas from the electric company standing around questioning everything they didn't know about. Not honestly worth me giving the electric co an easement to get a few dollars back occasionally.

How much performance have they lost over time?

[SteyrAUG]

So the ONE solar that does work in Florida is solar water heaters. Trimmed my electric bill by almost 40%.

Had it installed almost the entire time I lived in the house so here is about 20 years of real world experience.

Benefits:

In addition to making FREE hot water, I had the pump (which was very small, about the size of a softball) on a second solar panel so it only pumped water up to the heating panel IF the sun was out. Also meant that even if there was NO electricity, I was still making hot water. So post hurricanes my house was the only place with hot running water. That alone made it worth it.

Downside:

You can have it set up to run solar ONLY, but that means at night you might only have warm water depending on the weather that day and usage. I never did, I ran it electric with a solar backup, so every time the sun was shining the solar powered pump would send water to the heating coil.

Requires a large 80 gallon water tank which takes up a little more space than most water heaters.

The heating coil, which is basically a pipe grid on your roof needs to be watched regularly for maintenance. Basically you have a bunch of copper tubing which is constantly full of water in a glass top box on your roof. If you pop a leak and don't notice, it can get expensive. About 15 years into I had to solder some pin holes shut and the next year I had to replace the heating coil.

You need to strap your heating coil down HARD. Hurricanes can peel a roof off, your solar coil better be strapped on as hard as the roof itself or it's gonna be a kite in the wind. I had the small solar panel for the pump rigged up so it simply had battery type clamps and a QD mount on the roof. If a storm was coming I brought it inside.

Make sure ALL pipping, including the stuff in the attic is ALL copper. People want to run poly pipe and it's a bad, very bad idea. Copper pipe is expensive, but cleaning up after poly pipe and then replacing with copper is even more expensive.

If I lived in Florida, I'd do it again.

[hotbiggun42]

Portable power station are more than capable of running an AC or 2.

[TMS951]

I have a second home off grid. I have solar power and a back up generator. It was basically my only choice for power. Off grid it makes sense if you can’t use water power to make electricity.

I have no intention ever of putting it on my on grid home. I have often considered a generator though for black outs.

[ChattanoogaPhil]

As far as being ‘cost effective’… for me it would be more about the value of producing electricity off-grid.

I can’t drill an oil well, build a refinery or nuclear power plant on my property but I can install solar panels.

The two Honda generators I own certainly haven’t been cost effective. 99.9999% of the time they are busy collecting dust, but having a power source off the grid in case I need it has value to me. Solar panels could be of use every day of adequate sunshine to simply supplement grid power to my home or as a separate source to keep an EV charged or other dedicated use.

[SilverBullet432]

I hope you aren’t financing those.. The equipment will definitely not last the term of the loan. The cost on them is astronomical. One of my co workers (master electrician) did the cost, and he could install a complete system himself for a 1/4 of the cost, not including interest.

[WillBrink]

I hope you aren’t financing those.. The equipment will definitely not last the term of the loan. The cost on them is astronomical. One of my co workers (master electrician) did the cost, and he could install a complete system himself for a 1/4 of the cost, not including interest.

Nor will I...

[SilverBullet432]

Nor will I...

Dark.. yet funny! ������

[WillBrink]

Dark.. yet funny! ������

The facts are the facts, even if we don't like them. As a man of science, I may live long enough to see that equation change, but worrying about 25-30 year loans is low on my list at 57. Bottom line, 0.8 financing of solar that will reduce my electric bill by 50% or better, add another alternative to the grid, and increase value of house = no brianer to me.