Solar Power
 

Hello,

I just had a question about solar power. I understand some of it. But I am thinking about getting solar panels to power part of my home. I am thinking about getting stuff to power my main room. I was wondering how big of a solar system I would need for these devices.

Here is what is in the room.

Ceiling fan that is not always on. It also has 3 12v LED lights in it. That run about 3hrs a day.

40" LCD tv. it says 210w for this.

Cable box 120w

DVD player unknown w's

Laptop computer which I turn on and off everyday. It says 120v 2a

And a desktop computer that is off 6 out of 7 days.

That is everything I have pluged in atm.

As far as weather conditions I get good amount of sunlight in the summer but we also have snowy winters. Because of that I would use a grid tie system.

Power consumption is pretty straightforward. When something(like your tv) says it uses 210 watts, that 210 watts per hour.

So, you simply multiply the hourly consumption by the number of hours it's left on.

If you watch 12 hours of tv per week:

210 watts * 12 hours = 2520 watt hours, or 2.52 kWh.

Or, you can just look at your bill from the power company to figure out how much you use.

Then try this site because solar panel power generation is not quite so simple.

You can buy devices that measure your electrical power usage. I used one once to figure out the power draw of a toaster for a research project I was working on. The one I used is called the "WattsUp" and it was apparently expensive. Cheaper one: P3® Kill A Watt Power Meter (P4400) - Electrical Testers - Ace Hardware

You should know from the outset that solar power isn't something you do because you want to save money.

Your available sunlight is primarily determined by your latitude and the time of year. There are a few ways to estimate your average daily incident solar radiation. Some are based on historical meteorological data combined with theory and some are all theory. I don't recall them being particularly straightforward. Once you have a reasonable estimate of the amount of energy available to you, you could use this to spec your solar panels.

However, if I were you, I'd look into local solar equipment contractors, since they do this type of thing for a living and could tell you what you need (along with a few things you probably don't need) with more certainty.

Thanks guys for the reply. This is something I have been wanting to do for a long time. Not really to save money but because I like doing projects like this. I like the idea of getting less electric from big power stations and more from the sun.

im not sure about the states, but in australia we have solar panel schemes that the government subsidizes. one such scheme is the solar energy scheme. the government helps you install sloar panels for your house at a subsidized amount. the energy from the panels goes into the grid, and the government gives you a subsidized rate on your electricity.

not sure about the states and snowy areas and how that works, but in sydney were is doesnt snow and where we have plenty of sunshine its a good idea. chek out your local government or state and see if they have such shemes. local contractors should be able to tell you if these schemes exists also.

but filth if right. its quite expensive up front to do this on your own if its just about saving money.

In the states they will give you a 30% of your investment back in tax refunds. Depending on the state. Its not really about savings. It would take many years to start actually making money off the investment. Its more about just wanting to do it.

It seems like the biggest power consumer is the cable box. It goes into sleep for alot of the day. But how much power does it still consume in sleep? It doesn't say that. If it pulls 120w for 24hrs a day that's alot of w's every day.

Are you doing this yourself? If so, have an electrician install a grid connect inverter, then build away. The inverter ties into the grid through your power meter and runs the meter down as it produces power, reducing your usage and bill.

Unless the power to your main room is on it's own breaker, it would be difficult to power just one room without installing all new outlets and fixtures run just from the solar. If you isolate all of the circuits in that room, you can get an automatic switch that will switch between solar and grid based on the amount of solar being produced.

Check you local and state government websites, your power companies website and the U.S. Dept. of Energy website for rebates and incentives. There are also grants available for solar projects. I've even heard rumors of panel manufactures building systems for people in areas where they are looking for production data on their product.

good luck

..

I am doing this next month at a friends house in AZ. I am also going to install this on my house in Ohio in April/May to see how much difference there is, plus if there are things I can add in Ohio to boost the sunlight amount.

Here is what the plan is:

+ 3x 195W solar panels (585W) SUN Solar Panel 195 Watts 17.60 Vmp SUN ES-B-195-FB1 [SUN-SV-T-195] - $329.55 : Solar Panels, Inverters and PV Systems | Worlds Lowest Price, Powered by Nature!
+ 3 radio shack 1N4001 Diodes to keep power from following the wrong way at night
+ ?Solar combiner box? (not sure this is needed for three panels)
+ Liquid tight flex tubing (outdoors, and into a separate outdoor electrical box)
+ 12 gauge copper wire (should be able to handle 600W)
+ Outdoor box to house grid tie inverter
+ 800W grid tie inverter (hopefully it won't get as hot as a 600W one and be more efficent) (and other places have these or others)
Then it gets plugged into an outlet or hard wired into the breaker box (15A fuse).

There is also a PowerJack 1200W one that takes 24V solar panels that looks nice. So, some of these things might change.

I have to do quite a bit more research still. I will also need to come up with some type of aluminum frame to mount them to the roof.

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I would guess that these are close to the numbers you will see:
LED Lights 5W each = 15W
Ceiling Fan = 50W (variable based on speed, my room fan in 4W, 20W, 32W)
LCD TV = 210W
Cable Box = 120W (use Kil-A-Watt meter to check if any different in stand-by mode)
DVD player = 30W (guess, use a meter or look on the back to see if it says Amp or Watts)
Laptop = 35W (mine could be as low as 11W or much higher if the battery needs recharged)
Desktop = 85W
17" LCD monitor = 30W
?Router? = 5W

So that is about 580W for an estimated total. So during the daytime when it is sunny you could be off the grid and running it all. But since you have the grid, you are basically just putting back energy and using what you need when you need it.

Well, if it's more about the task than offsetting a certain amount of electricity I would focus on budget and space constraints first, then figure out how to maximize your production within those constraints. Everything you produce will help, until you offset your total consumption for the year.

The important factor to remember about solar power panels, is that you need a specialist to go through. Most stores don’t have solar panels for you to purchase, and the problem with so little options to buying solar panels, is that you when you do, you can expect to pay some high prices. Prices for the raw materials are coming down alot the past years. So it is becoming more viable. Have you looking into getting government rebates?