Solar questions

upnover

upnover

Grumpy, decrepit Old Man
Moderator
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
Morganton NC
First let me say, I have never even touched anything solar. Well, as in solar collection cells or anything solar powered.
Everywhere you go now, you see solar panels. Small ones all the way to acres and acres of them.
So, I have several questions about them.
OK first you have a solar panel. How does it transfer the power of the sun to power that is usable. Are there some that are AC and some that are DC? Do you have to have batteries to contain the power in darker times?
Do they use an inverter to transform from DC to AC?

Now when I look at them or I am sent advertisements for them, they are sold in panels rated in watts.
So, how many watts would be required to power say:
A Lap Top computer?
A fluorescent light bulb?
A refrigerator?
a window fan?

All help here is appreciated
 
It's all DC. You either have to store the power in batteries (expensive) or push it back to the grid (back feed your meter) and "store" it that way. You have to have an inverter to get useable AC power. You also need a 100% clear view of the sun. The panels can't be shaded to ANY extent. If you have something that casts a shadow completely across one panel, even if it's only an inch wide, some style panels won't generate any power.

It's a whole lot cheaper than its ever been, but the payoff is still measured in decades. The only applications where it really makes sense are on RVs that boondock a lot, sailboats, etc. Basically anybody that's trying to be self-sufficient for self-sufficiency's sake.
 
X2 on what shawn said. Also, if looking into it on an RV or home, LED lights help a TON. Even the CFLs use a good amount of energy.

To figure out wattage of use, multiply the Voltage by the Amperage. P=V*R

The biggest downside IMO to solar right now is having to convert from DC to AC, as you loose alot of energy. If you were building a remote location and wanted to be off the power grid, you could essentially use all DC lighting/electric with gas powered appliances. But to truely get off the grid you will need to have battery storage to run at night.

If you live near a creek, that is the ultimate setup IMO. constant supply of power and something you can build using old car parts.

 
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