renewable energy?
Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 at
5:00 pm
im trying to get my parents to get solar panels. i was wondering if anyone new what kind of things you can get them to power and if you had any other good sources of renewable energy to use at home?
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Tagged with: parents • solar panels • sources of renewable energy
Filed under: Renewable Energy
You can power anything with them as long as you use an inverter . An " inverter " steps up the voltage from 12 volt dc to 110 volt ac . It takes allot of power to run things like your refrigerator so you would need allot of battery’s and allot of panels which are not cheap . I build my own panels from recycled cells i get cheap takes a wile to build but my savings in light bill are well worth it . I have a few pics in my blog in my 360 that will give you an idea how to do it cheap and its kind of fun more like a hobby if you have nothing els to do.
I’ve helped install panels for my dad and grandfather, but they were off the grid. They power everything from pumping water to lights.
Batteries are a time investment, if you want to use them and I’m not sure about mixing grid and green electricity. We use DC straight up from the battery.
I think the best way to find out information is to go to your local power companies web page. We have one here in FL, and I know California and some other states do as well.
They should be able to give you some ideas, and tell you whether you can hook to the grid or not. It’s usually called a metered connection if that helps you find it.
Wind is still the best value, if you live in an area where you get wind above 6-10 mph a lot. It also runs into the whole battery problem.
Solar panels can be used independently to charge a group of batteries for DC power only, or add an inverter to change DC to AC and they can be used for specific items. You can not just install panels and supply your house if on the electric company. You or they must install a system that goes between your solar power and the house power to control it and make sure it is safe.
Check with your power co. and make sure you do it safely.
You can get them to power anything in your house. The cost for a typical home system, however, is about US$50,000 and you will never be able to recover that based on energy savings.
There are many things that you can use this energy for. DC powered refrigerators, tvs, microwaves, etc…you could even get a small inverter to change your DC power to AC so that you can use it for your computers or other sensitive electronics…most homes would need new wiring to be able to handle dc power but you can avoid all that by just puting an inverter by the battery before the power enters your home wiring…you can also use diesel generators to create your electric needs and use bio-diesel in them…if you create enough electricity, there is even a way to have the electric providers pay you for the power…the information is out there….there are many many ways to help take your self off the grid or atleast limit it’s use.