My New Project-Solar Power!

Mike

Mike

Well-known Member
Location
London
I hope that I am in the right place, I looked at Hobbies,
then finance, but upgrading the home should do.

Here in the UK, we are getting some serious frighteners
coming our way via the media news, the cost of utilities,
Gas and Electricity, will increase by 70%, sometime during
April, then again in September by a similar amount, but I
am reluctant to start searching for that kind of money!

When we reach the high numbers in years alive, then we
hope to see the end in comfort and without worry.

So, I am looking at DIY Solar energy, being a trained electrician,
I thought that it would be easy for me, wrong, I know nothing
about the process, but I am a quick learner.

A 240volt X 6kw system, which is fairly small but OK for a small
house, here can cost anywhere between £16,000 & £24.000, I
have seen one at £8.000, no matter, these are all lots of money.

I see that it is similar, but slightly cheaper in the USA, but the $$
numbers are still high, below is an excerpt from a solar website,
followed by the link for you who like to read it.

How much does a 6kW solar system cost?​

As of January 2022, the average cost of solar in the U.S. is $2.77 per
watt ($16,620 for a 6-kilowatt system). That means that the total cost
for a 6kW solar system would be $12,299 after the federal solar tax
credit discount (not factoring in any additional state rebates or incentives).
https://news.energysage.com/6kw-solar-system-compare-prices-installers/

Solar Cell.jpg

This is a solar cell and I have bought several, they are cheap, but
no good like this, so I intend to join them all together properly to
get enough electricity for my home.

I have costed the project, without labour, the parts together come
to around £700, but if I want to increase the power from 6kw, then
I will need to buy a second converter, another £250 + dependig on
the size.

Anybody interested, I don't mind sharing my knowledge.

As the project progresses, I will add pictures.

Mike.
 

The hubby was intent on getting solar panels for the roof of out house since we have an all electric home. The salesmen came and told us we needed to remove several trees to get the full benefit of the panels. My hubby was still not sure but my son mentioned keeping the panels clean and free from snow in the winter. There was another charge for that.
Then it was suggested we put the panels on the ground.
By then I was about to get the broom and chase him out the door.
Often we have to plod out and remove the snow from out TV dish because we get bad reception when it is snow covered.
In the end I won out. Especially when I mentioned I was not going to clean them off and if the trees go, I go.
 

Thank you all for your interest, I was a bit doubtful of any support.

The name "Solar", is a wrong name for this kind of power, I think
that it was used because that was how water was heated, to make
electricity this way, you need light, yes light from the sun is good
and strong, but it is not the only way.

Remember the first electronic calculators, they had little windows,
that were called "Solar", nobody ever had to run outside to get them
to work, children sat at a table doing their work and the calculator
always worked.

This would work well in Australia Tish, but I know nothing about
your electricity supply, voltage etc.,

Ruth, this design would work well indoors, near a window, if I put
wheels on it, then it is movable.

I will post regular reports and pictures, is that a "Blog"?

Mike.
 
Last edited:
Here is where I got the idea from, below is a picture
of the towers that M.I.T. came up with, I liked the idea
and decided to try to make one myself, I don't have any
electrical specifications, but I am sure that I will manage
to get it working.

The box at the bottom will carry my batteries, and any
inverters, which will be on the outside, I can fit wheels
to be able to move it around, following the light.

Most "Solar Power Systems", are very inefficient, I saw
one advert, that stated it was 23% efficient, this is high
compared to some, accidentally I have managed to get
the tower to produce 95% efficiency, almost pure power.

As I am still at the experimental stage, I don't want to tell
you what I am doing or have done, until I prove that it is
safe, especially for amateurs to tackle, but if you really
want to know send me a Private Message and I will let
you in, to some extent.

Mike.

Solar Towers.jpg
 
Mike said:
This would work well in Australia Tish, but I know nothing about
your electricity supply, voltage etc.,

Ruth, this design would work well indoors, near a window, if I put
wheels on it, then it is movable.

I will post regular reports and pictures, is that a "Blog"?

Mike.
Click to expand...
Our voltage over here is 230 V

I had Solar panels installed about 2 years ago, it was well worth the money as they have now paid for themselves with very low electricity bills if any.
I like the fact that your ones are moveable, I do have a potable one for my generator when I go camping but it isn't very reliable and I have to take fuel for it with me, just in case.
 
It sounds like an interesting project. I would like to know how things are going as you progress. If it was me, I would start small and see how much power I could generate over a whole year ideally, to see if it's worth going further. Does your weather bureau have sunshine statistics for your area?
 
I'm not an expert on solar power, but we had 46 solar panels installed on our roof ten years ago. We got a 5k grant that helped with the cost. The panels are workhorses and they generate, on average, 1MW each month during the 8-9 months of the year. I know this because we have SrecTrade that auctions off 1MW of the solar to the power company and I get a cut from that each month ($50-70 per month). Some states pay more while others pay less. We had to get a couple of trees cut for it also to allow the sun to reach them.

During the summer, I only pay $5/month for electricity. It has paid the panels off in these ten years, and the money ($4000/year) I save is money in my pocket. It doesn't work that much in the winter months though, due to the snow. Never had to clean them or wash them though.

So we have 46 panels and each panel has its own micro inverter from Enphase that has a 20 year warranty. We chose micro inverters instead of a main inverter because I didn't want that inverter to be inside of the house, and if it breaks down, all the panels don't work, but if a micro inverter breaks down, it only affects its panel. Does that make sense? The micro inverters have occasionally broken down, and our solar guy comes and replaces them (they are free due to warranty).

Been very happy with the decision.
 
Ruth n Jersey said:
The hubby was intent on getting solar panels for the roof of out house since we have an all electric home. The salesmen came and told us we needed to remove several trees to get the full benefit of the panels. My hubby was still not sure but my son mentioned keeping the panels clean and free from snow in the winter. There was another charge for that.
Then it was suggested we put the panels on the ground.
By then I was about to get the broom and chase him out the door.
Often we have to plod out and remove the snow from out TV dish because we get bad reception when it is snow covered.
In the end I won out. Especially when I mentioned I was not going to clean them off and if the trees go, I go.
Click to expand...
Might want to consider the weather. I recall reading about a small public housing development on an island in Puget sound, near Seattle. The roofs of all buildings were clad in solar panels. Great ... but I looked up the weather statistics. 60 sunny days a year.
 
Thank you all once again for your interest, I will let you
know how things are developing.

Tish, your electricity is the same as ours here.
Chet & El Castor, you both are worried about sunshine,
I am not, this type of "Electricity Generation", depends
solely on light, light of any kind and I might be trying
something when it is up and running.
Palides, you are more up to speed about "Solar Energy",
than I am, nor have I heard about "Micro Inverters" in
the past. Panels on the roof are very large, with lots of
cells in them, they still add up to 12 volts or 24 volts in
some cases.

I am aiming for 12 volts in each panel

Lara, thank you for your kind words, I am keeping my brain
in operation, hoping that it stays healthy for a while longer.

Mike.
 
Our friends in the village have what I often thought were green 'Rose tinted glasses'. They tried to follow a semi self sufficient lifestyle with their own well and sewage treatment system. Heating is mainly by wood burning stove. Unfortunately, their electricity supply is unreliable - especially during storms - and if they have a power cut, they lose fresh water supply.

They are now considering buying solar (PV) panels. The idea is to be able to run off-grid during power cuts, and feed into the grid when it's up and running. This would potentially cost thousands and take years to recover the cost. They're a bit younger than us, but nevertheless I don't think this is a thing for seniors. I'm 71 and I don't want to wait until I'm in my 80's to get a return on my money. Anyway, in N.Scotland, a wind turbine might be a better idea.

I've heard some people boasting about the money they're getting from their system, but ignoring the high capital outlay.
 
If they are doing "The Good Life" thing, Captain Lightning, then,
they are either wealthy to start with, or very poor, to think about
a solar set-up is expensive and there is no real shortcut for any
novice with no electrical or engineering knowledge.

I am struggling to understand the system and making mistakes
that are basic to solar people, but magic to me, using things that
I am familiar with.

The cheapest way, which is the basic way, is still expensive to a
degree, will need a 110 AH Leisure battery, or two, they are roughly
£100 each, plus a charger, then a 12 volt DC pump for the water, plus
other DC stuff, that they might need, or go for an inverter which
will change everything to AC, bur they cost around £200 and they
must have a "Pure Sine Wave", this is because if they have a flat
screen TV, they will get a line running down the screen all the time
with a "Modified Sine Wave", this makes them dearer.

The basic with a charger and a battery described above, staying with
DC bits, should give around 10 hours of 12 volt DC power.

Mike.
 
Most of my immediate neighbours have solar panels on their roof.. have had for many years now. We never have altho' estranged husband spoke of it occasionally...
 

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