another hiccup to going solar?

[Boeing]

I have worked on small wind turbine projects installing grid tie services as an electrical contractor, the only long term happy customers of small wind were 10 kw Bergey wind turbine purchasers.

Solar vs wind, after reading this link should be enough to convince propective customers of small wind to stay away from the small wind headache!
The link is one of the best reads I have seen for describing small wind resources and wind requirements for power production.

The Truth About Small Wind Turbines – Solacity

Installing a small wind turbine? Get the information you need for an informed decision: The good and the bad, just the literal truth to help you choose.

www.solacity.com

Excellent article and reply, Thank you

 

[Williy]

When we had our 12 volt system 6 deep cycle batterys
900+ amps and a 12 volt 1500 watt wind generator from mo wind and solar we run one window a/c unit 6400 btu until usually around 10p.m. then turn it off never run out of power. I set the inverter so it will never go below 23 volts never had any problems. We run two 6400 but a/c units during the day and only one at night

willy

 

[Ktm rider]

Along with my micro hydro system, I have 34 solar panels that produce roughly 11kw. I looked into all kinds of alternative energy when I decided I wanted to get off the grid as much as possible. I quickly realized the money I would spend on wind would be much better spent purchasing more solar panels.

 

[Skeletor]

Made 70kw today. New record but I’ve only had it a month and half or so.

 

[geteh]

Welcome to my world with rural coop electric and why I havent switched to solar.

But to be clear.....anyone can be "free" of them if you have your own storage (batteries).

But the days of being able to use the "grid" as your "battery" for free are coming to an end. And I knew this day was coming because current solar model is not sustainable. Why should all the non-solar customers have to pay extra to subsidize all the solar customers.

Ill use 25ȼ and 4ȼ because thats what the article used

They said people currently paying 25ȼ for electric are currently getting a 25ȼ credit for solar they arent using. Directly offsetting their bill. Even though they are using "grid" power during peak times (evening when everyone is cooking and has lights on and TV, etc). Yet during the peak of solar output during the day when no one is at home and everyone working.....they are selling it back to the grid for the same 25ȼ they are paying. But that is gonna get cut to 4ȼ

Why is that you wonder......

Well your electric company is SELLING you power for 25ȼ. But that encompasses everything. That is the sum of their generation, transmission, distribution, transformers, meters, etc etc check out for more about towing brownsville. They are BUYING their power at wholesale for 4ȼ. The other 21ȼ is all those other things that you STILL NEED if you are grid tied. You still need distribution, and the power lines/poles, and the linemen, and a meter, etc etc.

So let me ask.....why should NON-solar customers be forced to buy your surplus solar @25ȼ instead of the market wholesale rate which is 4ȼ? In what world does that make sense? As a business you want to buy from the most affordable supplier right?

I have always had a interest in solar energy. So i recently bought a small solar panel and everything i need to start up.

Now, I have one 20V panel, and 2 10V panels with blocking diodes. These are hooked up in parallel and generated about 20V earlier today. Funny enough is that it is 8pm here in britain and the panels are generating about 3V.

Now, these are hooked to a charge controller and then to a 12V car battery.

My question is, there was only 12V coming out of the charge controller, is this enough to charge the car battery???

Even now, there is 0.10 Volts coming out the charge controller, is the battery still being charged?

Thank you!

 

[ponytug]

I have always had a interest in solar energy. So i recently bought a small solar panel and everything i need to start up.

Now, I have one 20V panel, and 2 10V panels with blocking diodes. These are hooked up in parallel and generated about 20V earlier today. Funny enough is that it is 8pm here in britain and the panels are generating about 3V.

Now, these are hooked to a charge controller and then to a 12V car battery.

My question is, there was only 12V coming out of the charge controller, is this enough to charge the car battery???

Even now, there is 0.10 Volts coming out the charge controller, is the battery still being charged?

Thank you!

You might want to double check the voltage ratings 10 and 20V are odd levels, at least around here. Did you mean 10/20W?

Most "12V" panels output up to 18V, and a charge controller should be able to take a wide range of voltages starting at about 50% of nominal (6V) and boost the voltage enough to charge a lead acid battery at 14V (+/-). Look for charge controllers with MPPT, as these are the most efficient, and ideally a controller with settings for different types of batteries. For a small solar panel and a large battery, there is only a small practical gain with a controller.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Skeletor]

You gotta see what the amperage is. That will tell you if it’s being charged at all.