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How To Make A Solar Power Generator For Less Than $300
Solar Contractors – How To Find A Reliable Solar Power Installer
Author: Scott Salter
It’s not difficult to see the appeal of using solar power to meet our domestic energy needs: it utilizes a natural energy source (the sun) and thereby avoids any environmental damage that can result from the energy being generated via traditional means. The use of solar power for the home has become increasingly prevalent in recent years and particularly in dry landscapes that have an abundance of sunshine such as Australia or the state of California. For the majority of home owners however, installing a solar heating system without professional assistance is not a viable option. There are a number of things to consider such as adequate cable size, correct fusing (every circuit should be protected by a fuse or circuit breaker), the positioning of batteries and the correct positioning of the solar panels. Attempting to do all this by yourself and not getting it exactly right will result in a less than optimum performance of your solar power system. As such, it is prudent to call on the assistance of a solar power installer or solar contractor.
The question that then arises is: “How do I go about finding a reliable solar power installer?” There is help at hand depending on where you happen to be located. The California Energy Commission maintains a list of registered installers on its Web site. California’s solar rebates are available only to homeowners who use installers registered with the state, and all those contractors listed on the commission’s Web site will qualify. You could also check the membership roster of the California Solar Energy Industries Association, the trade organization representing solar power installers. Similarly, homeowners in Oregon wishing to receive Energy Trust’s incentives must have their system installed by an Energy Trust approved contractor. The Oregon Department of Energy maintains a list of tax credit-certified solar technicians. Many state-certified solar technicians are also Energy Trust trade ally contractors.
In Australia, in order to qualify for the solar power rebate, the person who carries out the installation of the solar panels must be accredited for design and installation of photovoltaic systems by the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE). A list of BCSE accredited designers and installers is available from the Clean Energy Council – or alternately you could contact a designer/installer and ask for proof of their accreditation.
As is always the case when dealing with any type of contractor, personal attention and responsiveness are important. If you find that one solar contractor seems to be able to communicate more clearly and is more responsive than others, you will probably want to take this into consideration when making your choice. Ultimately you want to be able to deal with a contractor that can design a system for your home, sell you the solar modules and install them. To do this you will need to find a contractor that has a good track record and a load of good references. The longevity of their business is also important as you’d want to be able to go back to the same installer in the future, should you experience any problems.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/solar-contractors-how-to-find-a-reliable-solar-power-installer-602372.html
About the Author
For more information on finding a reliable solar contractor and things to consider when hiring solar power installers go to http://www.about-solar-power.com
I need to know about the parts needed to make a solar power generator and also the instruction on how to make it?
HI… REALLY A VERY GOOD QUESTION…..
Using parts easily available from your local stores, you can make a small solar power generator for $250 to $300. Great for power failures and life outside the power grid. Power your computer, modem, vcr, tv, cameras, lights, or DC appliances anywhere you go. Use in cabins, boats, tents, archaeological digs, or while travelling throughout the third world. Have one in the office store room in case of power failures in your highrise. I keep mine in my bedroom where it powers my cd player, turntable, lights, modem, laptop, and (ahem) a back massager. I run a line out the window to an 8″ x 24″ panel on the roof.
1. Buy yourself a small solar panel. For about $100 you should be able to get one rated at 12 volts or better (look for 16 volts) at an RV or marine supplies store.
2. Buy yourself a battery. Get any size deep cycle 12 volt lead/acid or gel battery. You need the deep cycle battery for continuous use. The kind in your car is a cranking battery–just for starting an engine. Look for bargains, it should cost about $50-60.
3. Get a battery box to put it in for $10. (This is good for covering up the exposed terminals in case there are children about If you going to install the system in a pump shed, cabin, or boat, skip this.)
3. Buy a 12 volt DC meter. Radio Shack has them for about $25.
4. Buy a DC input. I like the triple inlet model which you can find at a car parts store in the cigarette lighter parts section for about $10. This is enough to power DC appliances, and there are many commercially available, like fans, one-pint water boilers, lights, hair dryers, baby bottle warmers, and vacuum cleaners. Many cassette players, answering machines, and other electrical appliances are DC already and with the right cable will run straight off the box.
5. But if you want to run AC appliances, you will have to invest in an inverter. This will convert the stored DC power in the battery into AC power for most of your household appliances. I bought a 115 volt 140 watt inverter made by Power-to-Go at Pep Boys for $50. More powerful inverters are available by mail. Count up the number of watts you’ll be using (e.g., a small color television(=60 watts) with a VCR(=22 watts), you’ll need 82 watts).
6. Use a drill to attach the meter and DC input to the top of the box.
7. Use insulated wire to attach the meter to the wingnut terminals on the battery. Connect the negative (-) pole first. Only handle one wire at a time. Connect the DC inlet to the battery in the same way. Connect the solar panel to the battery in the same way
8. Close the lid (I use a bungee cord to keep it tight). Put the solar panel in the sun. It takes 5-8 hours to charge a dead battery; 1-3 hours to top off a weak one. It will run radios, fans, and small wattage lights all night, or give you about 5 hours of continuous use at 115 volt AC, or about an hour boiling water. This system may be added on to with larger panels, inverters, and batteries.
Options: A pop-up circuit breaker may be added between the positive treminal and the volt meter. Some of you will want an ampmeter as well. The panels I recommend have built-in bypass diodes, but I recommend charge controllers for people who have panels without diodes. Another option is a voltage regulator, which is not necessary for a system this small, but a larger system would require one.
http://www.rain.org/~philfear/how2solar.html
If you live in a high elevation, will the sun be more intense because of thinner air? And would a solar power generator produce more power because of this?
Yes, because at a high altitude, the sunlight would pass through a thinner atmosphere . This means that the atmosphere would scattered less energy away.
A couple of persons said Solar power generators are costly because of it equipments. How about the wind power generators ? I residing a km near sea shore an there would be some wind at most times.
I am in South India and I need to know the total cost for setting up a wind generator for my home in order to cut down my electricity bill. A set up that can power at least 4 Fans, 4 tube lights (40W) and a computer.
Starting from $ 700, Wind Power Generator has a versatility of uses. The wind turbines below are used worldwide for battery charging, home power, and water pumping applications, and range from 400 to 65,000 watts.
Wind Turbines start producing power at 7.5 mph wind speed, and increase their output through 45 mph winds. Higher wind speeds require the blades to be slowed down, to protect the equipment, but are very effective in wind speeds between 7.5 and 45 mph.
Basicly if a lithum battery(s) are being used to power a device, could a solar powered generator with the right connections be used to recharge them? And could it still be light enough to be mobile?
I want to purchase a solar powered backup generator in the event that we have a power outage. I don’t want a gas/diesel generator as I don’t want to have to fight everyone else to get gas for a generator. I’ve been only able to find one solar generator that would seem to work for my home. Any suggestions?
I’ve just started looking at solar myself, here’s a link to a site that seems to have some reasonably priced systems:
http://www.sunenergyusa.com/index.html
Maybe there will be information that will help, I’m a novice myself so I’m not sure what exactly you are looking for.
Hi!
I have a solar powered AC generator (5hp AC motor spun by a stirling engine), and I want to put the outputted energy into the power grid. However, I don’t know how to connect it so that the engine will spin the motor (producing current) rather than the motor spinning the engine (sucking current).
Any (good) ideas?
Thanks in advance!
You need to talk with your power company before you attempt to connect anything. There are serious safety concerns with supplying power back to the grid and a special meter is required if you want to get paid for it in most locations. When I say serious I mean you can kill somebody besides yourself.
I’m planning to buy either a Wind Powered Generators, Solar Generators or a Hybrid Generator to be more “Green” & at the same time save on electric bills… I’m able to install such a generator on my home…
Its sad that Singaporeans should ask such questions. We are so timid. At the very worst you get a fine for installing green equipments. Take a MRT ride where you can see many terrace houses. You will find many with solar roofs.Their owners are not languishing in Changi prison. As for wind power, Singapore is not windy whole year round. Best stick with solar panels.
Ive decided i want to use my free time to build something useful like a solar powered energy generator, or wind powered turbine to produce free energy, does anybody out there know of any FREE sites that teach you step by step how to build any one of these? Also what are your thoughts on these machines?
Build either of these
1. Solar powered generator
2. Wind turbine
3. Tidal flow turbine
4. Magnetic generator
5.geothermal energy source
You have a CD player, and a solar powered generator for electricity?
“Yeti (1971)” by Amon Düül II
http://www.amazon.com/Yeti-Amon-Duul-II/dp/B0009LNRLE
“Foxtrot (1972)” by Genesis
http://www.amazon.com/Foxtrot-Genesis/dp/B000002J1M
“Moondawn (1976)” by Klaus Schulze
http://www.amazon.com/Moondawn-Klaus-Schulze/dp/B000BYNELC
I plan on moving a newly manufactured trailer home onto around ten acres of rural field. I need a source of power, i have found solar power can be fairly inexpensive in the long run, though i have been told trailer homes cannot be hooked up to solar generators and panels. Is this true? if not how do i hook six 80 watt panels up to the trailer home?
USA Yes you can, unless there is a local municipal ordinance against it – which I have never heard of. But, why 80 watt panels? The industry standard is 230 watt. Six 80 watt panels won’t even power a normal refrigerator (they’re usually 700 watts). If you have all the parts and equipment, or if you can get them for free, then it is worth it to hook them up. But, if you have to buy the items, the average cost is $5 per watt, which is $2400.00 for a 480 watt set up. Generating 480 watts per hour will total 5000 watts on a good day. That is about $0.50 worth of electricity. At $0.50 per day, it will take you 4800 days – that is more than 13 years – just to break even.
You should add up the power requirements for everything in the home that might be used at the same time – cooking, refrig, cooling or heating, well pump, lights, TV – and base the size of your system on how many watts you will need. If you can, go more than what you need and sell the extra to the utility. They have to buy it from you.