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Solar Power

post #1 of 12
7/7/09 at 12:27pm
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I am getting a home soon and I was checking into solar power which made me start thinking. I know that you can buy grid-tied systems that allow you to use solar when you have it and the grids AC when you need it. Does anybody know of a DIY way to do this where you would use both at the same time? As in using a 150W panel to reduce the amount of electricity I would need to draw from the grid to run my computer?
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post #2 of 12
7/7/09 at 12:30pm
Before you begin....

Have you checked the Return on Investment? There are some nice big tax breaks for home improvements and conservation now. I believe it will take 5-8 years to profit from solar power. In most cases, you would be better off making your home more efficent than going solar. For example, upgrading your windows will probably save more money and power in the end (depending where you live).
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post #3 of 12
7/7/09 at 12:32pm
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That's an interesting idea, I can imagine running a computer nearly for free in an area where you get sun year round. There has to be some way to split it, but I'm not really a technical minded person...
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post #4 of 12
7/7/09 at 12:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ColdRush View Post
That's an interesting idea, I can imagine running a computer nearly for free in an area where you get sun year round. There has to be some way to split it, but I'm not really a technical minded person...
Free? Hardly.... A large solar array setup can cost over $10,000.
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post #5 of 12
7/7/09 at 12:45pm
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Check your legislations. I'm quite sure that they help setting it up in U.S.A. And best thing, if you produce more than you consume you transmit it by the grid and sell it Though I'm not sure about it. Every state and local governor sets another legislation. (I'm not in U.S.A.) Go for it, good luck DOE is the center for your country about these kinda works: Department of Energy site
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post #6 of 12
7/7/09 at 12:47pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DuckieHo View Post
Before you begin....

Have you checked the Return on Investment? There are some nice big tax breaks for home improvements and conservation now. I believe it will take 5-8 years to profit from solar power. In most cases, you would be better off making your home more efficent than going solar. For example, upgrading your windows will probably save more money and power in the end (depending where you live).
I'm more curious about the small scale possibilities than how usefull it will actually be. Is it possible/legal to do these types of small scale projects? Or maybe it is not affordable to instal (regardless of the panel and inverter prices)? I know that solar continues to drop in price and combined with the tax incentives and the fact that I live in the same area as First Solar's main US production and research facility means that this might end up being a viable option in the near future. Regardless I wanted to know if anybody knew of a way to do a low end system without using some of the $1,000+ grid-tie inverters that would not be too dificult to install.
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post #7 of 12
7/7/09 at 12:49pm
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You should check your local and state legislations, I know in some places in U.S.A. local governors pay your setup fee. And it doesn't cost much to you. You should check it out.
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post #8 of 12
7/7/09 at 12:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kirmie View Post
I'm more curious about the small scale possibilities than how usefull it will actually be. Is it possible/legal to do these types of small scale projects? Or maybe it is not affordable to instal (regardless of the panel and inverter prices)? I know that solar continues to drop in price and combined with the tax incentives and the fact that I live in the same area as First Solar's main US production and research facility means that this might end up being a viable option in the near future. Regardless I wanted to know if anybody knew of a way to do a low end system without using some of the $1,000+ grid-tie inverters that would not be too dificult to install.
Hmmm... I believe there was someone on these boards who worked install solar panel... don't remember who.

Possible? Yes.
Legal? Yes.
Cost effective? Probably not in the short run.
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post #9 of 12
7/7/09 at 12:50pm
CPU magazine had a writeup about this a few months ago. I'll see if I can dig up the old issue. It was a complete build log for a moderate gaming PC and Solar array that would allow you to run it completely off the grid, even for a limited time without the sun.

It was somewhere in the $2k region for the solar array and electronics though.

When my wife and I get a house, the first thing we are doing to it is setting up a complete solar array. I don;t really care about the "green" aspects of it (sorry, not meant to offend, but I just don;t care) I just like being off the grid as much as possible, and in my area with the amount of sun we have, it would pay for itself within 5 years, especially due to the credits we get directly from the energy company for transmitting power back to the main grid.

I've got friends with solar arrays, and after hurricane Gustav, when we lost power for 2 weeks, we were all at his house, enjoying the air conditioning from his completely off the grid house.
Edited by HardwaterH4ck3r - 7/7/09 at 12:53pm
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post #10 of 12
7/7/09 at 12:53pm
There is an article about selling un-used power back to the grid here.
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