Hello,
I know little on solar power for the home. I understand that it is possible to convert power to chemical form then use it as electricity. My question is, what elements are involved and how is the sizing being done?
I need the power design to power lights (say 10), TV and radio.
Originally posted 2008-12-21 20:46:52.
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There are so many things to consider.
First of all, chemicals have nothing to do with this, except that you may want a storage battery as part of the system.
This is going to cost you thousands of dollars.
You want about a 500 watt capability, from what you say. 10 CFL lights at 20W, 200w, medium sized TV, 200w, radio, 50w
Assumption 1: you will use this power only when available, ie, when the sun is shining brightly, for perhaps 6 hours a day in the summer, a lot less in the winter.
If this assumption is not valid, then you need large storage batteries, a much larger solar array, and lots of money.
Assumption 2: a small 50 amp-hr sealed lead acid battery. This will provide power for about an hour after the sun is down. You need a battery anyway to smooth out the irregularities in the output from the array.
point 3: electronics are a small charge controller and a 500 watt sine wave inverter.
point 4. You need a 500 watt array that will put out 14-16 volts in the sun. It will need to be mounted somewhere where it gets direct sunlight with no blocks.
put that all together, with a lot of time and money….
Pay back: 500 watts for 4 hours/day for 20 days/month is 500*80=40000 or 40kW-hrs, which you can buy from your power company for about $3 per month, depending on your rates.
So is a savings of $36 per year worth a $1000 investment?
This is why people tend to go with a larger unit, the payback is better. You can arrange it so that you sell power to the utility company when the sun is shining and you buy it from them when the sun is not shining.
Geography. The farther south you live, the more economic sense solar power makes. If you live in Seattle, you will have less power available that in you lived in Las Vegas. In any event, you will need to focus on efficiency.
Put you lifhts on motion sensors so they automaticaly shut off when you leave the room. This is also a good idea for a bathroom fan with a 5 minute delay, for air quality issues.
Replace the TV with a good book.
Solar is virtualy limitless in how long it will be available. It is very limited in how much power will be available.
Get eh power consumption of all you devices, measured in Watts, the look up how many Watts per square foot that photocells produce. This will vary by geograpy of course.