Alternative Solar Energy Mountain Cabin Project
Friday, December 25th, 2009 at
6:52 pm
Prime example of a homemade solar energy system in a remote location. How to Lower Your Energy Bill Through Alternative Energy Sources! Live off-grid by using Wind Power and Solar Panel Systems! Suddenly, alternative energy sources like solar panels and wind generators are receiving a new focus. It is now possible to build your own renewable solar energy system for $200 or less and reduce your electric bill by as much as 95%. www.diyenergyusa.com … greenenergy renewable energy “renewable …
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I'm a 38 year-old electrical engineer from Southern California.
Very Nice:) I was thinking of putting a train cart Box(I reckon that’s what there called) and nearly doing the same thing but all the way underground and a ladder down, excellent thing i Didn’t. I like the Solar Panels:) I wish i had them.
Excellent simple video…thanks /encouraging
Total project, inverter, controllers & all was $2500 not counting our sweat equity & the help of a few knowledgeable friends. The whole point is, where public power would have cost over $15,000 we made it happen & our pay-back period to break even was less than 5 yrs even with replacing the batteries every 4 to 5 yrs. New technology is making this type of solution even more practical in todays energy world.
The buried refrigerator truck box keeps the battery temp regulated. It works well. You are also right in assuming that the electricity was not free. But, the panels were from a University project & I got them at less than $200 apiece. Batteries are from a high-rise stand-by system where batteries are replaced every 2 yrs. Essentially unused in 1989 when bought from a battery salvage company. The wiring is from oil drilling company salvage & cost 2 cents per foot.
Burying the batteries is a excellent thought. It allows for a constant temperature. Heat limits battery life and cold limits capacity.
Those are Kyocera 85w/12v panels. They produce about 5A each. With about 5 hours usable sun = 100AH at 12v or about 10AH at 120v, which will give 5AH per day assuming a 50% depth of discharge (I’m not even considering the loss at the inverter, etc). That’s not a lot of power.
As for “free”electricity; Those panels are worth about $2000, and if those are right deep cycle batteries you can count on another $1000 to $1500 plus the inverter, charge controller, etc.