$1000 200w offgrid renter's PV
 

I'm looking at putting together a small PV system that can be fairly easily be relocated with moves, partially covers my electrical usage, and has some room for growth in the future... within a reasonable budget of... $1000 USD. Knowing no matter what I have access to electricity for years and cutting some CO2 emmissions makes it worth the price. Here's my component list so far:

2x -Grape Solar # GS-S-100-Fab36 100 watt monocrystalline
From home depot online $199 USD each.

1x-12v 110 ah AGM battery
From wholesalebatteriesdirect.com $246 USD

1x -Xantrex PROWatt 600w Inverter #806-1206
From amazon $155 USD

1x -Blue Sky Solar Boost 2512i MPPT Solar Charge Controller (25a,12v)
from altestore.com $168 USD

Total $967 USD

I still would have to get wiring,fuses and build a rack yet, but seems pretty much on track for afaik quality components. Does this setup seem ok?

You can get twice as much battery for the same cost if you go with 6v flooded golf cart batteries, 210amp hours and around $100 to $120 each.
Also, do you need batteries? what if you go with grid tie and micro inverters on the back of your panels? if you meter can run backwards then you end up with a cheaper system and no losses from charging batteries.

I would love to spend less on batteries, but from what I've seen I would have to build a vent box and I'm not sure that would be feasible if I want to move it from apartment to apartment. If there was a simpler way to vent the batteries I would consider going the flooded battery route.

I also considered a grid-tie, but there are a lot of safety issues and l'm not sure if I want to risk pissing off my landlord or get disconnected by my utility/ deal with connection agreements. While it's less efficient and more costly, it also provides options in the event of a blackout or grid failure which in itself is hard to put a price on.

Would it be possible to vent the batteries individually with clear plastic aquarium tubing? I seem to remember seeing a flooded battery that had that once, but idk if all batteries have that option... :S

since you're renting skip the grid tie.

I'm not sure what issue you're having with venting? is it the construction of the box or is getting the vent to outside? I'm sure we can find a good box solution cheap enough. Getting outside depends on your place.

PV panel prices are coming down drastically over the next 3 years as more HUGE Chinese government sponsored production lines start up. China industry goals = 50 cents/watt

Even now it's possible to put in large systems and have the rest of the system cost more then the panels. 1000 watts for $1500 is possible with the right sale. an inverter to handle 1000 watts plus the wiring, batteries or grid tie permit/installation is going to cost you more then that by a fair amount.

Not that I'm saying I'd turn down 1000 watts for $500. That's the price that the big box store currently charges for 80 watts.

If you are doing a small 12v system then I'd get some of these Water Miser Battery Vent Caps then put the flooded batteries in a rubbermade tub and you should still vent them but it's not as much of an issue, a 1/2" rubber hose going out a window or dryer vent would be more then enough.

As for grid tie, if you are producing less then you use and you have a meter that can run backwards then you can pretty much put a cord on the output of your grid tie inverter and plug it in to an outlet and back feed as long as your 120v output is less then the 15 amps that the breaker is rated for, when you move you unplug your panels and move them to your new home where you once again plug them in so they can back feed.

As far as the batteries go I'm opting for the wet cell route:

Trojan J150 Plus (12v 15 ah)
Tomcat OEM Part # 200-2110 Battery, Deep Cycle, 12v 160ah Trojan-J150 Plus

Sounds like a condom! Which reminds me of this:

Mrs Brown and the Condom - Mrs Brown's Boys - Series 2 Episode 1 - BBC One - YouTube

yeah I guess it does LOL. Haha You can't be too careful with the wankers running around these days!

Not to ruin the Trojan joke, but I can pick up a US battery 185XC 12v 200ah battery locally for $245. Sounds like a winner to me!

we ordered 53 kw of solar panels for $.76 a watt just the other day look around online you can get way more bang for the buck

FYI

Checked out the LEAF electric car yesterday at a local fair.

I discovered you need a 40 AMP dedicated line for the at-home charging station. The alternate "trickle charge" system of plugging into a standard 15 AMP wall outlet only gives you 5 miles of range per hour of charge.

40 amp dedicated lines aren't that rare. I believe my heatpump/electric backup has one. The expensive part is likely to be upgrading the house to 200 amp service if you don't already have it.

Looking at my charge controller, I realized I can go up to 35vdc and 25amps input. So this frees up my panel choices immensely. I'm looking at a Hyundai 230W 29.4v for about $250 (shipping $104) and a solarworld 230w 20v for $270 but I don't know what shipping will be yet, but either option will put me ahead of the grape solar one's at HD.

Crap! or just just 2 of these!. $120 each and only $100 shipping for the both of them. :D

at the bottom of that page it says free shipping on amazon and gives a link. so that will save you another $100