How many here, are using solar PV right now, - Page 3

Xringer · 08-25-11, 06:38 PM

Sounds good! My charger is running off 500w of PV on a tracking mount.

We have hurricane Irene coming, so I just checked on my 48v bank and it's full up.
The gas generator is ready to go, just in case this turns into a long grid failure.
If it does, we are going to in a lot better shape than any of our neighbors.

OutbackAuzz · 09-18-11, 06:28 PM

Wish I could run all on solar but I'm still waiting for a tracker I ordered and paid for from Dwayne from Redrok on the 4-8-11 with nothing as yet. Is he on holidays as I emailed last week and no reply. Course I am in Auzz, and wish i hear something soon. 6+ is getting long.

Xringer · 09-18-11, 06:36 PM

During the hurricane, I set the mount for south and disconnected the Redrok's power.
Afterwards, the batteries were still getting a good charge without tracking.
I'm thinking of leaving the tracker off-line, unless I really need it some extra watts.
Right now, it's kind of a waste when my battery bank is fully charged most of the time.

I had a problem with getting my board from Dwayne, and after a few weeks,
I called him. It turned out that he had been pretty sick for a while.
And shortly thereafter, my board showed up and has been running like a top..

Cheers,
Rich

OutbackAuzz · 09-18-11, 08:50 PM

Think you got to read more books under 12v lighting to use the power.
When I get mine set up I hope to wire the house for 12v as well as our 240vac.
Guests from the citys don't seem to understand 12v lighting etc. Every light in the house on when not needed etc. Poking out 8500wh a day at the moment from my array. Will have to start looking for a rather large batt bank soon.
Thought of calling Dwayne, but the call would prob cost more than the product.
They sell them here but thought I would support him.

nibs · 09-18-11, 09:11 PM

I don't understand the cost effectiveness of using a tracker on a solar array. Surely spending the funds a tracker costs, would be much better spent on adding a panel or two. I saw a beautifully engineered tracker on sale for $2,000 in Arizona a few years ago, it was a marvel of design and construction. Only problem was if you spent the $2K on panels you would get more net power and not have any moving parts.
Am I missing something here.
PS I do understand the bragging rights of a nice piece of stuff, being a bit of an inventor.
Check out easyearwires.com to see my most successful invention.

Xringer · 09-18-11, 09:30 PM

In my case, I wanted the tracker because of the bad location.
The area gets a limited amount of sun light, so I wanted to maximize what sun is available.
Also, I did have an old satellite dish mount that was doing nothing..

Plus, the tracker is a gadget, and I'm a Gadget guy!

OutbackAuzz · 09-18-11, 10:00 PM

Well for $87 I have a linear Actuator, for $49 I hope to have a LED3xS24VC3RI for a little more than $50 I have the steel, and I also am like Xringer, love fiddling. Also mine array is grid feed, and an increase of maybe 30% on 9x175w panels is cheaper than a new panel, and you can't get them for $186 plus fun and labour. I have cows on my farm, but it would probably be cheaper to go buy a bottle of milk from the shop, but thats why I live on a farm and not the city. Easy to buy a tracker for $2000 but have you ever tried milking a cow

Xringer · 09-18-11, 10:16 PM

Spending summers on the farm with my grandparents, I learned that feeding
the chickens and gathering the eggs was a lot more fun than milking cows!

With power being only 21 cents per kWh, it's just crazy to spent any money at all on solar panels..
Unless the installation will actually will last the 50 years it takes to break even..

Since I'm almost 66 now... Hummm, Dang!!
I guess maybe I didn't need that 30 year panel warranty after all!!

OutbackAuzz · 09-18-11, 11:27 PM

But the cream is still in the milk.
Our Array is grid feed. The Gov't has in law to pay 44c a wh that is fed back into the grid above what you use until the year 2028. We pay 19.4c a wh from the supplier of our electricity. For us to break even we have to produce 5500wh a day fed in. At the moment we are at 8500wh a day, so for the small outlay to increase the production I would rather track than conform. Our gov't did subsidise the $1990 cost to us 1.5kw system. 3yr break-even. and I'm only sixty

Xringer · 09-18-11, 11:54 PM

Humm, you get 44c and only have to pay 19.4c... Interesting.

So, it's like a pyramid scheme, those who get in first with the most, make out like bandits..
(Living off the fat taxpayers of the land) BUT, when everyone starts jumping on the bandwagon,
those last 3 or 4 taxpayers (without PV) aren't going to be too happy!!

Is this deal really going to last until 2028?

Or, does your government have it's own gold mines and oil wells??

08-25-11, 06:38 PM	#21
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	Sounds good! My charger is running off 500w of PV on a tracking mount. We have hurricane Irene coming, so I just checked on my 48v bank and it's full up. The gas generator is ready to go, just in case this turns into a long grid failure. If it does, we are going to in a lot better shape than any of our neighbors.

09-18-11, 06:28 PM	#22
OutbackAuzz Lurking Renovator Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 16 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Wish I could run all on solar but I'm still waiting for a tracker I ordered and paid for from Dwayne from Redrok on the 4-8-11 with nothing as yet. Is he on holidays as I emailed last week and no reply. Course I am in Auzz, and wish i hear something soon. 6+ is getting long.

09-18-11, 06:36 PM	#23
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	During the hurricane, I set the mount for south and disconnected the Redrok's power. Afterwards, the batteries were still getting a good charge without tracking. I'm thinking of leaving the tracker off-line, unless I really need it some extra watts. Right now, it's kind of a waste when my battery bank is fully charged most of the time. I had a problem with getting my board from Dwayne, and after a few weeks, I called him. It turned out that he had been pretty sick for a while. And shortly thereafter, my board showed up and has been running like a top.. Cheers, Rich

09-18-11, 08:50 PM	#24
OutbackAuzz Lurking Renovator Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 16 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Think you got to read more books under 12v lighting to use the power. When I get mine set up I hope to wire the house for 12v as well as our 240vac. Guests from the citys don't seem to understand 12v lighting etc. Every light in the house on when not needed etc. Poking out 8500wh a day at the moment from my array. Will have to start looking for a rather large batt bank soon. Thought of calling Dwayne, but the call would prob cost more than the product. They sell them here but thought I would support him.

09-18-11, 09:11 PM	#25
nibs Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 206 Thanks: 1 Thanked 18 Times in 17 Posts	I don't understand the cost effectiveness of using a tracker on a solar array. Surely spending the funds a tracker costs, would be much better spent on adding a panel or two. I saw a beautifully engineered tracker on sale for $2,000 in Arizona a few years ago, it was a marvel of design and construction. Only problem was if you spent the $2K on panels you would get more net power and not have any moving parts. Am I missing something here. PS I do understand the bragging rights of a nice piece of stuff, being a bit of an inventor. Check out easyearwires.com to see my most successful invention.

09-18-11, 09:30 PM	#26
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	In my case, I wanted the tracker because of the bad location. The area gets a limited amount of sun light, so I wanted to maximize what sun is available. Also, I did have an old satellite dish mount that was doing nothing.. Plus, the tracker is a gadget, and I'm a Gadget guy!

09-18-11, 10:00 PM	#27
OutbackAuzz Lurking Renovator Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 16 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Well for $87 I have a linear Actuator, for $49 I hope to have a LED3xS24VC3RI for a little more than $50 I have the steel, and I also am like Xringer, love fiddling. Also mine array is grid feed, and an increase of maybe 30% on 9x175w panels is cheaper than a new panel, and you can't get them for $186 plus fun and labour. I have cows on my farm, but it would probably be cheaper to go buy a bottle of milk from the shop, but thats why I live on a farm and not the city. Easy to buy a tracker for $2000 but have you ever tried milking a cow

09-18-11, 10:16 PM	#28
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	Spending summers on the farm with my grandparents, I learned that feeding the chickens and gathering the eggs was a lot more fun than milking cows! With power being only 21 cents per kWh, it's just crazy to spent any money at all on solar panels.. Unless the installation will actually will last the 50 years it takes to break even.. Since I'm almost 66 now... Hummm, Dang!! I guess maybe I didn't need that 30 year panel warranty after all!!

09-18-11, 11:27 PM	#29
OutbackAuzz Lurking Renovator Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 16 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	But the cream is still in the milk. Our Array is grid feed. The Gov't has in law to pay 44c a wh that is fed back into the grid above what you use until the year 2028. We pay 19.4c a wh from the supplier of our electricity. For us to break even we have to produce 5500wh a day fed in. At the moment we are at 8500wh a day, so for the small outlay to increase the production I would rather track than conform. Our gov't did subsidise the $1990 cost to us 1.5kw system. 3yr break-even. and I'm only sixty

09-18-11, 11:54 PM	#30
Xringer Lex Parsimoniae Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Woburn, MA Posts: 4,918 Thanks: 114 Thanked 250 Times in 230 Posts	Humm, you get 44c and only have to pay 19.4c... Interesting. So, it's like a pyramid scheme, those who get in first with the most, make out like bandits.. (Living off the fat taxpayers of the land) BUT, when everyone starts jumping on the bandwagon, those last 3 or 4 taxpayers (without PV) aren't going to be too happy!! Is this deal really going to last until 2028? Or, does your government have it's own gold mines and oil wells??