1. Power sources (wind, solar etc) that generate 12v power
2. Wiring or systems to smooth the combined supply
3. Charging systems to charge 12V battery bank
4. Wiring for 12v supplies to sockets

I have a fair understanding of electrics (not an electrician – but have done some 240v wiring) and keen to understand what can be done in kit form versus what I have to do myself

I’d also be keen to hear from anyone who’s done similar as I know there are challenges – heating for example!!

you wan t to look at marine chandlers/boat suppliers and boating in general. Boats run off 12 v systems and there are a half dozen wind generators……..including AeroGen and Ampair…….that put out 12 v for boat systems

I know two people who run their houses off 12 systems, and 2 who have 12v lights and fans as backups for when the grid goes down……

So what I am asking is… would some of these run the entire house all day or half of it or just a few light bulbs. Really whats the best options to save on electric bill.

Will is on the right track. Solar hot water and heating is a cheap effective start to save serious money. Solar electricity is unlikely to save you money. You need to buy the panels, battery storage and inverter.

You can get a rough idea of what each PV panel will power by doing some simple sums. Assume 60% efficiency in the system, less than full sunlight, battery losses, inverter losses. Assume 12 hours of sunlight, obviously more in Summer, less in Winter. so say 60W panel gives 60 x 12 x 0.6 = 432 Watt hours of useful output per day. So you could run a 6 x 12W compact fluorescent bulbs for 6 hours, or 12 for 3 hours. Or you could run a 120W TV screen for 3.6 hours. Or run a 900W electric iron for 29 minutes.

You get the picture, you don’t get much energy …. A 120W panel gives you twice as much of course.

The cost of the solar set up is much greater than the cost of electricity in most cases.

The better savings are in improving your power conservation in the first place. Use LED lights, they give more light for less electricity used and last much longer and have cool options like dim-ability and colour change effects if you want. Avoid using electricity for heating cooking, that uses lots of electricity for little return, use solar heating, insulation and heat pumps instead of ‘heaters’.

If you want to go solar of course you should do all that as well to reduce your electricity use, but the savings are in the reductions.

I run an entire office with 10 staff all using computers on less than 8.4KW, so that is more than enough for a domestic house. [provided you use it wisely.]

help

Most likely, your phone needs more current than the panel can provide. If it is normally charged from USB, it might draw 500 mA or so. Make sure that your panel can provide that. You can test it with a digital multimeter.

http://challenge.ecomagination.com/home/RoofMill-Hybrid-WindSolar-Home-Energy-Sy

http://push.pickensplan.com/profile/WindEnergy7

Duration : 0:6:16

Technorati Tags: 45 watt solar panel kit, build solar panel kit, home solar panel kit, how solar panels work, portable solar panel kit, portable solar panels, residential solar panel kit, solar cells, solar panel kit, solar panel manufacturers, solar panels, solar panels cost, solar power, solar power kit, solar shingles, thin film solar panels, wind power kit

This video was made to help people learn the basic termanology of the parts to make a solar panel.
Youtube DIY SOLAR PANEL for more indepth info.

Duration : 0:19:34

Technorati Tags: DIY, do it yourself, ENERGY, GREEN, homestead, POWER, Prepper, Prepping, reliance, self, SHTF, SOLAR, Solar (room), WROL, ww3, zombies

(http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical-Alternative-Energy-Solutions-Solar-Power-Solar-Panels-Kits/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbm1w/R-202218715/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051)

Does the solar panel have to go on the roof? Will it go on any roof? I have regular shingles. Anything else a beginner should know?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

No, the panel doesn’t have to go on the roof. It can be ground mounted anywhere it receives good exposure to the sun during most of the day.

Other things to know:
The panels need to face true south.
The tilt for best performance.is a function of time of year, but will never be more than your latitude which would be the tilt at the time of the Winter Solstice.
NEVER short together the power leads while the panel is in sunlight. You will destroy the panel.

Good luck with your project.

Duration : 0:3:30

Technorati Tags: 3', BUILD, ELECTRICITY, Fall, FREE, how, hydro, Just, learn, micro, OWN, system, to, water, your

Here is a direct link to the main Solaro Energy website — clearly you can see they make many different products related to energy saving / off the grid solutions: http://solaroenergy.com/products/solar-lighting/

watch the video explanation of one of their lighting systems from Dennis directly here– this is their youtube page:

It is important to have a power source — for multiple reasons — power outages, emergencies, natural / man made disasters, severe weather, and even for off the grid living.

Costs can range from just a few dollars (under 100) into multiple thousands. Depending on your budget — there is a form of backup power that many people can afford. The time to prepare is now… BEFORE anything more happens on a global basis.

Try going a couple days without any form of electricity. Life literally goes back to the dark ages without it.

To get a similar setup like the one sent to me… here is their main contact information:

http://SolaroEnergy.com

1-888-355-5SUN

Here is more about their company:

http://solaroenergy.com/about-us/

————————-

here are several other links to find out more about solar power — multiple companies offer budget solutions — im not just promoting solaroenergy — Im promoting having a power solution available to meet your needs in case of emergency or to offset your costs in real life:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_panel

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/solar-cell.htm

Here is a link to the mini-solar charger I was talking about that I saw at walgreens (cost is 15 dollars):

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=kodak+solar+charger&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=oZP&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvns&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&biw=1920&bih=884&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=6904914468814969374&sa=X&ei=-OI1T5aIFcPs2QWg16X6AQ&ved=0CHQQxBUwAA

Here is a link to several other companies (I cannot vouch for these others as I have not seen or tested their products — read the reviews on the other companies before making any purchase)…

https://www.google.com/#q=solar+panel&hl=en&prmd=imvnsurl&source=lnms&tbm=shop&ei=HuM1T63zIony2QWv59ynAg&sa=X&oi=mode_link&ct=mode&cd=6&ved=0CH4Q_AUoBQ&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&fp=c925a18400251fd5&biw=1920&bih=884

I can vouch for Solaroenergy — that they are indeed a real company known for making working/high quality solar panels.

cheers to them for sending this system!

Duration : 0:6:2

Technorati Tags: batteries, battery, charge, charger, charges, charging, day, daytime, ENERGY, full, gear, home, interior, KIT., kits, led, light, LIGHTING, lights, natural, PANEL, portable, POWER, powered, powering, ray, real, realtime, small, sol, SOLAR, SOLARO, solaroday, solaroenergy, solution, spectrum, SUN, survival, Time

Stay tuned for more videos.

Thanks!

Devon
http://www.homemadediysolarpanels.com/

Duration : 0:1:9

Technorati Tags: cartoon, goanimate