Another View Of PV

[ToddH]

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[TomW]

Todd;

Any numbers on your array?
 

How many watts, what voltage, etc?

Looks absolutely beautiful where you live, too

[DanF]

Nice rack of mismatched panels -- though mine might possibly be more mismatched (if you factor it by age difference of various panels shown!)-- nice old ARCO you have there with the circular cells tho....venture to guess what that'n cost new???

That's one awesome thing about solar - you can mix and match panels at will. I buy mine when and where I can, and I don't care how old or shabby they look. My rack will never make the cover of "Solar Today" but it sure as heck works!

Cheers
DANF

[ToddH]

TomW,

It's about 967 watts total. Based on the rating stickers on the panels (One is a oddball brand & it does not have any info on output so I guessed 75 watts), and it is set up as a 12v system.

I use a Trace C-60 charge controler & a Trace SW2515 inverter.
The battery is a Hup Solar One, that has a bad case of sulfation.

Not enough constant wind to be worthwhile where I live but, I plan to tap into the creek at some point in time to gather up a few amps.

And yes, North Idaho is a beautiful area.

[Adrian L]

This was my small solar setup I had going(Had to come down and go into storage)....but sometimes even identical panels can look very different....

Those two on the left are exact same brand Solarex 42watt panels, except the one on the left is 19 years old and the one on the right about 8 years.  The one on the left has only had 2 years actualy use (like new) and the one on the right has had 8 hard years in a telecommunications setup.  Amazing the difference.

The small funny looking panel on the right puts out 10 watts and is actually made up of some small un-glazed solar modules I got from an electronics shop at half price.  They only have plastic covering for protection(im talking thin plastic not much thicker than cling wrap that would be easy to get off) and they have been up there and exposed to the weather for 3 whole years.  Their measured output has actually increased in that time, not decreased!!!  Even the wiring is exposed to the elements.... But that WD40 spray (do you have that in the US? the stuff that losens bolts and is a water dispersant) has kept the wiring and solder joins in perfect condition.

Cheers,

Adrian L