Author Topic: where to start  (Read 1209 times)

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outdoor dad

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where to start
« on: April 15, 2006, 01:52:26 PM »
Hi, I spend about 2 to 3 months during the summer in a 20' travel trailer with my 4 kids and wife. I want to go solar. I'm so new that i thought all I had to do is hook up some car batteries and a solar panel. After reading as much as I could on this site I relized that I'm in way over my head. I love a challange.

    Here is what I would like to do. The trailer has 3 indoor lites, small fridge, raido, 19" tv, dvd player, and a battery charger for ryobi power tools (18 v).

    I'm trying to stay away from my generator excepy for emergencies (to noisy). So where do I start? I have, and I'm going to keep reading everything on this site. I'm so green that I don't understand half of what I'm reading.I'm not stupid just uneducated. what should I start reading first.

   Thanks alot. charles.

   You can contact me at dad2001@sbcglobal.net
« Last Edit: April 15, 2006, 01:52:26 PM by (unknown) »

AbyssUnderground

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Re: where to start
« Reply #1 on: April 15, 2006, 08:00:17 AM »
You need to total up your power usage per day. This will give you a starting point of what capacity batteries you will need and what solar panels you will need.


Do you want to run the fridge 24 hours a day?

How often do you use the TV and DVD player?

How long do you use the lights each day?


Just a few questions to get you going. Im no expert in this field either but I do know a little :-)

« Last Edit: April 15, 2006, 08:00:17 AM by AbyssUnderground »

outdoor dad

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Re: where to start
« Reply #2 on: April 15, 2006, 10:36:40 AM »
Hi, thanks for your reply. The fridge is used 24/7. the lights are used 3-4 hrs a day. the tv and dvd is used obout 5-6 hrs a day. less if i can get the kids to read more. they are the only reason i have the tv (darn noise maker). Everything is 120 v. I'm guessing a inverter is needed. Thanks again.
« Last Edit: April 15, 2006, 10:36:40 AM by outdoor dad »

Gary D

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Re: where to start
« Reply #3 on: April 15, 2006, 11:37:04 AM »
 Most campers have lp/electric fridges, and also 12 volt lighting capabilities. Usually while driving to and from sites, the deep cycle battery pack is charged from the car alternator (with an isolation circuit to prevent discharging the car battery if not disconnected when parked at the camping site). You definately want to use the lp feature on the fridge. Any 12 volt lights should be replaced with 12 volt compact florescents.

 There are 12 volt tv's cheap (gasp black and white! not 19 inch tho).

Laptop computers have a dvd feature for watching movies and according to many on this board are happy using 12 volts and use lots less watts.

 Expect 80 watts of power for every 100 watt panel and if parked to get the right sun maybe 5 or 6 hours at 80 watts = 480 watts max per panel per day. Solar gets expensive quick!

 
« Last Edit: April 15, 2006, 11:37:04 AM by Gary D »

commanda

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Re: where to start
« Reply #4 on: April 15, 2006, 11:52:15 PM »
watt-hrs. Your domestic electicity bill comes in kilo watt hours (KWh). Kilo being 1000. So that's 1000 times watts times hours.


So; for each item you want to use, you need to know the watts, and the hours(per day). Multiply one by the other to get watt-hrs per day per appliance.


eg; 2 compact fluoros, say 10 watts each, 4 hrs per day, equals 2 * 10 * 4 = 80 watt-hrs per day.


Work out this number for every item you use, and add them all up. Allow for inefficiencies. Batteries only return about 90% of you what you put into them. A good 12 volt to 120 volt ac inverter won't get much more than 90%, typically a fair bit less if not running at it's ideal load.


Typically, items which run off 110 volt mains, you'll need a power meter to find the true power used; especially with items which run intermittently like fridges.


Once you realise the cost of the solar panels & batteries to make this a reality, conservation of energy will become your mantra, if not your religion.


Amanda

« Last Edit: April 15, 2006, 11:52:15 PM by commanda »

mjchee

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Re: where to start
« Reply #5 on: April 18, 2006, 03:13:58 PM »
I'll give you the cheapest way you can go on what you can start with at this time, so here it goes. Go to Wal-Mart and purchase a 750 watt invector inverter, about 69.00 US dollars. Purchase four of their yellow Maxx deep cycle batteries, they are about 69.00 US dollars. You can buy a charge controller from Harbor Freights that can handle what you have for about less that 100.00 US dollars. If you want, you can purchase their outfit for solar for about 200.00 or more.

Most of the charging you can do is with the alternator from your RV and rest from the good old sun. Just make sure the alternator can be upgraded to handle the charging too. That should get you going on the right track for now and later you can always upgrade, plus you'll gain some personal experience by then. The wiring shouldn't be that difficult. And the kind of solar panels to use, is all up to you. My calculations are very close to what you would want and the only appliance that would be drawing power is the fridge. But you should be alright. You don't need to be running a 60 amp charge controller, so anything less should be cheaper, maybe something less than 30 amps should do you well, just in case you need to upgrade later. Since, everything is run by 12 volts, you shouldn't have any problems within the RV.In case you need to modify wirings,batterties,panels, etc. Happy solaring!
« Last Edit: April 18, 2006, 03:13:58 PM by mjchee »

mjchee

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Re: where to start
« Reply #6 on: April 18, 2006, 03:19:11 PM »
Just a suggestion, 2 of the 64 watt Unisolar panels should work well,if you decide to.
« Last Edit: April 18, 2006, 03:19:11 PM by mjchee »