Outdoor Solar Lights

I was trying to look online for solar panels for my home to take some of the strain off of using oil and electricity but I find it very hard to understand exactly how they are used.
Like one that I looked up is 100 watts…..is that like a light bulb watt? How many things can that power?
Is it really cheaper in the long run because the panels are very expensive?
If anyone has web sites that can explain this to me I would appreciate a link, or anyone to answer part of my question.

There are two types of devices that collect energy from the sun:

Solar photovoltaic modules use solar cells to convert light from the sun into electricity.

Solar thermal collectors use the sun’s energy to heat water or another fluid such as oil or antifreeze

There is only a one time cost to installing solar panels.
The way to get the most for your money is, really to have them installed at the time of the home being built.
You have to figure, over-time, how long it will take regarding the cost of the solar panels vs the cost of your energy now.

I’vs seen these pumps on ebay that use a solar panel to work.
I will have enough light but are they any good? They run about $30+shipping. Too cheap? I build the the structure and the unit comes with a tube and a bubbler. Other ideas/no elect in yard.

BUT THEY ONLY WORK WHEN THE SUNS OUT THEY DONT STORE ELECTRICITY LIKE THE SOLAR LIGHTS

I’vs seen these pumps on ebay that use a solar panel to work.
I will have enough light but are they any good? They run about $30+shipping. Too cheap? I build the the structure and the unit comes with a tube and a bubbler. Other ideas/no elect in yard.

BUT THEY ONLY WORK WHEN THE SUNS OUT THEY DONT STORE ELECTRICITY LIKE THE SOLAR LIGHTS

I am replacing some old 12v outdoor garden lights for a friend’s walkway. They look cheap
and are falling apart after 5-years. I want to replace them with a set of durable ones that look nice. I am avoiding solar, because they are far too dim and I already have the 12v wiring in place.
I would appreciate any recommendations.
Thanks

Years ago I had Toro brand and they worked great, then I switched to solar, and I have been through sets almost once a year.

I am going back to Toro and not using solar.
Solar have some nice designs, but do not last long. It seems that the solar panel always turn cloudy and then it’s trash.

Toro is my suggestion. They can be found at any local home improvement and most stores like, Target, Walmart, etc.

I am replacing some old 12v outdoor garden lights for a friend’s walkway. They look cheap
and are falling apart after 5-years. I want to replace them with a set of durable ones that look nice. I am avoiding solar, because they are far too dim and I already have the 12v wiring in place.
I would appreciate any recommendations.
Thanks

Years ago I had Toro brand and they worked great, then I switched to solar, and I have been through sets almost once a year.

I am going back to Toro and not using solar.
Solar have some nice designs, but do not last long. It seems that the solar panel always turn cloudy and then it’s trash.

Toro is my suggestion. They can be found at any local home improvement and most stores like, Target, Walmart, etc.

It just occurred to me that solar cells are expensive, so why do we just lay them out? By this I mean, why don’t we use mirrors to concentrate light onto a smaller cell? Mirrors are cheaper, and last longer, and the smaller cell can be of optimal efficiency (since we then don’t need to purchase swaths of them).
Smaller means MUCH cheaper
More efficient ALSO means cheaper as one needs less mirrors…

Yes, there are a number of companies such as this one http://www.technologyreview.com/business/22582/ trying to make concentrators work.

There are two basic issues to be solved with concentrators. First, you generally need to track the sun in some way. Picture a big, parabolic dish. It focuses the sun brilliantly onto a tiny spot, but 10 minutes later, the sun has moved, and so has the spot, leaving the cell in the dark. Trackers do exist, of course, and their cost must be added to the design. These trackers must be more precise than the type used to aim a plain flat array. The design in the link avoids using a tracker, but by throwing away part of the output.

The second issue is heat. Too much heat ultimately degradse the solar cell, and operating in a hot environment also means different materials must be used for mounting. No ordinary panel that you buy is rated for concentration – in fact, if you use mirrors, you will void the warranty. You can see the design in the link has heat sinks on the back of the photovoltaic element. They’re concentrating 10:1 or so. I’ve seen designs that do 100:1, but those have exotic cooling for the cells, which adds expense and a potential failure mode.

As you can see, residential installs today are overwhelming fixed, flat arrays with no concentration. Efficiency is usually not an issue, as the homeowner runs into a cost barrier before running out of rooftop space. Also remember that between a solar cell that is 15% efficient, and one that is twice as efficient, there is a 100:1 price difference.

Well, I am looking for a cheap way on building a solar panel, instead of buying by the manufacturing stores. I would like to stay in the budget up to 1,000 dollars. I want to have Solar Energy for my house because the sun is always shining. Is there a way I can make the Light power some of my house? What would I need? How much time would it take?
Where can I get the items I need?

You have a couple of options.

The first option is to put together a flat plate collector to generate hot water. If you live in a cold climate, you might have to use evacuated tubes and this will probably blow your budget. The hot water could be used as a pre-heater for your existing hot water system. Complete systems for domestic hot water will not likely fit into your budget.

The second option is a small solar panel to generate electricity. In order to fit into you thousand dollar budget, you will need something like this:
1) an 80W panel. This will set you back about $400. You can’t make the solar cells yourself, so it is just as well to buy a complete panel.

2) A small solar charge controller for about $100. This will take the power from the panel and make sure your storage battery is properly charged.

3) An inverter. This will take power from the battery and generate 120 volt AC power (like your wall sockets). A 120W unit will be less than $200.

4) A 12 volt deep cycle battery, perhaps $120.

5) A transfer switch to cut the power when the battery gets discharged and transfer to 120 volt utility power.

You should be able to put it all together for $1000. However, you need to treat this as a hobby. The power you will generate is worth less than $10 a year, and is about enough to power a DSL modem and router (i.e. your internet connection). If it lasts 25 years, your investment (or loss in this case) will be about minus 9%. Of course, the battery won’t last that long, but the other parts could.

The actual power you can generate can be estimated from solar insolation maps. I will post a link below to a few that might help.

Collecting heat is probably more valuable (e.g. using a heat collector rather than a photovoltaic collector for electricity).

You can probably find plans on the internet for do-it-yourself flat plat collectors using plumbing parts, and electronic circuit diagrams for things like solar charge controllers, but I think this will be too complicated for your first project unless you really like tinkering. Buying components and integrating them yourself (figuring out how that get everything interconnected) will be loads of work for you first project.

Don’t be discouraged by the economics. You will learn countless things in the process and knowledge is always a good thing. Someday as prices come down on silicon cells (perhaps a new thin film technology) and evacuated tubes are made by the hundreds of millions you will be able to use your skills to make a much larger and cost effective system.

Have fun.

Well, I am looking for a cheap way on building a solar panel, instead of buying by the manufacturing stores. I would like to stay in the budget up to 1,000 dollars. I want to have Solar Energy for my house because the sun is always shining. Is there a way I can make the Light power some of my house? What would I need? How much time would it take?
Where can I get the items I need?

You have a couple of options.

The first option is to put together a flat plate collector to generate hot water. If you live in a cold climate, you might have to use evacuated tubes and this will probably blow your budget. The hot water could be used as a pre-heater for your existing hot water system. Complete systems for domestic hot water will not likely fit into your budget.

The second option is a small solar panel to generate electricity. In order to fit into you thousand dollar budget, you will need something like this:
1) an 80W panel. This will set you back about $400. You can’t make the solar cells yourself, so it is just as well to buy a complete panel.

2) A small solar charge controller for about $100. This will take the power from the panel and make sure your storage battery is properly charged.

3) An inverter. This will take power from the battery and generate 120 volt AC power (like your wall sockets). A 120W unit will be less than $200.

4) A 12 volt deep cycle battery, perhaps $120.

5) A transfer switch to cut the power when the battery gets discharged and transfer to 120 volt utility power.

I came accross a new, proven and tested home made wind power system and solar power system which eliminates our electricity bills. It was written by a Renewable energy enthusiasts Michael Harvey the diy called Earth4energy. You can get your copy to save energy and help environment while eliminating your power bills. Get it from here:

http://how-to-build-cheap-solar-energy.blogspot.com/

I was thinking if I can make the cheapest solar panel ever!!! Sorry if I’m getting so ambitious. I just want to have a clean free electricity powered household.

Well theoretically they can, but you don’t want reflective solar panels! That’s just an effect of how they are currently made. The best solar panels keep in the most UV rays, they just haven’t found a way to make a dark material that has the same photovoltaic effect (making light into energy). They have already made a certain type of fabric 100x darker than black. reflectivity is around 0.01% and there are plans to put it in solar panels as it with keep in the most UV rays which are what makes the energy, not the visible light. A bit of extra info – the black is made of tubes 1 atom in diameter. Amazing huh? But if you’ve got a good idea don’t be afraid to discuss it with local universities even if you don’t attend! They will love to help and give feedback. Keep up the thinking . It could be you who solves our global dilemma!!

I am looking to purchase very good solar panel to generate electricity, please tell me about the best and cheapest and where it is available to buy including the accessories to light and run the electric heater or stove and a refrigerator.

Best/most efficient and cheapest are never the same.
cheap means making compromises on performance, reliability etc.

Using electric for heating is very wastefull, and nothing short of an industrial sized photovoltaic instalation will be able to deliver the power reqiured for a typical 2-3kW electric heater or stove. 6m2 of most efficient/expensive pv would produce enough for a hairdryer in good conditions. plus most heating demand is at night, so large battery needed. Better to use solar thermal design and heat stores.
Even a fridge/heat pump has high start up currents that would need careful design and a large battery to deliver.