Yes it is but only if your state will subsidize at least 30% of it and you live in a sunny state (that’s for solar). Wind is more predictable but it costs a bit more due to the wear and tear on the parts.
Rival
Hello,
I know little on solar power for the home. I understand that it is possible to convert power to chemical form then use it as electricity. My question is, what elements are involved and how is the sizing being done?
I need the power design to power lights (say 10), TV and radio.
First of all, the conversion is chemical to electricity, as in the chemistry of a car battery which provides an output voltage.
To meet your needs, you need to figure how much useful sunlight you will have per day. Such sources as the Weather Channel, or National Climatology office can supply that to you. You need to determine the total load. Just add everything up, and that is the load you need to have sufficient energy to provide power for. If this works out to be, let’s say 200 watts, then you need at least a 200 watt solar panel, provided that you have enough sunlight from the time that you get up in the morning, until you go to bed at night. Count on it, you won’t have enough sunlight for your needs, unless you live up in Alaska. Even then, there is part of the year where there will not be enough light at any time of the day. What you need, for full 24 hour coverage is a battery bank, and unless everything will run on 12 or 24 volts, then you need 1 or more inverters. With inverters, you lose 10% in conversion loss from DC to AC. Batteries should be RV, Trolling motor, or best yet, electric fork lift batteries, or the reasonable equivalent of such as these. I would recomment at least double to quadruple the total energy need for the solar panels, and to multiply the battery capacity by the total load supply that you have figured out, for at least a 24 hour run time. All of that, then multiplied by 90% to know how long the system will provide power, IF you use any DC to AC inverters. Within reason, the larger the battery bank, the better. Do NOT use regular car batteries, they will not last as long as you need them to last, unless you understand the difference between cranking amps, and reserve amps. Another point is that auto batteries are simply not designed for this kind of service.
Here in Texas, we get pretty strong sun light. Does anyone have a figure as to the cost of going partially solar or totally solar?
Even partially converting to solar seems like a good idea since the sun is strongest at mid-day. The savings would to enormous.
Solar requires a big upfront investment. Factoring in the time-value of money, you’d be lucky to ever break even. It’s a losing proposition. That said, there was a prototype solar electric car charging station built for TXDOT near Midland (if I recall correctly) that was being decommisioned, so the solar panels might be available for next to nothing, but they are 30 feet in the air and assembled into a permanent roof structure that can’t really be disassembled without destroying the solar cells. Even with "free" solar cells, the cost of the crane and other demolition equipment to remove the concrete pillars would still make it nearly impossible to break even economically.
If you want to learn more about photovoltaic solar energy systems, go to the MIT OpenCourseware link below:
I live in a dark area of town where there is no street lights. I have been wanting to get flood lights to illuminate the outside at night when we get home, so that we dont have to walk in the darkness to the house.
I saw these and was wondering if they were any good,
http://www.tvmarketplace.net/(hneerwf0gt3s5xq1gy1sqvym)/products/product.aspx?id=553&OVRAW=pen%20howl%20flood%20lights&OVKEY=flood%20light&OVMTC=advanced#Included
The only reason i am going for solar powered is because we are renting and there is no connection outside for a flood light where it is needed. The only out door lights we have is in the backyard, (on the rightside of the house), and the porch, (in the front). Neither illuminate an area where someone could easliy hide in the shadows.
They look pretty neat, i wouldnt mind giving them a go.
I have those little solar lights for the garden beds. http://www.intermatictimers.com/Default.asp?action=prod&pid=149&did=2&cid=49&sid=75
They dont give out much light at all, and you have to space them close together so you dont trip over in the dark.
Im looking for something solar because i want to save on cabling and i have no outside power points..
So the one you posted looks good, but i do hope its not too good to be true.
im building a home and am interested in solar energy, since sun light isnt a problem in texas. any ideas out there?
first orient the roof so it faces south…second use shingle composite roofing solar panel don’t go over tile roofs….3rd contact all of the solar panel installation companies in the yellow pages or on the Internet…get written estimates and guarantees…also check with the local power company there are federal tax credits available and even possibly state or local ones as well…some require that you file paperwork before starting work……Talked with a neighbor that recovered 1/2 the cost of his system the very first year…but lamented putting in a smaller system than he should have…he gets paid for power generated that he doesn’t use….
..he says the most important thing is keeping the panels clean they generate much better when they are clean…
Loads will be home lighting, maybe 5 computers, refrigerator, T.V. and other home appliances totaling maybe about 1-2 megawatt load if all appliances are turned on at the same time.
"1-2 MegaWatt" ??????????????????
A small home without air conditioning will peak at about 5-6 KW.
"Aside from being expensive" the drawbacks of a small solar plant of this size is maintenance.
Batteries and panels have a limited service life, (I know, – part of "expensive"), which is shortened if they are not properly maintained.
Most owners won’t do it.
Hello. well i am doing a project and in it i need to make a home powered houe with at least three rooms and each have to have a light in the room with a switch to turn it off. now i have already decided that i will be making my house out of popsicle sticks, but i need ideas for wiring and connecting the lights to the wires. so wud any one have ideas for the way i wud wire and and have a power source for this project? the options i have for the power source are solar, wind etc. so any of u no how to build a mini model house with lights and switches with a renewable souce cud u help me out.
You can buy that stuff, if the scale of your house is similar to a doll house. For example, see:
http://store.dollhousecollectables.com/electrical.html
Otherwise you can do all by yourself, but because of the miniature nature, you might be better off to go to a Hobby Store and get bulbs, thin wires, and transformer which are actually meant for model trains, and wire it all up yourself.
Whatever you do, work with low voltage (maximum 12 volt) only!
At this scale, the only "renewable source" that makes sense is photovoltaic. You can put a photo cell "on top of the roof", for example. The kind of cell you need is determined by the lamp bulbs you use. You need to know the voltage you need, and the wattage of all lights accumulated. It would be best to use LEDs, because LEDs use much less electrical power (about 0.06 Watt @ 3 Volt) than mini bulbs (0.20 Watt @ 12 Volt).
Hi i am a senior in high school and i have to build a model solar home for my engineering project. THe house has to have working lights and fans. I also have to be able to store the energy. And i am having loads of trouble figuring out how to do it…can anyone help me??
Capacitor’s would work but hard to regulate.
You could try going with the plain old rechargables.
Or build a dry cell from scratch.
If I were you find a buch of recharable as you can and use em’; cell’s aren’t that bad but you would need to find the right resources for your needs. Capacitors are just plain hard to keep controlled and regulated
I have a solar home.
solar panels, inverter, deep cycle batteries, generator and several charges.
No subsidy but, the hydro bill is nice and low and the good feeling you get when a power outage happens and you are still up and running 
I saw some $15-20 dollar plants that included a solar powered light. I lifted it up and it felt heavy so I’m assuming the thing works but I don’t konw. How long do they last (are they cheap i mean. do they just stop working) and how long will it shine in the sun. There weren’t any directions on it. Also is it safe.
thanks.
i’m trying to be more environmentally friendly so I wanna use solar powered stuff. I just haven’t seen anything except this light. Any recommendations if this thing is cheap
The price you are quoting seems rather low, and I wouldn’t expect much of them since I have used more expensive models that barely last 2 hours in a full charge, and give extremely poor light. But that is my experience with one particular model and brand, and I suppose that as with anything there must be wide performance and quality variations between brands.
Those type of light are designed for convenience as they don’t need wiring, but keep in mind that the batteries they use will last a year or two at best, and the manufacturing process of that type of batteries uses toxic metals that although recyclable, will most likely offset any environmental benefit of using solar powered garden lights.
