SOLAR ELECTRICITY
Click here to see an actual photo from the back yard.
The goal of this web site is to provide information and links to those who would like to have their own solar electricity power systems. This site describes the theory and application of solar electricity in a home. It presents the information one might need to to run a home partially or fully off solar power.
Please hit the reload button on your browser to see the latest
additions if it does not automatically update these pages.
This is a quick overview of the solar electric system on the
house I'm in now.
In the 48 volt system shown above, 34 Solarex MSX-120 panels
on the roof are wired through Ground Fault Protective
breakers to 2 Trace C-40 charge controllers which feed
8 Douglas 12V215S batteries and a dual Trace SW4048
utility interactive inverter power panel configured for
220 volts AC.
That's quite a mouth full, but basically the system takes the
electricity from the solar electric panels on the roof and
converts it to the same form of electricity that comes out of
the electric outlets of a conventional US home.
A second 12 volt system consists of several surplus
panels mounted on the roof which charge eight surplus
Douglas 6 volt L16 deep cycle batteries. These are
connected to a charge controller and fuses mounted
on a 3/4 inch plywood back. The 12 volt power
runs through a DC timer to power low voltage outdoor
lighting, powers a 12 volt door bell, a Zappy electric
scooter and some battery chargers and other 12 volt loads.
Two DC to DC converters can power the 12 volt system
from the 48 volt system if the charge level gets too
low or power consumption gets too high.
12 volts is a convenient voltage because US cars and
recreational vehicles use 12 volt starting batteries
and control circuitry. This makes 12 volt lighting,
TV and VCR's, coolers, heaters, fans, and more readily
available to the US customers of many establishments.
Next page.
Renewable energy links.
Mirror site.
The Electric Vehicle.
KEYWORDS FOR THIS WEB SITE:
Solar Electricity
Renewable Energy
Energy Efficiency
This page last updated on:
2000-aug-23
Member of the AE Webring:
This site is owned by jim
lynch.
[Previous
|Next
|List
Sites ]
Some other web pages on this site:
Mounting MSX-120 Panels.
Solar hydronic considerations.
Battery care.
You are visitor number:
