Solar Powered Reef

[ReeferNets]

http://www.woot.com/

Check out this solar charger guys. This had got my brain going crazy.

Its a 18w solar chargers.

Is it possible to hook it up as a back up?

 

[DaveK]

Well, read the entire page.

It only puts out 1200ma at 15v. That's not a lot. Then look at how long it would take to charge anything. Most batteries they are talking about would need more than a day to charge them, and that's at a 50% discharged, not completely run down.

I don't think you could come close to running a reef for any length of time, unless you installed a massive array of them.

 

[ReeferNets]

Is it possible to hook it up as a back up?

that was my question, i did read the entire page i guess u didnt see my question


Some people have tunze's and you can hook them up to a marine battery if power goes out.
So if you hook this up to your marine battery you could charge it. Which would mean that it could be used as a backup in case your power goes out and you need to charge your backup battery.

 

[DaveK]

I did read you question.

Since you were asking about a battery charger, and for use as a backup, I assumed you wanted it to charge a battery for backup to one or more pumps on your reef.

This does seem to be what you want to do.

Now if look at my original reply, you will see that the limited output from the solar batter charger can not charge a large battery (large meaning something big enough to run a powerhead, not something like a car batter), in a day.

This means that you can't use it as a backup, because it can't recharge the battery fast enough to do any good.

For this to work, you would need to be able to charge a battery that could run the pumps for 24 hours. You would need to charge the battery in about 8 - 10 hours of daylight, since you need to be able to get through the night when the solar charger will not be producing anything.

If you had several of them, you might be able to bank them so you could directly run a low voltage pump, like some of the Tunze pumps. But then what do you do when the sun goes down, or if it's cloudy?

 

[Edwardw771]

I'm thinking of getting a solar unit to power my whole house anyone know any companies that do that. At $500 a month. A $20K unit would pay for itself in only a few years.

 

[daveh285]

Trinity Solar http://www.trinitysolarsystems.com/ out of Freehold is a very good reputable company. They have been in the business for a while, and know what they are doing. A good system is not cheep! Dave

 

[Phyl]

I mixed emotions about trinity. They did a job at our last house and installed air conditioning that NEVER EVER WORKED. We had to have another company come in and completely re-do it. It was very frustrating.

 

[daveh285]

Phyllis is it the same company? ??? I thought these guy were strictly solar, OR maybe that's partly why they are strictly solar now! :-X

 

[danthemanj]

I'm thinking of getting a solar unit to power my whole house anyone know any companies that do that. At $500 a month. A $20K unit would pay for itself in only a few years.

I'm getting solar panels installed on a couple of my houses. When you combine all the incentives you will get, the out of pocket cost for a 10kw system is approx. $6000. The NJ State rebate is going to get exhausted in the next few days so if you are seriously interested in going solar I would suggest you PM me ASAP and I'll explain how it works. It might be too late since you need a site survey done to apply for the state rebate but its worth giving it a shot

Dan

 

[ds4x4]

Why not wind power depending on where you live? I'm thinking about it since I've seen the new system that you don't need an array of batteries. It is wind to house power any left over is sent back to the grid. 24hour power, we don't need no stinkin sun!

 

[Tazmaniancowboy]

How much maintenance and what kind has to be done to a solar energy system? How long do they last, and how reliable are they? you guys got me thinking.

Tazmaniancowboy

 

[JohnS_323]

Phyllis is it the same company? ??? I thought these guy were strictly solar, OR maybe that's partly why they are strictly solar now! :-X

Definitely the same Trinity. The guy who sold us the AC was a real shady dude. He smooth talked us into spending a boatload on AC and it was a total waste. We didn't know any better and he said "Do have a heater? Yeah? Does it heat the house? Well it if heats your house, we can use it to cool your house". Like dopes we believed him. Since then I have been very soured to that company.

 

[ds4x4]

don't feel bad john. my grandfather back in the day had a company come and install a Solar heater system. never worked right, could get it to blow air just not hot air

 

[crazinezz978]

I'm thinking of getting a solar unit to power my whole house anyone know any companies that do that. At $500 a month. A $20K unit would pay for itself in only a few years.

I'm getting solar panels installed on a couple of my houses. When you combine all the incentives you will get, the out of pocket cost for a 10kw system is approx. $6000. The NJ State rebate is going to get exhausted in the next few days so if you are seriously interested in going solar I would suggest you PM me ASAP and I'll explain how it works. It might be too late since you need a site survey done to apply for the state rebate but its worth giving it a shot

Dan

Hey, ive been considering solar for a while, but just didnt know how much the actual panels are with installation and how long will it take until they pay back for themselves. Also, what is the state rebate about?

-Thankss.

 

[Paul B]

I installed 22 of these panels on my house last October. I got back $20,000.00 in rebates and tax credits. It generates about $100.00 a month for me, or reduces my bill by that much.
I installed them myself, I am a retired electrician and I started a small consulting business.

 

[mr_X]

what was the total out of pocket?

 

[Paul B]

Total out of pocket was $23,000.00 of which I got back, $20,000.00 so it cost me $3,000.00. Of that I saved so far $600.00 on my electric bill since October.

 

[Phyl]

Paul, thanks so much for the info! I've been intrigued by the possibility. I have construction, roofers and electricians in the family. Where do we find the panels, parts, etc to make a go of this ourselves? Thanks!!

 

[malulu]

I installed 22 of these panels on my house last October. I got back $20,000.00 in rebates and tax credits. It generates about $100.00 a month for me, or reduces my bill by that much.
I installed them myself, I am a retired electrician and I started a small consulting business.

what are the original cost? for the panels + equipements?
thx

 

[Paul B]

Phyl, if you have an electrician in the family you can get them top contact NPCP
http://www.npcpsolar.com/
Or contact me and I will call them for you.
I don't think you can buy them directly but an electrician can. It also helps if he took the one day course on how to install them.
The panels are $850.00 each and the inverter is about $3,000.00 which you need to convert the low voltage DC current from the panels to the 110volt ac for your home. It all works automatically and nothing has to be done with it once it is installed. It turns on and off as the sun shines and you notice no difference in your power except your bill is less.