SOLAR ELECTRICITY 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.
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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.
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.
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