Off grid solar - need to move my house
Off grid solar - need to move my house
(OP)
Having got my immersion heater wired into the solar, the sun stopped shining. The attached graph pretty much shows what happens each year. I've got about 3 square metres of panels, at say 10% efficient, so in winter I'll be expecting 5 MJ/m^2*.1*3/3.6 kWh, ie about 1/2 a kWh! At the moment I'm getting about double that, but no wonder the batteries are empty.
So I think a wind generator might be the next little project, that or a wood fired steam engine (save that one for retirement).
Just in case you think I am a total idiot, yes we do have a diesel generator that can charge the batteries at 20A (C20) while powering the house, I just hate the noise and the smell.
So I think a wind generator might be the next little project, that or a wood fired steam engine (save that one for retirement).
Just in case you think I am a total idiot, yes we do have a diesel generator that can charge the batteries at 20A (C20) while powering the house, I just hate the noise and the smell.
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?





RE: Off grid solar - need to move my house
RE: Off grid solar - need to move my house
Take a holiday on Flinders, and go see Mr. Oztules. He'll set you up.
I haven't encountered anyone who knows more about energy conversion systems (solar/hydro/wind/electromechanical) than him.
Since he writes prolifically, you can find a lot of good info on the internet, easily searchable.
Look especially for his WT maintenance and diagnosis writings, particularly for the AWP machines that he serviced. Some of the best though-out ideas about how to and how not to build a long-lasting reliable wind turbine, and fix it when it's broken. Once you've soaked that in, you can avoid buying the chinese crap that's being passed off and wind turbines these days.
STF
RE: Off grid solar - need to move my house
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: Off grid solar - need to move my house
Your graph seems to say that you get less sun exposure in the summer than the winter for Michigan. I find that very hard to believe. Maybe I am misreading it...
You sure this graph is not for somewhere in Australia, South Africa, or Argentina?
Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
RE: Off grid solar - need to move my house
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Off grid solar - need to move my house
Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
RE: Off grid solar - need to move my house
DIY anemometer:
Stepper motor from a computer hard drive
+
Plastic egg cups
+
20 meters of telephone cord
+
tiny circuit board with a microcontroller counting pulses from the stepper
+
memory card/laptop/mobile phone interface to the uC
+
fasten to a pole
+
fasten pole to your automobile, to calibrate
+
Stick pole in back yard for several years.
Or...
Find a weather station close to your house and use the data from the government's weather service. Today.
STF
RE: Off grid solar - need to move my house
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Off grid solar - need to move my house
otherpower.com has some good info on DIY wind turbines, and homebrew anemometer. They have info on older projects all the way up to a large 20` blade diameter unit.
RE: Off grid solar - need to move my house
Some of us drink, some of us don't. I don't remember all the details all the time. I will remember this now though.
It did reinforce my intuition though.
Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
RE: Off grid solar - need to move my house
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The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which depends on a feature that isn't included in this version of Windows.
RE: Off grid solar - need to move my house
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: Off grid solar - need to move my house
You get what you pay for.
STF
RE: Off grid solar - need to move my house
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: Off grid solar - need to move my house
If you do get a home weather station, and confirm/calibrate the accuracy of the anemometer, will it log data to a computer? Maybe you can find one that will. Many won't. Some just tell you it's raining, after you come in the house and take your wet coat and boots off.
STF
RE: Off grid solar - need to move my house
No it wouldn't; all the wind turbine designs I've seed have to be feathered for self-protection during gale force winds.
RE: Off grid solar - need to move my house
RE: Off grid solar - need to move my house
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?