Future solar projects
(Updated 04/02)
The shed has moved from a very basic solar system (the one panel) to a rather complex power station. It now has to power itself, my tools, my tractor, and any 12 volt appliances I might see fit to install.
Additional battery power is a must. I have been using Dynasty AGM batteries; they seem to be an excellent value. The ones I have are used, but they come from a power company that runs these in their UPS units and cycles them out every three years. Since they were floated 99% of the time, they are in like-new condition. I also have a pair of 12 volt Trojan T145 batteries that were given to me (and seem to be in good shape).
Currently I have 180 amp/hours of power at 24 volts and 240 amp/hours at 12 volts. My first plan is to buy another 220 amp/hours of AGM batteries at the next hamfest; this will bring my system up to 400 amps or over 9.6 kilowatt hours. Enough to last me through most power outages.
Not sure where to go on the panels. By the end of April I will have four MSX-120 panels, one MSX-60 panel, and one MSX-20 panel. Total of 560 watts. I'll see how the sun falls on the shed over the summer and decide if I have the sunlight to add more to the roof.
The next big step is to install a solar water heating system on the roof of the main house. I'm leaning towards the ThermoDymanics systems because of their high efficiency and because they are headquartered out of Columbia MD. Replacing my existing water heater with the TD system and an "instant on" auxillairy gas heater is step one of this project; if it works well I will install a *LOT* of these collectors (think 60-90 of them) and replace my main home heating system (I have radiant heat already) with a full-bore solar system+gas backup.
One thing I am keeping in mind here is that not only is this stuff tax free, but that I can get a 15% rebate of the costs of all this stuff right off my state taxes. Not bad. I think there might be a Federal thing as well; we shall see. Regardless, this cuts the cost of the project by a whopping 20%; enough to put the profit horizon within reach...
If this works out, I might go seriously insane and look into installing a big PV system on the roof. The system would be grid tied, with net metering to absorb the excess power generation. I'm toying with the idea of 20 MSX120 type panels on the roof, generating a total of 2,400 watts of power. Cost would be $10,000 with $1,500 coming back from the friendly people in the state to cover the inverter...
That's 10kw of power a day (assuming 5 hours of sun) times 30 days=300kw/hr a month. Given that my latest (summer) electric bill is for 1,473 kw/hr, this will not make much of a dent in my bill. So I need to think about conserving a bit more first :-) To completely pay down my bill, I would need 50kw/hrs a DAY. Or the equiv of 10Kw an hour. Or 83 120 watt panels. Costing over $40,000... Actually, that matches my electric bill over the 20 year span of a solar panel's life... So at today's prices, it's a wash to go with solar.
Which, if you think about it, is incredible. It's actually possible to build a system up front that will supply you with power independant of the utility for the same cost as the utility over a 20 year period. And if electricity prices keep going up, and panel prices go down, the cutoff point might move in enough to make it worthwhile..... Another possibility might be to see how much power I use off-summer, and size the system for the average month. Then buy the rest from the utility. Then put in a small battery system to hold the house through a 2 day power failure...
Meantime, I need to figure out where the electricity is going. I have higher efficiency window units; but they aren't burning 50,000 watts of power in a 24 hour period, are they?
Having a mostly flat roof in the back (Boo Manor is a modified Cape Cod) and being on the South side of a hill does give me some possibilities. However if I do this, I probably will have to cut down a tree or two to give max sun on the roof. We shall see what happens with that; I don't want to cut down the trees that shade my house in the summer and keep the wind at bay in the winter....