[Elecraft] OT: Small solar array to handle just the shack, computers, and lighting

[Mel Farrer via Elecraft]

Hello Wayne,
First, to really get a handle on your power usage, get one of the power monitors.  Like UPM model EM100.  It is a plug in 120 vac monitor that reads voltage, power being consumed, you put in the cost per KW and it calculates the $ usage.  It was a eye opener for some of the appliances, computer, servers, lights etc.  Not withstanding the electric range I assume everything else is plug in except the LED lights, you can calculate that in your head.  Anyway that will give you a start on what your total house load is sans the stove.  

There are solar calculators on line that will take that info and when you give them your long and lat, will calculate the worse case winter solar power needs.  As for me, the 100 w radio, computer and LED lights here are running nicely on a 85 w panel and a 140 Ah battery for normal SSB use.  No I don't contest with it only, and yes I have a booster charger as standby.  

Just a different approach.  

      From: Jim McDonald <jim at n7us.net>
 To: Wayne Burdick <n6kr at elecraft.com> 
Cc: Elecraft Reflector <elecraft at mailman.qth.net> 
 Sent: Friday, September 25, 2015 10:01 AM
 Subject: Re: [Elecraft] OT: Small solar array to handle just the shack, computers, and lighting
   
60W equivalent LEDs are $3 for a pack of three at Costco in the Chicago area due to an instant rebate from ComEd, the area power company.  I really like them, so I need to find a home for my inventory of CFLs.

Jim N7US
Sent from my iPad


On Sep 25, 2015, at 10:33 AM, Wayne Burdick <n6kr at elecraft.com> wrote:

Hi all,

Some of our friends are putting in large solar arrays that feed power back into the electrical grid. I'm looking for something smaller and simpler since our electricity use is very low overall.

The reason it's so low is that we've converted all of our lighting to LED. (LED bulbs that consume 10 W yet have 60 W equivalent light output relative to incandescents are getting remarkably cheap -- 3 for $10 at Home Depot.) Consumption goes up when we use the electric range, etc., but that's infrequent, and I don't mind paying the city at such times. As for the radios, I run 10 W more often than 100 W, and the computers don't use much, either. 

So I figure we could run the house from a 500- to 600-W array most of the time. Other requirements:

- I'd like to forego feed-in to the power grid. We don't need to watch our meter turn backwards, and with a small array it would turn pretty slowly anyway. But I do want city power in parallel when we exceed solar array capability.

- I want a backup battery that's sufficient to hold us for a couple of days during a blackout. Every once in awhile on a really hot day, city power consumption exceeds what's available, and a transformer blows somewhere. Very entertaining until you have to go buy ice for the fridge.

Systems that meet the above requirements seem to cost a lot more than the sum of the parts. So what I'm looking for is a good source of roll-your-own-solar info. I'll hire an electrician to wire up the solar system in parallel with the city supply, but I could purchase the components and do most of the installation myself.

Any suggestions? Please contact me off-list.

tnx
Wayne
N6KR


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