From - Sat Nov 29 23:54:15 1997 Date: Sat, 29 Nov 1997 16:54:46 -0800 From: noahdove@lightspeed.bc.ca (Noah's Dove) Newsgroups: alt.survial,misc.survivalism Subject: Solar Photovoltaics and Survival Message-ID: Organization: Noah's Dove Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-transfer-encoding: 8bit X-Newsreader: Yet Another NewsWatcher 2.3.4 NNTP-Posting-Host: light51.lightspeed.bc.ca Lines: 125 Path: rosebud!uunet!in2.uu.net!nntp.ntr.net!news.maxwell.syr.edu!news-peer.sprintlink.net!news-sea-19.sprintlink.net!news-in-west.sprintlink.net!news.sprintlink.net!Sprint!204.244.4.2!news.westel.com!noahdove Survivalist, solar panels and batteries, will provide the emergency power for radios, lights, DC coolers, etc. as El Nino, earthquakes and other disasters come upon us...if interested check out the web site below after the following introduction to photovoltaics PHOTOVOLTAICS: Electricity From Sunlight Photovoltaics is a fancy word for the simple process of converting light energy into electricity. And now, solar energy has become the prime power choice of Off-Grid Home Owners, Cottage, Cabin, RV and Boat Owners. Why?, because Solar Energy: * Is free * Very safe for the user * Completely silent * Reliable * Consumes no fuel * Requires almost no maintenance ------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE BASICS: Solar Systems and How They work The foundation of any solar system is the solar module, more commonly referred to as a solar panel. These flat collectors operate as electrical generators, producing 12 volt DC power when exposed to sunlight. A typical module for a weekend cabin is only four square feet in size and weighs less than twelve pounds. Solar panels can be wired together in series to generate higher voltages, or in parallel to increase charge current, or both depending on the application. Solar panels are usually mounted due south to take advantage of the strongest sun during the middle of the day. On a home or cabin they are typically mounted on the roof, as this is usually the most shade free area. If roof top mounting is not practical, they can be placed on a free-standing or pole mount structure. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HOW YOU CAN USE SOLAR ENERGY A solar panel exposed to the sun will convert roughly 12% of the energy it sees into DC (Direct Current) electricity. With solar energy as the power source, batteries then become the reservoir for this energy. From this reservoir, lights, fans, water pumps and radios can be used day or night, or even during periods of bad weather. A good quality, deep cycle battery offers the most capacity and the longest life span in solar applications. With a small inverter, which converts DC into 115VAC power, the solar system can run vacuums, tools, even microwaves. RV and Boat Owners can use solar energy to run small appliances and lighting, and also to keep batteries in top condition when stored for the winter. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WHAT SIZE SYSTEM DO I NEED? The major components of a solar system, the panels and batteries, are modular, so a system can be sized to match any load simply by adjusting the number of panels and batteries. This will allow you to power everything from a few lights to a whole house. The first step in sizing your system is to determine your total power requirements. For example a typical load profile for an RV or cabin might be: 2 lights x 1.0 amps x 4 hours = 8 Ahr/day 1 pump x 8.0 amps x 0.5 hours = 4 Ahr/day 1 TV x 3.0 amps x 2 hours = 6 Ahr/day 1 stereo x 0.25 amps x 8 hours = 2 Ahr/day A single M-65 solar panel produces, on average, 12-15 Ahr/day in the summer and 6-8 Ahr per day during the winter. If our example is a summer cabin, then we divide the load by 12 Ahr to determine the number of panels. Example: Number of Solar Panels Required Divide: Total Daily Load: 20 Ahr/day By: Panel Output: 12 Ahr/day To Get: # of Panels Required: 2 If the cabin is only used on weekends, the load requirements would drop significantly. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MORE ON SIZING... Once the number of panels has been determined, the size of your battery bank is selected by a rough rule of thumb. For every solar panel in the system, 100 to 150 Ahr of battery storage should be used. For example, a four panel system should have between 400 and 600 Ahr of battery capacity. If you are finding yourself a little overwhelmed at this point, SOLTEK offers a free design consultation service. You need only give us your total power requirements from season to season and SOLTEK will provide a complete design proposal and quotation. Another reason for the popularity of solar systems is they will work for years without servicing or maintenance. The panels themselves are warrantied for 10 years with an expected life of 20 to 30 years. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ SOLAR POWER - IN WINTER? It is possible to design a solar system to power almost any load - even for winter use. It is simply a matter of selecting the right amount of solar panels and batteries to do the job. For winter use batteries should, if possible, be kept warm as they have more useable capacity in warmer temperatures. Battery venting is also important, as all lead acid batteries exhaust hydrogen gas while being charged. The ideal battery location is a warm, insulated compartment with venting to the outside. Soltek Energy Ltd. Canada ------------------------------------------------------------------------ For more information call 1-800-209-9240 or e-mail: soltekvan@soltek.ca ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Web page catalogue: http://vvv.com/~soltek/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Noah's Dove