Off Grid - first step

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Off Grid - first step
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OtleyLad

Joined: 13 Jan 2007
Posts: 2737
Location: Otley, West Yorkshire

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 12 1:06 pm Post subject: Off Grid - first step

Well i've had this long term aim to get off grid. Miles to go yet but at last I've made a start. I was a bit scared joining everything up at first (in case I wrecked anything) even though i've re-wired houses, etc in the past.
Here's the solar panel (250w) being tested in the back garden. It will eventually sit on top of the car port where it will get the sun all day. The panel is hinged so the angle can be altered for each month to get the most out of the sunlight.

Here's the charger, batteries and inverter in the shed:

As I get spare cash(!!) I will get more panels and batteries.

The charger can handle at least 6 panels and the inverter is good for 1500w (3000peak).
I'm going to start powering the freezers and then my shed/office computer and lights as I get more panels/batteries.

Quite chuffed with it really

Last edited by OtleyLad on Fri Apr 27, 12 1:11 pm; edited 1 time in total

Penny Outskirts

Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 23385
Location: Planet, not on the....

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 12 1:08 pm Post subject:
Excellent What's the approximate cost? If you don't mind me asking?

OtleyLad

Joined: 13 Jan 2007
Posts: 2737
Location: Otley, West Yorkshire

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 12 1:15 pm Post subject:

Penny Outskirts wrote:

Excellent

What's the approximate cost? If you don't mind me asking?

About �1000 - panel �357 (that was last year, they're now about �250

)
Batterries �160 (2 x 110 ah)
Charger �220
Inverter �229 (Pure Sine Wave)

Various wires about �50

earthmamma

Joined: 01 Jan 2012
Posts: 411
Location: West Wiltshire

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 12 5:00 pm Post subject:
Is it a good idea to have all that flamable stuff next to the electircal stuff??? I admire your efforts, being as you are obviosly pretty urban. Normally it is people who live quite rurally that go off grid.

vegplot

Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 12 5:32 pm Post subject:
Keep an eye on the start loads of any appliances you attach to the system as they peak to quite high levels before settling down. It may not be an issue but some inverters can be fussy as to the type of load i.e. resistive, inductive, or capacitive.

DawnMK

Joined: 01 Dec 2008
Posts: 895
Location: Buckinghamshire

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 12 6:21 pm Post subject:
I am envious I waaannnnnnnnnnnnnnt one when we go off grid at our next home I will be calling on you for help

Frazzled_Barbie

Joined: 26 Sep 2011
Posts: 466
Location: Buckinghamshire

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 12 6:26 pm Post subject:
Brilliant - well done you. Thank you for sharing If there is not already an article about this would you consider doing one. I showed this to my OH and he is very keen to learn more. Electrics is not our forte at all.

OtleyLad

Joined: 13 Jan 2007
Posts: 2737
Location: Otley, West Yorkshire

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 12 6:40 pm Post subject:

Frazzled_Barbie wrote:

Brilliant - well done you. Thank you for sharing

If there is not already an article about this would you consider doing one. I showed this to my OH and he is very keen to learn more. Electrics is not our forte at all.

I'd be happy to relate the progress of my project - but I know there are others on the DZ forum who know heaps more and have much more experience of putting together much bigger systems. I've only got one panel and I probably need another 15 to get completely off-grid!

alice

Joined: 18 Feb 2006
Posts: 2820

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 12 7:51 pm Post subject:
We were off grid for five or so years. Gawd! I HATE batteries

RichardW

Joined: 24 Aug 2006
Posts: 8443
Location: Llyn Peninsular North Wales

Posted: Fri Apr 27, 12 9:10 pm Post subject:

alice wrote:

Gawd! I HATE batteries

Why?

Nick

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 34535
Location: Hereford

Posted: Sat Apr 28, 12 9:54 am Post subject:
That's going to be a very expensive kite if the wind gets up. Are the mountings strong enough? Would hate to rejoin this thread after a storm with bad news.

OtleyLad

Joined: 13 Jan 2007
Posts: 2737
Location: Otley, West Yorkshire

Posted: Sat Apr 28, 12 1:28 pm Post subject:

Nick wrote:

That's going to be a very expensive kite if the wind gets up. Are the mountings strong enough? Would hate to rejoin this thread after a storm with bad news.

Don't worry, its all going to be securely attached to the car port roof on a different frame.

RichardW

Joined: 24 Aug 2006
Posts: 8443
Location: Llyn Peninsular North Wales

Posted: Sat Apr 28, 12 2:00 pm Post subject:
I would not worry to much about having it adjustable. Just set it to optimise the production for the time of year you will be using it the most. If you use PVGIS you can see what the effect of different angle makes on the production month by month.

Croatia Keith

Joined: 27 Mar 2012
Posts: 23
Location: Croatia

Posted: Sun May 13, 12 9:31 am Post subject:
Nice starter project, I really admire your efforts. Unless you have A+ or better rated fridge and freezer you might want to consider investing in a digital plug in timer. Half an hour of power on in every two hours is generally enough but test as you go to find the optimum time for the appliances you have.

bulworthy project

Joined: 27 Jun 2011
Posts: 188
Location: Rackenford, Devon

Posted: Sun May 13, 12 10:33 am Post subject:
I like the PVGIS website. We angle our solar panels to get maximum power in the winter as in the summer we tend to be fine anyway.

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