[shep]

i stumbled across a pair of new solar panels today. they are BP Solar brand and
are still in there packaging. from memory the specs are 21 volt and 4.8 amp max
and 18V and 4.0 amp minimum, they have flash looking plug things to join them together. so my question is can i use these to keep a battery topped up
when camping so the fridge dosent drain the battery and how would i
regulate the power supply.

[eldo]

hey shep im pretty sure you need a flash solar regulator from BP solar as well. i have come accross a few in the bush near my place and they all have a regulator of some sort attached. otherwise i know fuck all about solar. try connecting a multi meter to the pinouts in the sun and see what volts you have

[peeeete]

hahah "stumbled across"... where did you find em?

[shep]

peeeete wrote:

hahah "stumbled across"... where did you find em?

in my work shed, so they are fair game. my lackies wanted some overtime so
i have them emptying out the shed into three piles. lol. me, them and work.

[ball]

eldo wrote:

hey shep im pretty sure you need a flash solar regulator from BP solar as well. i have come accross a few in the bush near my place and they all have a regulator of some sort attached. otherwise i know fuck all about solar. try connecting a multi meter to the pinouts in the sun and see what volts you have

were they connected to irrigation pumps for a dope crop ?

[ball]

shep wrote:

i stumbled across a pair of new solar panels today. they are BP Solar brand and
are still in there packaging. from memory the specs are 21 volt and 4.8 amp max
and 18V and 4.0 amp minimum, they have flash looking plug things to join them together. so my question is can i use these to keep a battery topped up
when camping so the fridge dosent drain the battery and how would i
regulate the power supply.

With a regulator

[v.w.dave]

Talk to zooktastic, He is a sparky in training that build them. He built a set of them at his house that now he gets payed to use them.

[Rusho]

v.w.dave wrote:

Talk to zooktastic, He is a sparky in training that build them. He built a set of them at his house that now he gets payed to use them.

It would have to be a big system if he's getting paid. Domestic installations are a waste of time and money. Green energy my ass!!! More greenhouse gases are produced to make solar panels than they will ever offset in their lifetime, which is about 15-20 years. Good for what shep wants but don't bother for your house. JMO though.

[TonkaTuff]

Rusho81 wrote:

v.w.dave wrote:

Talk to zooktastic, He is a sparky in training that build them. He built a set of them at his house that now he gets payed to use them.

It would have to be a big system if he's getting paid. Domestic installations are a waste of time and money. Green energy my ass!!! More greenhouse gases are produced to make solar panels than they will ever offset in their lifetime, which is about 15-20 years. Good for what shep wants but don't bother for your house. JMO though.

Not sure where that info come from but AFAIK whilst the production of photovoltaics is not emissions free it's still a wayyyy better alternative to coal (what most of our power is generated from here in Oz)

The Wiki entry (not science) has some links to some real studies (is science) that actual reviewed this precise issue.

"Greenhouse gases

Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions are now in the range of 25-32 g/kWh and this could decrease to 15 g/kWh in the future.[70] For comparison (of weighted averages), a combined cycle gas-fired power plant emits some 400-599 g/kWh[71], an oil-fired power plant 893 g/kWh[71], a coal-fired power plant 915-994 g/kWh[72] or with carbon capture and storage some 200 g/kWh, and a geothermal high-temp. power plant 91-122 g/kWh[71]. Only nuclear, wind and geothermal low-temp. are better, emitting 6-25 g/kWh, 11 g/kWh and 0-1 g/kWh[71] on average. Using renewable energy sources in manufacturing and transportation would further drop carbon emissions. BP Solar owns two factories built by Solarex (one in Maryland, the other in Virginia) in which all of the energy used to manufacture solar panels is produced by solar panels."

[70] Alsema, E.A.; Wild - Scholten, M.J. de; Fthenakis, V.M. Environmental impacts of PV electricity generation - a critical comparison of energy supply options ECN, September 2006; 7p. Presented at the 21st European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, Dresden, Germany, 4-8 September 2006.

[71] Fridleifsson,, Ingvar B.; Bertani, Ruggero; Huenges, Ernst; Lund, John W.; Ragnarsson, Arni; Rybach, Ladislaus (2008-02-11). O. Hohmeyer and T. Trittin. ed (pdf). The possible role and contribution of geothermal energy to the mitigation of climate change. Luebeck, Germany. pp. 59–80. http://iga.igg.cnr.it/documenti/IGA/Fri ... r_2008.pdf. Retrieved 2009-04-06.

[72]Lund, John W. (June 2007), "Characteristics, Development and utilization of geothermal resources", Geo-Heat Centre Quarterly Bulletin (Klamath Falls, Oregon: Oregon Institute of Technology) 28 (2): pp 1–9, ISSN 0276-1084, http://geoheat.oit.edu/bulletin/bull28-2/art1.pdf, retrieved 2009-04-16

Domestic installations almost make the most sense because of the lack of transmission losses and infrastructure requirements.The financial side of things is at the moment still borderline IMHO but this is rapidly improving as the technology gets more efficient and cheaper per kWh.

Sorry for the long winded reply but it's good to have facts

[v.w.dave]

From memmory he has 4 pannels that are about 3ft by 4ft. It was part of a tafe/work thing. As I said he will have to talk about it.

ZZZOOOOKKKTTASTIC..... speak up...

[lump_a_charcoal]

A bloke I work with is being paid .60c per kilowatt that he produces, and he is saving about $120 per quarter.
That is way worth it!

[ball]

lump_a_charcoal wrote:

A bloke I work with is being paid .60c per kilowatt that he produces, and he is saving about $120 per quarter.
That is way worth it!

What was the initial out of pocket investment though ?

[eldo]

ball wrote:

eldo wrote:

hey shep im pretty sure you need a flash solar regulator from BP solar as well. i have come accross a few in the bush near my place and they all have a regulator of some sort attached. otherwise i know fuck all about solar. try connecting a multi meter to the pinouts in the sun and see what volts you have

were they connected to irrigation pumps for a dope crop ?

nah mate they are hooked up to the vent system in the coal mines

[lump_a_charcoal]

ball wrote:

lump_a_charcoal wrote:

A bloke I work with is being paid .60c per kilowatt that he produces, and he is saving about $120 per quarter.
That is way worth it!

What was the initial out of pocket investment though ?

Not too sure, he got it under the FedGovt rebate...

[ball]

lump_a_charcoal wrote:

ball wrote:

lump_a_charcoal wrote:

A bloke I work with is being paid .60c per kilowatt that he produces, and he is saving about $120 per quarter.
That is way worth it!

What was the initial out of pocket investment though ?

Not too sure, he got it under the FedGovt rebate...

I am pretty sure he would have still had to dip into his own pocket to get worthwhile system.

[Rusho]

Nice wiki reply.... If you take into account the amount of mining that would go into actually making the raw materials of a solar panel from start to finish it would amaze you. From a first hand point of view(hooking up the meter that apparently pays you ) I think it is a waste of time and money. Most of the systems that are installed are in the range of 1 or 2 kilowatts which is barely enough to run the average house. I think it does have potential, but it still has a long way to go.

[MacDaddy]

Rusho81 wrote:

v.w.dave wrote:

Talk to zooktastic, He is a sparky in training that build them. He built a set of them at his house that now he gets payed to use them.

It would have to be a big system if he's getting paid. Domestic installations are a waste of time and money. Green energy my ass!!! More greenhouse gases are produced to make solar panels than they will ever offset in their lifetime, which is about 15-20 years. Good for what shep wants but don't bother for your house. JMO though.

I am glad you said " JMO ", but still, your comments are a bit in the dark ages...
You obviously havnt seen the recent technology domestic installations...
I agree that solar cell manufacture does create greenhouse gases, but what you are talking about was 10 years ago, Solar Cells are now made cheaper, much more efficient, and with much less greenhouse gases now, the good that Solar Cells do now, far offsets any greenhouse gases created during their manufacture...

Even a basic Domestic Installation will feed back into the power grid at night, putting money into your pocket, a bigger setup will feed more into the power grid, and a big domestic installation, you will no longer need to use the power grid, and be totally self sufficient, and have so much extra power, you will get regular payments from the power company, which will quickly offset the setup/purchase cost !

If i could afford a Domestic Solar Setup, i would get one ASAP !
For Australia, with so much Sun, its the way of the future, and getting paid by the big power companies, would be very satisfying !

[lump_a_charcoal]

Solar at night?

[MacDaddy]

shep wrote:

i stumbled across a pair of new solar panels today. they are BP Solar brand and
are still in there packaging. from memory the specs are 21 volt and 4.8 amp max
and 18V and 4.0 amp minimum, they have flash looking plug things to join them together. so my question is can i use these to keep a battery topped up
when camping so the fridge dosent drain the battery and how would i
regulate the power supply.

Wow you lucky bastard !
They are worth at least $1000 a panel !
You could use them for keeping your battery charged, but you will need a regulator, but that would be a waste, those solar panels, with a rating of 4+ amps, are designed for a continuous power supply, to keep a motor or something going... with an Inverter, they would power a fridge !
Wire them in Series to get a higher voltage 42V at 4.8A, or parallel to get a higher amperage, 21V at 9.6A...

[MacDaddy]

lump_a_charcoal wrote:

Solar at night?

Oh ha ha Hey yeah, what about Moon Light !

The solar power is stored in Deep Cycle batteries, for night use...

[lump_a_charcoal]

Yes, but it isn't put into the grid...

The benefits come when you produce more than you use, during the day. This is stored, or fed back, to offset what you use at night.

It may not be the "be all and end all", but it does help a bit. If everyone did it, it would help a lot.

[shep]

MacBear wrote:

shep wrote:

i stumbled across a pair of new solar panels today. they are BP Solar brand and
are still in there packaging. from memory the specs are 21 volt and 4.8 amp max
and 18V and 4.0 amp minimum, they have flash looking plug things to join them together. so my question is can i use these to keep a battery topped up
when camping so the fridge dosent drain the battery and how would i
regulate the power supply.

Wow you lucky bastard !
They are worth at least $1000 a panel !
You could use them for keeping your battery charged, but you will need a regulator, but that would be a waste, those solar panels, with a rating of 4+ amps, are designed for a continuous power supply, to keep a motor or something going... with an Inverter, they would power a fridge !
Wire them in Series to get a higher voltage 42V at 4.8A, or parallel to get a higher amperage, 21V at 9.6A...

i only want to keep a 40ltr engel at -10 for 3 or 4 days

a mate had to spend 70k on solar as the grid is a long way from his house.

[Rusho]

MacBear wrote:

Rusho81 wrote:

v.w.dave wrote:

Talk to zooktastic, He is a sparky in training that build them. He built a set of them at his house that now he gets payed to use them.

It would have to be a big system if he's getting paid. Domestic installations are a waste of time and money. Green energy my ass!!! More greenhouse gases are produced to make solar panels than they will ever offset in their lifetime, which is about 15-20 years. Good for what shep wants but don't bother for your house. JMO though.

I am glad you said " JMO ", but still, your comments are a bit in the dark ages...
You obviously havnt seen the recent technology domestic installations...
I agree that solar cell manufacture does create greenhouse gases, but what you are talking about was 10 years ago, Solar Cells are now made cheaper, much more efficient, and with much less greenhouse gases now, the good that Solar Cells do now, far offsets any greenhouse gases created during their manufacture...

Even a basic Domestic Installation will feed back into the power grid at night, putting money into your pocket, a bigger setup will feed more into the power grid, and a big domestic installation, you will no longer need to use the power grid, and be totally self sufficient, and have so much extra power, you will get regular payments from the power company, which will quickly offset the setup/purchase cost !

If i could afford a Domestic Solar Setup, i would get one ASAP !
For Australia, with so much Sun, its the way of the future, and getting paid by the big power companies, would be very satisfying !

I see them everyday when I am installing the metering to the solar installation...the meter that is suppose to calculate your income from energy sold back to the grid. I think the only way to do this is to have a 10+kw system, the 1 & 2 kw ones that are getting flogged off to everyone just seem like a waste of time and money. Fair enough, these things are a good idea, save the planet, possibly lower your power bill if your one of the lucky ones, but at the end of the day from my point of view it doesn't seem like a long term fix to counteract peak demand(when there is no sun!!) from a distribution point of view. Wind power is the way I think, but that is a whole different debate

[shep]

Yes but how do I run ny engel with them

[TonkaTuff]

Rusho81 wrote:

Nice wiki reply.... If you take into account the amount of mining that would go into actually making the raw materials of a solar panel from start to finish it would amaze you. From a first hand point of view(hooking up the meter that apparently pays you ) I think it is a waste of time and money. Most of the systems that are installed are in the range of 1 or 2 kilowatts which is barely enough to run the average house. I think it does have potential, but it still has a long way to go.

As I pointed out Wiki is not science, if you take the time to read the papers referenced by the Wiki entry you will see that the wiki is actually an accurate summary of the peer reviewed scientific papers. Wiki is merely a collection of words edited by anybody (so subject to opinion just like yours) but the referenced papers are hard science.

With respect, I'm glad you said you "think" it's a waste of time and money because the published science says different.

Having said that, would be keen to read any papers you can find backing up your statement because it's always good to get an alternative view.

[Ben_Sierra]

Rusho81 wrote:

MacBear wrote:

Rusho81 wrote:

v.w.dave wrote:

Talk to zooktastic, He is a sparky in training that build them. He built a set of them at his house that now he gets payed to use them.

It would have to be a big system if he's getting paid. Domestic installations are a waste of time and money. Green energy my ass!!! More greenhouse gases are produced to make solar panels than they will ever offset in their lifetime, which is about 15-20 years. Good for what shep wants but don't bother for your house. JMO though.

I am glad you said " JMO ", but still, your comments are a bit in the dark ages...
You obviously havnt seen the recent technology domestic installations...
I agree that solar cell manufacture does create greenhouse gases, but what you are talking about was 10 years ago, Solar Cells are now made cheaper, much more efficient, and with much less greenhouse gases now, the good that Solar Cells do now, far offsets any greenhouse gases created during their manufacture...

Even a basic Domestic Installation will feed back into the power grid at night, putting money into your pocket, a bigger setup will feed more into the power grid, and a big domestic installation, you will no longer need to use the power grid, and be totally self sufficient, and have so much extra power, you will get regular payments from the power company, which will quickly offset the setup/purchase cost !

If i could afford a Domestic Solar Setup, i would get one ASAP !
For Australia, with so much Sun, its the way of the future, and getting paid by the big power companies, would be very satisfying !

I see them everyday when I am installing the metering to the solar installation...the meter that is suppose to calculate your income from energy sold back to the grid. I think the only way to do this is to have a 10+kw system, the 1 & 2 kw ones that are getting flogged off to everyone just seem like a waste of time and money. Fair enough, these things are a good idea, save the planet, possibly lower your power bill if your one of the lucky ones, but at the end of the day from my point of view it doesn't seem like a long term fix to counteract peak demand(when there is no sun!!) from a distribution point of view. Wind power is the way I think, but that is a whole different debate

The problem with wind, and with solar, and most other renewables is that they just aren't reliable and consistant enough to provide base-load power on a large scale.

You need something that you know can provide consistent power, when you need it. At the moment the only reliable, emission free power source available is nuclear.

Of course, nuclear has its own environmental issues with proper waste disposal.

Unfortunately at the moment we still don't have a real solution to the problem...

[shep]

well fuck me. how do i use these fucken panels to run my engel.

[Ben_Sierra]

shep wrote:

well fuck me. how do i use these fucken panels to run my engel.

Get a solar charge controller, hook it up to a battery, connect the engel...

Simple

[shep]

fuck that took a bit, thanks.

[ball]

shep wrote:

Yes but how do I run ny engel with them

ring me tomorrow and I will give you fatboy's number. The dodgy bastard has hot rodded his house to run a combination of solar and wind as well as mains.

He said he had neighbors knocking on his door the first time there was a blackout wanting to know why his house was lit up like a christmas tree and everyone else was sitting in the darkness.