From my previous posts some will know that I will be building a 100% off grid cabin hopefully early next year and have been experimenting with all my self sufficiency projects before the big move.
I have already built a solar water heater and solar oven, next will be a small wind generator and recumbent exercise bike generator.
These 4" square PV cells were purchased from Edmund Scientific when I lived in Florida around 1987 for $5 each ($150 total). So far testing shows I should get 14vdc at 2 amps which is 28 watts, you can buy a nice 25 watt panel for $180 and would never spend all the time to wire these individual cells together again (except that I already had them in deep storage for 22 years).
Laid out and ready to wire
All wired and hooked up to a flashlight bulb on the kitchen table, 120 watt ceiling light is making all of 3 volts
Mounted in an old storm window I cut in half and powering a 12 volt computer fan
Wired up to the charge controller which then charges a deep cycle battery and then powers a 750 watt 12vdc to 120vac inverter. The meters are measuring everything from the voltage and current output of the panel to the charge rate of the battery to the output of the inverter. The controller shuts the panel off when the battery reaches full charge so you don't cook it and also shuts the load off when it discharges to 11.5 volts so you don't kill it.
This panel will only make enough power to keep a laptop running for a few hours a day when sunny, the real panel will be 200 watts and cost about $1000.
I have already built a solar water heater and solar oven, next will be a small wind generator and recumbent exercise bike generator.
These 4" square PV cells were purchased from Edmund Scientific when I lived in Florida around 1987 for $5 each ($150 total). So far testing shows I should get 14vdc at 2 amps which is 28 watts, you can buy a nice 25 watt panel for $180 and would never spend all the time to wire these individual cells together again (except that I already had them in deep storage for 22 years).
Laid out and ready to wire
All wired and hooked up to a flashlight bulb on the kitchen table, 120 watt ceiling light is making all of 3 volts
Mounted in an old storm window I cut in half and powering a 12 volt computer fan
Wired up to the charge controller which then charges a deep cycle battery and then powers a 750 watt 12vdc to 120vac inverter. The meters are measuring everything from the voltage and current output of the panel to the charge rate of the battery to the output of the inverter. The controller shuts the panel off when the battery reaches full charge so you don't cook it and also shuts the load off when it discharges to 11.5 volts so you don't kill it.
This panel will only make enough power to keep a laptop running for a few hours a day when sunny, the real panel will be 200 watts and cost about $1000.
But did you see the pictures????? Thats drooling material!!
