Harbor Freight had a solar panel kit on sale for Black Friday. So I ordered one. I'm not sure when it will be here, but when I get it I will take lots of pictures of the box contents, the installation and any extra stuff needed to make it all go together.
Ok, before any "alternative energy" snobs start dogging me for getting a Harbor Freight kit, don't do it. I don't know shit about solar energy, nada, zip. This is an inexpensive way to learn and still have something that is useful. There are about 25 vdeos of people on the Youtube that have this same kit and are thrilled with the performance they get out of it.
It's also expandable, which is important to me. I want to be able to grow this a little at a time as I learn what I am doing.
I'm not getting this kit with any unreal expectations about what I can do with it. I'm not expecting to power my house or even my shed with a single 45 watt kit. I do expect to be able to charge up some batteries, including my Dewalt drill and some AAA and AA batteries in a charger. And maybe power a couple of lights in my shed.
I'm also beginning a little bit of research into a homemade wind turbine that will supplement the current system. It doesn't seem that hard. And most of the pieces for it are cheap or free. The more I think about it, the more I realize how much I could be saving for other things b using the "free" energy available to me everyday. We all know that the wind and solar energy isn't really free. Like with anything else, there are costs associated with the original setup and then on going maintenance, so nothing is really free.
But, with some good choices and little sacrifices now, I can have at least some power when people around me don't. That could come in real handy.
As soon as I get my bits and pieces together I will make a new post with some decent pictures...
Anytime you want to gain some useful background info, go to Homepower.com. The folks who do this magazine (and you can download it instead of getting the paper version, if you choose to) have been doing it since Issue #1 in 1987. I use to own #1-112, until I got tired of carting them all around. You can get all the back issues on a disc now.
ReplyDeleteOn that web site, they have numerous free articles you can read and download that will give you the basics and more. Take a peek when you have the time.
www.homepower.com
I believe you will be eligible for about a billion dollars in aid from the obama regime for using green energy.
ReplyDeleteOh damn! d moore, I didn't even think about that! You make a heck of a good point. At the rate these dipshits pass out tax dollars for green stuff, I should be elgible for at least a billion, maybe two. I wonder how I apply for that? A little help? Anybody?
DeleteUsed on a personal basis for a home, cabin, or boat, it can be quite useful. Trying to power America with it is stupid. At least with the current state of the art.
ReplyDeleteBut - you have to be muslim in order to qualify for green energy benefits.
Dammit RegT, I was thinking I was about to be rolling in the dough. Maybe I could wrap a dishtowel around my head and fake being mooslime?
DeleteSo far, from all that I read, wind and solar on a small scale can be kind of cool. It would be a hell of a lot better if it was cheaper to get started, but on a large scale... no way. Too much up front investment for most businesses to justify.
Just for info, solar panel prices have come down an amazing amount, from where they were just a few years ago. When you look at the bigger panels, you can get the price down to $1 a watt. So, when you are looking at panels sold by Harbor Freight, Northern Tool, Camping World (to name a few), you will get ripped off if you buy anything other than a small panel that is on sale.
DeleteFor an idea of what I mean, here is a good supplier with excellent prices: http://www.altestore.com/store/Solar-Panels/c541/page/1/sort/6a/
Click on the "price" button, and it will list them by price, lowest to highest. A little ways down the list you will start to see panels that sell for $1 or $1.20 a watt. Some really good deals. A few years back I bought two Kyocera 135 watt panels from these folks for about $400 each. Now the Kyocera 140 watt panels sell for $285.
I am planning on doing solar at the house we hope to close on here in a couple of weeks. There is still a 30% Federal tax credit, and Montana pays $500 ($1000 per married) on a qualifying system. (I had to stone my wife and set my daughter on fire to qualify, though ;-) So that helps.
Yeah, it sounds like we are "rich", in the "1%", but what is actually happening is that we are stripping our retirement savings so we can buy stuff now, while the money still has some value. So, if electricity gets too expensive - or unavailable, because the EPA/Obama shuts down too many coal-fired or oil-fired plants - we can still power our well pump and other necessary stuff. Same with food, ammo, etc. The money will be much more useful as commodities which we would buy anyway, but not be able to afford later, if/when the dollar gets hyper-inflated and won't buy anything.