Are You Prepared?
Solar Power
There are many different solar products available in the market these days. For those not familiar with Solar power, it can be an overwhelming amount of information to take in. Here is a general breakdown of solar power for informational purposes only.
Usage: Solar power is used in a variety of applications and is commonly seen as:
Net Metering: Household and commercial buildings use grid-tied systems that feed the power they generate, back into the electrical grid. Owners of those systems "sell" the power to the power company, which, in turn, gives credit to the owner on their electric bills.
Localized charging of small batterry powered devices. These may be outdoor lights for lawn, garden and patio, or they might be roadside signs, warning lights or low level lighting units. These devices use small panels to provide a low power charge to the internal, rechargeable batterries.
Solar Power Generators: These are "all in one" units that use medium sized panels to charge an internal battery, which is then accessed by using built in power outlets that are fed by an inverter (see below). These units do what they are supposed to do, but are usually a little more expensive, and may be limited in how much power may be supplied. A user simply plugs in their electronic device the same way they would do with their household outlets.
We will focus here on components of a small, portable system. The graphic below is from a Renogy system. Whatever system you might decide on, pay careful attention to the documentation provided by the manufacturer. If you have questions about a particular system, consult with a qualified individual or electrician. The electrical power a user could be exposed to can be significant. This system below is for a 12 volt system, using 12 volt deep cycle batterries.
Solar Panels: The solar panels generate 12 volt DC power. This may be one, two, or more panels. Panels are usually identified by the type of panel and the respective "wattage" generated per panel. The kit these came in was comprised of four 100 watt panels, making it a "400 Watt" kit. The wattage determines how much electricity is generated at one time, and may be expressed as "Watt hours".
Charge Controller: The charge controller monitors the power being generated by the solar panels, and regulates the flow to the battery. If acts similar to a battery charger.
Battery or batteries:Batteries are used to store the electricity generated by the pannels. This may be a single battery, or several batterries in parrallel. In this case, 12 volt, deep cycle marine batteries. Batteries are usually rated on how much power they can store, measured in "amp hours".
Power Inverter:The power inverter takes the 12 volt DC power from the battery bank and converts it to 110/120 volt AC current. This is where you plug in your devices. Power Inverters vary on how much capacity they can handle, and should match or exceed the requirements of the devices you want to provide power to. The power inverter is sepearate in this particular system.
Things to consider. First of all, check and integrate all safety protocols that go hand in hand with working around electricity. Always consult the documentation that came with any particualr system or components you have, and remember to consult a qualified electrician if you have questions.
The system referenced above is great for powering radios, small appliances and low power machines. More powerful motorized equipment wil generally use a significantly greater amount of power than a smaller system can generate or provide.
Solar power is limited when skies are not clear and certainly when the sun goes down, so plan your power usuage with care. When you plan out what devices you wish to power, don't forget to calculate your peak usage and scale your system accordingly.
A good read on solar power: https://news.energysage.com/most-common-solar-energy-uses/
The Renogy system referenced above. Note: The price of these systems has risen over the last year.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IC6CSW2/
We use the above basic system here at Are You Prepared. Here are some pictures of our configuration. Remember to consult the documentation that comes with your products, and consult with an electrician for any questions you may have. Our system is used to power radios, lights, even a skillsaw, which is a heavy power drain. Batteries are Deep Cycle Marine batterries and they can be used alone, or wired in parrallel, which povides more amp hours (time). The 400 Watt Solar Panel array does an excellent job charging the batterries. (results vary based on available sunlight and positioning of panels). The handles are comfortable, both securing the folded array closed, and making the lift easy to manage (panels weight about 65 lbs. as assembled).
Complete system, in packed configuration
Solar Control Board with Charge Controller, PV cables, Battery Tray cables,Voltworks 1500 Watt Inverter, remote controller and wiring layout.
The Connected Solar assembly with a NAPA Deep Cycle Marine Battery. **Note: there are 20 feet of Cable from the panels to the controler. Controller and Battery(or batteries) should be in the shade, or at least out of direct sunlight. Additional lengths of PV cable are available. This image shows a Harbor Freight 1,000 Watt Inver, not the Volt Works 1500 Watt.
The back side of the Connected Solar package. This system is pretty simple. The panels are connected by hinges that we installed. The supports are simple pine strips. They are effective, adjustable and cheap. They are also easy to replace.
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email: Sales@AreYouPrepared.biz
Call Us: (860) 836-4558
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