4 replies to this topic

[MoreEnergy]

After a wave of recent storms left us without power for over a week, I have decided to build a solar power generator. I already bought a 12v Solar Panel, a deep cycle gell 12B battery and a box. Now I need a direct current meter. I am not quite sure where the best place to buy this is. I have little knowledge about these meters so any advice would be appreciated.

[still learning]

MoreEnergy, on 26 March 2012 - 08:50 AM, said:

.... Now I need a direct current meter....

Sounds like you want an inexpensive "multimeter."  They're suitable for measuring low and moderate DC voltages (and other things too like resistance and AC voltage).  You do need to set the rotary selector to the appropriate function and range (which might be 50 V DC for your meter.  
I'd get the analog kind with the moving needle indicator instead of the digital kind with a numeric LCD display, actually more useful most of the time.  They're a sort of general purpose basic electrical/electronic troubleshooting tool.  
Looks like Radio Shack has them for about twenty dolllars.  I expect places like Home Depot have them too.
Should last for many years, become part of your tool collection.
Should come with a little instruction booklet.  If you have questions about it's use, ask.

What is it you plan powering with this solar panel/bettery setup?

[MoreEnergy]

Thanks, I will check out Home Depot first, I have to go there tomorrow to get some paint and lumber anyway. For now I want to have a back up supply for minor things. It would be nice to make it powerful enough to run the fridge or freezer and some lights. In the winter it would be nice to run a heater... but those things suck up voltage so we will just continue to sit around the wood burning stove. Eventually, I want to run my entire house from solar, wind and what ever else I can figure out. For now I want to get this small generator up and running. More than anything I want to learn how to do it. I figure if I can get the basics I can do more and more.

[Phil]

You will need an inverter to convert battery voltage into 120V.  It's also better to get a charger to interface the panel to your battery or overcharging could greatly reduce battery life.  A 200W panel with 5 hours of sun will give you 1,000 watt hours of power.  That's enough to run one 100W bulb for 10 hours.  You will get less than than due to inefficiencies.

On a cloudy day expect that 1000 watt hours to be more like 100 watt hours or a 100W bulb for only 1 hour.

Solar panels are wonderful things but they are very inefficient so it takes a lot of them to make a difference.  I have a grid tie system that shoud offset 80% of my electric usage, but that took 42 230W panels, nearly 10KW.

Good luck with your project, just try not to set your expectations too high.

[dziomek]

I have never heard of a solar power generator before; it would be much quieter than a gas or diesel one, that's for sure. A couple summers ago we let a friend park his fifth-wheel holiday trailer in our yard while he worked in the area. The generator was so noisy I could barely hear the frogs. I was not sad when he pulled it out of hear, that's for sure. The idea of country living is so a person can enjoy the sounds of nature. Living along a busy highway is bad enough, but at least the traffic noise is intermittent. the generator on the other hand...