Feel free to ask alternative energy related questions here.
One of our volunteer topic leaders will be happy to answer you.
what do you think the time line for cost effective solar power is?
I've read that germany uses more renewable energy than fossil fuels at this point.
I also keep reading about solar breakthroughs and how the cost of solar is getting pretty competetive compared to fossils.
Would you agree?
thx
Well I think you have been sleeping.... Its already below the cost of fossils...has been for a while
Just back to add, think about it...panel sizes going north of 300 watts, with pricing at say 1 dollar to 125 a watt. In Canada we are mostly blessed with sunshine..lets say you paid 300 dollars for your panel, and I see no reason it wont produce for 40 years. can we agree you should mostly get say 5 hours a day average sunlight year round? So 300 watts x 5hrs= 1.5kwhrs a day x 365 days=547kwhrs a year......what do you pay perkwhr? lets say .10....so .15 cents a day x (365x6years)=328 dollars or in other words the panel has paid for inself in less than 6 years and has 34 more years to give you free power, so if you factor in the other 34 years ( 40 years production, 21880kwhrs , 300 dollar cost)= 1.37 cents per kwhr but infact much less than 1.37 cents per kwhr as electric prices will rise over 40 years so in real terms you will be paying below a penny per kwhr, yes other associated costs but still it works out cheaper, but regardless of cost even if it was more, so what..you will be in control of your own power needs and how do you put a price on that?
Give a man a gun, and he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank, and he can rob the world.
I've read that germany uses more renewable energy than fossil fuels at this point.
Maybe true but just because they did it doesn't mean it's working.
In a stunning admission, the German Government recently announced that its transition to Renewable Energy was, “On the Verge of Failure.” This blunt statement was released by Germany’s Economic Minister and Vice Chancellor to Angela Merkel, Sigmar Gabriel at an event at SMA Solar… Germany’s leading manufacturer of Solar technology.
Even after it's a failure there the Ontario Liberals insist that we follow the same path, and every Ontario taxpayer is already paying the bill.
Howdy fellow preppers,is anyone out there experimenting with hydrox generators for motor fuel or electric power?
Looking for opinions on Xantrex inverters.
Saw one today at a garage sale...1750 watt, can't remember the exact model, but was told it came from a police cruiser.
Guy wanted $35.00...good deal or avoid?
If its this one as in the picture 
&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.infinigi.com%2Fxantrex-prowatt-1750-12v-1750w-modified-sine-wave-inverter-p-226.html&docid=eEyTVJR7hvL4kM&tbnid=hyGqDz4bGo8IuM%3A&vet=1&w=519&h=353&bih=584&biw=1280&ved=0ahUKEwi6m5CRmorXAhUJwmMKHQmADX4QxiAIGCgD&iact=c&ictx=1
Then its ok. I haven't owned that model, but have used it. Its greatest feature was good power output in a relatively small size, and that made it attractive for in a car. For 35 bucks id buy it.
I have noticed not just with xantrex but other companies the recycling of old product model names...they had a good model that gained a good rep, then a few years later the name or a similar one is put on a piece of junk and flogged hard. If its the "1750 prowatt" model in the picture, its ok, if its a "prowatt" model that doesn't look like that picture...run away....
Give a man a gun, and he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank, and he can rob the world.
Looking for opinions on Xantrex inverters.
The Prowatt 3000, sometimes listed as 2500, both the old and new models I can recommend.
and they look like this, old one... http://www.xantrex.com/documents/Discontinued-Products/DataSheet/DS20061110Prowatt%201000,%201750%20and%203000_press.pdf
and ofcourse I can recommend the prowatt 5000.....been running on that one and putting it through its paces for months now...its just incredible, even better quality output than the old 3000 watt unit I like, though they put cheap gfi's on the unit, replace with any brand from home despot. Other than that one complaint Its a sweet unit...all shinny and black too...10,000 watt surge on this unit!! the fan never comes on unless you are pulling over 500 watts, so its usually running silent.
with all those units I listed idle current is nothing, something like .5 amps at 12 volts, measured (from memory), all those models are very efficient under load,, actually the most efficient of any I have used.
Just back to add I screwed up, they changed the name on the new 3000 and 5000 watt models to Xpower-3000 or Xpower-5000. Also from memory of a conversation I had with one of their engineers this is the end of the line...there will not be any new models of this line. Xantrex Mod sign series will end with these last two models... Xpower 3000 and 5000. Likely will be produced until demand drops off, I suspect all new R&D is going into new high freq sine wave units now, as the price differential is narrowing fast between mod sine and pure sign( just speculation on my part). So anyone wanting a first rate, new, top quality (imho) high freq mod sign unit I can recommend the Xpower 5000 as just outstanding, I can recommend the 3000 as well, though if you have extra wallet capacity buy the 5000...if anyone is seriously looking at either model pm me and I can tell you why in better detail from a users perspective why the 5000 is worth paying extra, ofcourse if your not looking for new and want good but cheap, Im all for cheap! nothing beats ( in mod sign) the old 3000 watt Canadian tire model on the used market (kijiji), it was the same as the xantrex 2500 model (prowatt 2500)....I have bought them as low as 50.00 doll hairs (used).
Though bear in mind they have been out of production for a long while now, so use them gently at first if you buy one, or replace the electrolitics ( the 180 volt caps in the unit before using (maybe 170volt caps, cant remember for sure)) filtering the DC buss for the H bridge...only a few dollars to buy new caps, and a little time to do....(use ONLY Japanese caps) then your good for 20...30 years of use!
Give a man a gun, and he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank, and he can rob the world.
Does anyone have any good, reliable sources? I'm in the learning stages. So far I've found some bit of info here and there, but I find a lot of off-grid and sustainable energy blogs or companies touting some claims about solar and wind energy that seem very optimistic to say the least. In the far future when I'm done university I would be interested in setting up a system to run as off-grid as possible while still having the option of power lines as a back up if my systems fail. I'm interested in a mix of wind and solar, as we seem to have sunny summers and windy as hell fall to spring here in the Niagara Peninsula. I don't know much about batteries, kW/h, etc and want to learn.
RachelM start with this book Renewable Energy Handbook for Homeowners https://www.amazon.ca/William-Renewable-Handbook-Homeowners-Paperback/dp/B00RWPHHKW/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1514933911&sr=1-4&keywords=Renewable+Energy+Handbook+for+Homeowners AND Smart Power https://www.amazon.ca/Smart-Power-renewable-energy-efficiency/dp/0973323310/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1514933797&sr=1-8&keywords=Smart+Power .
LOOK FOR THEM USED FIRST. GOOD STARTER INFO.
My son is converting a Mercedes Sprinter Van into a Camper. He's purchased 3 -100 watt solar panels and is in the market for a couple of dependable deep-cell batteries.
He is in the process of installing a diesel furnace and fan, a 50L fridge/freezer, composting toilet and internal LED lighting. He will later be installing a water pump and water heater. I'm not too sure about the draw on all this, but can anyone make a recommendation on the size/type of batteries you would recommend?
None you improvise, one (or more) is luxury.
I don't see how anyone can answer your question. Simply too many unknown. 50L fridge? Is it a tec? or not. what is its steady state draw...water heating-with 300 watts solar, are you kidding me, go propane for that.
Oil heating but requiring a blower motor in a van! How big is this van??, I would figure something else out so no fan is needed (other than a simple computer type). Led lighting is the only thing that's easy to answer, forget 12 volt leds go 120ac and run a inverter, and a single 14.5 watt led bulb should light up a van so bright you need to wear shades. cant be of any help other than to say buy a kilowatt meter before doing any thing else. P3 model is what I recommend. Measure everything.
I could live fine in such condition with 6 t105s, using them to 50% percent of capacity, I might pay the extra coin for RE-T105s with the thicker plates just do to movement in a van, but maybe not. To many judgement calls to be of help. maybe this will be of help, though he does start off with a error in stating 1000 cycles to 50 % with T105s, should be 1500 cycles with T105's to 50% (from memory) Lead acid gets a bad rap but I like it, and very cost effective, and something like 95% recyclable
Add 10%, 15 % to the prices he lists... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMns62-ZVDc unless you are bringing in cores, if so you can get pricing like he says on lead acid.
Give a man a gun, and he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank, and he can rob the world.
...water heating-with 300 watts solar, are you kidding me, go propane for that.
Ok.
Oil heating but requiring a blower motor in a van! How big is this van??, I would figure something else out so no fan is needed (other than a simple computer type). .
It's a Mercedes Sprinter. The furnace is diesel. The fan is intermittent and runs off a thermostat. They are commonly used for this type of installation.
Led lighting is the only thing that's easy to answer, forget 12 volt leds go 120ac and run a inverter, and a single 14.5 watt led bulb should light up a van so bright you need to wear shades. cant be of any help other than to say buy a kilowatt meter before doing any thing else. P3 model is what I recommend. Measure everything. .
Thanks.
I could live fine in such condition with 6 t105s, using them to 50% percent of capacity, I might pay the extra coin for RE-T105s with the thicker plates just do to movement in a van, but maybe not. To many judgement calls to be of help. maybe this will be of help, though he does start off with a error in stating 1000 cycles to 50 % with T105s, should be 1500 cycles with T105's to 50% (from memory) Lead acid gets a bad rap but I like it, and very cost effective, and something like 95% recyclable. Add 10%, 15 % to the prices he lists... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMns62-ZVDc unless you are bringing in cores, if so you can get pricing like he says on lead acid.
Thanks, I'll pass this along. I think he was thinking of sealed lithium batteries. But they were quite a bit more money. One was suppose to provide 100% depth of discharge for over 2000 cycles. After 2000 cycles, they claimed that the battery will still have 80% of its rated capacity available to use. They were less than half the weight than lead.
There're a lot of claims and as I didn't know much about deep-cell batteries, I thought I's ask. 🙂
None you improvise, one (or more) is luxury.
Thanks, I'll pass this along. I think he was thinking of sealed lithium batteries. But they were quite a bit more money. One was suppose to provide 100% depth of discharge for over 2000 cycles. After 2000 cycles, they claimed that the battery will still have 80% of its rated capacity available to use. They were less than half the weight than lead.
There're a lot of claims and as I didn't know much about deep-cell batteries, I thought I's ask.
Absolutely go for Lithium if you have the wallet capacity, advantages all around, especially for mobile applications. I Don't believe that 100% discharge crap, unless I am flooging the hell out them, not the way to treat any battery or the battery management system that has to charge them back up, but 75% 80% discharge sounds about right with very good life. Everything is such a judgement call.
Give a man a gun, and he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank, and he can rob the world.
