Doing My Bit! - Solar Project

Hay Guys,

Here is me doing "My Bit" to save the environment!!!

Ages ago I got a small solar panel (28watt) and put it on my shed. It charged a battery. I then laid a wire into the house through to the kitchen. Under my kitchen cupboards I installed LED lights which are powered by the battery in the shed.

During the winter I was finding the battery was not fully charging so installed a 80watt solar panel next to the small one (as shown in the pic on the right)



Since posting all my stuff on HotFile the solar panels on the left in the pic have been funded from all that.

Every time I get enough in PayPal from HotFile I buy another panel. On the left there are 4 x 20watt solar panels.

In the shed I have two batteries



These are both connected to a regulator. This device makes sure the batteries are never over charged.



Now with all these solar panels I was finding that the batteries were fully charged by 10am, so all the excess electricity that the solar panels were generating was going to waste.

So I got my self a "Grid Tie Inverter"



This device (shown on the right in the pic) converts the electric from the solar panels and pumps it back into my house hold electric supply.

On the left I have a timer switch. The reason for this is that I want the batteries to have a chance of a full charge, so at 10am then it can supply the household electric any excess. Then at 7pm it turns off. The reason for this is that the Grid Tie Inverter uses 4watts of electric as it has to monitor the electric line.

In the middle I have a Power Meter, and at the time of taking this picture it was generating 85watts which was been pumped back into my household electric. So in theory it is slowing down my electric meter coming into the house by 85watts.

Just thought I would share my Solar experience with you, and if any of you have any questions just PM me.

And before you ask NO I'm not an environmentalist. I just like to play with things like this so a hobby really.

Cool! Thanks for the description and the photos!

Sounds like win win win, you get to have fun with tech, you get to save money, and you get to do your bit for the future of our planet - nice!

B.

Wow, I'm really impressed. When I was in college, i took my first solar energy class. It was really fun and informative. My group did a mobile blood bank storage/freezer project and I have to say if I were to read your post before, I would have done better in the class(I got an A- )You definitely have some very interesting ideas that I could have implemented in my project. Either way, I thank you for the information

Someone asked about the lights I have in the kitchen.

They are LED strip lights. There are 30LED's on each strip and I think each strip uses 2watts of power working on 12 volts.

Good to see someone "having a go" and making a difference.

brilliant mate

What I did today

I have spent a few hours in the garden shed sorting out my Solar Project.

I added another block of wood to the wall and screwed the battery regulator and a new fuse box (so everything is safe now) I just got to it.



I just need to do a bit of cable tidying now.... another day.

I also have two new solar panels that I need to install permanently somewhere. At the moment they are just on the ground propped up against some plastic boxes.

Got my self another two solar panels today.

I have been thinking about building something like this and having the solar panels on top (as in the pic)

It's great to read that someone is using their royalties from hotfile for a good cause! We also have about six solar panels, and they work well.

How are your solar panels set up then?

They were installed by my boyfriend well before I moved in with him, so I don't have all the specifics. We don't feed them back into the grid, they are just hooked up to batteries and primarily run our hot water heater and entire water/pump system, which is considerable given multiple buildings on our homestead and the need to water the gardens/orchards.

Hats-off to your effort...

Its been quite a while since I updated this.

The other year I upgraed the grid Tie Incerter to a 500w one.

But I think this might be failing.

I have also last night ordered two more solar panels



I plan to hang one from a fence panel and the other might attact to the front of the new ish shed I got.

Once up I will take a load more pics.

If the power output from the grid Tie Inverter does not go up then I will know there is an issue with it and I will need to get another one.

I guess they dont last forever. I know the professional ones that people have in their lofts only last 10 years, so my cheapo version from eBay probably wont last anywhere near that.

Oh no, Just looked on eBay and cant see a like for like replacement any more. Maybe stocks are out because of the global issues .

YOYO

WOW the solar panels turnde up today at 5.30pm . Was not excpecting them until Friday or maybe Monday!
Even eBay said they had only just been posted a few hours earlier! Unless they were courierd direct to me! if so WOW Im impressed.

Not done anything with them yet as too late in the day

And GRRRRR I have to go to work tomorrow and do a load fo stuff. Looks like the company wants us on site once a week from now on. Well as long as I dont interact with anyone I will be happy!

So when i get back from work tomorrow I will attempt to put the, up somewhere. Yes I plan to leave work early tomorrow

YOYO

Hey Guys,

OK all unboxed and sort of put up!

I managed to find some hooks from an old pole that had rotted away and created a new wooden beam to attach to the fence panel. One new 100w solar panel will be attached there. I have no more hooks to attach the other pannel to the door of my new shed thing down he bottom. And with lockdown I cant get any . So at the moment the solar panel is just laying on a table

Looking down the garden. On the left you will see the new panel attached to the side of the fence panel. Below that are ones that I mounced in a frame ages ago. The red shed on the right has panels on top. The left shed has some laying flat at the moment. I had some others on there but they blew off a month or so when we had lots of wind here.



Another pic showing the solar panels on the left of the garden. Showing the new one I have attached to the side of the fence. Althrough I think I might have to angel this to face the sky a bit more. Another day!



Showing the panels that are on top of the right shed. If you look carefully you can see the endge of the panels on the left grey shed. Also shows the other new 100w semi flexibale solar panels that is just laying on a table for the time being.



Close up of the new semi flexibale panel hanging from the fence



There has been no sun here the past few days, and not much today or tomorrow, but all next week. YAY sun all day



So Im looking forward to seeing how much more energy these two 100w solar panels add to the total system

I will keep you updated

YOYO

WOW Wake up this morning to glorious sunshine. Typical British weather.. LOL. Never beleive the weather forecast

Anyway Just taken a pic of my Smart Meter thing



Look Im importing absolutely no electric from the grid . It is probably exporting a little

YAY!

YOYO

Brilliant stuff!