The power/solar/batteries/generator thread

[jerrymrc]

I just looked into this. Harbor Freight has a system that sells for around $200 or something. That got me interested. So, my son and I went through the calculations. Under very good conditions it would take 7 years to pay for itself (as I remember).

Very disapointing. I wanted to see if I could run my computers durring the day by solar. It would take thousands of dollars to set up and would never pay for itself.

Bummer

.

I built the first two panels that make 70 watts for just over $100. Add a charge controller for $30..... In my case I run 1/2 the garage off of a 60W panel and the bank of gel cells.

While the solar is not dirt cheap you have to have something to provide power some way.

More thoughts on this. Most people just throw away there UPS when the batteries go bad. These can be used as cheap inverters. I have a couple that I have rescued and use them. One thing you will have to do on most of them is disable the alarm. First pic is the back up for the pellet stove. Rescued 600W UPS with 110Ah of gel attached. Second is the garage power system. Panel is in the window facing south. This is mainly a winter system so all is good. just some thoughts.