The power/solar/batteries/generator thread

[theGinsue]

My best friend bought a 70watt solar panel from a camoer store a few years ago. It does a great job for charging his camper during MOST days. The problem is that the panel alone cost him $800.

This same guy also bought the Harbor Freight $200 setup. If it's the same one, this uses 3 panels that come up to about 50 watts total. They don't work nearly as well as the $800 panel, but you're still saving $600.

Because of this, I jumped on Jerry's idea of building your own solar panels. His plan is SO much cheaper. I had been planning on building a few of these during this winter. Haven't gotten to it yet.

[Beprepared]

Ok, so my Dad has a couple of draft horses. He's been wanting a treadmill for them. To my knowledge their is just one company that makes the historic kind he wants. Athens Enterprise(not on the interweb) they do advertise in Rural Heritage or the Small Farm Journal. So these tread mills are gravity operated(take no power). They also GENERATE power. I horse that already needs/wants exercise can charge a battery bank. There are small animal versions of this made for sheep, goats, and dogs. I believe they start around 2k. A couple of work/herd/sled dogs who desperately want to run 20hrs a day could supplement power needs.

[Bowtie]

The guys from google have developed a power source the size of a parking space that could produce 100kw for a minimum of 10 years. The price is a little steep at $800,000 or $400 a kw. They say they are trying to get the price down to $3000 for a home size unit. Article here
http://www.informationweek.com/news/...leID=223100606

[Beprepared]

Another solution for a small community.
http://www.hyperionpowergeneration.com/index.html
$50million
7-10 years of power
20k homes
Its basically a self contained nuclear battery buried and connected to a steam turbine.

rural/military applications hmmmm!

[offgrid]

WE live 3 miles from utility power. Been living off-grid for 5yrs. Power our home with a wind turbine and PV. Installed the system myself.

Glad to answer any questions regarding wind turbines and PV.

[Hoopty]

I assume the wind turbine and PV setups are all tied together? Did you build the WT yourself or was it purchased? Cost and output of the WT setup?

[offgrid]

Yes, wind turbine and PV is tied together charging the same batteries. The wind turbine I purchased is a Proven WT2.5. It is on a 70' freestanding tower. Picked the the Proven for it's reputation of surviving harsh wind sites. I have a harsh wind site. Last January had a peak gust of 102.6 mph. The turbines peak output is 2800 watts @ 30 mph. Last January with a average wind speed of 15.6 it produced 636 KW hours. The cost, 18K doing all the work myself.

PV consist of 2200 watts of panels.

Between the PV and the wind, it produces more than enough to cover our loads. Also have 12KW propane generator for a backup.