Re: [A/S] Getting ready to plunge into solar

Mitch provided the essence of depending on solar for your
electricity....... "' solution is to not use any AC powered devices when
off grid and relying on the battery/SOLAR system for power" . I used to
live off grid in a 25ft Airstream, I used a bank of four golf cart
batteries (450amp/hours), a 2500watt inverter, and a 40amp battery charger
and a Honda generator. I also use a computer almost all the time. This was
in the late 90's so there have been improvements (LCD screens, LED
lighting, etc.) but my system in those days required running the generator
about 1/3 of the time to support my lifestyle. I would caution you to come
to terms with the reality that even spending several thousand dollars on
solar only produces a trickle of electricity averaged over
24 hours of the day and the folks who generally praise their solar systems
actually use very little electricity and spend their time
in the sunny southwest. I would advise that you spend some time with
someone else's system before making such a large investment. Also, I don't
know what kind of generator you are using but I can assure you there is a
tremendous difference between living daily with a "cheapo" and a top of the
line Honda.

Steve
Cool in Cloudcroft



On Thu, Sep 6, 2012 at 8:05 AM, Anne Pearse Hocker <aph948@gmail.com> wrote:

> **
>
>
> Hi Mitch,
> I am doing some writing and photography (or trying) and use of a computer
> or iPad and cell phone (chargers) will be important, although I can scale
> back. I guess the generators will have to pick up the slack, but when
> moving around and not setting up base camp for an extended time, lifting
> and hauling those things, risk of theft, and adhering to specific daytime
> hours if necessary, is a big pain ( for me). Otherwise the expense would
> not be worth it. Besides, I like the notion of solar power.
> I have friends who have a motorhome with solar and they use their slow
> cooker to prepare dinner as they are driving down the road. By the time
> I've taken care of all the critters, and set up camp I often can barely
> open a can.
>
> Anne
>
> Sent from my iPad which has an erratic spellcheck, so bear with me.
>
> On Sep 5, 2012, at 8:04 PM, Mitch Hill <fmhill@capcod.org> wrote:
>
> > Best
> > solution is to not use any AC powered devices when off grid and relying
> > on the battery/SOLAR system for power. I've learned to find other
> > solutions rather than run the Inverter and AC appliances because the
> > converter consumes so much battery power. You can exhaust your 400 Ah
> > battery bank usable capacity in about 1 - 1/2 hours of inverter
> > operation. Use it very sparingly if you must...
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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