Basic Getting into Solar / Wind

So, you are thinking or considering going off grid with
solar/wind and are overwhelmed by all the information and
mis-information out there. I am going to attempt to take a lot
of the mistrey out of all of this for you

The first thing you need to do is figure out just how much power
you will really need. Right now, you,like pretty much everyone
else lives on the grid without ever giving elect a thought,
right ? Well, by going on solar and or wind, things will change
in almost all ways. What do I mean by all of this ? Well, you
will need to almost immediatly have to train yourself and all
others in your family to turn off anything not being used at the
time, the minute your through with it. Lights, Tv. Computers
etc. You will almost certainly need the more modern energy
effeicent appliances including tv, refer, freezer, computers.
Get rid of the old crt moniters including tv and computers and
switch to flat screens as they only use about 1/5 of the power.
An older refer can use as much as 10 amps running while some of
the newer models only use 2 or 3 amps. LG for instance is a
double door refer, with a huge bottom drawer freezer with a
cubic ft cap of about 23 cf. You will need to switch to a
propane or nat. gas stove, dryer and water heater. Elec.
heating devices are a total no no. No, not even a small "foot"
heater under the desk. Heat is power !
Do you think you will save a bunch of money by going "green" .
Not hardly . In fact you will most likely never pay off your
solar system in terms of grid bills.
Can you save money by going with the cheaper Chinese solar
panels, No. They are of poor quality to start with, and will
most likely never give you the "Stated Max Amps" on the power
stickers on the back of the panel. Inverters and charge
controllers are the same way. Stay away from the Chinese junk
if your intending to live from the solar. The difference is
like buying a kia or mbz car. You only get what you pay for. I
try to get all my panels from Japan. Sorry to say this, but
they make the very best panels around. Inverters and charge
controlers are made here and only here if you want them to work
when you need them.
Are you intimidaded yet ? I can't blame you. I started small
with one panel and 4 batteries almost 16 years ago, and have I
learned right from wrong doing it. Most of the time. I am still
learning and always will be. Something new always comes up I am
or was unaware of until it happens.
Unfortuneatly, there are now thousands of people jumping on the
band wagon to sell you solar especially on ebay. They are
cropping up on the net as well and you will likely see more on a
daily basis.
Wireing and mtg also seem complicated, but unless your a total
non physical and electrical person, not really all that hard.
Where you can save the most money is from the diy mech aspects
of installing .

But I can never say enough about learning the do's and dont's of
how to live on solar. Soon in my next blog. Nadja