Light duty solar?

This looks interesting...

NEW BioLite SolarHome 620 | Solar-Powered Light, Charging & Radio

 

I looked at that and thought the same thing. What a difference it would make in life if it's all you had access to vs candles/lamps.

 

very true...

 

It may be junk, but Harbor Freight when it has a sale has a 100 watt solar panel, a cheap controller, a couple of LED lights and runs from 149 to 189 dollars. Not great, you can pick up of a better quality for about the same price on e-bay etc. I have used the old 45 watt system with florescent bulbs in my greenhouse and to keep tractor batteries charged etc. The kits like above are nice and are complete, but for about the same price, you can usually put together a system with several times the power and that will run computers, alarm system, emergency lights, recharge power tools, etc and although they require more planning, would really change your life if TSHTF.

 

I are listenin....

 

I was just thinking this myself.

$150 for a six watt solar panel and an battery? And a few lights? The only benefit is that it's a plug and play all in one deal.

You could easily spec this out yourself and do way better.

 

@OldDude49, I agree with the previous posts by @Cruisin Sloth and @duane.
EDIT: And @Tevin

I recently got some (10 units) 10 amp branded (Morningstar) solar chargers off eBay, each for a screaming deal at < $40 US each, shipped. They are brand new in the box, and had been purchased by a company some time back. The chargers had been determined not to be exactly what they needed, so they were put on a shelf in a stockroom. These same chargers retail, currently, for ~ $90 US, each.

These chargers would not have been my first choice to buy, as they were designed as lighting controllers (Morningstar SL-10L-12V). But, for the price they wanted, I would have been crazy to turn them down. (I never pass up a good deal, and certainly not a screaming one.) And, I can disable the light controller.

If you look, you can find some good quality chargers on eBay. (READ: do not go with Chinese controllers, especially MPPT controllers. More often than not, they are fake controllers, nothing more than PWM technology. And, they are manufactured from substandard parts.)

If you don't have the patience to buy from a site like eBay, but want to get started in solar without pouring tons of money into a system, give Midnite Solar's "Brat" a go. Or, have a look at just about any of the Morningstar PWM controllers. I have two Brat's and several Morningstar controllers. I can vouch for the quality of both manufacturers.

I'm not sure what panels go for in the US, since the tariff has been imposed on the imports? Here in The Land of Wonder, they are still at $1.00 USD / watt. This is the lowest price they have been since I have lived here. And, they have been at this price for a while.

To purchase a quality deep cycle / solar battery here, will run about $1.30 USD, per Amp Hour. You can probably buy some golf cart batteries from Wal*Mart, that will serve you well. (This would be a very good idea, because you can wire them in series, allowing them to be charged equally. This will also make looking after your batteries a much easier job on you.)

So, what I am - (very slowly) trying to get at here is, you can put just a bit more money into individual parts, quality parts that YOU choose. You will also have a much better system AND know what you built it with.

Lastly, and I cannot reiterate this enough. I have no idea how many times I have stated this on forums. But, with the price of batteries being what they are, please - do not buy a cheap Chinese controller to look after your batteries. A controller can destroy your costly battery system, just as easily as it can charge them properly. After all, it is the brain of your charging system.

 

My limited take on solar, here in New Hampshire most of the systems are turn key and vary from a few hundred watts on roofs to close to a megawatt by the town of Peterborough. Almost all share the same basic premise, they are projects of the yuppies to parlay someone else's money, grants, extortion from the power company for clean energy, etc, into installing solar and making them feel good and giving them bragging rights. In the short run they make some sense and return some benefits, but they almost all only make any sense if they are grid tied to reduce the battery costs to 0 as Cousin Sloth puts it, and the other rate payers subsidize them by paying an artificially high rate for their excess electricity when it enters the grid, and standard rates when they need to purchase power back. It is subsidized when they construct it, when they use it, when capital is taxed, when it is depreciated, and when it fails to preform. A few diehards are actually off grid and use solar and for them it only makes sense if they keep their electricity use pattern to that of about the 1930's level and use wood, propane, etc for most of their energy and limit their electricity use to a few KWH for lights, high efficiency refrigeration, and perhaps fans for heat distribution and cooling. It is amazing how they seldom seem to qualify for all the subsidization and many towns seem determined to limit them as much as possible. Another group seems to be the new yuppie prepper who buys a cart with a noiseless solar generator with an inverter that gives him outputs for his cell phone and 115 for his TV, one such I looked at was $2500 for 600 watts of solar and a 90 amp battery, lithium-ion of course, and that realistically could let him have LED lighting, run his I-Pad, and his cell phone. Thus while I agree with Cousin Sloth about the limitations of the cheap, about $200 systems put together using a 100 watt panel, a small Morningstar controller, a Wallyworld etc deep cycle battery and limiting it to 12 volts, I find that they are a lot of fun now, an excellent learning tool, force you to reconsider your lighting, water pumping in greenhouse for hydroponics, air distribution, etc needs before the grid collapses, and you actually end up with a system that you know how to fix and know its limitations. In life one of the biggest enemies is the quest for perfection and not doing anything until you achieve it, rather than doing the best you can with what you have available and actually doing it. My Harbor Freight system was a piece of junk, but it let me take a couple old tractor batteries, a $129 kit, and put lights in my greenhouse, have power for an old laptop, run small irrigation pump for hydroponics, and drive home that at 12 volts, the wiring and power efficiency of the equipment, LED's, pumps, etc, the batteries for storage at night etc, the controller that charges and stops the discharge at a preset level of discharge of the batteries, are more important than the solar cells. If I were doing it over I would not buy that system, but if I hadn't bought and used that system I would never developed the knowledge base to build a better system. Since the total cost was about the same as 2 nights stay at a motel on a weekend visit to friends, I consider it a very worthwhile learning experience.

 

This blog article does a good job of describing what you can do on a $150 budget. As it turns out, you can do quite a bit. It's written for ham radio operators but anyone could use the suggestions:

Off Grid, On The Cheap. You Can Do This. - Off Grid Ham

This article goes through the pros and cons of boxed systems such as Goal Zero, Harbor Freight, etc:

Solar Panel Kit Systems: Unwrapping The Package. - Off Grid Ham

Finally, if you have $300 to spend, here is a good value for the money:

DIY: The Off Grid Ham 100 Watts For $300 Solar Energy Plant - Off Grid Ham

 

Like their stoves, these solar units were designed for 3rd world countries where people are not likely to have the resources, much less internet access, to DIY. They can be made cheaply, distributed easily and make a hell of a difference is a tin hut existence somewhere. And, IMO, an easy out of the box lighting and communication solution post SHTF if your not inclined or do not have the time and knowledge to DIY.

 

It is my experience that making ones own system is the best way to go ,even if it is a little at a time.
Solar is not pure numbers nor rocket science . there are no hard an fast rules.
There are variations in every facet of the equation .
Panel to panel , their design and lay out will have individual anomalies , so will batteries and controllers and even the wire for that matter not to mention the sun and atmosphere and anomalies that create other variations.
Panels are rated at best ideal conditions , your results will vary , most likely less than advertised .
So long as a panel is putting out more voltage than the battery it is connected to, it's getting a charge .
Be aware that at night the panel will draw power as well , thus the need for diodes .Some have them built in some do not.
Diode prevents this back feeding .
I have volt and amp meters, diodes ,fusing , and switching on every single component . My panels are varying in size and out put, so as I switch on each panel the corresponding amperage/voltage rise is noted .The wind mill is always fluctuating and has it's own meters and switch in the system.
The great thing about a battery system is that contributions can be made from any direction you wish ,and like a bank it stored power .
Battery technology is changing , and the greatest problem is that they are rated in cycles , every time it is charged is a cycle.
Over cycling a battery kills it prematurely . i.e. home cordless phones returned to the base after every call.
Lead acid batteries are some what better about this and deep cycle are better still . I use 6 volt deep cycle golf cart batteries .
I use one of the 6 volt batteries for a line through the house running LEDs that are 6 volt.
I can create 6, 12,18,24, 30, 36, and so on as needed.
Some of what I've learned is hands on and some is a result of my jobs as well.
Every education comes with a margin of sacrifice and investment. It is all worth it to me .

 

At the moment very low on the needed funds but keeping this thread saved and will refer to it in the future when hopefully funds will be more available. Thanks!

 

With that being the case, just buy parts as you can, when you can. It gives you time to look around for your best deals.

In fact, check your Private Messages on this forum, when you get a chance.

 

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HF panels aren't junk. I've got their older 80 watt set up and it is a good starter kit that can be expanded. Not state of the art, but it is reliable and a nicely portable set up. Add batteries and an inverter and you are good to go.

if you for this commercial all in one set up, be aware that 300 lumens is 30 watts, meaning 3 10 watt lights. Try putting those in a dark room. Yes, you can see, but probably not read, do projects, etc.

I do have several of those inflatable solar lights for emergencies, camping, etc. They are good for basic survival stuff, but not much else. However, coupled with a solar recharger for LED flashlights, and some other solar stuff, I've got a nice selection of gear to meet many contingencies of grid down or remote locations.

 

I'm glad you stated "... a good starter kit..." While they may not be junk, they are pretty danged far from being anything relating to quality panels.

When I recommend panels to others, I always suggest buying the best quality hardware they can afford at the time. Why buy something that will need to be replaced in a short time?

 

The HF 80w panel costs about as much as what I would give for a 150w panel.
Maybe not junk, but for sure way over priced lower mediocre at best stuff.

 

Along the same line of thinking, I am often asked about Harbor Freight solar panels, probably because they are the most easily available and are a brand almost everyone knows.

My advice is always the same: If you're just curious and want to dabble in solar, or need a panel that will be used once a year for amateur radio Field Day, or you need something for your kid's science project, etc...HF is fine, go for it.

If you are serious about solar and want reliable, long-term SHTF capability...spend the money and get something you know will hold up and does not come from a store famous for cheap throwaway junk.

 

What some folk fail to understand is that any working panel is a contribution no matter who made it .
I stared off with old used panels because that's all I could find / afford . you folks now days have several choices for panels more than had ever dreamed .
fact is they do not have to match , it's not like putting tires on a 4 wheel drive vehicle . these are solar panels and can be places any where on the roof you get sun.. Some folk have put them on different facing surfaces or added an articulator . the fact is they are all going to have differing outputs depending on their exposure . most new panels have diodes to prevent back feeding at night and of one another .
One of the reasons I have wired in switches and meters to isolate and test each component.
IMO the only reason to remove a panel is to be replacing it with a newer one that is stronger DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS , nothing more.
With 40 and 50 year old panels making some contribution it is a contribution none the less . When I get new panels ,I usually find more places to put them .

 

This "fact" does have one big caveat: If you wire panels in series to bump up the voltage (which is the way most people do it, to take advantage of MPPT controllers), the panels must all have the same wattage capacity.

If the panels are mismatched you will still get designed voltage. Everything will still work, and nothing will be damaged, but the output of they system will be tied to the ability of the lowest rated panel.

For example: If you wire a 100 watt panel and a 50 watt panel in series, the 100 watt panel will never go above 50 watts. Total system output will be 100 watts (50 for each panel)

Basic electronics: Current will always be the same at all points in a series circuit.

This also applies if you are mixing old and new panels. Panels will always put out something but lose capacity as they age. So if you mix a new 100 watt panel with a 20 year old 100 watt panel that has degraded to 80 watts...you'll have 160 watts (80 each).

The reason for this is the current limits of solar panels. If one panel can do 7.0 amps and another can do only 5.0, then the series system will never go above five amps no matter what you do. You can only go as fast as the slowest car, so to speak.

If you want to mix different wattage/aged panels, then wire them in parallel. Each panel will run at its own current and you'll get full use of your system. The catch is that all the panels will have to be the same voltage and you can't bump it up by wiring them in series.