Cost to purchase solar panels

Hey, Idk if this is the right thread for this, feel free to move if not. What would be the estimate for solar panels for a 600 sq ft cabin?? Price wise. Only powering basics. Zip code 72512. Cabin hasn't been built yet, just undeveloped land so far. In planning stages.

Hi Ashley, this was a thread for discussion of passive solar.

The panels are called “photovoltaic “. If someone hasn’t helped you yet, or placed this post in another thread, you might want to try posting in a photovoltaic thread

Hi, Ashley

I split your post off into a new topic and placed it in the Solar Forum.

I hope this will get someone's attention who can give you the information you need.

We purchased our panel off Craigslist and I know several folks have bought kits from Harbor Frieght.

Anne Miller wrote:Hi, Ashley

I split your post off into a new topic and placed it in the Solar Forum.

I hope this will get someone's attention who can give you the information you need.

We purchased our panel off Craigslist and I know several folks have bought kits from Harbor Frieght.

says I need to move it to a "photovoltaic" forum

Full Package
Each solar panel is a little less than 20sqft so it would take 30 such panels to fill up a 600sqft roof.
30 Solar Panel (12KW) = $6,000
12KW Charger+Inverter = $5,000
14KWH Battery = $3,000
A system like that cost about $14,000
https://signaturesolar.com/complete-hybrid-solar-kit-eg4-powerpro-ess-12-kw-ac-output-up-to-45-kwh-battery-backup-kit-e0007/
I recommend getting another BatteryPack + a 2-ton Solar Heat Pump + Energy Recovery Ventilator for another $6,000. All the excess power can go to hot water heating, dehydrating produce, maybe even help with heating the cabin, esp if you throw in infloor radiant heating with some pex pipe.

Starter Package
If you really wanted to go cheap and keep the cost down you could go with
10 Solar Panel (4KW) = $2,000
12KW Charger+Inverter = $5,000
14KWH Battery = $3,000
A system like that cost about $10,000
https://signaturesolar.com/eg4-powerpro-ess-14-3-28-6kwh-capacity-eg4-18kpv-eg4-powerpro-wallmount-battery-ul9540/


Mobile Package
If you are just looking to throw something in the back of your car while you go hunting at the cabin.
5 solar panels (2KW or 4KWH/day in the winter, 8KWH/day in the summer) = $1,000
6KW Charger+Inverter = $1,400
10KWH Battery = $2,600
A system like that cost about $5,000

Minimalist Electrical Load
Fridge = 0.5KW and 1KWH/day
Kitchen Appliances = 2KW and 1.5KWH/day
Lights = 0.1KW and 0.5KWH/day
PC/TV/etc = 0.5KW and 0.5KWH/day
Laptop/Tablets/Phone/Wifi/etc = 0.5KW and 0.5KWH/day
Washer/Dryer = 1KW and 1.5KWH/day

Cabin FloorPlan
completely off-topic but I figured it doesn't hurt to throw something in, seeing as how you are still in the design phase.

Ashley Redding wrote: says I need to move it to a "photovoltaic" forum

I am sorry, to my best knowledge we do not have a forum called `photovoltaic` so I moved it to the Solar Forum.

Maybe the person who suggested that knows something I don't know.

I hope the information that S Bengi has given you answers your question.  

If not please ask more question.

It has, thank you

Ashley Redding wrote:It has, thank you

Whats do you think your electrical load will look like?
Which Package are you thinking about getting?
And feel free to make another post about the cabin floorplan.

Your cabin is about the same size as mine, so I'll guestimate how much you'll need to create a reliable whole-home system.  I typically use 4-5 kWh or so per day; that's with the frig running the lights and TV on, and some computer time.  It would really be best to create an itemized list of what you actually need to power, but 4kWh is a good start.

I'll suggest you skip the kits completely, and just buy the components you need piece by piece.  You can buy the electronics online, but you'll get far better deals for solar panels with cash and carry purchases.  Just checking the area around you, I spotted this Craigslist ad for a really good deal on some high-voltage residential Canadian Solar panels, for 50$ each.  If you get 10, then the price drops to 40$ each.

https://stlouis.craigslist.org/mad/d/eureka-solar-panel-we-have-several/7748553852.html

You might put the panels on the roof, or the ground, fixed, or rotating.  I myself created single-pole rotating array mounts that can rotate East to West.  It is NOT motorized, meaning you have to go out and rotate the arrays by hand.  Not a big deal though, because I'm finding I really only need to adjust the arrays about three times per day, once around 7am, then again at 10am, and finally one last time at about 2pm.  That pretty much doubles the amount of power I can make in a day.

You'll be better off running at least a 24V system instead of sticking with a 12V automotive-style system.  Double the voltage, and you can double the charging amps that goes into your battery.  Let's say you bought those 10 panels listed above.  You could wire five series strings of 2 panels (that's 2S5P), or three strings of three panels (3S3P), or two strings of five panels (5S2P).  The last choice would require a high-voltage controller that could handle >250V.

Let's say you decided to go with the 3S3P configuration.  Assuming you de-rate output to 85% to account for uneven sun, you'd get.... [(3panels X 3 strings X 250W)/25V charging] X 85%  = 76.5A.  So, get an 80A MPPT control like Epever's Tracer 8415AN, or 8420AN.  That will handle a bit more amperage than what your strings can put out.

Now you need a battery bank to store the power.  A string of four 6V Trojan L-16 batteries would work well here.  Wire four of them to get the 24V battery bank, then charge them at 25-29V with your Tracer charge controller.

Now that you have a source of power stored, you can connect an inverter to power all your household items.  There are many, many different inverters on the market.  A lot are cheap imported junk.  You want a sine-wave inverter if you want to run things with an electric motor, such as the frig.  Cheaper MSW inverters will burn out a frig motor.  Take a look at Samlex's PST2000 24V inverter.  It's UL-listed, so that's an indication it's not junk.

Finally, you want to link it all together with copper wire.  Use 10 gauge from the panel strings to the controller, 4 gauge from the controller to the batteries, and finally THICK 0 or 00 gauge wire from the batteries to the inverter.

Anne Miller wrote:

Ashley Redding wrote: says I need to move it to a "photovoltaic" forum

I am sorry, to my best knowledge we do not have a forum called `photovoltaic` so I moved it to the Solar Forum.

Maybe the person who suggested that knows something I don't know.

I hope the information that S Bengi has given you answers your question.  

If not please ask more question.

Sorry for causing confusion.  I am probably the one who introduced the idea of a photovoltaic thread or forum.  What I was trying to suggest was that the question might get more attention somewhere other than the passive solar thread…. Just a generic idea more closely related to solar panels.

Ashley, I’m glad you’re receiving the guidance you need.