Solar panel question

That is exactly my thinking. 5 years vs 25 years. ROI is achievable for wind. Right now my system is perfect for emergencies as a base unit, but I would like to put it to good use everyday as well. Im trying to find a way to hook it up to solar while there is sun and grid when there is no sun. I think relays might be the answer but its above my electrical knowledge. Another issue is whether or not wind will work well enough in my area to keep batteries charged, without an aenometer I wont know for sure.

Rob Sigg wrote:Thank you for the reply. I came to the same conclusion. Ive looked into a small wind generator to just charge batteries, but it would require alot more investment than I can afford right now. That cost would be well over $1,000; more batteries to double my current capacity would less than $550. They both have pros and cons, so Im still doing research. For now Ive removed the loads and Im waiting til spring to see how it goes.

The research I have done has been less than an endorsement for wind. In my area, a 600-watt turbine would produce an average of eight watts an hour. I have better things to do with my cash than fork over $1,900 or so ($800: turbine; $500: tower; $100: pad, $100 wire; $400: controller) for 200 watt/hours per day.

Heck, that kinda cash represents five 250-watt solar modules, or 86 per cent of the solar power our new digs will require, by my calculations.

Do your research, my area of the country gets 13mph winds on avg two days ago it was 30 with gust up to 50mph, but you may not.
Check out this website to see if you have enough wind. http://www.city-data.com/top2/c467.html

I should have noted in my earlier post: solar panels' voltage isn't what you need to worry about. You need to be looking at current production.

Hi guys,newbie here; about 5 years ago I bought some Chinese solar panel kit off ebay(you know the six panel,controller,and pvc holding frame) and it was working fairly well until I went to visit my mother and came back to find that instead of registering the usual 1.5(per panel) on my multi-meter,they were reading 24w! don't want to throw them away and I've read that they usually last for a good while?!?! Please,somebody help! they resemble the harbor freight kind...

Rob Sigg wrote:Hi guys, I have 3 panels charging a battery bank and running a load. My question is why do I have really high voltage(over 100) but less than 2 amps and other times they are both high or both low? I understand that they combine for power output, but some days I have really high voltage but hardly any amps to charge my batteries. Is it the power or amps that is charging the batteries? Thanks for your help.

Rob

Hi,
Which charge controller are you using?

Howdy,

I'm new to this forum but I had a question and thought this might fit. I've built a 12 volt panel that supposedly outputs 60-70w max. It outputs 18v with no load but when I apply loads I get unexpected results. I get considerably less power than I'd hoped for. I'm not necessarily surprised given its November her in North Carolina but I'd like to be sure. I expected less sun but I did not consider the intensity of the sun in fall/winter going down.

I've gotten so many weird results I'll limit to a few. I put a 10 ohm load on the panel which if I was getting full power I believe should give an 18v across it but I got 15v across the load. I'm leaning towards this being a sun intensity problem because I tried a single solar cell in same conditions and got similar results. thanks