Solar Success explains how to design and build home and property systems that ensures affordable solar success first and every time. Making renewable solar power work effectively involves more than purchasing lots of solar panels. It’s a process that involves reduced...
Solar is now so cheap that the main limitation is the space available for the solar modules. It is not possible to have too much solar. Ample solar prolongs battery life. It also and ensures at least some output during overcast days. There is no risk of overcharging, nor overloading the associated solar regulator. That regulator blocks the excess current.
Some solar scams are widespread while others are rare. It’s vital to keep yourself informed. Here are 10 scams. There are more to come.
This excellent USA system assisted USA’s residential and commercial solar installation to increase by over 1,600% since 2006. That’s a compound annual growth of 76%. It enables home-owners to use the credit to offset their personal income tax. It applies when home-owners buy the systems outright and have them installed on their homes. In the case of the Section 48 credit, the business that installs, develops and/or finances the project claims the credit.
We’ve recently upgraded our system. It now produces three to four times more electricity than we use on almost all days. We are thus not entirely free of the grid – but have yet to draw from it. At night, (or when overcast) we run from battery power. During each day we sell 15-30 kWh (at a current 20 cents per kWh).
Knowing the best batteries for stand-alone solar saves huge sums. This guide explains how and why. It’s all to do with having enough energy and having enough power. Energy and power, however, are different concepts. For stand-alone solar it is mostly energy, not power, that matters.
Our all solar house was self-built in five months. Hi-tech construction resulted in a superb and workable waterfront home in Australia’s remote far north. It was even built using mainly solar energy. Here’s how we did it.
LiFePO4 batteries are the Svetlanas of the solar world. Lead acids and AGMs are the equivalents of young children. Costly batteries can release a great deal more power but, unless you truly need it, buying them is like hiring a weightlifter to stack those cans. If lead acid (and even more so AGM) battery bank exceeds about 350 amps at 12 volts (4200 watts) it can release powers like Svetlana anyway. Knowing this difference can save you thousands of dollars!
Knowing refrigeration basics is vital! Doing so can literally save you thousands of dollars on the energy needed to drive them.
Solar regulators for home and property systems manipulate the energy that solar modules produce. They connect between solar modules and the rest of the system and ensure batteries are optimally charged. Most solar regulators for home and property accept a range of solar input voltage: typically 12 – 110 volts dc.
This article explains the battery capacity required for home and property solar during periods when there is no solar or other energy input. Solar capacity is now cheap. Battery capacity is increasingly costly. Quality solar modules produce usable energy even under light cloud. Install as much solar as you can. This ensures batteries fully charge most of the time.
When determining the battery capacity required for home and property solar – never skimp on solar. Excess battery capacity is like having multiple bank accounts. It increases the cost of storage.
This article by Collyn Rivers outlines the solar basics you need to know to ensure your self-built solar works first time and every time – at minimal cost.
A guide to your most probable solar input where and when – in any part of the world
Generators for cabins and RVs vary hugely in noise level, peak and continuous output. Price and quality varies likewise. Here’s how and what to choose.
The main need for generators for cabins and RVs is to power compressor fridges, LED lights and charge small computers and mobile phones. Some also backup solar – ideally via associated batteries.
Explains in detail every aspect of tow vehicle and caravan stability. This is what you need to know to be safe on or off the road.
The book retailers set their own prices which can vary substantially. We'll aim to keep a selection of the better prices above.
Any bookshop, whether online or bricks and mortar, can order copies of Why Caravans Roll Over. Just ask.
ISBN: 978-0-6483190-6-1
The essential handbook for anyone with an RV of any kind. Everything you need to know to make the electrics in your rig work for you.
The book retailers set their own prices which can vary substantially. We'll aim to keep a selection of the better prices above.
Any bookshop, whether online or bricks and mortar, can order copies of Caravan & Motorhome Electrics. Just ask.
ISBN: 978-0-6483190-8-5
Whether you’re building a new home or adding solar to an existing structure, this is the one book you can’t afford to be without.
Any bookshop, whether online or bricks and mortar, can order copies of Solar Success. Just ask.
ISBN: 978-0-6487945-4-7
The essential handbook for anyone with an RV of any kind. Everything you need to know to make the electrics in your rig work for you.
The book retailers set their own prices which can vary substantially. We'll aim to keep a selection of the better prices above.
Any bookshop, whether online or bricks and mortar, can order copies of Caravan & Motorhome Electrics. Just ask.
ISBN: 978-0-6483190-8-5