First solar power!

Row1
Row1 Registered Users Posts: 10
I got a "Sunforce 50232 30 Watt Folding Amorphous Solar Panel Kit," a 35amp-hour AGM battery from Northern Tool, and some 300 watt converter that was on some clearance at some local auto parts store.

Yesterday, I finally got a chance to wire up the panels to the battery and get them out in the sun for a few hours.

when we got back home from visiting family yesterday, I pulled all of this in, because rain was coming. I hooked the battery to the converter, and plugged in a lamp with a CFL that draws maybe 10-15 watts.

At first, it did not light up. Then, I threw the rocker switch on the converter. (The old i/o mistake.)

The light came on! I was really excited!

Like I have posted, I am mainly doing this now to play around and learn, so I can do more in the future, including having a way to run a small radio, recharge cell phones, and things like that, here in the Gulf Coast, whenever a hurricane puts the power out.

Plus, if I learn this stuff well, I can teach my young boys.

This is exciting - the light coming on means it can really work!

As you can tell: I am a total beginner. I hope to learn a lot more.

Comments

  • Slappy
    Slappy Solar Expert Posts: 251 ✭✭✭✭✭✭
    Re: First solar power!

    Row1, congrats, that is the best way to learn. They are fun to play with, get ya some low wattage dc automotive lights/dc motors, or what ever"discarded toys will work" hook them straight to the panels, and have fun, do it on cloudy days so you can learn what a cloud cover will do, or just shade the panel with your hand, or piece of card board and see how it effects the motor/light out put. You really can learn from playing around..but the kids should get a real kick out of it.....who knows they might do a school project on this????:D

    On U-tube their is a site called "greenpowerscience" and he does a few videos on some low wattage solar panels. He is a "back yard" type person who likes to experiment on different stuff and stuff.
  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,433 admin
    Re: First solar power!

    On the conservation side, a Kill-a-Watt meter is both educational, but also a great way to show how much power is used/wasted for each plug-in appliance/TV/Stereo/Computer/etc...

    And, if you do a bunch of DC projects, the equivalent DC version is an Amp*Hour / Watt*Hour meter like one of these can be a very useful tool.

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset