new to the solar thing so very simple questions

I am not an engineer nor an expert on solar installations but I did a lot of planning and supervision on mine. Many people in my area have asked about what I did. I am passing along my own thought process, if it might help you.

I have an off grid solar energy plant which powers just about every application someone would use on the grid. To do so, I substituted some energy applications and balanced other technologies to equal grid capacity.

For example, I decided that central heating delivery (air handlers) and central A/C cooling (multiple stage compressors and air handlers), house water system, livestock water system, fire protection, lighting, security and appliances would be powered by solar. Hot water, central heating (furnaces) and cooking would run propane.

The cost of building a solar system to include what I decided to run on propane was either beyond my investment budget or judged to deliver only marginal performance. Everyone will have a different investment threshold. While mine was high it wasn't unlimited.

My opinion is to invest in the most effiicient, reliable and high quality technology/products available rather than trying to exact maxmium output (on paper) with the least investment. For example, they make many furnaces some bi-fuel some straight fuel. I chose more expensive 19 SEAR variable speed bi-fuel furnaces and A/C compressors rather than cheaper units because of their durability and power efficiency. The same applies to solar components. The experts on this board are well informed on which ones make the most sense for you. I've learned a lot from them already.

Also, alternative building systems help a great deal. In my case, I used RASTRA construction with very high R and fireproofing ratings. More expensive but recovers the initial investment very quickly.

As the previous poster suggested it's a matter of balance. If you are on the grid then, you have all the flexibility to "scale" your solar installation to how much you're willing to invest and essentially, net of the solar investment, reduce your energy costs. If not you'll have to make trade offs. No matter what you decide, my recommendation is to build 20% extra capacity into the system.

The incentives to invest in alternative technologies will only get better
in the future which will impact your investment outlay. For me, I built the system because the ranch is in permanent conservation bordering the national forest. This was the primary driver in my decision to use solar exclusively. Others will have different objectives.

Finally, while a 100% off grid system is able to power just about all of anyone's requiremments it's expensive in todays dollars. But, I also believe electrical grid power rates are going to increase very substantially over the next 10 years. My initial solar investment outlay should therefore be moderated.

What may not make financial sense to some people now may make a lot of sense 10 years from now.

Re: new to the solar thing so very simple questions

Thanks Vic.

I think you'll find RASTRA an excellent alternative for remote located projects. The R and fire proof ratings are excellent. I found it far simpler to build than frame construction. I put up a foot print over 4,500 sq ft. Visit the RASTRA website.

Let us know how it goes.

Scott

Re: new to the solar thing so very simple questions

www.homepower.com

they have some sample articles you can download, at least 2 with complete system diagrams.

Re: new to the solar thing so very simple questions

i had trouble once when i went to edit and it did exactly that, just spun around in circles, which is the busy indicator for vista. jim, did you get vista? i'm sorry i did and i may go after xp pro soon if there's any of them left.
hmm, it worked on this try for my spelling error i had on sorry.