Solar & Wind Power Kits

[ArchShelley]

Has anyone used the Power4Home Solar and Wind Power Kits? The price just sounds to good to be true.

[Alphacarina]

Not sure what this has to do with plumbing or water heating, but it's gotta be a hoax - One of his 'clients' says he loves to sit and watch his power meter turn backwards . . . . anything which can tie you to the grid and make that happen for $200 or less certainly is 'too good to be true'

Don

[Cass]

It is a rip off...don't waste your time or $$$...

You know how it goes...If it sounds to good to be true...

in this case it is to good to be true...

A fool and his $$$ are soon parted...

[Thatguy]

Here's a link
http://www.renewable-energyonline.co...FcJD5godDz5FZQ
The large panel shown [12'x12'?] can generate 1.3 kw for about 6 hrs each day. The average house needs 1kw every 24 hrs.

From
"Unspun: finding facts in a world of disinformation"

-Watch out for dramatic ideas that match what we want to believe (data in the service of ideology)
-If it's pictures vs. spoken words, pictures win, but seeing is not necessarily believing.
-To evaluate a dramatic claim, ask : Who stands behind the info, does the source have an ax to grind, by what method was the info obtained, how old is the data, what data collecting assumptions were made, how much guesswork was involved?
-While everyone has a bias, disinterested people are more likely to be trustworthy than advocates.
-Extraordinary claims need extraordinary evidence.
-look for general agreement among experts (but consensus is not proof).
-crosscheck everything that matters.

[Bill Arden]

It looks like the $200 is just for the books *smirks*

The closest I have came up with for a under $200 design involves a modified UPS and used large sat dish with concentrated solar... and that only is under $200 in parts, not time.

Let me tell you some of the "secrets" that these books sell.

1. Used non-working UPS's are everywhere and the older ones can be easly modified by drilling a hole and connecting an external 12 volt marine battery. These older UPS's don't know enough to shut down and will happy work as a power inverter.

2. Old battery's can be purchased for scrap prices... there is no such thing as "FREE" batteries. You sometimes get luckly at the scrap yard and find a good one... This is great if you don't count the hours of your time testing battery's.

3. "Cheep" solar cells can be purchased... what they don't tell you is that these cheep solar cells are rejects and in order for them to work in a system you have to spend a lot of time matching up and paralleling cells so that the whole string has the same current output. This is a very time consuming task that just involves using a small milli-amp meter. The higher the voltage the panel operates at, the harder it is.

So if time is no object...
1. Take a UPS or an inverter remove the battery and add wires coming out to a battery.
2. Get cheep solar panels and glue them to used single pain window glass. Measuring the current of each piece of cell and paralleling up sets to get a set amount of current. these sets are then connected in series to get 12 volts.
3. Manually unplug the UPS when the battery is charged to start using power from the battery.

[master plumber mark]

It looks like the $200 is just for the books *smirks*

The closest I have came up with for a under $200 design involves a modified UPS and used large sat dish with concentrated solar... and that only is under $200 in parts, not time.

Let me tell you some of the "secrets" that these books sell.

1. Used non-working UPS's are everywhere and the older ones can be easly modified by drilling a hole and connecting an external 12 volt marine battery. These older UPS's don't know enough to shut down and will happy work as a power inverter.

2. Old battery's can be purchased for scrap prices... there is no such thing as "FREE" batteries. You sometimes get luckly at the scrap yard and find a good one... This is great if you don't count the hours of your time testing battery's.

3. "Cheep" solar cells can be purchased... what they don't tell you is that these cheep solar cells are rejects and in order for them to work in a system you have to spend a lot of time matching up and paralleling cells so that the whole string has the same current output. This is a very time consuming task that just involves using a small milli-amp meter. The higher the voltage the panel operates at, the harder it is.

So if time is no object...
1. Take a UPS or an inverter remove the battery and add wires coming out to a battery.
2. Get cheep solar panels and glue them to used single pain window glass. Measuring the current of each piece of cell and paralleling up sets to get a set amount of current. these sets are then connected in series to get 12 volts.
3. Manually unplug the UPS when the battery is charged to start using power from the battery.

boy Bill, that made me tired just reading all this...

I think I would rather chop wood than fool with all that...


oops, getting cold in here this morning, think I will go turn up my thermostat a little....

[Alphacarina]

Here's a link
http://www.renewable-energyonline.co...FcJD5godDz5FZQ
The large panel shown [12'x12'?] can generate 1.3 kw for about 6 hrs each day. The average house needs 1kw every 24 hrs.

An air conditioned outhouse would use more than 1 kwh per day - That's only 30kwh per month and at ten or twelve cents each, your electric bill would be less than $4 per month . . . . why waste $200 trying to lower that?

I use about 125KWH per month and I'd bet that would be much closer to 'average' than only one kwh per day

Don

[Thatguy]

An air conditioned outhouse would use more than 1 kwh per day - That's only 30kwh per month and at ten or twelve cents each, your electric bill would be less than $4 per month . . . . why waste $200 trying to lower that?

I use about 125KWH per month and I'd bet that would be much closer to 'average' than only one kwh per day

Don

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/consumpt...on_tables.html

kw = power
kwh = energy

[Alphacarina]

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/consumpt...on_tables.html

kw = power
kwh = energy

Yes, I noticed that you mistakenly said '1kw per 24 hours' instead of what your table shows . . . . roughly 1kw per hour for every hour of the day - or about 24 times your quote - The median is 8,370 kwh per year, which divided by 365 is about 23 kwh per day . . . . or nearly 24 times the amount you quoted

So . . . . unless you live in the aforementioned outhouse, your quote is waaaaaaay off

Don

[Thatguy]

Yes, I noticed that you mistakenly said '1kw per 24 hours' instead of what your table shows . . . . roughly 1kw per hour for every hour of the day - or about 24 times your quote - The median is 8,370 kwh per year, which divided by 365 is about 23 kwh per day . . . . or nearly 24 times the amount you quoted

So . . . . unless you live in the aforementioned outhouse, your quote is waaaaaaay off

Don

I have no choice but to turn in my diplomas and ask for my money back.

[Alphacarina]

I gave mine back long ago - Turns out they didn't teach me anything I really needed to know

Don

[Jean Luc]

People have been very successful in turning their whole house into renewable energy. I am not that handy or willing to try it but if I wanted to just use it for local appliances, it may be a good idea to make your own if you can. Try: http://howtomakesolarpanelshome.com/

[rogerd]

Lot of hoaxes out there. I recently read an article about how small wind turbines were being sold to clueless customers as the most effective way to generate free power. Small wind turbines or any wind turbines are useless unless you live in a very windy place. And according to the expert who wrote the article almost whole of N.America was not suited for small wind turbines!! I post the link to the article as soon as I find it. It was one of most well written articles on the scam that selling wind turbines has become by a wind mill expert.

[rogerd]

Here's the link about the small wind turbines that you should read if you are planning on installing or buying wind turbines for your home

http://www.solacity.com/SmallWindTruth.htm

I got this at another forum. Exposes some of many half-truths that wind turbines salesmen spout in order to make you buy their products.