Re: [A/S] solar panels

[Jim Dunmyer <jdunmyer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Terry,
  I bought the panels at the Dayton HamVention for $225.00/each; that's 
about half of "list". Got the controller from that vendor's buddy in the 
next stall for about $25.00. The wire is mostly #10 guage; that and some 
2-prong connectors also came from vendors at the HamVention. The meters 
in the control panel were also bought at Dayton. The eMeter cost about 
$230.00 (including the shunt) from Jade Mountain. Other miscellaneous 
parts came from Radio Shack or from my own stock. (the aluminum panel, 
for instance)

So, the total was under $800.00, about the price of a Honda EU1000i 
genset. My batteries are always fully charged, and I have to do NOTHING 
about them. I swapped out 2 light fixtures for flourescents, that price 
isn't included.

Before doing the installation, I went through the normal calculations 
and figured that we use about 20-25 AH/day. Since using the system for a 
  while, I find that the eMeter agrees with the estimate. We've been 
"down" more than 40 AH due to running the furnace, and it still catches 
up the next day, and our batteries have enough capacity to go several 
days w/o sunlight.

                             <<Jim>>