[VAC] Re: solar solution

[Jim Dunmyer <jdunmyer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sarah,
 My own solar system is capable of at least 30 AH/day during sunny
weather. It incorporates 2, 75-watt panels and about 160 AH of storage.
If you do the math (30 X 12), you'll see that the capability is 360
WH/day, or 1/3 of a KWH; it'd have to be 36 times larger to do 12
KWH/day. I have about $500.00 in it, so that's $18,000.00 for a
home-sized system like you describe.

I think the only thing you missed was the arithmetic part. <<grin>>

I believe it was Gerald Johnson who recommended subscribing to Home
Power Magazine if you're truly interested in home-sized AE systems. This
is excellent advice; the magazine is published by a small outfit who
lives the life, they're on a remote mountain and get their power from
the sun and wind. You can even buy their back issues on CD-ROMs.

It all depends on what your needs are. As we discussed here many times
in the past, you must get your usage in line before trying to supply the
power with solar panels. Sherry can get by with a minuscule amount of
power, so can use only about 50 watts total in panels. Other rules of
thumb say "One 105 AH battery and one 50- or 75-watt panel per person.
The best thing is to use a worksheet like they have on
http://www.rvsolarelectric.com. It won't take you 10 minutes to KNOW
what is required. Also, if Terry finds his articles on solar, he has
some great rules of thumb for doing the calculations.

                                         <<Jim>>