solar energy

In building some small/medium solar applications, I've been surprised at how much equipment, specifically-sized to the job, is required to make solar power happen. For example, solar charge controllers are cheap-as-dirt (in the lower amp ranges) but they're absolutely necessary for most...

Sharing this with the community. Supply List: 2x Square Milk Crates (Free-$5ea) SigmasTek SP12-100 12v 100aH Deep Cycle SLA ($200 Shipped) Genasun GV-10 MPPT Solar Controller ($110) KingSolar 50W Semi Flexible Solar Panel ($99) Xantrex 450W Inverter 851-0451 ($35 Used) 4.2A Dual Port USB...

I hope this is the correct forum. I also posted in Solar Energy forum. I found a TV satellite dish antenna and experimented with it by gluing 1/4" square glass mirrors over the entire surface. I used marine epoxy adhesive. Not every square sat nice and flat so I had to polish the surfaces...

I hope this is the correct forum. I found a TV satellite dish antenna and experimented with it by gluing 1/4" square glass mirrors over the entire surface. I used marine epoxy adhesive. Not every square sat nice and flat so I had to polish the surfaces otherwise the reflected light looked more...

I was a complete failure at making my own solar oven (wouldn't go over 200 degrees) and am now looking to buy one. I've been looking at a Sylvan on Ebay and wondered it anyone has bought it and is it as good as they say??? They claim it will reach 360-400 degrees which I find alittle hard to...

I am upgrading my dc power I can use in my ac inverter but I won't always have a plug, I need some solar panels but don't want to spend a fortune.Has anyone seen some 140watt panels for cheap? I plan on having TV so I can watch the unprepared die off live! Thanks Myles

Amazon does a great job of email marketing, as they send me emails on my amazon search history. As some of you may know, I am working on a solar powered chicken coop idea. To start my search I sent to amazon and did some searches for solar panels. This is the amazon email I received today...

Does anyone have a solar powered chicken coop led light, or a 12 volt solar powered light in their chicken coop? After I build the rest of the chicken coop and enclose the run, I am thinking about putting a solar power / battery powered hotwire around the edge of the run. Since the coop is...

Any problems, downsides, alternatives?

I have been a major proponent of Solar power all of my life, but knew well the realities and limitations he had. But I have hoped for a major break thru to take the efficiency beyond where it is today and beyond the 50% point. This may be it...lets all hope so as it will usher in a new era in...

I have had this wheeled battery cart with an inverter for some time but wanted to expand it to include solar panel inputs and add other capabilities. ^^The cart is a standard hand truck available almost anywhere. Although the battery makes the rig heavy, it still for the most part portable...

Well ... I went to Harbor Freight today. I got a real life personal "hands-on" for portions of their 45Watt solar kit. For the money, you are NOT even close to getting to the energy of a select purpose built system. For this reason alone I would never ... keyboard battery failing ...

I found these Sharp ND-224UC9BX solar panels 224w for sale locally, no shipping at $1/watt they are B grade and from sharps commercial line not residential, I dont know what the diff is, frame may not be as pretty and is silver not black I found a review (1st link) where someone says they...

Does anyone have experience with the goal zero solar 350? What I am wanting to know, how long does it take for a 30 watt solar panel take to charge the unit? I read that 2 solar panels can be connected for faster charging.

Just saw this video on http://shtf411.com/ . It is a great project for someone who has a general understanding of TV componants. I will have to send this to my son.

does anyone else have these Silva Tech4o compact solar panels like the ones shown here? mine actually only have the two small banks of panels not the 4 panel design as shown. ive had mine for about 6-7 years but havent really used them/needed them. as i recall, i got them for about $40 each...

I recently installed a new bimodal solar system (grid tie, and non grid tie with battery backup). I have 33 X 230 watt solar panels. For a total system of 7.5 Kwatts. The problem is that I'm not generating the power I expected. In a weeks time (of relatively good weather, two mornings of...

Is a solar powered battery charger a good item to have? I am looking at getting a solar powered battery charger that will charge AAA and AA batteries. (others if possible) What do you recommend? Also, what other solar powered devices should I get or look into?

I am looking at getting a chest freezer. The tag on the back says it draws 1.7 amps. So running wattage would be 1.7x120 = 204 watts....right? The tag didn't say anything about starting amps. Does anyone have a guess about what the starting wattage would be so I can make sure I have an...

I would like to buy a portable solar panel set. Can I hook up appliances to it one at a time? For example can it run a tv with a vcr or dvd player together? So the only thing using the power would be the tv and player. Are the portable solar collectors and battery setup strong enough for...