I need help. I want to install solar panels.

[Saboburns]

I have researched online and know the basics.

I'm looking to start small, and and help heat, cool, and light my smallish one story house in West Virginia.


I know thre are people on here that are way smarter than me and I'm asking for your help.

With energy prices soaring the sooner I get going on this the better.

[Subdivisions]

1. It just so happens that I am currently

writing for two solar energy websites.

There are systems sufficient for your purposes. What you get depends largely on you philosophy about conservation and protecting the environment and on your pocket book.

In other words, how much money do you have to spend?

[Atman]

2. What help can we offer via the internet?

You say you've researched and know the basics. Good start. What do you need now? I've looked into solar for our yurt, but it is fairly small with limited electrical needs. If it weren't for the fridge, we could go all solar for about $2000. That's a long pay-back time for us. From what I've read, unless you're at least 1/4 mile or more from the nearest pole, solar will almost never be cheaper than being on the grid. However, if you're doing it out of altruism rather than economics, you might not care about that. Still, check out back issues of Natural Home magazine. They've done a couple features re-visiting people who've tried to go off the grid, and a surprisingly few of those people were still off the grid 5 years later. The upkeep of the systems and the down time proved too much for all but the heartiest souls.

All that side, I still hope to make the leap in the not-to-distance future. (I can get a gas refrigerator for another $2500, and make my pay-back period about, um...forever). Good luck!

[dave502d]

3. Try this.

http://www.homepower.com/

http://www.affordable-solar.com/

http://www.discoversolarenergy.com/

http://www.solardirect.com/swh/swh.htm?ref=adwords

[INdemo]

4. Google solor heat

and you will find several sites and available instruction manuals and books..also info on government rebates for solar energy... or visit www.solarwall.com for some info on residential solor heating.

[PATRICK]

5. I'd like to add

that it amazed me to see an outdoor light that powers itself up by solar during the day lights up all night. For 15 bucks or so. I am still working it out but it seems to me if they can do that when some bulbs in the grid cost not much less than that why we have plug ins at all for lights? Then what does it take for energy thirsty appliances? To tear apart your roof of course is already a hefty challenge but some new tech makes this hardly necessary. How about going off the grid in easy stages or throwing in some wind capture capability, not necessarily a towering windmill? These imaginings do not seem like stupid questions but one big obvious one. Why are we stuck with decades old "not ready for oil time" alternatives when every other vanity application and telecom has us holding telephone vidcams, voice messagers, computer interfaces, in every imaginable squeezed into Star Trek era innovation?

The question is the same. How has the most logical and necessary major use been so severely handicapped and nearly invisible on the American home landscape? And what has the "news" ever told the people about this curious situation?

[Atman]

6. Heck, COSTCO even sells solar kits!

Off-the-rack.

I Googled it for you, and lo and behold, a DU post came up as a first pick.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1037773#1037803

.

[skids]

8. Yep I have a few of those lamps.

They are a good buy for marker lights and the 2-spotlight set can handle steps and a doorway enough so you don't trip over anything -- I only use my porch light when I need to rummage around out there. (Of course if you don't get a good number of hours of direct sunlight on your porch you'd need one of the systems with the separate panels.

Those lights are low power, on the order of 1 to 2 watts. It takes 27W to light what most would consider to be an adequate indoor bulb. What's missing is a durable battery system of that size which you do not have to maintain, and which doesn't have to be replaced as often as lead acid systems. Currently lead acid is still the system of choice though because it is cheap. You can see how prices are doing for solar panels, charge controllers, and batteries, over time, at solarbuzz.com.

In the future we will end up using new nanotech batteries (www.a123systems.com), large flywheels (www.beaconpower.com), VRB batteries (VRBpower.com) or ultracaps (eestor). Most of those companies have product shipping already in small quantities to select buyers.

However, if you did want to try out something on a single lightbulb scale, one of the larger (400Wh or so) UPS systems you can get at a stationary/computer store, an inverter with low power cutoff electronics, and a 100W solar panel would be enough to run one bulb all night without beating on the equipment too badly -- it would be a rather expensive system for that purpose but one which you have the peace of mind would continue to work through the fall of civilization itself :-)

[roody]

7. If you are already on the grid,

a grid tie system is much simpler than using batteries, and cheaper. I have had one for 3 years, and a year's use balances near to zero. The payback is in knowing you are doing the right thing. Check into energy company rebates and tax credits. In CA, I got both.

[skids]

9. Consult an expert, get an estimate.

If you are having trouble finding one near you, try findsolar.com.