Comments for TechieNation.Com

Comment on Solar Investigation : How many solar panels do you need? by DigitalMind

DigitalMind — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:04:19 +0000

how many volts are your 2 X 180amp/hour batteries ? (I’m wondering if you have a 12 volt 180 amp/hour system, or a 12 volt 360 amp/hour system, or a 24 volt 180 amp/hour system)

I am going camping for the weekend, and will give you my estimates as to how many panels and batteries you need to get your 7000kw per year when I return on Monday.

Speak to you soon !

Comment on Solar Investigation : How many solar panels do you need? by dingoo

dingoo — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 18:35:50 +0000

Dear(!) DigitalMind,
I buyed a house with NO electricity (grid), there is just a small solar installation with 4 panels 85 w and 2 car batteries of 180 Amph eatch.
The house in the nord of Spain so we have there 8 hours piek sun / day.
Where i live now i consume 6500 Kw/year.
I want make a installation or this amount of electricity over there.
The solarpanels i can buy are 230 wp.
How much panels and houw much deepload betteries and type, and wich converter(s) i need for this installation, let say with a reserve of 500 kw/year what ives us 7000kw/year.
Can you calculated this for me ?
Sorry for the grammatical foalts, because englisch is not my moher language.

Comment on Online file backup service - free 45 day Trial - No Credit Card by Nick

Nick — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:26:04 +0000

I love these online synchronizing tools that seem to be popping up more and more as of late.

One of the ones i currently use is called getdropbox and can be found at getdropbox.com.

If anyone is in need of an invite let me know and i will hook you up with one.

Unlike sugarsync getdropbox offers only 2 gigs and is currently in beta stage. Once out of beta they will be offering a 10 gig data limit for around the same prices.

the beauty of it is that it works with all operating system including mac’s and linux.

And finally but not least for something with larger amount of data storage there is also syncplicity.com who are currently offering an “unlimited” storage as they are in beta stages. Note that syncplicity is only for Windows and does not support macs or linux.

cheers all

Comment on Choosing Batteries for your Solar / Renewable Power System by Simon Stapleton

Simon Stapleton — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:09:37 +0000

Thanks a million for this article. I’m looking into how I can store power generated from solar cells and maybe even a steam engine. This post has given me some essential tips.

Cheers, Simon

Comment on The Power Techie’s have to help the world go Green. by Technical Professionals acting on Social Responsibility : SimonStapleton.com

Technical Professionals acting on Social Responsibility : SimonStapleton.com — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 09:22:56 +0000

[...] generates interest in the people around you. See the post on TechieNation.com for an example of how Technical Professionals can consider energy issues and other green matters like recycling. Being aware is the first and most important [...]

Comment on Bye bye Windows, HELLO LINUX ! by DigitalMind

DigitalMind — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:16:46 +0000

Yeah it was a big surprise to me that it worked so well right away. Although like I mentioned in this post, I had trouble with my laptop. Not that it’s all done though, i’m SOO happy with Ubuntu and Xubuntu !! (Although i’m still having a hard time with file sharing on the network with the Xubuntu computer)

Comment on How to install your TARP for rainy camping by DigitalMind

DigitalMind — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:51:30 +0000

Oh wow, I’ve been DIEING to go camping in Algonquin park ! I’ve heard lots of nice things about it !! (I’m “next door” in Quebec) I’m sure you will have a blast ! Let me know how it goes. Feel free to email me pictures to digitalmind Techienation com !

Comment on How to install your TARP for rainy camping by Prasun Dubey

Prasun Dubey — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:13:23 +0000

Thanks for sharing this invaluable tips. This long weekend of Canada day myself and my son will be camping for the first time in our life, in Algonquin park here in Muskoka, Ontario. I had packed most of the required item except TARP. I will buy couple of them along with some ropes. Weather forecast is for rain and windy this weekend. Hopefully we will get some good weather too. I will share my experience after coming back. Thank you once again.

Comment on Cool toys for the outdoor Techie by Simon Stapleton

Simon Stapleton — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:26:40 +0000

Love it! I’ve gotta get one! Cool find man.

Comment on Bye bye Windows, HELLO LINUX ! by Simon Stapleton

Simon Stapleton — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:25:04 +0000

I recently got an Asus Eee PC with Linux on it - I love it! So simple to use. I think I will keep it and get rid of Windows on my other PCs too!

Comment on Solar Investigation : How many solar panels do you need? by DigitalMind

DigitalMind — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:24:03 +0000

That’s great Oral, I look forward to hearing about how it goes !! DON’T FORGET TO INSTALL A CHARGE CONTROLLER !!!!! (It won’t take long for your panels to completely recharge your batteries)

I will send you an email soon so that you can know where to email the pictures too. I’ll write an article about your installation once done !

DigitalMind

Comment on Solar Investigation : How many solar panels do you need? by oral

oral — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:07:44 +0000

great !!
by next week i will be able to tell you on my progress i will even upload some pictures if possible

Comment on Solar Investigation : How many solar panels do you need? by DigitalMind

DigitalMind — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:04:31 +0000

2 things :

1 - Great idea to start slowly and migrate your things over to solar power to see how far you can go with what. You can do a lot with 230 Watts of Solar Panels and 10 hours of sun per day !!! (Seriously, i’m so jealous of you right now!)

2 - My spanish is horrible, but it’s obviously saying it takes an average of 450 KiloWattHours per YEAR. That is NOT the same as 450 Watts per hour. Not at all.
That fridge will eat up 450000 Watts in a year. Divided by 365 days = 1232 Watts per day (Average), divided by 24 hours a day means that fridge is using roughly 52 Watts per hour. If you had nothing else running on Solar, you could run this with your 2 panels and 2 batteries assuming your inverter can handle the Start up Current (which is MUCH higher than the average current it’s pulling).

Comment on Solar Investigation : How many solar panels do you need? by oral

oral — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:44:07 +0000

i think i will keep i simple initially by finding a way to run the other appliances with the solar system because the power generated should be more than sufficient
later i will endeavour to up grade to accommodate the fridge
by the way the label on the fridge is in spanish it reads
limite de consumo de energia(kwh/ano) 484
consumo de energia(kwh/ano) 450
my limited spanish give me the impression that it says that the consumption is 484 or 450 kwh per year
how is your spanish?
i wish as one global nation we would all be more concerned about alternative forms of energy as the price of oil is ridiculous ( and it is being artificially manipulated) maybe you can use your site to start spreading the word that we need to take a more proactive approach to limiting our use of fossil fuel
as we say in jamaica :”we need to do something before something do us” if you understand

Comment on Solar Investigation : How many solar panels do you need? by DigitalMind

DigitalMind — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:07:47 +0000

Yes you are right you would require 7000 Watts for that 10 hour period.
During that 10 hour period if the sun is shining you’ll have added 2300 Watts into the batteries via the solar panels, so technically in that 10 hour period you’re using almost 5000 Watts more than you’re generating. (So you’re taking that power from the batteries)

The way to figure out exactly how many panels and batteries you need is to calculate your daily totals in power consumption. If this place is being used every day, you need enough panels to generate the same amount of power you use in one day. You should have enough batteries to sustain yourself for ATLEAST 24 hours without sun in case of emergency.

So far you’ve told me that you will be USING 7000 WATTS of power in 10 hours time, yet you’re only generating 2300 Watts of power so your power level is ALWAYS going down. Technically in a couple of days you will have NO batteries left and you will only have power WHILE the sun is shining. (And only 230 Watts MAX per hour to use)

Can you give me the TOTAL WATTS you will be using in a day ??

I really, REALLY recommend getting a propane fridge unless you have a big budget for your solar setup.

Here is the chart I made a while back while sizing a “small” solar system for someone :

Item Hours per Day Watts / HR Watts / Day

Small cooler fridge 24 36 864
Ceiling lights (x5) 5 55 275
Lamp 10 11 110
Laptop 10 180 1800
Cell phone charger 1 20 20

Total 3069 Watts
Total Usable Watts with 6 batteries : 3960 Watts
Solar Panels Required to recharge every day : 4 (About 175 Watts Per Panel Per hours of sunlight - 5 hrs calculated per day)

Where did you get the number for the power your fridge takes? (The 445 Watts??) The thing with fridges is that they take LOTS of power to turn on, and then little power to keep going. You should call your fridge manufacturer, and they could probably tell you the average power consumption of your model fridge in a year. Then divide by 365. But again, you need an inverter that will handle that high startup power from the fridge.

I know this is lots of information, hope you’re not going to give up !!! My head was spinning for months while learning this. I met with electricians and a solar specialist so that I can understand it all ..

Good luck, keep me updated !

Comment on Solar Investigation : How many solar panels do you need? by oral

oral — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 01:42:07 +0000

i am getting a little confused .you said in your article that the wattage on an appliance is per hour of run time right?
now my fridge (a 20cf) uses 445w plus maybe a tv and a fan during the day and oh yes the computer making an approximate total of
700w/hr.follow me now if i place that load on the system
the batteries (connected in parallel) should be able to run for awhile until the batteries run low as the panels would only be generating 220w of power per hour so for the 10 hr period i would require 7000 watts am i right or am i totally confused and in the night it gets worse as there would now be maybe two bulbs and two tvs on
so in my mind i need more panels
to answer the other questions i dont know what brand inverter as i plan to do the purchases weekend
by the way what kind of 20cf fridge uses 150watt ( looK at your list)

Comment on Solar Investigation : How many solar panels do you need? by DigitalMind

DigitalMind — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:56:23 +0000

Will you be hooking up the batteries in series to have a 24 volt 115 amp hour system or in parallel to be a 12 volts 230 amp hour system ?

Have you calculated how many watts per day you will be using ?

You seem to have more panels than you do batteries. 220 watts of panels, * 10 hours per day of sun = 2200 Watts Generated per day.

Your battery bank (lets say you hook it up as 12 volts 230 amp hours) can only hold 12 * 230 amps which is 2760 Watts, but you should never use more than half your battery bank so you only have 1380 watts in your batteries to play with. You will be generating more power with your panels in a day than what your batteries can take in. (Which is ok if there’s stuff taking a good chunk of power DURING the day) If you do this, DON’T FORGET TO GET A GOOD CHARGE CONTROLLER ! The charge controller is what will stop your panels from overcharging your batteries.

Since you’re lucky to get so much sun, I wouldn’t be surprised if you can pull of running a fridge on solar power. It will have to be a very energy efficient fridge, and that still depends on what other things you will want to be running on solar. ALSO, (and this is the hardest part) you need a really good inverter that will support the startup of the compressor for your fridge. What brand is your 2500 Watt inverter?

Thanks for the comments, and good luck !

Comment on Solar Investigation : How many solar panels do you need? by oral

oral — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:05:59 +0000

i plan on using a 2500w inverter , (2) 110w panels (initially ) along with (2) deep cycle batteries rated at 12v and 115amps
the inverter and charge controller would be mounted on a piece of 5/8
ply backboard and the batteries on a stand I think that is a better option than in the pan)
i however am very keen on running everthing in the house ultimately on solar power but i was a bit put off to read that to run a fridge requires a significant outlay
what are your thoughts
i plan on getting some of the items in the coming week

Comment on Solar Investigation : How many solar panels do you need? by DigitalMind

DigitalMind — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 01:57:13 +0000

I would kill to be in a place that got so much sunlight. It will really maximize the power you get from your solar panels !

Good luck with your project, feel free to contact me at digitalmind (AT) techienation (DOT) com if you have any questions or need some help.

(You can also chat with me when i’m online, near the top left sidebar on this site it says LIVE SUPPORT ONLINE or OFFLINE, just click on it to chat when i’m online)

Let us know how your solar install goes, and take pictures if you can !

Comment on Solar Investigation : How many solar panels do you need? by oral

oral — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 23:20:57 +0000

ignore the typographical errors i did not proof read