Pole-mounted Solar Panels
The conversion of my garage
to solar power is completed and hopefully it will lower my utility bill. It
took a while to get everything set up and working. My panels were pole mounted
in order to make it easier to service the solar panels.
A total of four 100 watt
solar panels were used to charge a battery bank of four 100 amp hour batteries.
Two inverters were used to furnish power. A 100 watt pure sine wave inverter
was used for lights and to power a small air compressor. An 1800 watt pure sine
wave inverter was set up to furnish power for my power saws. This covers the
majority of my power usage in the garage. I’ll also being running a fairly low
wattage heat lamp for the chickens in the winter.
A solar panel kit from Grape Solar 
was used for this project and came with most of the necessary wiring, a
charge controller and an inverter. There is additional information posted in my product review. A separate grounding rod was installed on
the panels and the solar disconnect that was installed.
was used for this project and came with most of the necessary wiring, a
charge controller and an inverter. There is additional information posted in my product review. A separate grounding rod was installed on
the panels and the solar disconnect that was installed.
My grid-powered outlets are
still functional and can be used if my solar power system goes down for some reason but won’t
be used unless absolutely necessary. With the completion of this project, my
storage shed, greenhouse and garage are now on solar power.
Part Two will show my battery bank, solar disconnect and charge controller set-up.
Part Two will show my battery bank, solar disconnect and charge controller set-up.
Got solar-powered garage?
Staying above the water
line!
Riverwalker
That is very cool - a self sufficient shop building is a great project. Making your solar recharging system a dual purpose (winter chicken comfort station) is using your noggin. Keeps them happy and maintains egg production - I like that!
ReplyDeleteWhere did you get the panels and how much were they?
ReplyDeleteTo: anonymous 12:13
ReplyDeleteThe system has enough power that I should be able to run a heat lamp on the really cold nights. We usually get a fair amount of sun in the winter.
Thanks.
RW
To: James B.
ReplyDeleteCheck the Grape Solar link in the post. I used a GS-300 kit from Amazon and bought an extra panel to go with the kit. The panels are about $135 each.
They work really well in cloudy conditions with a decent output.
Thanks.
RW
Thank you for sharing valuable information. Nice post. I enjoyed reading this post.
ReplyDelete