Who want's an Alternative Energy Sub Forum.

[Joey]

Here's the inverter i am upgrading to Friday afternoon...

3600w continuous, 10kw surge.....

Now you will be happy thats a serious inverter but you need 48volts so looks like some battery rewiring .

Not sure if you know yet but Selectronics are releasing the new series Nov and Dec , the SP Pro series SGB ( Solar , Grid , Backup ) .

[z80]

Now you will be happy thats a serious inverter but you need 48volts so looks like some battery rewiring .

Not sure if you know yet but Selectronics are releasing the new series Nov and Dec , the SP Pro series SGB ( Solar , Grid , Backup ) .

two links...one at the panel end...the other is to move one buss bar.

Looked at the pro.....$9k is a bit high-ish for 6Kw

(Got the 3600w unit for $2980)


BTW...48v is much thinner interconnecting cables=less $$$

And plasmatronics solar charger can do twice as many watts if it's 48v, since they are rated in amps

[z80]

I thought it might be about time for a Alternative Energy Sub Forum.I am looking at experimenting with wind turbines.In particular VAWT.What does everyone think.


Vamp

here's a great link to vertical axis wind turbines mate:-



Here's an engineered vane design:-


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[z80]

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[z80]

The good thing with them is they are very high torque, so you can have aqn overdrive gear arrangement for better power output.

[Don Benosee]

Has anyone gone the grid-connected batteryless solar route?

[z80]

Has anyone gone the grid-connected batteryless solar route?

I looked into it and ended up swearing at Origin energy, (they offered me 2c a kilowatt hour).

I told them i would let excess power run into the paddock rather than sell it to them.

It makes it impossible to pay for itself with those terms.

They also disallowed creditting one accounting period with another.
(if you make excess in summer, you can't offset against winter)


But...in Adelaide they have to pay you 300% more than they charge I am led to believe !

[Joey]

Has anyone gone the grid-connected batteryless solar route?

Yeah I have a 2.4 KWH Grid connected system going online in the next couple of weeks , lucky in WA we have smart tarrifs so during peak usage times which is actually when the system it making the most we get around 27cent per KWH during the week , after 9pm off peak and all weekend buy and sell price is about 7 cents per KWH , So the idea is to use most high consumption items in off peak period and while no one is home the system will be making all the power.
Lucky this system was ordered when the Aus Dollar was around 98 cents , we also got the full 8K rebate which has made a huge difference to the cost.
It uses 12 x Suntech 200W panels and SMA 2500 inverter. , this makes just over half of the energy we use.

This system is also being connected to a BU system that will only recharge batteries from the mains in off peak times but will be able to supply all our power needs for 2 days continuous if the grid was down , if for some reason we need to the BU system can feed back into the grid via the batteries .
If the power fails the switch over time is only maximum of 20ms so not even noticeable.

If we disconnected completely from the Grid we could still survive using the grid inverter and small inverter generator to provide everything we need , the BU system will auto start the generator and the grid feed inverter disconnects from the Grid feeding the input of the BU system only.

A lot of people wrongly believe a grid connected system will act as a backup during blackouts , this is not the case because Grid Feed inverters must disconnect ( anti islanding ) as soon as the grid fails otherwise it can feed the grid and possibly kill people working on the lines.

The only way around this is to connect it via a Back UP system that itself disconnects from the grid while continuing to operate with grid feed inverter and generator + batteries as a source.

[biggeorge]

Z, that is insulting mate. 2 friggn cents and they resell it for what, 15-20.

If I were you i'd put an airconditioner in the chook shed and leave the bastard running.

[z80]

Z, that is insulting mate. 2 friggn cents and they resell it for what, 15-20.

If I were you i'd put an airconditioner in the chook shed and leave the bastard running.

nah mate...they sell it as green power...25 cents per kilowatt...!

[z80]

Yeah I have a 2.4 KWH Grid connected system going online in the next couple of weeks , lucky in WA we have smart tarrifs so during peak usage times which is actually when the system it making the most we get around 27cent per KWH during the week , after 9pm off peak and all weekend buy and sell price is about 7 cents per KWH , So the idea is to use most high consumption items in off peak period and while no one is home the system will be making all the power.
Lucky this system was ordered when the Aus Dollar was around 98 cents , we also got the full 8K rebate which has made a huge difference to the cost.
It uses 12 x Suntech 200W panels and SMA 2500 inverter. , this makes just over half of the energy we use.

This system is also being connected to a BU system that will only recharge batteries from the mains in off peak times but will be able to supply all our power needs for 2 days continuous if the grid was down , if for some reason we need to the BU system can feed back into the grid via the batteries .
If the power fails the switch over time is only maximum of 20ms so not even noticeable.

If we disconnected completely from the Grid we could still survive using the grid inverter and small inverter generator to provide everything we need , the BU system will auto start the generator and the grid feed inverter disconnects from the Grid feeding the input of the BU system only.

A lot of people wrongly believe a grid connected system will act as a backup during blackouts , this is not the case because Grid Feed inverters must disconnect ( anti islanding ) as soon as the grid fails otherwise it can feed the grid and possibly kill people working on the lines.

The only way around this is to connect it via a Back UP system that itself disconnects from the grid while continuing to operate with grid feed inverter and generator + batteries as a source.

I looked into a grid feed system Joey, but i figured I would always use every single electron myself with the desalination plant that it will be driving.

It was costing me $1.18 to produce 1000 litres of water using brown coal.
But Barwon water was delivering it for 98 cents, so it was a bit marginal.

But...they put water up 50% last month to $1.47 per 1000 litres!

So my desal plant is actually now producing it cheaper than they can deliver....LOL

Also I figure using solar power to drive a desalination plant and storing the water in a water tank is no different to storing power in batteries.

I can save more money off my water bill than the power I can pump on the grid ! Even if they were paying me 35c/kw/h ....

Anyway I was about 10 amps short on the panels so went shopping yesterday.

I got the Selectronics SA422 as well for $2985 (RRP $4000).
It's 3600 watts continuous, so it can run the house lights AND the desal plant.

Got a second Plasmatronics PL60 charge controller as well (because of the extra 20 panels I couldn't resist at the bargain price of $570 a 85watt panel.. )

Altronics still had in their Perth office at the US98c buy up

She who must be obeyed is so-o-o-o reasonable when I say I am saving the planet...

It took all day to unbox them and make the roof brackets so it's a tomorrow job...





I might still get some more panels, got another brain wave today...and you can never get enough of this solar power stuff

[Redwight]

I like the way your thinking there.

[Joey]

I looked into a grid feed system Joey, but i figured I would always use every single electron myself with the desalination plant that it will be driving.

It was costing me $1.18 to produce 1000 litres of water using brown coal.
But Barwon water was delivering it for 98 cents, so it was a bit marginal.

But...they put water up 50% last month to $1.47 per 1000 litres!

So my desal plant is actually now producing it cheaper than they can deliver....LOL

Also I figure using solar power to drive a desalination plant and storing the water in a water tank is no different to storing power in batteries.

I can save more money off my water bill than the power I can pump on the grid ! Even if they were paying me 35c/kw/h ....

Anyway I was about 10 amps short on the panels so went shopping yesterday.

I got the Selectronics SA422 as well for $2985 (RRP $4000).
It's 3600 watts continuous, so it can run the house lights AND the desal plant.

Got a second Plasmatronics PL60 charge controller as well (because of the extra 20 panels I couldn't resist at the bargain price of $570 a 85watt panel.. )

Altronics still had in their Perth office at the US98c buy up

She who must be obeyed is so-o-o-o reasonable when I say I am saving the planet...

It took all day to unbox them and make the roof brackets so it's a tomorrow job...


I might still get some more panels, got another brain wave today...and you can never get enough of this solar power stuff

I still have old pictures here of when you first set up your desal unit and remember you talking about making your own power to cover the running costs ,mate this whole thing has got it's hooks in you now And don't I know the feeling hehe I cant look at anything now without picturing a Solar panel powering it

It's really a hobby and passion for me this stuff , something I have dreamed about doing since I was in school , Like you no doubt realize it's certainly not something you do to save money short term ( if ever ) it being able to achieve what you want and seeing it working that makes it all worthwhile.

$575 for 85W panels and only $2985!!! for the SA42 , Geez you have to be happy about that
I guess you probably already know but this inverter like all Selectronic inverters is very under rated , you will even be able to run an Air Con on this thing while other stuff is running , there are many larger inverters on the market that wont even come close to what the SA42 can do.
The 10,000W Peak is real , if your battery bank will support it you can draw 3600Watts continuous and then still plug in a 2400W Kettle without any problem , it's amazing.

Love to hear your summary once you get it all happening , and remember at 3600W you are only going to be drawing 75AMPS from your 48V bank so your batteries are going to love you more now

[faroun]

Now Z80 that is awesome.Lots-o-panels and heaps-o-batteries.I wish I had the $$$ to get some panels.I am starting small...I have 4 6v deep cycle batteries in the shed and I am looking at building a VAWT based on this .It is always windy here so I figure it is a good way to go.


Vamp

Vampyre, I just uploaded the new improoved one on


it has the same rpm as V8 but more blade area. check it out.

note it wasted alot of PVC to come up with this effective design. I hope you enjoy it.

regards

faroun

[vampyre]

Hey Faroun I didn't expect to see you on here.I am looking at the new design now.I haven't gathered all the parts as yet.I am trying to be a scavenger and source all the parts apart from the motor for free.


Vamp

[z80]

Anyone know where I can get buss bars about 4 metres long?

[faroun]

Hey Faroun I didn't expect to see you on here.I am looking at the new design now.I haven't gathered all the parts as yet.I am trying to be a scavenger and source all the parts apart from the motor for free.


Vamp

great, it would be great if you can manage to biuld it for free.

i am looking forward to it.

regards

faroun

[dannyboi]

after reading this thread i want pics....... so i vote we need one!

[Joey]

This is the backup battery bank 720AH at 48Volts , each battery is 72KG so a massive 862KG's in this compact space.

[trash]

Bus Bar ... used to have plenty of it.. but there isn't much lying around these days with copper theives.

I've been fooling around with solar here as well. I have about 300W of panels and 600Ah batteries. I need more.. I always need more. I run a few lights off it, but I'm nowhere near loaded up yet. I've built my own regulators for it and I'm constantly improving them. A wind turbine would be good too, but there isn't a lot of that around here. Bridzilla makes sure that any money invested in power savings is quickly offset raising with an even bigger power bill than last quarter. The way she uses power, there isn't a nuclear plant big enough to meet the power demands of that woman !

There's always panels on ebay, and some on vkham. But you just have to be optimistic and pick up panels cheap when they present themselves.

Anybody can get into solar for a modest amount of cash.
The point is to actually do something practical with it, not spend a lot of cash and maybe learn a little about electronics along the way.

I made a suggestion in the solar thread on whirlpool that people could try the same thing I've been playing with over the past few weeks.
I had a 5W panel lying around and didn't really want to connect it into the main array of panels. So instead I decided to keep things small, cheap and simple. I connected it up to 3x12Ah of batteries and used a biased LM7812 as a regulator. It runs Luxon 3W leds.

All of these components can be bought from Jaycar retail, but I scrounged all the components and I paid $15 for each MR16 LED light.

The payback time varies. With big solar systems, the more money you spend the more watts per dollar you get for your money and the sooner the break even point comes.

With my small system, the break even point is about 6 years of normal use for a $400 investment.

Not everybody can afford to lash out with a bucket of cash. But starting small you can learn about solar for yourself on a cheap scale.

Learn about solar monetry and electrical economies without putting your balls on the line.