What do real people really want from solar?

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Permalink Reply by neil cox on May 23, 2009 at 10:48pm

I have about a dozen lead acid batteries which I charge about once per month = not quite often enough for long life. One 115 amp hours battery is mostly worthless after only 3 years of very rarely discharged. I suspect most of them have lost about half of their amp hour capacity and about half their cranking amp capacity. I have about 6 each 12 volt, 12 amp hour batteries we retired from our scooters which we take to theme parks such as magic kingdom.
I have another dozen that are almost worthless, I keep outside and charge at about 0.003 amps several days per week. No load voltage is 9 to 12 volts. It should be at least 13 volts. A few of them will be 13 volts for a few hours after charging at 1/3 amp with my 5 watt PV panel. Typically they return only about 1% of the charging energy = extremely low efficiency. The 9 and 10 volt batteries likely have one shorted cell out of the 6 cells in a 12 volt lead acid battery. The inside batteries have been useful when the power company fails, sometimes for several hours.
If you decide to do it your self PV = photovoltaic, start out small so your errors won't cost a lot.
Another option is concentrating solar. Professionally installed $75,000 and up = way out of my price range, but the system supplies most of your electricity, most of your hot water and a small part of your home heating, if you have a very favorable location for solar. In theory it could compress refrigerant for your refrigerator, deep freeze and air conditioning, but I don't think this is available for homes, and is way beyond the talents of most do it yourselfers. Some of these systems use anhydrous ammonia = NH3 which is a dangerous chemical. Neil

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Permalink Reply by Anachronism on July 19, 2009 at 9:40am

Your asking about the ideal solar powered solution? Passive solar heating is the quickest and least expensive solution. Using 4 hours of your time or your friends time and knowledge of "Simple" work you can heat your home for next to nothing for the rest of your life. BUT if your have $20,000 or so to invest in the sun panels and associated controls and the $100 per hour to have it installed, install these panels. BUT if you are typical home owner, you don't have $20,000 bouncing around in your pocket that you can "give away" and HOPE IT ACTUALLY PAYS BACK your investment? IF you unable to spend 4 hours and $125 to create a proven method to HEAT your home for FREE, you need to set down and decide HOW YOU ARE GOING TO CREATE $20,000 TO INVEST IN YOUR ROOF PANELS AND THEN FIRURE OUT THE PAYBACK TIME FRAME. A passive solar HEATING system HAS NO PROBLEM RETURNING A PORTION OF YOUR INVESTMENT MONEY EVERY DAY AND FOREVER ! Anachronism. The complete list of pieces to create you individual SOLAR HEATING SYSTEM is enclosed:
FROM ANACHRONISM:
Enclosed are instructions to install into your home attic a simple means of SOLAR PASSIVE HEATING. THIS is exactly what I used in my first project in 1984 in Burlington Washington. Information as follows: created: November 15, 2008—Hey everybody the following is direct—SIMPLE- WORKS—and YOU CREATE “Free Heat” forever! I have used the same system for 25 years to heat a commercial building with the same cubic feet of VOLUME of “10”—2000 SQ. FEET HOMES! The daily cost, USING the system defined is $1 per day to maintain 70+ degrees 365 days per YEAR, in other words $365 dollars to heat 10 homes of space in one building with original cost of less then $100 in 1984.
1. Simple math. $100 investment to install my original Passive system
2. After 9125 days we saved $3 per day to totally heat project. (This building volume equals, 10 –2,000 Sq. Ft. (homes)
3. SAVED $27,375 dollars in HEAT COSTS.
4. The return on original investment 27,375 %. What ROI have you received on your $100 you placed in your savings account in 1984?

I'm constantly reading about the need to consider the "application of Solar Panels to create electricity", so the following information maybe irrelevant, BUT it makes since to consider the actual fact that "IF" you have an "ATTIC" in your home "YOU OWN A PERSONAL SOLAR HEATING SYSTEM" and it sure makes sense to use it to "HEAT YOUR LIVING QUARTERS" AND THE MONEY SAVED, which "Anachronism" has proven for "25 Years" will help you save and "Purchase" your SOLAR ARRAY!

"SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS FOR BASEBOARD ELECTRIC HEATING" WITHOUT FURANCE UNIT AND OR "WITH FORCED AIR SYSTEM'S!"
1-When and before you enter your attic space, make sure you have proper light to observe all elements of your attic and the area where you will work.
2-You must use safe working planks to safely span the work area (Your attic is probably the structure that contains the insulation, wiring, heat ducts and other elements of the ceiling structure) so that you.
"DO NOT DAMAGE ANY OF YOUR FINISHED INTERIOR STRUCTURE".
3-If you have a "Downdraft" furnace system with the return air piping going to your current heating system, you want to enter this duct air return as close to the furnace as possible.
4-The closer to the main suction point, more Passive Heat is "Pulled into" your house.
5-Start your upper suction position of the intake pipe at least 24" to 30" to draw from the "Hottest" collection point in the typical pitched roof area inside.
6-If needed, insert a short piece of metal duct work into the new suction pipe to keep the flexible unit from sucking in and blocking the entering position in your attic.
7-Carefully attach to furnace "Suction pipe" and keep it straight and proceed to the position where you enter the "return air line", use suitable adaptor when attaching into the furnace "return air ducting" of your existing furnace system.
8-Pick a location for your "Remote" sensor control inside your home and connect the wiring to the sensor inside your attic located at a distance of 36" to the side of your new intake pipe and level with the pipe opening located in the attic. ( Continued)
9-Follow instruction with the sensor and connect your wiring from the attic remote sensor to the "Sensor" unit.
10-Attach low voltage (dual wire) from the sensor to the connection block of furnace in the same positions your house or current interior thermostat is currently connected.
11-CONSULATE LOCAL ELECTRICAN IF NEEDED TO HOOK UP THESE LOW-VOLTAGE WIRES IF NECESSARY OR ANY WIRING!
12- Make sure to support the new pipe with suitable material and DON'T crush ANY of your air pipes.
13-Make sure the connection into your current intake pipe is airtight and don't damage either piping.
14-NOW you need to close any current ATTIC venting openings in the gable ends to "CREATE YOUR PASSIVE SOLAR HEATER". Understand that this is legal as you have now "CREATED A POSITIVE ATTIC REMOVAL SYSTEM OF HEATED AIR"
15-Go to the, "10", photo's on "Anachronism" page (In the Picken's Plan on the web) and notice my designed "Intake" opening are located at the topside of the "attic ceiling structure". This allows the "COMPLETE ATTIC AREA" serve as the solar collector unit.
16-"ATTENTION, ELECTRICAL BASEBOARD METHOD"
Follow steps# 1,2,5,6,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,
(IF you don't have a forced air furnace and currently use electric baseboard heaters you need to pick a location in your ceiling of the room that allows the most "equalized" location to bring your attic heat into your home or a specific room)
If needed, add a SECOND PIPE AND ANOTHER SUCTION MOTOR "OR" USE A CIRCULATION FAN FROM THE ROOM (to spread the heat) WHERE YOUR PASSIVE SYSTEM DELIVERS YOUR ATTIC HEAT INTO YOUR LIVING SPACE. (YOU WANT "VOLUME" OF AIR INTO YOUR HOME SO DO NOT USE SMALLER INTAKE PIPE.) OPTION--Control volume flow with a "Speed Control" switch.
Understand that you could remove "all the solar heat from your attic", if temperature are cooler and no sun on your roof. "SUN CREATES YOUR HEAT", subject to the conditions that occurred in "BURLINGTON".

"No sun/no heat? " (Read what actually occurred in Burlington on 12/23/1984 on the occasion of first operation, it was snowing with a 3" accumulation of SNOW on roof, cloudy and 22 deg. outside and "SIMPLY" "produced FREE" 65 degree heat!
Look up on Internet (http://push.pickensplan.com/profile/Anachronism)
17-Your pick of a location that equalizes the distribution within the room and, "if needed" use a metal or plastic pipe with holes around the pipe to cause the air to disperse and direct downward to the floor area. You figure out this problem to fit your house. (You can simply direct airflow to floor, you decide)
18. Use the defined "In line Suction Motor" and consult your local electrician to make the electrical connections to this motor and use a suitable electrical switch to the "Remote Sensor" to make automatic or simply use a wall switch to operate this "In line Suction Motor" by hand.
"You decide whether you want automatic or manual control of the passive Solar Heating system?"
19-Trim out the inside "exhaust opening" to a neat and clean appearance to finish the job.
20-You have created "YOUR OWN" Passive Solar Heating System! Remember you "MUST" have outside air movement into the attic space from either the eaves or at the bottom of the gable ends or the vents under the eaves to allow "OUTSIDE" air to enter the attic space to allow your system to function. (NOTICE the specific location on each of my project's "Attic Air intakes" as I designed, built and controlled every aspect to create workable Passive solar projects.)

Part #'s from Lowe's—Dated as 08/19/08 (Parts & Pricing)
ITEM DESCRIPTION Vendor
QTY. Price
82361 8" x 60", GALV Pipe 1-08050 1 9.94
185010 8" Duct Fan (Sun court) DB208 1 29.93
36441 8"x 25' Black Ins. Duct (R4.2) BPC825 1 38.69
77405 6"x 25 Black Ins Duct (R-6) BPC625R6 1 25.98
USE THE SIZE PIPE OR MOTOR YOU WANT TO USE

FOR "TWENTY YEARS" I have actually "PASSIVELY SOLAR COOLED
AND PASSIVELY SOLAR HEATED MY PROJECT IN VANCOUVER", so I guess it's "IMPOSSIBLE" to accomplish that without using a commercial
Air-conditioning SYSTEM capable of "COOLING " "225,330 CUBIC FEET OF
VOLUME? The volume of this mini-storage project EQUALS THE CUBIC
FEET OF, "15", 2000 Square Foot homes.
Notice the "EXTREME COST INVOLVED IN THE OPERATION OF THIS SYSTEM? The original installation cost is irrelevant as the cost of FIRSTYEAR operation costs are shown below for Mount Vernon and Vancouver Projects:
220,668 Cubic Feet of space Mt Vernon/ Natural Gas equaled $1.47 PER DAY.
220,668 Cubic Feet of space Vancouver/ Natural Gas equaled $1.54 PER DAY.
157,700 Cubic Feet of space Burlington / Natural Gas equaled $1.17 PER DAY.

Typical 36 x 60 house=2160 x 8=17,300 Cu. Ft or 9 to 12 homes being heated for the cost of $.0039 per day to TOTTALY HEAT YOUR HOME!

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Permalink Reply by Amos Knoll on August 17, 2009 at 12:17pm

There are many new products out there that will cut your cost. Unfortunately they are not cost effective. But if you want to save up to 50% you can use solar hot water. The hot water heater in your house is costing you about 30% of your electric bill. Or it takes about 12 barrels of oil to run your water heater per year. Or if you drive a car that’s gets 22 miles per gallon, it’s like driving 12,000 mile. In addition you get back $2000. Rebate from the government and various states have additional incentive, like Florida will give you a $500.rabate.
This is a unit that really pays for itself .Than you can add on it ElectroMiser,(KVAR) which is an inexpensive unit (capacitor) for $399. In most places to install the ElectroMiser by an electrician is $85. that will save you any were from 8% to 30% on your electric bill. This unit can be install in any household it is not solar but it really works. Go look at www.solar-r-us.com. My own bill at home just by using the electroMiser went down 20.5%.
The way it works is simple, just imagine driving on a highway and every second you pres on the gas pedal and let go, obviously you will use up a lot of gas . Now when you drive put on the cruse control and you will save a lot of money. Electricity comes in waives, the ElectroMiser(KVAR)takes the waives holds it in box and only lets the correct amount out to your home like a cruse control for your home.
This is a must for the home.
Amos

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