03-15-2008, 01:04 PM
You could try asking Solar Works down near Southpoint. They have been selling solar stuff for years and years. Some other sources for solar stuff is InterIsland Solar on Oahu & in Kailua-Kona and Sauces & Propane in Honokaa.
A basic photovoltaic solar system usually has the big PV panels feeding into a controller which then feeds to a battery bank (if you are completely off the grid) and that feeds into an inverter which puts "regular" electricity to your house.
PV panels don't really have any moving parts and I have yet to see one of the glass fronted big ones actually wear out. The little plastic ones which run solar lights and such seem to fog over fairly quickly but they aren't in the same league at all. Most folks select their PV panels according to how many watts of electricity they produce. It is a case of the more the merrier with PV panels.
The solar controller isn't very expensive, ours was about $40 six years ago. It keeps the panels from overcharging the battery bank and I think it keeps the panels from discharging the batteries at night, too.
The batteries are deep cycle batteries and get the heaviest ones you can. More lead means they weigh more and the more lead the better. We have six volt batteries connected in series to get the voltage up to twenty four volts (that's the input voltage for the inverter) and then the batteries are wired in parallel to increase the amp hours. The batteries are connected with welding cable with fittings soldered and swaged onto the ends. It was much cheaper to manufacture our cables than to buy them. I have seen some systems where there is a solid metal bar with holes spaced so you can connect the battery terminals. Kinda like a wire without the insulation. I'd seriously hate to have anything metal fall across the two metal bars connecting all the batteries together!
The inverter is the magic box which takes battery power and makes it into house power. For that, I'd suggest looking at ones manufactured by "Outback". That company was started by the engineers from Trace (now called Xantrex) who quit en masse when the bean counters started telling them how to do things. What ever brand of inverter you get, the thing to look for is the quantity and kind of electricity it produces. A pure sine wave is best, but expensive. A modified sine wave will run most things and a stepped sine wave probably wouldn't be anything you'd want.
To back up the solar system a nice Honda generator is a good thing. It is sorta like an iron sun for power on cloudy days.
The inter-tie systems which connect to the Helco grid don't seem such a good thing from what I understand but I don't have any first hand knowledge of them. Apparently, instead of spinning the meter backwards when you produce more power than you use all it does is keep the meter from going forward so you just get credit for the power you didn't use, not any extra. So no matter how much power you produce during the day, you will still be buying grid power at night which is usually when folks use the most power. Hmm, unless you stored the extra power you used during the day in the battery bank and by the time you have those, why be connected at all? Anyway, I might have it all wrong, it isn't something I know about first hand.
Since you are starting fresh and new, you can design your whole house to be solar friendly. Orient the roof for the best panel placement, put in lots of windows for lighting, add in a place outside your house for a battery bank, etc.
A basic photovoltaic solar system usually has the big PV panels feeding into a controller which then feeds to a battery bank (if you are completely off the grid) and that feeds into an inverter which puts "regular" electricity to your house.
PV panels don't really have any moving parts and I have yet to see one of the glass fronted big ones actually wear out. The little plastic ones which run solar lights and such seem to fog over fairly quickly but they aren't in the same league at all. Most folks select their PV panels according to how many watts of electricity they produce. It is a case of the more the merrier with PV panels.
The solar controller isn't very expensive, ours was about $40 six years ago. It keeps the panels from overcharging the battery bank and I think it keeps the panels from discharging the batteries at night, too.
The batteries are deep cycle batteries and get the heaviest ones you can. More lead means they weigh more and the more lead the better. We have six volt batteries connected in series to get the voltage up to twenty four volts (that's the input voltage for the inverter) and then the batteries are wired in parallel to increase the amp hours. The batteries are connected with welding cable with fittings soldered and swaged onto the ends. It was much cheaper to manufacture our cables than to buy them. I have seen some systems where there is a solid metal bar with holes spaced so you can connect the battery terminals. Kinda like a wire without the insulation. I'd seriously hate to have anything metal fall across the two metal bars connecting all the batteries together!
The inverter is the magic box which takes battery power and makes it into house power. For that, I'd suggest looking at ones manufactured by "Outback". That company was started by the engineers from Trace (now called Xantrex) who quit en masse when the bean counters started telling them how to do things. What ever brand of inverter you get, the thing to look for is the quantity and kind of electricity it produces. A pure sine wave is best, but expensive. A modified sine wave will run most things and a stepped sine wave probably wouldn't be anything you'd want.
To back up the solar system a nice Honda generator is a good thing. It is sorta like an iron sun for power on cloudy days.
The inter-tie systems which connect to the Helco grid don't seem such a good thing from what I understand but I don't have any first hand knowledge of them. Apparently, instead of spinning the meter backwards when you produce more power than you use all it does is keep the meter from going forward so you just get credit for the power you didn't use, not any extra. So no matter how much power you produce during the day, you will still be buying grid power at night which is usually when folks use the most power. Hmm, unless you stored the extra power you used during the day in the battery bank and by the time you have those, why be connected at all? Anyway, I might have it all wrong, it isn't something I know about first hand.
Since you are starting fresh and new, you can design your whole house to be solar friendly. Orient the roof for the best panel placement, put in lots of windows for lighting, add in a place outside your house for a battery bank, etc.
Kurt Wilson
