tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703718837080088488.post2035614447913494012..comments2024-03-28T00:20:01.688-05:00Comments on Little Blog In The Big Woods: New solar panels are up!Greenpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17224906349154302210noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703718837080088488.post-53158300036646159802017-04-26T18:57:21.442-05:002017-04-26T18:57:21.442-05:00Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog a...Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts.<br />Solar Las Vegashttp://www.universalsolardirect.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703718837080088488.post-73241164521753800382008-01-16T22:41:00.000-06:002008-01-16T22:41:00.000-06:00PS, thank you Beany for Greener ChoicesGreenpa and...PS, thank you Beany for <BR/>Greener Choices<BR/><BR/>Greenpa and friends -- it's worth a review, it could grow into something collaborative and well informed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703718837080088488.post-48770078474045807332008-01-16T00:56:00.000-06:002008-01-16T00:56:00.000-06:00Ok, so I went and looked at my one solar panel (be...Ok, so I went and looked at my one solar panel (besides the ones that keep the vehicle batteries trickle-charged) -- this one's been used for the portable 12v deep discharge battery used on long car-camping botany field trips for the phones, ham radios, recharging all the other batteries in flashlights, GPS, cameras and such.<BR/><BR/>Not to mention, the midwinter comet trip, the 12v trucker's electric blanket we used to get the sleeping bags warm (grin). <BR/><BR/>I'd bought the solar panel a couple of years ago from what used to be RealGoods, now Gaiam. And some of the cells, I noticed recently, have cracked, diagonally.<BR/><BR/>Research. Turns out it's a well known problem as of about 20 years ago:<BR/><BR/>http://21c7www.motherearthnews.com/Alternative-Energy/1995-08-01/The-Future-of-Solar-is-Now.aspx<BR/>"... If they break 10 years into operation, that initial price advantage is going to seem ... very Yugo-like.... Each silicon cell has a metal structure and wires incorporated into it, but the silicon expands and contracts at<BR/>different rates than the metal, and over time, this difference can crack the cells."<BR/><BR/>And there's a well known manufacturing technique that should reduce the problem:<BR/><BR/>http://www.mdpub.com/SolarPanel/index.html<BR/>"Don't use too much glue, and don't glue the cells anywhere but at their centers. The cells and the panel they are mounted on will expand, contract, flex and warp with changes in temperature and humidity. If you glue the cells too tightly to the substrate, they<BR/>will crack in time. gluing them at only one point in the center allows the cells to float freely on top of the substrate. Both can expand and flex more or less independently, and the delicate solar cells won't crack...."<BR/><BR/>And the panel I'd bought was laminated, a clear layer sealing the cells immobile and held to a fiberboard backing. Can't tell if they were glued down too, but it wouldn't matter.<BR/><BR/>It still puts out some power, don't know how long that'll last til something critical breaks. <BR/><BR/>It's no longer carried by the wholesaler, and there was never any info on where it was made, no identification on it at all. <BR/><BR/>It was sold as lightweight (yep), portable (yep), easy to take camping (yep). I'd worried on first use that the whole thing got too bendy, especially when it got hot, and had backed it with an old aluminum cooler cover to keep it from flexing. But the cells have started to crack anyhow.<BR/><BR/>Known failure mode. Design flaw. Warranty was only a year. Tsk. <BR/><BR/>Gaiam only warranties their solar panels for 90 days now, they tell me. Hmmm. What do they know?<BR/><BR/>So, Greenpa - where'd you find the ones you like? Do they make any small (5-10 watt range) ones?Hank Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07521410755553979665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703718837080088488.post-80999595882166192062008-01-08T10:19:00.000-06:002008-01-08T10:19:00.000-06:00I guess you had not come across Greener Choices by...I guess you had not come across <A HREF="http://www.greenerchoices.org" REL="nofollow">Greener Choices</A> by Consumer Reports.Samhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03068855919147458057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703718837080088488.post-89530515944594492052007-12-29T20:22:00.000-06:002007-12-29T20:22:00.000-06:00Oh my, that was quite a read full of information. ...Oh my, that was quite a read full of information. Thanks for posting that, and I'm sure I'm going to refer to it again. ShannonGoing Crunchyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01885445987575778289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703718837080088488.post-31685747399333425282007-12-23T22:17:00.000-06:002007-12-23T22:17:00.000-06:00> lightning protectionI do NOT know that this is a...> lightning protection<BR/><BR/>I do NOT know that this is anything close to what's needed -- it's a supplier that my local ISP told me about, when I asked how to go about preventing lightning from following an outdoor WiFi antenna's Ethernet or power lines into the house.<BR/><BR/>They've got a lot of stuff, might be something here.<BR/><BR/>http://www.hyperlinktech.com/web/data_line_lightning_protectors.phpHank Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07521410755553979665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703718837080088488.post-70950465437027134302007-12-21T11:51:00.000-06:002007-12-21T11:51:00.000-06:00RC - I'm afraid I'm not going to be much help in r...RC - I'm afraid I'm not going to be much help in regard to solar sources in PR - I just did a quick google on "Puerto Rico solar" (in my spare time...) and... <A HREF="http://energy.sourceguides.com/businesses/byP/solar/byGeo/byC/PuertoRico/PuertoRico.shtml" REL="nofollow">PR solar</A><BR/><BR/>Nobody up front I recognize, but plenty of people who look legit. I think you're going to have way more luck than I would in sorting out which of the 475,000 hits are relevant for you- :-)<BR/><BR/>Wind generators- I've had abysmal luck with small wind; have put up/paid for 2, done repairs on both- and never had one stay working for more than like a month. I know, others have had better luck- but I've wished many times I'd just put that money into more solar panels. Besides electrical problems (an silliness- this was so long ago both put out 24VDC; at the powerhead; an idiotic idea from the get go; any good small wind alternator these days is putting out wild 3-phase power- which is converted to DC at the batteries- saving a fortune in wire costs) - both mine actually had blades - break. In relatively "normal" thunderstorm winds.<BR/><BR/>A basic problem with mainstream small wind is they are designed to run as "direct drive" alternators; which means the blades run as fast as a helicopter. Which means- one bird hit; one big hailstone- and you may be running out of balance. Won't last.<BR/><BR/>If you're interested in do-it-yourself, there's a rather new design getting some serious attention; which I like so far: <A HREF="http://www.tmawind.com/" REL="nofollow">New!</A><BR/><BR/>This thing is a good deal more productive than old "Savonius rotor" types; and, a nice thing for you- should be relatively easy to protect in a hurricane- just board it up. (I'd cover my solar panels if I were you, too- big danger not being just wind, but flying debris).<BR/><BR/>I don't THINK any of the critical design stuff on the TMA machines are covered by patents; in any case, nobody is interested in fussing you if you're just building one machine for yourself.<BR/><BR/>Fridges- again, I'm not going to be much help; it's a field that's changing constantly. Last I knew, the most efficient machines were made in Scandinavia- and their prices were not bad at all.<BR/><BR/>One word of warning there; a number of years ago I did buy a super-efficient freezer for my business; intending to run it just as a refrigerator- I was going to gimmick up the thermostat.<BR/><BR/>It didn't work. That thing was a freezer, no matter what I did; including imposing an outside power timer to limit the time it could run. What happened then was, the stuff inside near the cooling coils froze anyway- long before it would shut off.<BR/><BR/>And- then I had the idea I'd go ahead and use it as a freezer; and increase the bang for my buck by just wrapping it in more insulation. <BR/><BR/>It didn't work. The designers not only had a small fan blowing the hot air off the radiator - but they'd managed to use the whole front of the chest freezer- the metal envelope- as another radiator. It was always warm- (outside their native insulation) - wrapping it in more would have made the whole thing hot.<BR/><BR/>There used to be another do-it-yourself option in refrigeration; a couple places would sell just the DC refrigeration unit- you build the rest to suit. A good chance there to build a super-insulated unit.Greenpahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17224906349154302210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703718837080088488.post-51691219310823178182007-12-17T22:42:00.000-06:002007-12-17T22:42:00.000-06:00rc:I recommend the Air-X windmill, made by Southwe...rc:<BR/><BR/>I recommend the Air-X windmill, made by Southwest Windpower. Except that they don't make them anymore, but you can still find them on eBay. We have one (and another for backup) and it works great in our location -- listening to it whirl in the background at this very moment :) or check out the latest product at southwest windpower http://www.windenergy.com/index_wind.htm I don't have direct experience with their new windmill but I'm inclined to like the company since I like their other product.<BR/><BR/>Also, we (I live off-grid in a < 400 square-foot house with my partner) use an Avanti refrigerator, about a 4 cubic foot one. I googled Avanti and found lots of styles but no photos to show the kind we have. I don't know how much it uses, but we run our whole house on between 1.5 and 3 kilowatt-hours per day, and the fridge fits in that just fine except in the most extreme circumstances. We keep ours set pretty low, but high enough to keep the beer cold!<BR/><BR/>SueAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703718837080088488.post-10755599390318695682007-12-17T21:25:00.000-06:002007-12-17T21:25:00.000-06:00Excellent post. Very helpful. Thank you...Excellent post. Very helpful. Thank you...e4https://www.blogger.com/profile/13435927076587347401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703718837080088488.post-30712322334525087732007-12-17T15:22:00.000-06:002007-12-17T15:22:00.000-06:00I did take an informal poll today and my contacts ...I did take an informal poll today and my contacts agree with you that Solar World is the winner, also Trace is still the best inverter. It was not that long ago that Siemens still dominated the field. I would be very interested to know any contacts you have that are familiar with applications in the tropics. Thanks again. Oh, did I remember to mention that our residential KWH rate is now 22.5 cents? This is incentive enough to get off the grid even though we do not have reverse metering here.<BR/>I paid 71.79 for only 320 KWH last month.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703718837080088488.post-75762753564415160892007-12-17T06:58:00.000-06:002007-12-17T06:58:00.000-06:00Well the read was impressive and the info very use...Well the read was impressive and the info very useful up to a point.<BR/>What's missing: any hints about a good source for panels nearest to Puerto Rico, and, any exact instructions for lightning proofing?<BR/>URLs are fine as I am well aware of the fact that you are running like crazy just to keep falling backwards and I can relate.<BR/>Also on those URLs, a good all around source for small wind generators {boat type perhaps} and the latest ideas on lower cost reliable invertors and high efficiency refigerators. Oh yes, I know you hate reefers, but it's pretty hot here. <BR/>You seem to be getting into some tech posts now {you must be stuck inside} so these are my questions s'il tu plait.<BR/>Yes, again, this is my favorite type of post from you, Greenpa.<BR/>I hope Thor avoids you for a good long time now. Thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703718837080088488.post-49430270201983373162007-12-15T15:06:00.000-06:002007-12-15T15:06:00.000-06:00Holy moley! I think I'll be finished reading this ...Holy moley! I think I'll be finished reading this by the end of January. About the time your next post is up I guess :)Crunchy Chickenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10612320939936593420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703718837080088488.post-40299294307462292922007-12-15T12:14:00.000-06:002007-12-15T12:14:00.000-06:00This kind of real-world information is very useful...This kind of real-world information is very useful indeed. Thanks for taking the time to put it together.<BR/><BR/><BR/>--<BR/>etbnc<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://bluepuzzle.org/iceberg" REL="nofollow">BluePuzzle.org/iceberg</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703718837080088488.post-48277054117287936142007-12-15T09:56:00.000-06:002007-12-15T09:56:00.000-06:00How about "Green Liver"? :-)How about "Green Liver"? :-)Greenpahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17224906349154302210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2703718837080088488.post-18787099826230527132007-12-15T00:09:00.000-06:002007-12-15T00:09:00.000-06:00Yeah. "Consuming Less Reports" would be good. Th...Yeah. "Consuming Less Reports" would be good. Though I doubt they'd let you use that name...<BR/><BR/>Some folks might be interested in knowing- just how fried were the panels? Well, three of them were putting out an open circuit voltage of about 1/2 spec; qute seriously fried. The other three had OC voltages near spec (if you poked them in the right place). Damaged enough that they were definitely classifiable as scrap, and not something to be seriously relied upon, but we'll probably try using them as convenience power/small battery chargers eventually.<BR/><BR/>For those geeky enough to care like me, not only were the main connections melted/slagged, all the panels also had some parts of the silicon crystals blown up as well, along the electrodes. Only visible close up, but certainly there. And impressive!Beelarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15593065681242071073noreply@blogger.com