solar power for indoor??

[mybeans420]

anyone out there ever run a indoor grow using solar power?
specifically i'd like to know if say a 1200 awtt grow could be sustained overnight without draining the energy stored during daylight hours. this would be done in hawaii so the days and nights would be relatively even year round.
any input?

 

[BuzzBob]

Hey MB --

I saw this post right after you put it up, but did not respond right away as I do not have first hand knowledge. But since its been idling for a couple of hours now, I thought I'd toss out my two cents worth...

I thought about this some as well... But then I did a search on "solar" over at OG, and read through some of the posts. Bottm line, it doesn't sound good unless you have a ton of cash to drop!

However, I heard one time {long time ago} that if you have solar panels on your house, that there's a way to integrate the power produced into your main house system, and that it will actually reduce your electric bill. And in fact, if you happen to produce more elcetric than what your home consumes {fat chance if you're running a grow lighting system} that the public utility companies actually have to buy it back from you! That could be an Urban Legend though, I don't know...

Anyway, I am still thinking long-term of the possibility of installing a few panels on my South Facing roof line in order to reduce my electric bill...

Food for thought, in any case...

-Bob

 

[mybeans420]

unfortunately i have to do solar, it's not an option but a neccessity in my case. i'll be completely off grid and it will cost me less to put in solar than to do everything the state requires to get permanent on grid service. my question is really one of capacity. i was trying to find out if anyone has done this to find out what kind of battery backup is needed to power a grow throught the night hours.
i guess i could do wind also. a hybrid of both would probably be most efficient though. i guess no one here has done this before.

 

[Mr GreenJeans]

mybeans420
I haven't done this myself, but I have looked into solar. The secret is to measure what your kilowatt hour useage will be total through the house, and then size your batteries to run 1 day at 115% of what you estimate your kilowatt hours are. Roughly a 1200w of lighting would draw 14.4 kwh for a 12 hour period. You also have to factor in the draw of any fans and movers you have running. 14.4 kwh + the draw of other equipment is not insignificant, my guess is at worse you'd have to add a few more batteries +/- an extra panel to make sure you can charge them to capacity during the day. If you are in the planning stages just figure out how many watts total everything will draw and multiple by the number of hours they will run, and add that into the estimate for the house.

The other thing to keep in mind is to put most of your appliances on a power strip, as most modern appliances today do not power off but go into a "sleep mode" so startup times are quick. I read somewhere that as much as 1-2 kwh / day is drawn by these "phantom power" appliances in the average home.

There are very good books on solar homes that also give other considerations on small changes to lifestyle / equipment useage that will significantly decrease daily power requirements.

Good luck! -MGJ

 

[chosen]

YOu could do an online search for solar panels and solar cells. I did it once. They said that for what I wanted to run it would cost quite a bit. I still dream of being able to do it one day...

 

[Guest]

I'll just in and give my 2 cents on Solar Power. I'm going to be taking a class or two on it at a Major university and will get a greater knowledge on it. This is what i came up with for my plans. There are two kinds of units. One that you store power into batteries like you've been talking about and the other is where you run the meter backwards. The second unit is the unit i'm looking to install once i move to Hawaii. The reason i'm choosing this type of unit is the following reason.

You don't have to have a room for a large amount of batteries. You don't have to replace them as time goes by, and they do get costly replacing them, and last. If you get a large enough unit. Meaning, more panels then you need. When you run the meter "backwards" the power company pays "you" a check at the end of the month for the power you have put back into the grid that was extra. What happens with these units, is that you run your house hold off of the power from the sun in the daytime and supply the power grid also. "If" you have a larger unit then your uses of power per a day. At night you feed off the electric company's powed and supply power back into the grid in the daytime. The trick is t, get a large unit that will power more then you ever use, and get them to pay you ever month. Another thing people don't think about solar panles, is that you should run your lights during the day 12/12, and have all but a little light for mother plants going 24hours. Running the larger lights that will be in 12/12 mode running during the day say, 7am to 7pm will mask the heat signature. By the time night falls the panels will still have heat in them and your larger lights will be off and you don't have to worry about cops looking into your house with IR and other bullshit high tech shit.

Now for the bad news.
Some of these units are a shit load of money, but there is some good news on the purchase of these units. Alot of states will kick back a shit load of cash if you buy one of the larger units and some of the smaller units. I don't have all the states that is doing this, but i know that Cali, Hawaii, and Fl. are at the top of the list. If you got the money, this is the way to go. Get the largest unit you can afford and run as many light as the power panels can handle and off set your power bill.

Once i get over to Hawaii and get everything setup. I'll be doing a whole thread on Solar power and how it is setup and it's uses. I'll also have plenty of picture and data to go along with it. You can bet you ass, i'm going to have the biggest system i can find and have setup of there. The units i'm looking at now, also tracks the suns movement through the day to give you maxium solar collections. I hope this helps, and once i start the Solar class, i'll be starting a full thread with all the info i learn in school.
Take care

 

[BuzzBob]

Good scoop, BG!

So its not an Urban Legend that the power company has to buy back your unused electric! Cool!

I look forward to the info you pick up from your classes, and the setup you create when you get to the islands...


-Bob

 

[Guest]

Urban Legend Buzzbob, Cali with all the Black-out and Brown-out love it when home owner add these units to there houses. It helps them with the power supply problems they have in the summer months, just like this month. Aug, is really bad for Cali. It's their hottest month and everyone is using their AC at their max. I'll post everything i can, once i get started in the first class. It should be fun, and give me the proper information to design the right unit for my Big Island project.
Take care

PS, Big Giant wind power mills are another opion also. Good on islands and out in the mid-west.

 

[Guest]

PS, Big Giant wind power mills are another opion also. Good on islands and out in the mid-west.

BG you nearly took the words out of my mouth... I was thinking that gor someone off the grid (esp on volcanic islands) would be served best by the solar/battery system supplimented by a windmill and/or a geothermal source...

 

[mybeans420]

thanks alot guys

thanks alot guys

i appreciate all your replies. i really want to do it the way you're talking about doing it BG. sounds like we have alot of the same ideas the problem i'm having is that there are all kinds of hoops to jump through to get grid power in hawaii when you dont have a permanent structure in place on the land. when i first get there i'll most likely be putting a dome up till i can get a house built. construction of a foundation is extremely expensive i'm told. they do allow you to run temporary power for one year but if you dont get an approved structure up in that year you're cut off. granted this is a few months off that i'll actually be getting the land. (i have friends there keeping an eye out for me) and probably another year before i actually move there, but i'm really trying to get all my ducks in a row, so to speak.
when are you going to be starting your classes BG? i'm looking forward to that thread
thanks again everyone

 

[I.M. Boggled]

Hybrid wind and solar system for reliability....

Hybrid wind and solar system for reliability....

I live in a rural area where living "off-grid" is quite common. I've lived off grid many times in the past and eventually learned to love "the grid".
Turning on the light switch without first firing up the ol' propane gas generator, ahh the joys of living on grid.

Setting up whole house electrical generation in remote areas can be similar financially to pre-paying your electric bill ten or twenty years in advance. It's not hard to spend upwards of 40,000 to 50,000 dollars u.s. , setting things up correctly for a large house.
Also the Deep cycle Batteries used in these systems wear out and need replacement every few years.


Hybrid systems are the way to go when one absolutely, positively has to have one's electricity. imho.

Wind and solar are often combined in a hybrid system because they reinforce each other on a daily and seasonal basis.
The wind often blows when the sun is not shining (night, storms, winter, etc.). The sun often shines during periods with low wind (summer, wind lulls due to high-pressure systems, etc.).

Solar panels (pricing and information)

1000 watt wind generator for low wind areas

Various alternative energy links

wind generator product comparison chart link

The Care and Maintenance of Deep Cycle Batteries

 

[Guest]

Grat3fulH3ad Thanks, i'll also be looking at those wind turbines. The classes i'm going to be taking are mainly Solar, but they have another class for the wind power generators also. I'll be taking these class for myself while finishing up my degree.

I'll be taking these classes in the Spring most likely. It all depend on where i'm going to be on the Big Island. It can be costly for sure, but i have a brother that owns a construction company and a ton of friends that work for him. If i got to fly some of these guys over to save a bucn of money, then it's going to happen. I'll update more as the classes happen.
Later

 

[Guest]

Here is another site that has quite a few options for solar and wind power solutions.

http://www.mrsolar.com/

Being off grid also requires that you address water catchment and or well water for your water requirements.

The first exersise is to figure out what your actual daily and monthly power requirements as far actual Kilowatts used. This gives you a starting point to size an appropriate system. Smaller solar and battery storage are not that much, but as you size a larger sysytem to handle the excessive daily requiremnent as well as your grow requirements it can get costly.

Conserving power all around your house becomes the real exersise. Battery storage cell also are very large and cumbersome to deal with so the less you tax them the better.

I am going through some of the drills right now trying to size different services and methods for use in Hawaii.

Good thread, I will add some of my info and research as I get it.

Tex

 

[JLP]

Might be easier to just use the sun itself.

You could use a small greenhouse with opaque white plastic or you could install some Solartubes in the house.Here's a link to the tubes: http://www.solartubetexas.com/index.htm


JLP

 

[I.M. Boggled]

The "SolaMaster" Series (21" inch Solatubes)

The "SolaMaster" Series (21" inch Solatubes)

" A single 21" Solatube can produce light output equivalent to two standard 3-lamp fluorescent light fixtures."

Boy that product sure has great potential applications. Thanks for the link

Another idea...perhaps a nice little (stealth) interior courtyard/ conservatory aka greenhouse could be incorporated into the design of the new house...

 

[mybeans420]

Re: The "SolaMaster" Series (21" inch Solatubes)

Re: The "SolaMaster" Series (21" inch Solatubes)

" A single 21" Solatube can produce light output equivalent to two standard 3-lamp fluorescent light fixtures."

Boy that product sure has great potential applications. Thanks for the link

Another idea...perhaps a nice little (stealth) interior courtyard/ conservatory aka greenhouse could be incorporated into the design of the new house...

21" Open Ceiling
Solatube (b)
(SolaMaster Series) 13,900 Avg. Lumens (a)
Up to 20,800
*****Approximately equal to the mean light output of 0.6 - 400W High Bay Metal Halide Fixtures. (c)*******

this model sounds even more promising