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Question: Can i power a house under 100% solar? using solar panels?

(Posted by: Princess_Height on 2009-10-28 22:50:38)

If I move to a place with almost constant clear sunny days and buy several 15 volt solar panels and put them in parallel to equal about 120 volts can the house run 100 % off of the solar panels? I know that there will be days when it will be cloudy etc. But at the time that it is clear and sunny would the house be able to run 100 % off of the solar panels?

Posted by: Charlie Brigante on 2009-10-29, 03:29:52

At the moment, not really. Solar panels still have a long way to go in terms of efficiency. Also, what would happen at night? You would need to have a bank of batteries to store the power in and an inverter to convert the low voltage DC into 120V AC for a mains supply. I worked on a similar system but had to include a wind turbine and a hydroelectric generator to keep the system running effectively. The solar energy part contributed about 5-10% of the overall energy of the system on a good day (in the UK). But I'll let you in to a little secret. I know a company who is developing a special type of solar cell that concentrates the suns energy and is claimed to output far more power per unit area than current solar panels.... Watch this space.....

Posted by: Loulabelle on 2009-10-28, 23:01:07

It could be possible, but you would have to create some kind of battery system to charge during the day so that you could power your house after dark. Also, it would only be possible in a place where the sun is at a good angle in the sky most of the time (closer to the equator), as in northern places the intensity of light might not be enough in the winter. Finally, you would need to make your house as energy efficient as possible to make it work. Update,... what Moonwork... below said about the refrigerator is a good point. There is a way to build a natural fridge. You have to plan it before you start building, and basically you dig down to the part of the ground that is permanently about 3-4 degrees celcius, and build a sort of cement pipe. You connect this to a storage room that is vented at the top, and seals like a fridge. You need to put in wire shelves so the air can circulate, and you draw air cooled naturally by the earth to cool your food. This will work for almost everything except fresh meat and milk, so you can reduce the size of your powered fridge. You can also use alternate heating and cooling methods - like a very high efficiency wood stove for primary heat source, and dry clothes on a line rather than in a clothes dryer. You can also put switches on all of your electrical outlets so you can turn off the power to things that constantly draw power (like modern televisions, microwaves, computers, etc.) and change all of the lighting to high efficiency bulbs.

Posted by: cev on 2009-10-29, 01:03:34

Not with just a few 15v panels. look at your power bill, you need to be able to produce kw hours of electricity, then you need to conver dc to ac, big bucks dude.

Posted by: Moonworks on 2009-10-29, 05:32:35

Theoretically I would says yes. Practically no. You would need a large number of backup batteries and a good number of panels to get through the day. This may be more realistic if you didn't consume the same amount of energy that the average American household utilizes. So if you swore off TV and salted meats instead of using a refrigerator - I would say go for it! For More information on Solar Power: moonworkshome.com/ home-improvement-resources/ Residential-Solar-Technology-Made-Simple/

Posted by: Brutus on 2009-10-29, 13:24:12

According to EIA at wiki.answers.com the average power consumption of a home in the US is 936 kWh/ month. This is 31.2 kWh per day for a 30 day month, your solar panel generator would need to produce about 3.12 kW for 10 hours to meet your needs. The number of solar panels to generate this much power will be very expensive. We are building a solar power concentrator at brutuscontry.com. See Global Green below to find the amount of solar energy available in your area.

Posted by: roderick_young on 2009-10-30, 16:41:17

The short answer is no. I'm assuming that you mean living a typical american lifesyle, and just using a few inexpensive panels. If you are willing to trim your lifestyle down considerably, then you could have a house or cabin on standalone solar. Note that generally, anyone who has access to the power grid tends to use the power grid, because standalone solar is expensive in comparison.