Solar BACK UP kit not full time OFFGRID ? help please?

[NorthernRaider]

[uks]

Been looking at this myself, its cheaper if you get the components and build it. I was thinking of starting small and adding to it as and when.

[Scythe13]

[bigpaul]

i'll probably get jumped on from a great height for this, but IF we are talking POST SHTF and i'm assuming we are, why does anyone WANT electricity once the power has gone off for good? wouldn't it be better to alter your lifestyle to suit the times? just my personal thoughts so don't all shout at once!!!

[Nix]

Hi NorthernRaider - my tuppence worth.

First off, your idea is spot on, have a budget power back up system for LED lighting and low energy devices such as cell phone charging etc.

If I can start off by saying that energy can be neither created nor destroyed. You simply can't get more power out of a backup system than what you can put in. I say that cos so many people think that you can go out and buy something like the Halfords solar battery charger and their problems are solved for providing electrical back up. This charger is a mere 6W on a good clear sunny day and that equates to just 0.5 amps. This is a mere trickle charge at best and won't keep a working battery going. Great for keeping a stored battery topped up but that's it. Now imagine what it's performance would be like on short dark winter days. Zip.

The water pump is also very low power, 3W. "Water Flow Capacity: max 250 litres/hour (light dependent)" sounds really good, and it is, but then you've got to factor in the "Max fountain height: 100cm (jet fountain head & direct sunlight)". Those are, again, ideal conditions. Any higher and the pump will start to struggle. Dark cloudy days, time to go to sleep.

Solar shed light looks good but there's very little info on the site so can't comment further. I'm assuming that this shed light has an integral battery which I'd avoid. The ebay item, for the same money, looks the better deal by far and you also have the option to replace the AA rechargable batteries if/when they expire. Big plus is the plug n play aspect but personally, like uks, I'd go for separate units for more control over part replacements/upgrades.

Back to your original query, it all boils down to what you want to do with a back up system. If it's just for LED lights and charging your cell phone, you can set yourself up for very little money. Laptops take a lot more power than you think, 50W at least judging by our own netbooks n laptops. That's a constant 4 - 5 amps on a 12V battery for however long it takes to charge/use. Get into anything that's more power hungry like a fridge or freezer and you really will have to invest in a much bigger more powerful system. But that's another story.

Believe it or not, you can get a 40W solar panel for about £40, the controller £10. If you have a reasonable 12v car battery knocking about then that will be a good starting system. Get more serious with a new 125ah ultra deep cycle battery for about £89 delivered. Sounds a lot but when compared to car battery prices these days, I think it's a steal. Hook up one of those car power adaptors with a usb port and you're away.

So, at the end of the day, your ideal set up will depend entirely on your power requirements matching up to your budget.

[Skean Dhude]

i'll probably get jumped on from a great height for this, but IF we are talking POST SHTF and i'm assuming we are, why does anyone WANT electricity once the power has gone off for good? wouldn't it be better to alter your lifestyle to suit the times? just my personal thoughts so don't all shout at once!!!

That is the beauty of prepping. You make your own choices and prep for what you want.

Most of us want to retain electrickery for as long as we can. Solar panels will only last about 25 years so we should make the most of it while we can.

[Straight Shooter]

Nix old chap, would it be possible for you to list what is needed as per your post and show us how to connect up that set up, been looking at this for ages fact is I have not got a clue what I should be looking for and funds are tight, also can your setup incorperate a a 240 inverter

This would help others to I think thanks SS

[Nix]

No probs SS, glad to help. Think I've already mentioned a small set up with links in other posts but perhaps I need to update that.

[River Song]

NR

Can you possibly point us towards a link for a 12v power hub?


Ta

[LawAbidingCitizen]