A friend of mine lives off grid with PV and wind. He added a shunt-type
controller to his battery bank and connected it to a DC heating element
in his hot water tank. Below a set voltage the element is dormant. When
the battery bank hits a high voltage (at the end of a particularly sunny
day or during a windy spell) the element comes on. That way, instead of
just a PWM shutoff and wasted energy, he gets some benefit.
I wouldn't deliberately install PV just for hot water, but in an off
grid situation where the excess would go to waste, it makes sense.
Hilton
--
Hilton Dier III
Renewable Energy Design
Partner, Solar Gain LLC
453 East Hill Rd.
Middlesex, VT 05602
_______________________________________________
List sponsored by Home Power magazine
List Address: [email protected]
Change email address & settings:
http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
List-Archive: http://lists.re-wrenches.org/pipermail/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org
List rules & etiquette:
www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm
Check out participant bios:
www.members.re-wrenches.org
