On 12/26/06, Stephen A. Lawrence <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
After a "mental walk-through" counting watts, it appears that, more or less in line with Terry's recent post, something like a kilowatt or so of continuous power would do us (if we turn off all unnecessary lights and don't use the furnace), and that suggests something like 50 square meters of solar panels to charge up during the day and something approaching 20 automobile batteries to carry the house through the night.
First, don't use automobile batteries. They are not designed for deep discharge cycles. Golf cart batteries are a better choice. Also, don't forget that, while your power source only needs to meet your average demand, your inverter must meet your peak demand. Finally, you might want to get in line for some of the first nanotechnology solar cells: http://www.nanosolar.com which will reduce your cell cost significantly. Terry
