Here is the setup that we recently did for a combination solar/wind powered site. This is a StarOS site, X4000 board with four Mikrotik R52H cards in it. One is 5ghz backhaul, two are for APs and the third card is a spare.
2 60 watt solar panels solar charge controller air-x wind generator four deep-cycle marine batteries (local auto parts store) metal enclosure 24-48v converter (or 12 to 48, I forget which) miscellaneous hardware for mounting/wiring Total cost - $1850.00 If you were going solar only, it would be about $1250. We also installed a device called a SuperRMS from Invictus Networks, which is awesome for alternative energy sites. It has auto ping, remote power control and we are also able to graph the voltage of the panels, wind generator and batteries. It was a bit pricey at $650 or so, but it is well worth it, as the sites we have on solar/wind are generally not very accessible. The SuperRMS tells us that the wind generator is generating almost no power and that the solar panels are generating plenty of power. Altogether, you are looking at about $2000 for a really good solar setup with full monitoring and remote control capabilities. You can do it cheaper, but you will most likely burn up the extra money in battery replacements and extra trips to the site. Here are some pictures of the site: http://www.thelar.com/gallery2/v/Wireless/Hogback/ There are also some example graphs of the charge provided by the panels and the consumption of the radios throughout the day. We could run about 100 people off this site and/or use it as a backhaul point to somewhere else. I have four other sites similar to this on my network - one is wind/solar and the other three are wind only - and they have proven to be very reliable. There are some occasional issues. Wind generators will sometimes cook batteries, so you need to turn the voltage down a little bit. Also, four batteries works a lot better than two batteries because if you have a cell go bad, you aren't completely out of luck. Also, more batteries means less chance of them overcharging. Solar power is a lot more linear and good for providing baseline power. Wind will charge batteries very quickly if there is wind. Unfortunately, even though we have the best wind resource in the world here in Wyoming/Nebraska, there are occasions where the wind won't blow for ten days in a row and that can cause problems. I hope this is useful to you and anyone else looking to do wind/solar for your sites. Matt Larsen vistabeam.com Mike Hammett wrote: > Indeed. AC/DC conversions lose 20% each way. > > > ----- > Mike Hammett > Intelligent Computing Solutions > http://www.ics-il.com > > > > -------------------------------------------------- > From: "Paul Rice" <paul.r...@boomerang-networks.com> > Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 12:19 PM > To: "WISPA General List" <wireless@wispa.org> > Subject: Re: [WISPA] solar site > > >> I'd recommend you use either a unmanaged or managed industrial DC powered >> switch 12-20 vdc >> otherwise your going to need a LOT of solar panels (650 watts is what my >> calcs came up with) >> In fact eliminate all 120 AC from your outdoor install for the best >> results >> to save money on smaller solar rigs. >> >> Paul >> >> -------------------------------------------------- >> From: "Paul Rice" <paul.r...@boomerang-networks.com> >> Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 12:09 PM >> To: "WISPA General List" <wireless@wispa.org> >> Subject: Re: [WISPA] solar site >> >> >>> Yikes, that is daunting. >>> >>> Is that the site your putting in, or your example site? >>> >>> -------------------------------------------------- >>> From: "Marlon K. Schafer" <o...@odessaoffice.com> >>> Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 12:04 PM >>> To: "WISPA General List" <wireless@wispa.org> >>> Subject: Re: [WISPA] solar site >>> >>> >>>> 120.... >>>> >>>> ----- Original Message ----- >>>> From: "Paul Rice" <paul.r...@boomerang-networks.com> >>>> To: "WISPA General List" <wireless@wispa.org> >>>> Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 9:35 AM >>>> Subject: Re: [WISPA] solar site >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>> Hey Marlon >>>>> >>>>> is that 1.8 amps at 120VAC or 1.8 amps at 12VDC? >>>>> >>>>> volts x amps = watts >>>>> the precise nominal and max watts that is the real factor determining >>>>> the >>>>> size of the power system needed >>>>> the difference is 25 watts or 250 watts :) >>>>> CostCo has a solar panel + charger + frame that would work for 25 >>>>> watts, >>>>> I >>>>> think >>>>> >>>>> 500 is good price, since your able to access it easily, it shouldn't be >>>>> much >>>>> of risk. >>>>> >>>>> -------------------------------------------------- >>>>> From: "Marlon K. Schafer" <o...@odessaoffice.com> >>>>> Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 11:29 AM >>>>> To: "WISPA General List" <wireless@wispa.org> >>>>> Subject: Re: [WISPA] solar site >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> Are you really saying that less than 500 bucks will build a solar >>>>>> system >>>>>> good enough for our radios these days? >>>>>> >>>>>> Dude, if that's true I can open up a LOT more doors! >>>>>> marlon >>>>>> >>>>>> ----- Original Message ----- >>>>>> From: "Mike" <m...@aweiowa.com> >>>>>> To: "WISPA General List" <wireless@wispa.org> >>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 8:50 AM >>>>>> Subject: Re: [WISPA] solar site >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>>> I bought two of the Northern Tool $79.00 15 watt panels, their $49.00 >>>>>>> charge controller, a deep cycle marine battery from Walmart and built >>>>>>> my own. So far, the "fully charged" light comes on every day. The >>>>>>> battery should run my two radio repeater for more than a week. Might >>>>>>> not be the club way to do it, but it works. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Mike >>>>>>> >>>>>>> At 11:09 PM 8/24/2009, you wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Hi All, >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Sorry for the cross post. Time is short on this project and I need a >>>>>>>> lot >>>>>>>> of >>>>>>>> help. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> I've never done a solar project. Never really even looked at them >>>>>>>> due >>>>>>>> to >>>>>>>> the costs I've seen tossed about. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Now I have a customer that's willing to purchase the initial >>>>>>>> equipment >>>>>>>> needed to cover his community. The ONLY way into the area is a hill >>>>>>>> that's >>>>>>>> within sight of my tower and NOT anywhere near power. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> I'll be able to just run a single MT board with two radios in it for >>>>>>>> this >>>>>>>> site. One backhaul and 1 distribution. I'll guess that I'll have >>>>>>>> less >>>>>>>> than >>>>>>>> a 2 amp draw (probably much less than 1 amp in reality). >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> We don't often get long periods of no sun. Could be days of fog or >>>>>>>> low >>>>>>>> clouds in the winter, but mostly we'll have a lot of sun. On the >>>>>>>> foggy >>>>>>>> or >>>>>>>> cloudy days we often don't have enough wind to worry about wind >>>>>>>> generation. >>>>>>>> I think. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> So, please clue me in on what to buy, who to buy it from (vendors >>>>>>>> welcome!) >>>>>>>> and anything else I'm missing. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Thanks all! >>>>>>>> marlon >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>>>>> WISPA Wants You! Join today! >>>>>>>> http://signup.wispa.org/ >>>>>>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >>>>>>>> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >>>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>>>> WISPA Wants You! Join today! >>>>>>> http://signup.wispa.org/ >>>>>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>>>> >>>>>>> WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >>>>>>> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >>>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>>> WISPA Wants You! Join today! >>>>>> http://signup.wispa.org/ >>>>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>>> >>>>>> WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org >>>>>> >>>>>> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >>>>>> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >>>>>> >>>>>> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>> WISPA Wants You! Join today! >>>>> http://signup.wispa.org/ >>>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>> >>>>> WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org >>>>> >>>>> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >>>>> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >>>>> >>>>> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >>>>> >>>> >>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>> WISPA Wants You! Join today! >>>> http://signup.wispa.org/ >>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>> >>>> WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org >>>> >>>> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >>>> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >>>> >>>> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >>>> >>> >>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> WISPA Wants You! Join today! >>> http://signup.wispa.org/ >>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> >>> WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org >>> >>> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >>> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >>> >>> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >>> >> >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> WISPA Wants You! Join today! >> http://signup.wispa.org/ >> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org >> >> Subscribe/Unsubscribe: >> http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless >> >> Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ >> >> > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > WISPA Wants You! Join today! > http://signup.wispa.org/ > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wants You! 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