solar power?

I want to make a solar power generator for ac use not dc use, how long will it last if iam running a total of 1600 watts ? I was planning on making one with 8 batteries.
thanks
any websites that explain this would be greatly appreciated.

The question is not too clear, as solar chargers are in fact d/c power as is the batteries they charge. To get a/c power from the system you will need an "inverter", and they come in various sizes, watts that is.
The amount of time will also depend on the batteries used, as they are all not the same. Reserve amps will be the determining factor to look at.
There is a formula published by the makers of these inverters that will give approximate running times, and most can be found through Google under the manufacturers brand name.

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any interesting experiment??… or project??!!

There is very little you can do, because calculators (especially those with an LCD display) use very little juice, so the solar cell has to give off very little, too.
You might be able to run a very tiny DC motor, or a LED (via a 100 Ohm resistor) with it, but that’s about all I can think of.

I know the cost is high and all, but this is a REALLY important project where I’m the rebuttal specialist. i need solid facts that not everyone knows. So if you know of anything helpful it would be great. THANKS

If every building had them you’d have a very redundant system compared to a centralized plant.

I’m not an expert, but I’d also look at the specific materials used in the manufacturing process. I’m betting they’re not all green.

People rely on them as a perfect solution rather than as a better option. (think Snackwells effect)

No viable disposal, recycling, or re-use options.

Tie these 4 things together and you get lots of resources being used and used indiscriminately.

How does this energy source operate? Where does it come from and how was it formed? Is it renewable or non-renewable? Will this energy source run out? How efficient is this energy source? What are the advantages of using this type of energy? What are the disadvantages of using your solar energy?
(I know its a lot of questions but you don’t have 2 answer all of them @ once! Thanks Heaps!)

Pure Silicon reacts to sunlight by freeing electrons, moving electrons = electricity. That’s all there is to it, other than hooking up a wire so that those free electrons have someplace to move.

Unsubsidized Solar doesn’t compete with Coal yet, for cost. It does, however come pretty close. I put in solar panels in 1984 and they’re still running. The batteries are the worst part, but still it’s paid for itself easily and it makes us feel like we’re doing something.

The very best solar cell is 41%, Boeing makes that panel. It’s a concentrator cell, which means the sunlight is focused on the silicon. Most commercial solar panels struggle to get 15%.

The disadvantage to solar is that it powers in sunlight only. The rest we could work with, the cost is better if you look long term enough, and there’s no pollution. In the short term another disadvantage is that there’s a shortage of purified silicon. There’s plenty out there, but it has to be processed, and that takes time. Because of that solar panels are on back order in most places.

The advantages are that they don’t damage our world after manufacture, they work off grid if needed so remote places or in disaster electricity is available, they’re silent and they pay for themselves in time and then keep right on paying.

We have a 27′ older travel trailer we’ve parked in the woods. There is no water, no power, no electricity. We’d like to turn this old dinosaur into an experiment in off-the grid cottage (start off with trailer and build around it). One thing is a power generator. Does anyone know if biodiesel (i.e. vegetable oil) portable generators exist or if perhaps hydrogen generators? This would be a back up to a solar panel hooked up to the trailer battery. Also looking into how to build a well and septic system. Links to books or examples of websites or other resources would be nice. Piece of land we have is in Quebec. P.S. not sure which category to put this in, there’s nothing on alternative energy.

Hello,

I find your question very cool as alternative fuels are one of the hot topics of our times.

Ok, I’ll list the most popular alternative fuels and some chunks of information and useful links alongwith them:

1- CNG i.e Compressed Natural Gas.
In India’s capital city Delhi, the public transport vehicles have switched to CNG. It not only helps reduce pollution but, also is good for the economy. Your country, Canada is one of the largest producers of natural gas in the world.

I think you folks might try switching to CNG. I recommend CNG if you have a nearby retail CNG gas-station. CNG cylinders might also be available there.

Here are a few useful links:

1] Info on Natural Gas in Canada

http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/transportation/fuels/natural-gas/natural-gas.cfm?attr=8

2] Technocarb Equipment Ltd.- Alternative Fuel Power

http://www.technocarb.com/news.htm

3] FIBA Canning Inc.- Another company pioneering the Natural gas buisness

http://www.fibacanning.com/FIRSTS.htm

4] Very useful info on CNG and its market

http://www.transoceangas.com/

5] Canada’s initiatives with the "Green Gas"

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2005/04/canada_funds_hy.html

6] You want fuel cylinders? Check this link out:

http://www.dynetek.com/

7] A forum for starters

http://www.ngv.org/ngv/ngvorg01.nsf

======== ========== ============= ==========

2- Biodiesel
An excellent choice for alternative fuel this one. I didn’t need to research much about it as there is a website called biodiesel-canada.org on the internet. Here is the link:

http://www.biodiesel-canada.org/

You can find almost everything you might wanna know there.

Here is another site with awesome info on biodiesel and ethanol-

http://www.greenfuels.org/biodiesel/index.htm

A useful link from greenfuels.org -

http://www.greenfuels.org/biodiesel/pandf.htm#f

Unfortunately, I don’t think biodiesel generators exist as it is produced from organic activities e.g. decaying of leaves etc. You’ll have to buy the cylinders from biodiesel stations.

Here is some more info about this :

http://www.thevarsity.ca/media/storage/paper285/news/2005/02/03/Science/Biodiesel.Canadas.Future-850736.shtml?norewrite200606021946&sourcedomain=www.thevarsity.ca

If you are intersted in trivia, here are some biodiesel facts :

http://www.canadacleanfuels.com/biodiesel.html

http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/files/cars/biodiesel/emissions.html

Now, if you’d like to "brew" biodiesel in your own backyard, here is a web-page you’ll love :

http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/biodiesel.htm

If you like researching, Wikipedia is the place to start :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiesel

(Just click on the external links under the article)

And if you’d like to see some papers and books about biodiesel, here is the link:

http://web.missouri.edu/~pavt0689/biofuel.html

An advice: Please, be sure that the use of biodiesel has been approved by the manufacturer of your vehicle.

======== ========== ========= ============

3. SVO – Straight Vegetable Oil
Dancingrabbit.com has some useful info on unmodified Veg oil which is used mixed with other fuels. Here is the link:

http://www.dancingrabbit.org/biodiesel/

======= ========== ========== ===========

4- Hydrogen
I am afraid, Hydrogen (as an alternative fuel) too might not be available through generators. You’ll have to go to fuelling stations like this one to run your vehicle with Hydrogen gas :

http://www.h2.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=158&Itemid=58

Here is the ultimate website for some who wants discussion papers, CDs, accesibility, info, etc on Hydrogen as an alternative fuel, check it out :

http://www.h2.ca/

========= ============ =========== ============

Here is a great online journal about alternative fuels:

http://www.greencar.com/index.cfm?content=links

You might also be interested in alternative fuels other than those listed above. Here is a list of some other interesting alternative sources of energy :

* Electricity,
* Ethanol,
* The p-series,
* Propane,
* E85 (E85 is an alcohol fuel mixture of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, by volume) and
* LNG (Liquified Natural Gas).

does it cost money for the solar panel to be n 24/7?
my dad is say that if it is at night and we put the solar pannel swich on (so we can get hot water) at night it costs money but i am saying that it stores heat over the day and u dont have to pay
who is righ??
thank you

You do have to pay for a solar panel. If you leave the switch on it does not consume energy.

Here are some Solar Energy Disadvantages.
I am on the good side in a debate discussing pros and cons of solar energy.
So i need some good facts to cover up these disadvantages!! thankksss

- The initial cost is the main disadvantage of installing a solar energy system, largely because of the high cost of the semi-conducting materials used in building one.

- The cost of solar energy is also high compared to non-renewable utility-supplied electricity. As energy shortages are becoming more common, solar energy is becoming more price-competitive.

- Solar panels require quite a large area for installation to achieve a good level of efficiency.

- The efficiency of the system also relies on the location of the sun, although this problem can be overcome with the installation of certain components.

Initial cost- with the state rebates, renewable energy credit system, and federal tax credits, the system will pay for itself in 4 to 8 years depending on what state you live in. Where else could an investment pay for itself in 4 years?

Large area- you don’t need a system that will offset your entire electric usage. You want a system in conjunction with renewable energy credits and electric savings, will offset your entire electric bill.

Location- actually, the earth revolves around the sun. If you don’t have southern facing roof space, you can mount a system in the ground. If that’s not an option, you’re siht out of luck.

If you decide that you want to use an off grid system, a system that uses batteries, you will not be able to receive state rebates and sell excess electricity back to the utility company.

what are the advantages and disadvantages of solar, wind, hydro, and geothermical energy?

The advantages of solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal are that they are clean and renewable. Those energies are also ubiquitous meaning they are everywhere and widely available. The disadvantages is that they are expensive and have little output. At this point in time, we do not have the technology to harness these power sources to produce baseload generation. Fossil fuels are cheap and have dense output.

i really need to know how
because im building a solar powered car for science fair :]
thank you!

Hehe, if you want to build your own solar panel that looks like what you see on buildings, etc, you will probably need to be a multi-millionaire. Here is a quote from the first link in my sources list:

"The high-efficiency solar cells you can buy at Radio Shack and other stores are made from highly processed silicon, and require huge factories, high temperatures, vacuum equipment, and lots of money."

But fortunately for you, there is a cheap way to make a solar panel yourself (see first link). I love the scitoys website, but I am not quite familiar with this particular experiment. It looks like a science fair project in itself! It also doesn’t appear to put out nearly enough power to run even a small solar car.

What I would recommend is buying a compact solar panel from Radio Shack or some other electronics store that you may know of.

Type in "solar" in to the Radio Shack search box. The first item on the list may be useful to you (the solar panel & battery combo). I am just guessing, though, since I don’t know any of your requirements (voltage output, power output, size, etc). Also, buyer beware. This particular product has a pretty bad customer review… but then again, I find that people are more inclined to leave a bad review than a good one.

Good luck…
-Ubi

There are solar powered laptop chargers. Try the two links below for additional information on cost and availability.