Inexpensive solar powered backup generator?

Want a backup generator with its solar panels included and can be used to hook up to important areas of the house. Maybe smaller generators for point to point hookup, i.e., one for the frig, one for the microwave and kerosene monitor, one for the main AC.. Don’t want an electrician having to do a lot of work and need something simple and safe if such exists. Thanks

A turn-key solar generator is suitable for your situation. Split into small pieces is not efficient.

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The owners manual claims a generator belongs between the PH1800+ and the wall current outlet if you want the unit to stand alone "off grid" without PG&E. But no mentions of any specifications or brand are ever mentioned about it and no information about whether this mystery generator can be bypassed so i can just plug it in is mentioned either.Ive written Xantrex but get my e-mails repeatedly bounce back (as if theyv vanished).Please provide details .
thanx
Veery helpful info! Specifically can i plug it into the wall to keep my four 115AMPHR batteries charged between now and the time i get my solar panels assembled (a year or more!).And what is the true maximum number of battery sets (and amphrs ) i can add to this system …and what would i damage if too many batterys were added to the bank?thanx

The power hub 1800 accepts inputs from wind generators, solar panels, and engine driven generators. It charges a battery bank to store power to output wall Voltage/ current to your house. If you rely on solar or wind, you may not have those 100% of the time. That is why they say a engine driven generator is needed to run when it is night or no wind to run a windmil to be off grid with out losing power. You need to supply something to input power to the power hub. It will not give power all by itself. Those 3 things I mentioned actually charg a battery bank that the power hub runs off of.

I want to create a solar powered generator and I need step by step instructions how to do that ,,,
Also, I want to create a cheap source and I dont care about the output I just want to see a small
LED or bulb light ….

How can I build one myself & can someone tell me that can I use an old " COMPUTER MOTHERBOARD" To do so Cause Solar cells are made of silicon and so are MOTHERBOARDS

Can someone help me ??????

Plzzzz with the motherboard idea !!!!

You coudn’t create a solar panel from motherborad yourself. You must buy some solar panel from shop. And also need solar controller which control how to charge battery, solar battery, which store the power, and an invertor if you want to use AC output. There are many kits for DIY a solar power system on the market.

That fully depends on the budget that India has. Indian Govt. is also not that interested in developing nation’s facilities.

I’m talking about just enough energy for charging a huge battery that can be used only in situations such as this… If this wouldn’t work, maybe wind turbines?
Not a replacement… A backup. Well, I guess I understand what you’re saying. If it’s not safe, it’s out of the question altogether.

The problem is simple. On a calm night, you would not have much power at all – or on a calm cloudy/rainy day. That means you cannot count on it.

You need something that will work at ANY time, and very reliably. Of course, nothing is 100% reliable, so one layer of back-up is not enough in a case like this. But you still want each level to be completely self sufficient and not dependent on variable conditions.

How does it work and what are the benefits and consequences from it?

just like the way you light bulbs work, just in reverse

I live in a location without municipal water supply. I could buy a natural gas generator, and hire an electrician to connect it to my breaker box, but I believe there is a way to connect solar panels to a battery system to provide enough power for my 220 volts submerged pump. I have 2 horses, 24 chickens, 2 dogs, 4 cats, 3 parakeets, and 3 people that need water in the event of a hurricane, national power grid attack,etc. There are solar powered generators advertised, but they are not powerful enough for 220. Also, my whole neighborhood of over 200 homes all lives off their own water wells, and we all suffered during hurricane Ike: 10 days without a water supply.

For that heavy a load, I’d think that a gasoline or diesel generator might be more appropriate.

While you could possibly set up a bank of solar-charged batteries to power a 220-volt inverter, the power requirements could make that approach cost-prohibitive.

You buy the components after you figure what you are trying to power, how much power it requires, how much you can afford and how much area you have to work with.

Are you generating power to sale on the grid or power something at home? Will you need the power at night or on cloudy days? These questions will tell you if you need storage batteries or not.

jus wonderin…my dad needs one…
well i know they’re expensive, but the ones less expensive, and for my house, i dnt know how many watts, it for wen my power goes out. I live around a lot of trees and when the fall they sometimes hit the electric wires and my power goes out. We have one, but the gasoline is expensive.
well i know they’re expensive, but the ones less expensive, and for my house, i dnt know how many watts, it for wen my power goes out. I live around a lot of trees and when the fall they sometimes hit the electric wires and my power goes out. We have one, but the gasoline is expensive.

You do not define a budget, and without your knowing how much power you need for any given time, sizing is a problem.

For some people who prepare for those times when they have no power, they have low voltage gear, and there is a lot of low voltage appliances available through through suppliers for over the road truckers. You will no doubt also need battereis. Since you do not define how cheap is cheap, you will no doubt have to budget in invest incrementally in what you need.

Solar panels, try http://www.northerntool.com

If you have been listening to the radio, late night or shortwave, those that you hear advertised are only 60 Watts nominal output from 4 15 Watt panels- they are intended for you to add batteries and inverters as needed.

The good news is you can add them in parallel as you buy the panels, they connect +to+ and to the + terminal of the battery.

The bad news is if you are planning to try operate your house as you currently are without changing your usage habits, you may never have enough panels. With the trees being a big factor, you will probably have to remove some.

You can do some additional research at http://www.builditsolar.com But be prepared to scale back on your goals- the technology is expensive. If you ahve to have someone install it for you, pretty much expect the cost to double.

You should incorporate wind into your plans, and you can actually construct some of the turbines yourself. Hugh Piggott has a few good books, you can order his and some other decent books at

http://www.lindsaybks.com

Or:

http://www.scoraigwind.com/

You can order his books through his website as well.

Solar Panels Part of Generator
In very simplified terms, a solar generator works by converting solar energy into electrical energy. This energy can then be used to do such things as power lighting, heat water, and run the TV. The generator consists of solar panels (which must be placed where they will receive the most possible sunlight,) a deep cycle battery for continuous use, and an inverter.

Building Your Own Solar Panels.
Amazingly enough the theory of recycling used pop cans to make a form of renewable energy through solar panels creating yet another brilliant source of solar heat, does exist. A gentleman from Newfoundland has come up with this genius plan for harvesting solar heat by recycling the old cans. The solution that he has come up with is not a difficult construction, yet is strong and durable. Quite an attractive unit.

Here is the video that shows the inventor from Newfoundland and his pop can solar heat.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Solar-Heat-From-Pop-Cans

Comment:
"This system really does work and it works good. To improve upon it would be to fill the cans with dry sand and you would now have bio-mass that will hold the heat after the sun goes down. Adding the sand will also create more heat for heating water by raising the temperature. I have used this system to heat a 24ft above ground swimming pool. Find a small solar panel and a deep cycle battery to run the pump and pay the electric company nothing."

Another Solar Panel Design
Passive solar is just so easy, it’s a wonder we don’t all do it. Right now, in my little basement office in Montana, I could use a little heating up. And, with a few 2x4s and a bunch of aluminum soda cans, it turns out I can have my own passive solar heater without much work.

A clever DIYer, Daniel Strohl, painted some aluminum cans black, drilled some holes in the cans, stacked them, and then put them in a box and, voila, air coming out of the box was fifteen degrees warmer than air going into the box. He then pumped the warm air directly into his garage. And with just a little bit more work, this exact same design could be a passive water heater.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/04/pop_can_solar_p.php