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I want solar but besides being quite pricey there are lots of regulations because the private systems are tied to the power grid. I could do my own thing and go off grid but then I spend a boatload on batteries. Is there a middle road?
Is it possible for some of my main energy eaters to run on DC(solar) during the day and AC at night? Or perhaps just have the pool pump and heater run when the sun is out and shut down at night? Then I could sign up for lower time of use power and save even more with lower rates from the electric company.
If there is a way to make this work then I could DIY my own solar and do it much cheaper. I could construct a covered walkway that would shade the south side of my house and the solar panels would be on top. If the walkway is not attached to my house I would avoid all the code issues. Or possibly if I decide to to the pool only I could probably use the roof.
You could switch load between the PV and grid depending upon the sunlight available. There would be a "blink" when the transfer happens so you can't have electronics connected that require totally uninterrupted power. Those switches aren't cheap, but it's an option.
This option is also potentially bad for the pv because you always want some load on pv when it is exposed to sunlight.
Is it possible for some of my main energy eaters to run on DC(solar) during the day and AC at night?
Today the best systems use a mini-inverter at each PV panel to convert the native DC to AC for transmission to the system controller. This allows for higher efficiency in dealing with panels being partially shaded, for example, in which case the lowest performing panel in a DC system limits the output of the rest of the panels. Also, AC/DC appliances are hard to find and expensive, so just simplify your life and plan on using AC, no matter what the source.
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Or perhaps just have the pool pump and heater run when the sun is out and shut down at night? Then I could sign up for lower time of use power and save even more with lower rates from the electric company.
This is the easiest thing to accomplish, because a pool pump and heater can be isolated from the rest of your system. Therefore it is an ideal starter project for the DIYer who wants to get into solar energy. It even lends itself to using either a homebrew approach or off-the-shelf components. The heater works by pumping water through a thermal collector, and the pump can be run off a solar PV panel, so the whole thing is inherently a daytime operation. Installing these will give you experience with the basic principles, which are then scaled up in a whole house installation.
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If there is a way to make this work then I could DIY my own solar and do it much cheaper. I could construct a covered walkway that would shade the south side of my house and the solar panels would be on top. If the walkway is not attached to my house I would avoid all the code issues. Or possibly if I decide to to the pool only I could probably use the roof.
Location of PV panels has more flexibility than location of solar heating water panels and lines. There's little loss with moving electricity through wires, but quite a bit more in moving liquid through pipes. So the thermal collector for the water heating should be as close to the point of use as possible, while the photoelectric panels can be placed wherever is indicated for convenience and maximum exposure to the sun.
not that I have any experience with this oe or any of them fir that matter.
The idea is thst moving a lower volume of water over a longer period of time is just as good as filtering a higher volume of water in a shorter period of time.
Besides a purpose built pump you can also put a solar array or panel on a conventional pump with inverters...
OK, I am psyched now. I can live with the pump/filter/heater running only during the day. That's quite fine with me. And it would save me about $100 per month in electricity. And it would allow load on the solar during all the daylight hours so that's good too.
So here's my plan. Please correct my mistakes. My idea is to find out how many KWH are used by the pool pump/heater. Then I design a solar system that will provide maybe 10% more? Am I on the right track?
And thank you so much for answering my post!
Last edited by yellowsnow; 10-10-2014 at 02:35 PM..
OK, I am psyched now. I can live with the pump/filter/heater running only during the day. That's quite fine with me. And it would save me about $100 per month in electricity. And it would allow load on the solar during all the daylight hours so that's good too.
So here's my plan. Please correct my mistakes. My idea is to find out how many KWH are used by the pool pump/heater. Then I design a solar system that will provide maybe 10% more? Am I on the right track?
I think you may have missed a key point... the solar pool heater won't generate or use electricity, only the pump will be electric and require solar PV cells to run.
The solar water heater works by circulating water through collector tubes. These work the same way that a hose left in the sun heats up the water inside. Some designs, called thermosiphon, don't even require a pump to operate, but simply use the density difference between hot and cold water to move water through the collector tubes.
The idea is just enough to run the pump and the heater when the sun is out. I figure if I start with the specs on the pump I have now, I need to get a DC pump that does the same amount of work. I also found a pool heater that works on the heat produced by an engine. Like the pump. I going to have to learn more about this one.
The pool solar I have now is passive. Pool water pumped up to the roof. That system leaks every year so my plan was to redo it with larger pipes. And put in a drain valve for winter.
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