help in installing a new Solar panel project

[sarkvm]

Hi

I plan to install a solar panel off grid setup for my house and I need some initial help from you guys @ the cost and how do I plan this whole thing.

My house is @ 1500 sq.ft and I live in central part of India receiving lots of sun all around the year. I know it will be very expensive and need your help.
Any hints on where to start would be very useful.


Regards
Sarkvm

[lile001]

Hi

I plan to install a solar panel off grid setup for my house and I need some initial help from you guys @ the cost and how do I plan this whole thing.

My house is @ 1500 sq.ft and I live in central part of India receiving lots of sun all around the year. I know it will be very expensive and need your help.
Any hints on where to start would be very useful.


Regards
Sarkvm

Well, there are several angles to think about. Starting with your own skill level. Every done any work as an electrician? It is probably best to employ a real, licensed electrician to hook things up. I have heard there is a lot of substandard wiring in India.

How much electricity do you use, in KWh, per year? Do you have some old electric bills you can add up?

What are your electric rates - can you convert them to Dollars per KWh for us?

[russ]

- insolation level - watts/m2/day
- how many annual cloudy days
- ambient temp - summer and winter
- how many days with no generation would you want to plan for? During the monsoon period this is a problem

İt is highly unlikely that anyone with money to buy a PV system would do the work themselves - not the way it is done there

A local design engineer should be available to provide and execute the design but this forum is a great place to try to be sure you are not too badly screwed. You don't want to get any electrical type off the street to do the design or installation.

What brands of equipment are available in your area? İndividual importing is generally a real pain due to red tape and corruption. You need to do some searching on the net for this point.

What kind of an area do you have to setup the system? A roof top would be helpful.

[sarkvm]

- insolation level - watts/m2/day
- how many annual cloudy days
- ambient temp - summer and winter
- how many days with no generation would you want to plan for? During the monsoon period this is a problem

İt is highly unlikely that anyone with money to buy a PV system would do the work themselves - not the way it is done there

A local design engineer should be available to provide and execute the design but this forum is a great place to try to be sure you are not too badly screwed. You don't want to get any electrical type off the street to do the design or installation.

What brands of equipment are available in your area? İndividual importing is generally a real pain due to red tape and corruption. You need to do some searching on the net for this point.

What kind of an area do you have to setup the system? A roof top would be helpful.

Thanks everyone for the response, answer to some of your queries as below
- consumption of roughly 6500 units per year for a total of @ $1200
- roughly more then 8 months of sunny hot days with temp > 30 degree celsius
- not aware of any solar equipments if available in my area so trying to import complete kit which I can install, I have qualified technicians available.
- Roof top available for installation

I am still not sure if its feasible cost wise to install solar PVs.

Looking for further guidance based on my input.

[Shanghai-sparky]

Is there a reason you need to be "off grid"?
It is cheaper to have a grid interconnected system and sell back the excess to the utility. Batteries are an acid-filled, hydrogen-burping bomb.
If you want to have a battery backup system to take care of outages, that is different. I am designing one of them right now for my house to handle the winter ice storms that knock out power for a few hours when it is -10.

[sarkvm]

not quite...... actually I am not sure of support for grid connectivity in my area so ging for off grid. can you give a rough estimate of total cost involved for your installation.

[russ]

Hi sarkvm,

Depending on the reliability of your local grid you probably don't want a grid connected system. İ spent about 15 years in Gujarat and the most consistent thing were the power system failures.

Solar is sold there - trying a DİY program would not be easy at all.

İnsolation is the actual amount of sun striking the surface of the earth at your location - sometimes called DNR (direct normal radiation) among other names. İt will be expressed im watts/m2/day.

İ expect you have the typical monsoon season where you have a couple of months with not so good sun?