info for newbies like me...what will a single 280 watts panel power?

[KRenn]

ok thats shot im in a town with a neighbor 60 ft away at best.......i dont know what to do but its more principle with me that im sick of monopolies charging what they want so even if it took 30 yrs to pay off to keep my 6000 a yr out of their pockets its worth it too me. but i just need knowledgable help so im appreciative of your advice

Talk to some local solar installers, Naptown is a very intelligent and helpful contributor on this site, he has a solar business in your state, from everything I understand, it is definitely feasible in Maryland and the return may be better than some others here are indicating. A lot of the return on solar is dependent on the particular region, what the incentives are, how much electricity costs, the potential for higher utility rates down the road, what the weather is like throughout the year, what the price per watt is in that particular area. Believe it or not, the pricing on solar can vary wildly from company to company in the same region, let alone state by state. In Arizona systems are priced at $3.50 a watt or less while next door in California the pricing is $4.00-$5.00 a watt, or a difference of $2500-$7500 on an equal sized 5kW system.

[KRenn]

ive become really interested in solar panel but its hard to find info as far as what a single panel can power but i want to start small and build up as i learn more about solar.my monthly bill is only 55 dollars so i wont need alot of watts im guessing (a calc. told me 2700 watts) but i really just wanna start with basics before i go and spend 20000 on a whole system and dont know anything about it.any help you can offer is appreciated,thanks

You can't really power anything with one panel, you can't even generally use one panel in terms of a residential scale. Your typical grid-tied inverter will run anywhere from $1500-$3000 and there's string sizing the you must abide by. Also the smaller the system, the higher the cost is per watt(solar is priced per watt the same as gas is priced per gallon, note that watt is a physical measure...ie....panel is 230 watts, but will produce more kilowatt hours than 230). Realistically, unless you're in an area like in California were electricity is priced on tiers and going from one tier to another can result in much higher cost of electricity...for example Tier A charges you $0.012 for the first 1000 kilowatt hours, Tier B charges you $0.018 for the next 1000 and Tier C charges you $0.035 for the 1000 after that(in which case it makes a hell of a lot of sense to avoid Tier C, where a small system can really help), then I wouldn't go any lower than a 4-5 kilowatt system.


If you buy the system, you can expand on it later and add more panels down the road assuming that the inverter will handle the additional panels(or if you have micro-inverters, adding one for every panel). If you go through a lease, you can't expand on the system but you will typically pay less for a prepaid lease with some additional benefits.

[cashaber]

hi

first off a 280 panel will power about 10, 25 watt lights, you know the high dollar lights that shine as bright as a 100 watt.
put it this way

a ceiling fan runs at about 100 watts... these are run with very low HP motors that takes time to start turn one on they take some time to get to high speed. then my fan has 3 lights thats another 75 watts so were running about 175 watts now. so your 1 280 watt panel will run a ceiling fan for the day. with some left over but beep in mind that will prob be only 280 watts 6 hrs of the day and your fan will be on for about 10.

you also need to take into the consideration that there is a about a 15% power loss and when you convert the power too there is about a 20% loos converting it from DC to AC with your inverter. so now your 280 watt panel now supports about 220 also these are in perfect conditions from the factory. your 280 watt panel will prob only produce asbout 180 watts +/-.

[russ]

Believe or don't believe the numbers but do not use the ones you came up with - they are useless.

Don't bother timing daylight - early and late have no meaning unless you are using a tracking system - substantial extra cost and not that much gain. Your usable sun comes in about a 5 hour time frame.

The large installations in 3rd world countries usually have some added attraction such as a foreign government paying most of the cost or similar. In the US and Europe the general public pays for such things by way of increased rates or taxes.

The system derating factor most commonly used is 77% or there abouts.

The 1.1 kW system will provide maybe 10% of your requirements or less.

[Richard]

also new to solar systems

[QUOTE=russ;53075]From PV Watts for Bangkok - Your numbers probably need some adjustment.


Those figures are hard to believe. I live 8 hrs driving time north of Bangkok. I will have to start timing the daylight.

A new solar site just went up close to where I am. they have I would say an easy 500 panels all on trackers. It's also hard to believe if solar wasn't a good idea why would they bild such an elaborate system?

[Richard]

also new to solar systems

More accurately, that is 1400 watt-hours per day assuming 100% efficiency and more sun hours than most places have. That is also written as 1.4 KWH per day. Now if the utility pays you 15 cents per KWH (on the high side unless you are in a state with generous laws on the subject) that will be worth 21 cents.

Allowing for conservative values instead of maximum values, that sure looks like 5 to 15 cents per day to me.

You are correct. my apology,my mind was going in a different direction.

[russ]

From PV Watts for Bangkok - Your numbers probably need some adjustment.

"Station Identification"
"City:","Bangkok"
"State:","THA"
"Lat (deg N):", 13.92
"Long (deg W):", 100.60
"Elev (m): ", 12
"Weather Data:","IWEC"

"PV System Specifications"
"DC Rating:"," 1.1 kW"
"DC to AC Derate Factor:"," 0.770"
"AC Rating:"," 0.8 kW"
"Array Type: Fixed Tilt"
"Array Tilt:"," 13.9"
"Array Azimuth:","180.0"

"Energy Specifications"
"Cost of Electricity:","-99.0 baht/kWh"

"Results"
"Month", "Solar Radiation (kWh/m^2/day)", "AC Energy (kWh)", "Energy Value (baht)"
1, 5.28, 122, "N/A"
2, 5.61, 116, "N/A"
3, 6.09, 139, "N/A"
4, 5.51, 122, "N/A"
5, 4.84, 111, "N/A"
6, 4.81, 108, "N/A"
7, 4.56, 106, "N/A"
8, 4.23, 98, "N/A"
9, 4.63, 104, "N/A"
10, 4.58, 107, "N/A"
11, 5.20, 117, "N/A"
12, 5.23, 121, "N/A"
"Year", 5.04, 1371, "N/A",

[Richard]

also new to solar systems

[QUOTE=Richard;53073]I just purchased ten 110 watt panels and will be ordering a 3,000 grid tie inverter.I also will be getting a combiner box to connect all the panels too. I will need a GFI,Cables,a grounding rod, a main disconnect,mounting brackets, and a lot of luck. I live in Thailand and we get plenty of sun, can be 8 or 9 hrs a day. My KW usage is 50KW a day. IF I am correct, I should get 110watts x 10 panels =1100watts x 7 hours a day =7,700 watts a day times 30 days a month =231,000 watts at 90% using an inverter with 90% efficiency= 207,900watts a year.

I am 66 years old and my wife is 20 years younger. When the time comes I want to leave her with little or no electric bills.

[Richard]

also new to solar systems

ive become really interested in solar panel but its hard to find info as far as what a single panel can power but i want to start small and build up as i learn more about solar.my monthly bill is only 55 dollars so i wont need alot of watts im guessing (a calc. told me 2700 watts) but i really just wanna start with basics before i go and spend 20000 on a whole system and dont know anything about it.any help you can offer is appreciated,thanks

I just purchased ten 110 watt panels and will be ordering a 3,000 grid tie inverter.I also will be getting a combiner box to connect all the panels too. I will need a GFI,Cables,a grounding rod, a main disconnect,mounting brackets, and a lot of luck. I live in Thailand and we get plenty of sun, can be 8 or 9 hrs a day. My KW usage is 50KW a month. IF I am correct, I should get 110watts x 10 panels =1100watts x 7 hours a day =7,700 watts a day times 30 days a month =231,000 watts at 90% using an inverter with 90% efficiency= 207,900watts a year.

I am 66 years old and my wife is 20 years younger. When the time comes I want to leave her with little or no lectric bills.

[inetdog]

I would like to know how you calibrated the 5 to 15-cents per day?. a 280 watt panel running 5 hrs a day is a total of 1400 watts.

More accurately, that is 1400 watt-hours per day assuming 100% efficiency and more sun hours than most places have. That is also written as 1.4 KWH per day. Now if the utility pays you 15 cents per KWH (on the high side unless you are in a state with generous laws on the subject) that will be worth 21 cents.

Allowing for conservative values instead of maximum values, that sure looks like 5 to 15 cents per day to me.

[Richard]

Richard

You might try taking a math and home economics class first.

A 280 watt panel can generate about 5 to 15-cents per day electricity. Keep in mind it takes a $1000 dollars worth of equipment to make that panel work to save you that dime a day.

I would like to know how you calibrated the 5 to 15-cents per day?. a 280 watt panel running 5 hrs a day is a total of 1400 watts.

[biggreen]

A 280 watt panel can generate about 5 to 15-cents per day electricity. Keep in mind it takes a $1000 dollars worth of equipment to make that panel work to save you that dime a day.

bsharp76,
That's why I said it's hard to save money. A panel or two make a few penny's worth of electricity per day. Then to get those panels connected to the grid to sell that electricity back will cost more than you will ever get back.

Spend some time (a lot of time) reading all the interesting threads on this site. I'm a newbie also and I read 100 times more than I post.

[russ]

Better money than farming - if correct

[Wy_White_Wolf]

ive heard locals getting checks of 1500 every 3 months with windmills would that be a better route for me with ocean winds? im actually 5 miles inland from the bay not in ocean city

I would verify those stories first. More likely they are land lease payments for letting a POCO build a commericial windmill on your property. 500 a month per windmill I know is pretty close to what ranchers/farmers get.

WWW

[Sunking]

see that exactly why i ask questions cuz hear say means nothing. but according to math on a website i need 2700 watts a month to live self sufficient with a 55 dollar amonth electric bill.

2700 watts does not mean anything. What is needed is how many watt hours you use in a month.

Dig out all your electric bills as far back as you can go, and find the monthly average, then divide that number by 30.5. That will tell you how much you use in an average day.

But you do need a reality check. With a Grid Tied System you will still get a monthly bill, even if you generate more than you use. There will be monthly service and distribution charges every month. The excess you generate is only a credit to be carried forward each month for up to 12 months. Any credits not used in 12 months is lost, or in some states depending on the rules and regulations in your state will be paid at a wholesale price, not retail that you pay. Anyway that service charge can be anywhere from $10 to $30 per month.

My suggestion is for you to contact 3 installation contractors and receive 3 bids. They will do all the calculations for you based on your location and site conditions. Or you can use PV Watts to get an idea, but keep in mind it uses ideal conditions, not your real site conditions like shading and orientation issues.