Comments on: Our Simple DIY Home Solar Power System

By: Jessica Noonan

Jessica Noonan — Thu, 09 May 2013 07:03:00 +0000

Fantastic post, Greg. We are currently looking to get off the grid here in Australia and my husband wants to fit the PV panels himself. Of course he does! One thing you'll need to be sure of is getting panels with 'positive power tolerances' as they are much more efficient. Some of the cheaper Chinese panels are negative tolerance - steer clear of these. This page has a pretty detailed solar panel selection guide.

By: Greg Seaman

Greg Seaman — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 15:16:00 +0000

Thanks Scott. That tree shades the panels only for about 30 minutes in the morning. I like the tree, so am willing ti sacrifice a bit of energy to enjoy its proximity to the house. The tree also shades the sides of the house during the hottest months so it adds value in this regard.

By: Scott Gordon

Scott Gordon — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 21:19:00 +0000

Greg if you cut down that tree that is shading the panel you will get alot more power out of it. or move thw panel to a place that has alot of sun

By: Ironia de Foch

Ironia de Foch — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 08:27:00 +0000

I want to try to replicate this in Indonesia! Invaluable advice! Many thanks!

By: Stef van Uijtregt

Stef van Uijtregt — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 17:29:00 +0000

I would like to attend people to the fact that cheaper inverters very easily damage electronics like laptops and smartphones. When you buy one, look for a ‘true-sinewave’ inverter, as opposed to a ‘modified sinewave’ inverter. They will cost about 3 times as much, (per watt) but it is probably worth the investment if you want to hook up your expensive electronics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMsgJm6RRUA

By: Gail Gardner

Gail Gardner — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 06:13:00 +0000

When I used a golf cart for feeding on a horse ranch that was deep sand (making pushing a wheelbarrow like walking at the beach) I found a company that “recharged” golf cart batteries. Apparently there is a process for restoring the batteries ability to take and hold a charge. Just thought I’d throw that out here in case you want to try that before replacing them when the time comes.

By: Gail Gardner

Gail Gardner — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 06:07:00 +0000

What you are using is common in rural Texas. Many ISPs now provide this service which can be found by searching for WISP (wireless ISP). The most common, dependable brand used is CANOPY and it can transmit 15+ miles. (Earlier versions were only effective first for about 5 miles and later 10 miles, but you may be able to get a usable signal even beyond 15 miles.)

I have links to places where people can search on my blog in a post about HughesNet satellite service. Satellite is another option, but HughesNet “high-speed” was atrocious – far slower than the slowest dial-up and almost unusable for anyone who works online.

I had one of the earliest Earthlink satellite services and it worked great in 3 different locations. Since it uses HughesNet satellites I have no idea why and have been unable to find out if Earthlink satellite still works well or it has been slowed to unusable as well.

By: disqus_j3duyOaK5D

disqus_j3duyOaK5D — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 20:27:00 +0000

Very nice. I have just completed an off grid shed system. I will be lighting my pool area with LED lighting. Never thought about a 12 volt fridge, did plan on a 12 volt blender though. Would send pics if i knew how.

By: Greg Seaman

Greg Seaman — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:41:00 +0000

I have no experience in building solar panels. However there are many tutorials online of you do a Google or a YouTube search.

By: Rukmini Jagirdar

Rukmini Jagirdar — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 09:52:00 +0000

Hello Greg, I am Rukmini from Hyderabad, India. A great post. I have been trying to buy one set for home lighting system, but have failed due to cost constraints. Can You guide me as to how I can build up my own as per my requirement and where to look for all the components required for it.
thanks
Rukmini.

By: tony

tony — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 03:28:00 +0000

Cool – your time and ideas are appreciated!
thanks Greg,
tony

By: Greg Seaman

Greg Seaman — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 01:28:00 +0000

Good idea Tony. I’ll write an article about our water system once the sun comes out and I can take some pictures of various parts of the system. Basicallly it is just a gravity system run above ground from a lake about a mile away.

By: Len Bowcott

Len Bowcott — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 05:53:00 +0000

This is the best blog post I have read relating to the why and how of taking advantage of solar power.

By: Greg Seaman

Greg Seaman — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 17:04:00 +0000

I don’t consider myself qualified enough to do this calculation for you. Your local solar supplier should be able to provide this at no cost for you.

By: Greg Seaman

Greg Seaman — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:11:00 +0000

Our community asked a store on the mainland, about 12 miles from our island, to let us put a tower on their roof from which we transmit the signal from the ISP wirelessly across the water to a small tower on a nearly hill. (The store has a direct line of sight to our island.) Our small tower receives the signal and transmits it to our little radio which is tied to a tree about 300′ from our home, and we run a small wire through the woods to the house. This is a pretty reliable setup. Before this we used a dialup modem with the telephone line, also strung about 1/3 mile to our place. That also worked but was slower.