161–170 of 192 posts
Please bolt the panel down, if wind picks it up and blows it off the roof it could easily kill someone.
I really doubt the wind is going to pick up a 2'x4' ~20lb panel like that when it's flat on a roof. Now if he had lifted an edge to try and get a better angle with the sun that would IMO be a much larger issue.
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I think you might mean solenoid?? It's controlled by the ignition. When the key is on / car running both batteries are in parallel. When the ignition is cut, the solenoid isolates a few circuits that are wired on the backup battery side of the solenoid. This is what I have in my vanagon. I run the radio, fridge, interior lights and some 12v / USB outlets. http://www.gowesty.com/product-details.php?id=2418
I've always known it as a battery isolator, and have purchased/installed 3 of them, and that's what I bought them as. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_isolator https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-IGD140HP-140-Battery-Isolator/dp...
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Funny that we live in a world where one renewable energy source is powerful enough to (literally) blow away another.
Right which is why I believe that after the coming consumer solar revolution there will be something similar with wind energy. Especially with newer VAWT designs and areas that have a lot of wind. They compliment each other so wind can continue producing at night.
I built a very similar system into my Jeep-house. I have two 100W panels on the pop-top roof, a charge controller and a dedicated solar battery (isolated from the engine-starting battery) that runs my fridge, water pump, UV treatment lamp, interior lights, air compressor and charges all my electronics (laptop, kindle, cameras, etc.) directly from 12V DC. I can leave the Jeep parked without running the engine for days…
Some other good examples of retrofits here: http://www.goalzero.com/solarlife/stories/en-route/
I find the title kind of click baity, "$200 solar self sufficiency for my bedroom" would be more accurate
Hey. You're completely right :) My original title was was "Solar Self-Sufficiency for Renters", but my mates in marketing told me to clickbait it the f up. Would you have clicked on the former, though?
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Because men love electronics projects and women love keeping a tidy house and ruining their dreams, am I right?
> Because men love electronics projects and women love keeping a tidy house and ruining their dreams, am I right? I don't think this is accurate. Personally, I've had a lot of trouble finding people of either gender who are interested in electronics. I might be overstepping here, but it sounds like maybe you should talk to you wife and see what can be done to minimize the negative externalities caused by your hobby?…
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First, there are no hurricanes or tornadoes in that area. So, you can work out max wind via historical data, but 85MPH is not going to be enough to move it over that lip. The skin effect around a building drastically reduces the forces involved.
You aren't accounting for a million other things that can happen.
So, saying any if the actual significant reasons to bolt it does haze zero influence on my objection.
There are other ways to do this in mobile setups, or with inverters in any setup, using mini-freezers, simple electronics to turn the inverter on/off and a small panel. See /r/vandwellers[1].
[0] - https://www.treehugger.com/kitchen-design/man-retrofits-free...
[1] - https://www.reddit.com/r/vandwellers/search?q=freezer&restri...
I built a very similar system into my Jeep-house. I have two 100W panels on the pop-top roof, a charge controller and a dedicated solar battery (isolated from the engine-starting battery) that runs my fridge, water pump, UV treatment lamp, interior lights, air compressor and charges all my electronics (laptop, kindle, cameras, etc.) directly from 12V DC. I can leave the Jeep parked without running the engine for days…
A question: How much did the solar aspects of your rig cost? And a comment: You might want the ability to tap your solar battery to start the Jeep, if you're going to leave it parked that long.
I have an isolator so I can jump the Jeep from the solar and visa versa. Wiring details here: http://theroadchoseme.com/diy-jeep-wrangler-jk-isolated-dual...
I built a very similar system into my Jeep-house. I have two 100W panels on the pop-top roof, a charge controller and a dedicated solar battery (isolated from the engine-starting battery) that runs my fridge, water pump, UV treatment lamp, interior lights, air compressor and charges all my electronics (laptop, kindle, cameras, etc.) directly from 12V DC. I can leave the Jeep parked without running the engine for days…
I can't remember how I did it specifically, but I believe there's a way to wire up a second battery to your alternator where it only charges it, and your vehicle will never draw from it. Could be a way to keep it topped off while cruising around.