# Solar back up



## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

Looking to putting a solar backup/generator together and have lots of questions on panels, inverters, controllers and batteries. Thinking maybe 1800 watt. 
What is the best type of panel?

Best prices on panels?
Can I use any inverter in watt size I need?
Battery types?


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## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Panels prices change almost daily. Good website to go to is:

http://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/solar_panels.htm

Before buying ANY equipment, you need to spend a bunch of time thinking about your use, what you would need in the way of "backup", what your budget is, how solar power systems work ( they can be quite complex IF you do it right ), and how much power you can really do without. (Conserve is way cheaper than produce)

The typical newbie goes thru "ready, fire, aim". Try to avoid that as much as possible.


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## artificer (Feb 26, 2007)

The only way solar power makes sense is to have expensive electricity, be off-grid, have panels for a very long time, or just to get that warm/fuzzy "I'm saving the planet" feeling. 

To me, solar for a backup solution doesn't make sense. If you're only going to use the system for 5% or less of the time, and you don't know when that will be, you'll have to have the entire system, maintain it, and wait to use it.

For a simple backup solution, I would go with a generator that can handle the max load. I'd get a battery and inverter to handle the lighting. If you want to run a freezer/refrigerator on battery power, you need more batteries, and preferably a true sine wave inverter.

You need to do a lot more reading on the net to find out what you need. Google is your friend.

Michael


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## nadja (May 22, 2011)

I live totally on solar, and for what you want/need solar would not be the solution. A good back up gennie such as a 10k kohler, elec start and propane or nat. gas, with a TRANSFER switch would be the better solution. Works when you need it , shuts off when you don't. LPG will not go bad as gas and or diesel will so really not much maintance. Much cheaper then solar.


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## ablesolutions (Sep 1, 2011)

With regard to a general power loss, we use solar battery backup to power our business and home critical electronics (computer, router, modem, desk lamp with energy saving light bulb). We chose this backup system because we don't want the noise of a generator, we don't want to rely on a gasoline supply because gas pumps need electricity to pump gas, and we want the back up power to automatically switch-on when the wall power goes out, and switch-off when the wall power is restored. We are ready to keep our business critical electronics on-line. Click the following link to see this solar battery backup: http://myselfsufficientplan.com/mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=111


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## ablesolutions (Sep 1, 2011)

With regard to best prices on solar panels, we found http://www.ul-solar.com/
If you are going to use 12 Volt batteries they have 12 Volt solar panels.
We like the AGM deep cycle batteries but please consult http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm for other options.
We think you need to match the battery voltage to the charge controller and the inverter, so if you use 12 Volt batteries, you need a charge controller and inverter made to work with 12 Volt batteries.


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