⌛ alternative electricity (solar panels)

I use only solar panels to a battery bank with a primary generator for my farm home in the USA. Solar panels are not a good Idea if your primary source is municipal electric grid,Solar panels are way to expensive unless you value more the green salvation of earth. A good battery bank and a cheap charger that keeps your batteries topped off was suggested by shadow,Hes right 8yrs on my solar system is not proving to be cost effective.You can pay the highest municipal rates and not have solar panel be cost effective,the panels cost the price of a generator per panel that gives only 20% or usually less than what a generator will and I run the honda EUi series that has eco throttle top efficiency.Get the battery bank and spend as much as you like on those for backup.the right batteries last longer than they are guaranteed for and maintainance is cheap.

 

Each medium sized solar panel used to cost as much as a small generator you would buy in the Philippines 10 plus years ago. 200 watt plus panels weren't available 10 years ago either. Now? That is not the case. A charger and a bank of good quality deep cycle batteries along with an inverter is not a bad idea, but.......you will still have the same, if not higher, electric bill!! With a generator you will have a (sometimes large!) fuel bill! A bank of batteries, and an inverter also puts you half way there to having a complete solar powered system!! It all depends on what your goal is, how much $$ you want/can spend and how long term of an investment you want. Is it cost effective? Yes, if you look at it long term, buy and install the correct system, and purchase it for, and have it installed at, the right price. Pay too much or get the wrong system and it will not be cost effective for a looooooong time.

$575 -$655 (each) for a 230 watt panel is the cost in the U.S. as of now. Buy multiple panels or pallets of them and the price goes down even further.

(http://www.wholesalesolar.com/solar-panels.html)

Good quality deep cycle batteries will easily last 8-10 years if properly maintained. Interstate and Trojan brands are the best as far as I'm concerned and excellent quality. Trojan deep cycle batteries are available in Bacolod. Interstate? I haven't seen or looked for them in the Philippines.

 

Japan is supposed to be in lead when it comes to Asian countries using solar power. Does anybody have any experience with the Kyocera panels and know about their availability in the PI?

 

Know da fish knows the solar panels too

I agree the larger the investment in panels and battery bank and the longer the wait for cost effectivity,the better the out come and i invested in 65 watt panels at 4.44 amps each and have only 5 for $2000.00 total panel cost. I noticed that after 6 years the seams along the glass to metal rim took in water and simple solution was ignored by me which is to silicon caulk those seams as regular mainteanance.Water seepage did not lower the out put but the solar cells are being eroded which loses my 20 year expectancy. My eco throttled generator cost 2000 dollars in USA and even in the pilippines.. In hawaii I know of man who goes to battery dealer and rebuilds old batteries and puts them up for 8 more years of use after the initial 10 year use.. Germany now makes available paint on solar cells,your entire home paint job is the solar panel and the most efficient way so far,some germans feed power back to the grid with the paint job solar cells.

 

Kyocera panels are of excellent quality. I haven't seen them in the Philippines, but they could easily be shipped over from the U.S.

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