small DIY solar panels for rented property?
londonTiger
Posts: 4,903 Forumite
Wanted to play around with a solar panel kit for hobby use - perhaps use it to power the 30w/h home server or the fish tank.
These 100w panels that can be bought for £100 seem like decent value, are they any good?
I was thinking of mounting them straight onto the frame of a door canopy in the garden so I won't need to pay for labour to fit it onto the roof - also won't need to get permission from the landlord as it can be unbolted from the garden wall very easily.
These 100w panels that can be bought for £100 seem like decent value, are they any good?
I was thinking of mounting them straight onto the frame of a door canopy in the garden so I won't need to pay for labour to fit it onto the roof - also won't need to get permission from the landlord as it can be unbolted from the garden wall very easily.
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100W for £100 sounds like a 12V system.0
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Will probably be a bit more than £100 as you will need a charge controller, battery and inverter to make it practical. Might be doable for a small load that is not used 24/7 but sadly unlikely to ever pay back. fun to do as a hobby though.My PV system: South West England, 10x 250Wp Trina Solar panels, Fronius Inverter, South facing roof, 35° pitch with no shading.0
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londonTiger wrote: »Wanted to play around with a solar panel kit for hobby use - perhaps use it to power the 30w/h home server or the fish tank.
In most places, a well situated panel will get 100W average for a 1kW panel, over the year.
To be actually grid independent for any single load can be prohibitive.
I'm in Scotland - not the very north, Fife.
I did accurate calculations based on the 15 minutely data reported by a local solar array.
In order to run a 2.5W load 24*7, a 250W solar panel, and a 100Ah 12V battery was required.
Nov/Dec/Jan can be _very_ dull with short days, and almost no direct sun.0 -
You really need to get more basic electrical knowledge if you're planning that sort of outlay and setting it up yourself.londonTiger wrote: »30w/h0 -
I definitely agree with kernel sanders. I set up a 40w solar panel to provide good lighting for a wooden building. I used a charge controller and a 12v gel battery plus fuses and switches and a soldering iron. You will need to do several calculations op, as it is very important to get the correct fuses and wire diameters. If you get incorrect fuses, wiring or joints then there is the potential for overheating and a fire
Just to add that the system cost well over £100. The battery alone was over £100 and I bought good quality throughout but I now have a super system which also includes earth wires and a grounding rod0
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