The Dino-Aspie Ex-Café (for Those 40+... or feeling creaky)

Page 1000 of 1006 [ 16087 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1 ... 997, 998, 999, 1000, 1001, 1002, 1003 ... 1006  Next

Jakki
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 21 Sep 2019
Gender: Female
Posts: 10,120
Location: Outter Quadrant

03 Oct 2019, 5:44 pm

lau wrote:
Ooops. The battery I'm getting for the house is merely 8.2kWh. I dunno where I got the 10kWh figure from.

Anyway, to get that amount of stored energy with lead/acid leisure batteries would take eighty of them, and cost treble what I'm paying. I've just looked at the cost of an equivalent Tesla Powerwall... and it's rather more than I'll be paying.

I already have eleven 240w solar panels. They haven't been doing too well today - it was pretty cloudy.

Oh. And all my lighting is now LED.


Pray tell oh common conspirator to gather Suns energy . What inspirational battery . Has come into your grasp? Could you share the name of this source
(company). Please . Some sort of Lithium based? . Feel free to pm me , if more comfortable . ^ 8O


_________________
Diagnosed hfa
Loves velcro,
Quote:
where ever you go ,there you are


Jakki
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 21 Sep 2019
Gender: Female
Posts: 10,120
Location: Outter Quadrant

03 Oct 2019, 5:52 pm

Ok ok .. am dummy , looked up powervault on net found it, sorry to trouble you lau.

Nice posts


_________________
Diagnosed hfa
Loves velcro,
Quote:
where ever you go ,there you are


lau
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 17 Jun 2006
Age: 75
Gender: Male
Posts: 9,618
Location: Somerset UK

03 Oct 2019, 5:59 pm

I try to be informative... when I'm not being plain weird.


_________________
"Striking up conversations with strangers is an autistic person's version of extreme sports." Kamran Nazeer


Jakki
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 21 Sep 2019
Gender: Female
Posts: 10,120
Location: Outter Quadrant

03 Oct 2019, 10:09 pm

lau wrote:
I try to be informative... when I'm not being plain weird.


:mrgreen: thank you


_________________
Diagnosed hfa
Loves velcro,
Quote:
where ever you go ,there you are


Nan
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 1 Mar 2006
Age: 67
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,795

04 Oct 2019, 2:52 am

That all sounds good!

Depending on the site you put your panels on, you might be surprised at how much you can generate in winter. While we don't own our place right now, when I do buy a home I will definitely have solar installed. And possibly, if we're rural enough, a small wind turbine. (We tend to use under 300kw a day at the very most, and usually only about 2/3rd of that, so that should work fine for us, someday.) But your generation should increase as the sun shifts in the sky in spring and summer, and since solar panels last, what, 25 years?, you'll eventually earn back the installation costs and then have "free" energy for the remainder of their life. And you're not creating any carbon emissions getting whatever energy you do get out of them. So it's a win-win. Will your local power grid buy back excess energy from you?

The Leaf sounds interesting. I'm not sure that is doable in the USA unless one is in a city and doesn't drive a lot (some of the places I've lived I used to drive 65 miles each way to work) but it is definitely encouraging to know that the technology is improving so rapidly. Hopefully by the time I buy another car it'll be doable. Thanks for all the info!



lau
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 17 Jun 2006
Age: 75
Gender: Male
Posts: 9,618
Location: Somerset UK

04 Oct 2019, 5:30 am

The panels on this house (11*240W=2.64kW) cost £9650, back at the end of 2011. They were supposed to break even after nine years. They actually broke even a year or so ago.

It's cloudy and 15 Celsius here. At this instant (now they've fitted the smart meters) I'm feeding 150W into our national grid. Admittedly, I've only got this desktop computer running and some stuff on standby, but the panels are only producing 240W (cloudy and not very cold = 10%, and knock off another percent because they are eight years old and slightly grubby!). When the sun comes out (only the once, this next week, at 4pm on Sunday!), I'll have a look to see what the panels are producing.

So... this is my typical daytime - the panels produce enough power to run my computers an boil a kettle occasionally (once the house battery gets installed, hopefully next week).

PS. Please note that, in earlier posts, I had been specifying units as "kWH". These would be "kilo Watt Henry". So, rather than energy, they would be (kg^2⋅m^4)/(s^5⋅A^2), which isn't really anything. I have also used "w" (a non-existent unit) instead of "W". I'd go back and correct them all, but I guess the time limit on editing posts is tiny now?

PPS. I keep looking at the "Tesla model S performance". Tesla have put in charge points all over the world, where you get free unlimited electricity:

  • 0-60 mph 2.4 sec
  • Top Speed 162 mph
  • range 365 mi
  • price £89,890


_________________
"Striking up conversations with strangers is an autistic person's version of extreme sports." Kamran Nazeer


Jakki
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 21 Sep 2019
Gender: Female
Posts: 10,120
Location: Outter Quadrant

04 Oct 2019, 7:43 pm

Love this topic . Love info. Ty , am going to hope my wet cells are up to some demands , against a inverter , cold cranking hours what not, versus , surge draw . Am hoping to initially just try to support various .low amp draw 12 volt , 5 volt Dc applications . , batteries ,, might look at australias Red cell z wave batteries . Little pricey , but claims are impressive .
My system is based on some very old 14 volt in direct sunlight output . But as written before ,area only has solid sunlight in areas for panels, for approx 5 hours . Old aerospace panels. No amp output tested yet. And , am pretty sure 5000 watt inverter will suck wet cells dead in 1/2 hour probably . But am owning 300 watt also .. long term , am living in area requiring air conditioning , health requirements too .. big squirrel cage blower . Am , considering test out home made. Air con. unit as a by pass in the air ducting. ( Unit automotive condenser unit, aluminium . Finned high density ), running ice water through it . Or water and glycerin . Pumped through a portable auto motive refrigerator. 12 volt.
Possibly the squirrel cage motor maybe 12 volt car starter unit. My goal is to reduce inverter usauge as much as possible as system expands . Was hoping to use multiple peltier panels . But amp draw is not as good as hoped . Thank You for your patience with my going on about this.
And yes am soliciting criticisms ?? Please
(Considered multiple bottles of jack daniels for coolant, but temptation too strong)


_________________
Diagnosed hfa
Loves velcro,
Quote:
where ever you go ,there you are


lau
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 17 Jun 2006
Age: 75
Gender: Male
Posts: 9,618
Location: Somerset UK

05 Oct 2019, 3:24 am

Could you fit some concrete brick storage in your back yard?

EnergyVault.com claim 90% round trip efficiency.

I suppose, if you had a disused missile silo, you could fit a small rig inside it.


_________________
"Striking up conversations with strangers is an autistic person's version of extreme sports." Kamran Nazeer


Jakki
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 21 Sep 2019
Gender: Female
Posts: 10,120
Location: Outter Quadrant

05 Oct 2019, 3:37 am

lau wrote:
Could you fit some concrete brick storage in your back yard?

EnergyVault.com claim 90% round trip efficiency.

I suppose, if you had a disused missile silo, you could fit a small rig inside it.


Think , i ll sit down till i feel better


_________________
Diagnosed hfa
Loves velcro,
Quote:
where ever you go ,there you are


Nan
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 1 Mar 2006
Age: 67
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,795

05 Oct 2019, 7:44 am

Jakki wrote:
Love this topic . Love info. Ty , am going to hope my wet cells are up to some demands , against a inverter , cold cranking hours what not, versus , surge draw . Am hoping to initially just try to support various .low amp draw 12 volt , 5 volt Dc applications . , batteries ,, might look at australias Red cell z wave batteries . Little pricey , but claims are impressive .
My system is based on some very old 14 volt in direct sunlight output . But as written before ,area only has solid sunlight in areas for panels, for approx 5 hours . Old aerospace panels. No amp output tested yet. And , am pretty sure 5000 watt inverter will suck wet cells dead in 1/2 hour probably . But am owning 300 watt also .. long term , am living in area requiring air conditioning , health requirements too .. big squirrel cage blower . Am , considering test out home made. Air con. unit as a by pass in the air ducting. ( Unit automotive condenser unit, aluminium . Finned high density ), running ice water through it . Or water and glycerin . Pumped through a portable auto motive refrigerator. 12 volt.
Possibly the squirrel cage motor maybe 12 volt car starter unit. My goal is to reduce inverter usauge as much as possible as system expands . Was hoping to use multiple peltier panels . But amp draw is not as good as hoped . Thank You for your patience with my going on about this.
And yes am soliciting criticisms ?? Please
(Considered multiple bottles of jack daniels for coolant, but temptation too strong)



Hmmm. Interesting. When I was a kid, before most homes had A/C, my dad made a chiller out of a bomber aircraft radiator. It lived in the basement, and a fan sucked air through it and up through the ductwork that the central heat used in the winter. The only downside was that every day we had to go downstairs and bail out the water that had condensed on it out of the tray it sat on, or it would overflow all over the floor. But it definitely cooled the house down!

Thinking back on it, I can't remember it being attached to the well or any other water source. But it must have been or else the air flowing over the vanes would have warmed up the water in the radiator and it would have no longer worked. But I don't remember well enough. (Its been well over 50 years now, unfortunately, and the memory is spotty back that far.)



Jakki
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 21 Sep 2019
Gender: Female
Posts: 10,120
Location: Outter Quadrant

05 Oct 2019, 10:45 am

Nan wrote:
Jakki wrote:
Love this topic . Love info. Ty , am going to hope my wet cells are up to some demands , against a inverter , cold cranking hours what not, versus , surge draw . Am hoping to initially just try to support various .low amp draw 12 volt , 5 volt Dc applications . , batteries ,, might look at australias Red cell z wave batteries . Little pricey , but claims are impressive .
My system is based on some very old 14 volt in direct sunlight output . But as written before ,area only has solid sunlight in areas for panels, for approx 5 hours . Old aerospace panels. No amp output tested yet. And , am pretty sure 5000 watt inverter will suck wet cells dead in 1/2 hour probably . But am owning 300 watt also .. long term , am living in area requiring air conditioning , health requirements too .. big squirrel cage blower . Am , considering test out home made. Air con. unit as a by pass in the air ducting. ( Unit automotive condenser unit, aluminium . Finned high density ), running ice water through it . Or water and glycerin . Pumped through a portable auto motive refrigerator. 12 volt.
Possibly the squirrel cage motor maybe 12 volt car starter unit. My goal is to reduce inverter usauge as much as possible as system expands . Was hoping to use multiple peltier panels . But amp draw is not as good as hoped . Thank You for your patience with my going on about this.
And yes am soliciting criticisms ?? Please
(Considered multiple bottles of jack daniels for coolant, but temptation too strong)



Hmmm. Interesting. When I was a kid, before most homes had A/C, my dad made a chiller out of a bomber aircraft radiator. It lived in the basement, and a fan sucked air through it and up through the ductwork that the central heat used in the winter. The only downside was that every day we had to go downstairs and bail out the water that had condensed on it out of the tray it sat on, or it would overflow all over the floor. But it definitely cooled the house down!

Thinking back on it, I can't remember it being attached to the well or any other water source. But it must have been or else the air flowing over the vanes would have warmed up the water in the radiator and it would have no longer worked. But I don't remember well enough. (Its been well over 50 years now, unfortunately, and the memory is spotty back that far.)

Tyvm .. getting a automotive refrigerator might be serious amp draw..
You dad , sounds brilliant .


_________________
Diagnosed hfa
Loves velcro,
Quote:
where ever you go ,there you are


Nan
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 1 Mar 2006
Age: 67
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,795

05 Oct 2019, 3:51 pm

Jakki wrote:
Nan wrote:
Jakki wrote:
Love this topic . Love info. Ty , am going to hope my wet cells are up to some demands , against a inverter , cold cranking hours what not, versus , surge draw . Am hoping to initially just try to support various .low amp draw 12 volt , 5 volt Dc applications . , batteries ,, might look at australias Red cell z wave batteries . Little pricey , but claims are impressive .
My system is based on some very old 14 volt in direct sunlight output . But as written before ,area only has solid sunlight in areas for panels, for approx 5 hours . Old aerospace panels. No amp output tested yet. And , am pretty sure 5000 watt inverter will suck wet cells dead in 1/2 hour probably . But am owning 300 watt also .. long term , am living in area requiring air conditioning , health requirements too .. big squirrel cage blower . Am , considering test out home made. Air con. unit as a by pass in the air ducting. ( Unit automotive condenser unit, aluminium . Finned high density ), running ice water through it . Or water and glycerin . Pumped through a portable auto motive refrigerator. 12 volt.
Possibly the squirrel cage motor maybe 12 volt car starter unit. My goal is to reduce inverter usauge as much as possible as system expands . Was hoping to use multiple peltier panels . But amp draw is not as good as hoped . Thank You for your patience with my going on about this.
And yes am soliciting criticisms ?? Please
(Considered multiple bottles of jack daniels for coolant, but temptation too strong)



Hmmm. Interesting. When I was a kid, before most homes had A/C, my dad made a chiller out of a bomber aircraft radiator. It lived in the basement, and a fan sucked air through it and up through the ductwork that the central heat used in the winter. The only downside was that every day we had to go downstairs and bail out the water that had condensed on it out of the tray it sat on, or it would overflow all over the floor. But it definitely cooled the house down!

Thinking back on it, I can't remember it being attached to the well or any other water source. But it must have been or else the air flowing over the vanes would have warmed up the water in the radiator and it would have no longer worked. But I don't remember well enough. (Its been well over 50 years now, unfortunately, and the memory is spotty back that far.)

Tyvm .. getting a automotive refrigerator might be serious amp draw..
You dad , sounds brilliant .


He was one of "us". He also "tinkered" with stuff a lot.

Memory is coming back now... there was a barrel of water and a tube that went through it and into and out of the radiator. Convection moved the warmer water out and sucked in cooler water from the barrel. Yeah. That seems right....



Jakki
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 21 Sep 2019
Gender: Female
Posts: 10,120
Location: Outter Quadrant

05 Oct 2019, 5:51 pm

Nan wrote:
Jakki wrote:
Nan wrote:
Jakki wrote:
Love this topic . Love info. Ty , am going to hope my wet cells are up to some demands , against a inverter , cold cranking hours what not, versus , surge draw . Am hoping to initially just try to support various .low amp draw 12 volt , 5 volt Dc applications . , batteries ,, might look at australias Red cell z wave batteries . Little pricey , but claims are impressive .
My system is based on some very old 14 volt in direct sunlight output . But as written before ,area only has solid sunlight in areas for panels, for approx 5 hours . Old aerospace panels. No amp output tested yet. And , am pretty sure 5000 watt inverter will suck wet cells dead in 1/2 hour probably . But am owning 300 watt also .. long term , am living in area requiring air conditioning , health requirements too .. big squirrel cage blower . Am , considering test out home made. Air con. unit as a by pass in the air ducting. ( Unit automotive condenser unit, aluminium . Finned high density ), running ice water through it . Or water and glycerin . Pumped through a portable auto motive refrigerator. 12 volt.
Possibly the squirrel cage motor maybe 12 volt car starter unit. My goal is to reduce inverter usauge as much as possible as system expands . Was hoping to use multiple peltier panels . But amp draw is not as good as hoped . Thank You for your patience with my going on about this.
And yes am soliciting criticisms ?? Please
(Considered multiple bottles of jack daniels for coolant, but temptation too strong)



Hmmm. Interesting. When I was a kid, before most homes had A/C, my dad made a chiller out of a bomber aircraft radiator. It lived in the basement, and a fan sucked air through it and up through the ductwork that the central heat used in the winter. The only downside was that every day we had to go downstairs and bail out the water that had condensed on it out of the tray it sat on, or it would overflow all over the floor. But it definitely cooled the house down!

Thinking back on it, I can't remember it being attached to the well or any other water source. But it must have been or else the air flowing over the vanes would have warmed up the water in the radiator and it would have no longer worked. But I don't remember well enough. (Its been well over 50 years now, unfortunately, and the memory is spotty back that far.)

Tyvm .. getting a automotive refrigerator might be serious amp draw..
You dad , sounds brilliant .


He was one of "us". He also "tinkered" with stuff a lot.

Memory is coming back now... there was a barrel of water and a tube that went through it and into and out of the radiator. Convection moved the warmer water out and sucked in cooler water from the barrel. Yeah. That seems right....


Am diligent , but fatigue situation has me wondering if will get to that point,
Work in spurts . From lotsa coffee, 3 hours functional and needing to lay down for days at a time . Electric bills are seriously high these days . Makes one wonder if much electricity is getting pumped back into grid ..why are rates still going up .. sighes.


_________________
Diagnosed hfa
Loves velcro,
Quote:
where ever you go ,there you are


lau
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 17 Jun 2006
Age: 75
Gender: Male
Posts: 9,618
Location: Somerset UK

06 Oct 2019, 10:39 am

So... 4pm Sunday has come and gone. It has been cool (good for photovoltaics) and sunny (also good for photovoltaics). I've been looking at what I'm generating, and I'm more than impressed! I've been getting something like 1.5kw from the panels, which means nearly 60% efficiency.

I've also discovered that lots of the segments on the solar inverter's LCD display are not working. That makes it rather hard to read! At first I thought I was only getting 500w, but all the segments for the digit before that are dead.


_________________
"Striking up conversations with strangers is an autistic person's version of extreme sports." Kamran Nazeer


Jakki
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 21 Sep 2019
Gender: Female
Posts: 10,120
Location: Outter Quadrant

06 Oct 2019, 11:08 pm

lau wrote:
So... 4pm Sunday has come and gone. It has been cool (good for photovoltaics) and sunny (also good for photovoltaics). I've been looking at what I'm generating, and I'm more than impressed! I've been getting something like 1.5kw from the panels, which means nearly 60% efficiency.

I've also discovered that lots of the segments on the solar inverter's LCD display are not working. That makes it rather hard to read! At first I thought I was only getting 500w, but all the segments for the digit before that are dead.


Ahh the secret life of dead segments,,,,?


_________________
Diagnosed hfa
Loves velcro,
Quote:
where ever you go ,there you are


Nan
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 1 Mar 2006
Age: 67
Gender: Female
Posts: 3,795

07 Oct 2019, 2:12 am

lau wrote:
So... 4pm Sunday has come and gone. It has been cool (good for photovoltaics) and sunny (also good for photovoltaics). I've been looking at what I'm generating, and I'm more than impressed! I've been getting something like 1.5kw from the panels, which means nearly 60% efficiency.

I've also discovered that lots of the segments on the solar inverter's LCD display are not working. That makes it rather hard to read! At first I thought I was only getting 500w, but all the segments for the digit before that are dead.


Impressive!