Okay, SO. Aside from the research I've been trying (and probably failing) to do over the past few months, confusing and overwhelming myself in the process, I am a 100% total newbie to DIY off-grid power. BUT, I am VERY good at following directions, so as long as the steps for what I need and how to put it all together are clear, I won’t have a problem. Due to being a total newbie, however, I don’t really know what questions I need to ask here. I kind of have a general idea how the whole ‘solar panels > charge controller > battery > inverter > household electronics’ thing works (I think? Probably missing a step in there somewhere), but as soon as it gets more in depth than that, getting volts and amps and kilowatt hours involved, I am just. Totally lost. And my brain goes fuzzy. So I have no idea what kind of solar system I’ll need for what my family uses, what I’ll need to make it, or how to keep the costs down. (I’m trying to stay below $2000, though I do have some wiggle room. Regardless, I want to keep this as cheap as possible.)
As we’ll eventually be expanding, I’m wondering if it would be better to make several smaller systems for each room, or if it would be cheaper to make one or two large systems and run the electric cords under the rugs or something. Like I said, I have no idea. But we do tend to keep all our electronics in any one given area plugged into one or two power strips, as most of what we use at any given time is low energy, and all the high energy electronics only stay on for an hour or two at most (and aside from the oven and stovetop, never more than two high energy electronics at once). I’d like to continue using the power strips, if at all possible, since I’m not fond of the idea of constantly plugging in and unplugging things. I’m fine with moving a power supply around, however, if that would be more cost effective. (I can rig up a rolling mount for it if I have to, as well.)
In our current home, and without paying any attention to our usage, our yearly kilowatt hours average out to around 4500, which I guess would be between 12 to 13 per day? Or a monthly average of 375. Our lowest usage is in spring/fall (around 250), and our highest is in winter (540). I believe all of our appliances are either 110 or 120 volt, since they all use the standard outlet, but I don't know much more than that.
I assume (probably incorrectly, and based on what little knowledge I have) that a 24-volt system will suit our needs best? And I’ll need a battery (or batteries) that can cover around 4000 watts just in case. (Also an inverter to match? Maybe?? IDK how this works???) I’m also not sure how many solar panels would be best to maintain our average usage per day (right now I’m thinking 4 100W panels), but either way, I would like us to be able to use our electronics while the batteries are charging. For added detail, we will be in Nevada, so I’m not really worried about cloud cover, and we’ll be able to set up our solar panels wherever we need to, as we own the land.
As for whether I have the experience to even make any of this...sort of? I'm not a stranger to DIY projects, but I AM new to electrical setups, which is where my stepdad would come in. He did a lot of the wiring in his own house, so he has all the tools I’ll need, and can help me rig up whatever I'm not comfortable handling. I shouldn’t have any issue with it, though, as long as I have a step by step explanation of the building process.
For a further breakdown/info dump on our watt usage, just to hopefully cover all the bases, I’ve listed everything we use down below. All but one of the numbers are rounded up to the nearest 5 for convenience, so the actual totals tend to be lower.
Entertainment area:
LED TV 35 inch Vizio (30 watts) – variable use
Nintendo Switch (15 to 20 watts) – variable use; we will leave it for days or weeks sometimes, and then play for hours at a time until a game is finished
PS4 (100 to 150 watts) – variable use; we will leave it for weeks to months sometimes, and then play for hours at a time until a game is finished
Xbox 360 (200 watts) – variable use; we will leave it for weeks to months sometimes, and then play for hours at a time until a game is finished
Laptop (2 @ 60 watts each; 120 watts) – often in use for around half a day, every day
Smart phone (2 @ 2 to 6 watts each; 5 to 15 watts) – often plugged in for hours at a time, every day
Total – 470 to 535 watts, if everything was on; typically only 125 to 365 at any given time.
Two separate power strips; one for the entertainment systems, and one for the laptops and phones. The entertainment system power strip would be turned off when not in use.
Bathroom:
Littermaid self-cleaning litter box (~1 to 5 watts) – 95% sleep mode (~1 watt), 5% cleaning (5 watts)
Shower (10 to 20 watts) – variable use
Immersion water heater (1500 watts) – variable use
Flat iron (350 watts) – weekly use
Hairdryer (800 watts) – rare use
Washing machine (240 watts) – once per week
Panda dryer (900 watts) – once per week
Total – 3800 to 3815 watts, if everything was on (which would N E V E R happen); typically only ~1 to 375 on an average day, 1145 on a laundry day, or 1525 when bathing. We would not run anything else in the bathroom while the immersion heater or laundry is going, and will likely not even run the washer and dryer at the same time.
One power strip for all but the litter box, which will be plugged in on its own. The power strip will be turned off when not in use.
Kitchen:
Dishwasher (900 watts??? 16 KwH per year, no idea what single hour use would be, as the product doesn’t list it) – once per week
Portable Fridge/Freezer (2 @ 55 watts each; 110 watts) – will be constantly running
Oven (1500 watts) – occasional usage
Portable stovetop (1500 watts) – occasional usage
Microwave (700 watts) – common usage
Total – 4110 watts if everything was on (also unlikely to happen – I never run the microwave while the oven is going, and will probably run an extension cord to a different power source for the stovetop if I need to use it alongside the oven); typically only 110 on an average day, to around 1010 (maybe???) on cleaning day, to possibly 3000 when cooking a proper dinner (which is rare – the oven is mostly for pizzas XD). Again, an extension cord will likely be used to mitigate the demand.
I would prefer a dedicated power source just for the fridge and freezer, as they don’t require much.
General:
Lamps (4 to 5 at ~10 watts each – ~40 to 50 watts) – common usage
Heating blankets (4 at 110 to 180 watts each – 110 to 720 watts) – only used when too cold
Heater (1500 watts) – used only when too cold, and turned off when the area is comfortable
Swamp cooler (~60 to 100 watts) – used only when too hot, and turned off when the area is comfortable
Box fan (~45 to 60 watts) – will be constantly running at night, if not always on (white noise)
Total – 2085 to 4590 watts if everything was on (which would make Z E R O sense, considering); typically only 125 to 610, but may go up to 2110.
The heating/cooling implements will probably have their own dedicated power strip each.
Grand total – In the impossible event of everything being on, 10465 to 13050 watts. As our most used electronics are low usage (lights, litter box, fridge, freezer, fan, phones, and laptops), we’re likely to hover around 360 on average during the summer, 460 if we run the cooler as well, and top out at 3460 if we’re cooking with both the oven and stovetop (while also having the cooler going). For winter, 580 is the likely average (between our usual electronics and 2 heating blankets on medium), 2580 with all 4 blankets at max and the heater running, 3580 for our usual setup with 2 heating blankets at medium plus the oven and stovetop, and 4080 if we run all 4 blankets at max along with the oven and stovetop and our usual setup (which is. Not a likely scenario, because that’s...kind of dumb. And likely to cause us to overheat).
I think that’s everything, but if I missed something, I can edit as needed. If anyone can help me out on where to start, what I’ll need, and the likely cost to expect, I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks in advance!
Submitted by krysmcscience | #Specialdealer Special Offer Online Shopping Store 2016
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