Solar system at Costco

[boltpost]

Saw this system at Costco yesterday made by Coleman.

Coleman 55 Watt Solar 12V Power Generator Kit

This Coleman solar kit is actually a product of Sunforce Products Inc. a leading manufacturer and master distributor of renewable energy products headquartered in Montreal West, QC, Canada.    If you want to check out the product description yourself on the Sunforce website visit http://www.sunforceproducts.com/product_details.php?PRODUCT_ID=179
  Item#: 58050   UPC#: 787769580508
This 55 Watt Solar 12V Power Generator Kit contains three 18w panels generating 55watts of electrical power per hour.
Stated Benefits:
   Always be prepared for power failures – a kit for natural disasters
   Reduce your electricity consumption
   Works with 12Volt and 110Volt Appliances
   55 Watts of clean and Renewable Energy
   No Tools required – Maintenance Free
   Portable and easy set up
   Weatherproof – made of shatterproof tempered glass
   Great for Remote and Back Up Power
Includes:
   3 x 18 Watt Solar Panels
   Metal frame for Mounting Solar Panels
   3 in 1 wire connectors all 3 Solar Panels can be connected in an easy fashion
   12V DC Plug, Alligator Battery Clamps and LED Voltage Tester
   12V Socket for powering 12V Products
   200 Watt Power Inverter
   7 Amp Solar Charge Controller

Your thougths, comments, and notes on this item, 'cause I think I will pick one up for my future beach cabin...

[MountainDon]

Have you researched, estimated accurately how much power you will actually use with whatever devices you are going to need to run? How about adding in a safety factor for the wants that get added to the needs later?  From my experience "things" tend to get added to the first basic list, but I could be peculiar.

55 watts of panels is not a lot of power.

[boltpost]

My thoughts were more on the line "if and when the power goes out" when I'm at the cabin.  A few lights to read from, charge a cell phone, prevent me from hitting my head on the pantry door while looking for snacks....

[MountainDon]

In that case, how long does the power go out when the grid drops? 

If there is a grid tie and this is for emergency outages, a battery or two that have their charge maintained by grid power may be better suited. There would be an inverter to supply AC power when the grid drops.

[Squirl]

If you are looking for an if and when sitiuation, there are probably more cost effective solutions.  With that low of a wattage usage an extra battery charged by the grid would probably also work, be less work, and be cheaper.  Buying and setting up a whole system for that little use doesn't seem worth it.  I currently run on one 12v marine battery for lights, phone, occasional computer.  I can easily go a full weekend on less than 50% discharge.  I am totally off grid.  If

[Squirl]

BTW, There needs to be special wiring if you want to connect your cabin's A/C grid tied wiring to the inverter.  Grid tied utilities require a shut off because you are then supplying power to the grid when the power goes out and you can electrocute a worker, so you have to disconnect your power from the grid.

[boltpost]

a battery or two that have their charge maintained by grid power may be better suited Now that is something I had not thought of .  Thank you all...more to research ! 

[boltpost]

Found this article after the above comments and suggestions
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/hackleman55.html
What if the electricity GOES OFF?  By Michael Hackleman

[alex trent]

I shuffle two 12V batteries back and forth to my building site..one just a big Delco and the other a Eveready Marine...both 120 AH.  Bring them home at night and charge off the grid...on busy building days I have both up there. They run a lot of stuff..saws, drills, charge lights for the watchman and cell phones for the workers.  I do run them down pretty good...11.8 volts routinely. I know not good, but cranking the generator is a pain and the monkeys in the trees do not like the noise.

I am getting ready to do a "real" system and it will be 4-12 volt Marine batteries. I'll quit carrying them back home and buy a good charger and run the genset every 3-4 days to recharge. No way solar can compete with this in expense, or frankly bother. At least not on my use..mostly lights a fan and computer.

I read a lot about off grid stuff and a lot of it makes it real complicated.  It can be. I guess, but is not really. and I have yet to see anything that does not dwell on discharge and the need to have  expensive batteries....more than it should. Yes those things are important, but if you do the numbers for your use, you may find you do not need $200 batteries,. much less $400 ones. Some of the stuff seems like it is more about the technique than the results.

Case in point...

My Delco automotive battery has been through 80 cycles...most of them to 11.8 volts or less (about 30-40%) of charge and is still going strong.  I do not notice any reduction in the time it takes to drop off.  It gets charged right away and does ride in the truck up and back, which I am told helps the battery by agitating it (myth?).  But on the other hand, I use a cheap charger with no load adjustment and no shut off, so 1 in 4 times I overcharge. Aty $100 bucks for it I am now well ahead of the game compared to buying a $250 battery that is supposed to last 500 cycles (but only if you baby it).

So think about what you need and do not get caught up in a system that you work for...get one that works for you.

[MountainDon]

http://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-RV750ULHW-Power-Inverter/dp/B000FTH2R0

about as cheap as you can get for a combined inverter and charger with auto changeover.  Not necessarily a recommendation but something along these lines with a suitable battery would work as a low demand backup power system. 20 amp 3 stage charger section. 750 watt cont inverter

[flyingvan]

   It pays to oversize in this case---remember that solar panels lose between 0.7% up to 3% of their efficiency per year.  Wind generators give much more wattage per dollar, but noise is a factor.  My wife's uncle gets big deep cycle submarine batteries for his off-the-grid in Big Sur, they're supposed to be a great way to store energy.
   My current project is heavy on the propane appliances---gravity wall heater, range, even a nifty wall light---due to the frequent power failures up here.  I want to get a propane generator and plumb it to the 250 gallon tank, too.
   I may run some heavy g wire for some 12 volt circuits also for general lighting, attached to panels.  I'd rather skip the inverters..

[Squirl]

My preference would be for a very low investment to meet your needs.  If you are truly going for such low wattage, I would get a small wattage inverter.  150 W will power some CFLs, a radio, and most computers.  It will also prevent you or anyone else from plugging in any high draining appliance.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/FAST-TRACK-XO-Vision-DC-to-AC-300W-Power-Inverter/17057038
or
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Philips-Power-Inverter-DVDP32/4809766

As long as the vast majority of the time you will be grid tied, you don't have to hurry with your charging.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Schumacher-SE-1-1-Amp-Manual-Trickle-Charger-with-Wall-Plug/15167359

When I spent time in Amish country, I learned many of them charge their batteries outside their house.  Then they bring them in an put them in battery boxes with wheels.  There is a pole coming up out of the center with a CFL at the top.  They can wheel light all around the house with one battery.  You can get DC CFLs so you don't even need an inverter for that.

The other nice part is as long as your car is handy and you have some jumper cables, you have a 12v charging station for those types of rare occasions.

If this were a full time residence, higher requirements, or off grid completely, I would suggest something else, but for $200, you can probably get everything you will need.

[MountainDon]

Different solutions for different folks...

I like systems that run themselves. With an AGM battery (yes more $) one doesn't even have to worry about watching the fluid levels. But that's me. I place a premium on convenience of operation and low maintenance, non intervention.

[boltpost]

I am liking this battery system even more.  Any possible way to see images of setups? or line drawings of battery set ups? Thank you for all the input!