12 volt home

[ki4hpz]

Has anyone tried wiring for a 12 V home? Any comments?

thanks

[glenn-k]

Inverters are so cheap and efficient now small ones and even the bigger ones are not too expensive, so I think it is better to go conventional wiring  then use compact flourescents etc.  The standard stuff is always cheap and available.  

I use 24 volt inverters -- some would go 48 v. Primary wiring would be smaller.  As you get to larger stuff 12 v is a bit innefficient and takes large wire on the DC side.

[Amanda_931]

Glenn is certainly right there--back in the days when I was considering using PV to power a water pump down at the farthest spring (I don't want to talk about this any more!) it looked like the least expensive way would be to change the electricity to 120 AC at the panels, then come down the 250ft or so to the spring (over the two little streams which sometimes aren't so little).  Maybe even, if I had to use the expensive Dankoff Slow-pump, converting back to 12 (or was it 24) volts, with some losses with each conversion.  Wire size was the big thing--price hundreds of feet of thumb-sized copper cables.  (Of course if I had to use the Dankoff Slow-pump I only had to run the wire half-way down, and not through the streams. grrrrrr)

That said, there are a lot of people who really really like the idea of 12 v.  There are a lot of "comforts of home" things available (some right poorly made as impulse purchases for truckers) and, for, instance, things like TV and computers are inverted to DC, either in a box in the line cord, or internally.

There is a Yahoo Group dedicated to 12 volt living, which I am not on.  

And a newsletter from a guy in Texas--he calls himself Rebel Wolf--who really really likes methane generators and 12v electricity.  The current issue is the last, by the way.

http://www.rebelwolf.com/  

Ben Law (British, two good books, including one about building his new house, documented in a high-rated British TV series) used 12 v in his new house because he already had some of the electrical stuff he needed, and he understood it.

I am considering 12 v. for one project.  Although I'm not sure it really makes sense, given the arguments I've made above.

[Bouncer]

I just got done running 12volt wire for my cabin t for the lighting and water pump and also some 12volt plug-ins for a TV or other stuff. I also ran 110 when the gen. is on.

Here is a picture of both breaker boxes


Here is just the 12volt box


We used 10 gauge stranded wire for the 12 vt.
And 12-2 for the 110.

Kevin

[hunter63]

Check out this site, this guy lives in one and is on several forums.

http://12vman.com/home.php

[Dustin]

In an off grid house, you will probably see both 12V wiring and regular wiring. Inverters are a lot less than they used to be, but the costs of copper wiring has gone up considerably so you will probably limit your 12V wiring since it requires thicker gauge cables.  It's usually easiest to wire the house normally and then add the 12V wiring for the few particular items you need.
As I understand it, 12 wiring is a good for some situations, like if you want to direct wire certain appliances or lights (some fridges, fans, lights, etc are available 12V), so that you won't have to kick the inverter on, which in itself uses a bit of juice.
Now, in a small vacation cabin with only a couple of lights, just 12V wiring makes alot more sense, since you won't even need an inverter. I saw a kit just today at Harbor Freight for $200 for 45w of solar panels, a charger, and a couple 12V fluorescent lights. You supply the battery.