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    Thread: Solar Power for pond circuit...

    1. #1
      Midorigoi's Avatar
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      Solar Power for pond circuit...

      This is something that's always interested me! Is there any way for me to rig up some kind of system to run the pond on solar power, but switch over to normal in case of a cloudy day or something? Wouldn't need to be a huge panel just enough to cover the pumps/aerator/uv...looked up a 400 watt panel which would be perfect but it's for boats and RV's. Anyone know anything about solar panels?

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    2. #2
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      Off the grid! Heck yeah, will be following thread.

    3. #3
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      Quote Originally Posted by Midorigoi View Post
      This is something that's always interested me! Is there any way for me to rig up some kind of system to run the pond on solar power, but switch over to normal in case of a cloudy day or something? Wouldn't need to be a huge panel just enough to cover the pumps/aerator/uv...looked up a 400 watt panel which would be perfect but it's for boats and RV's. Anyone know anything about solar panels?
      You are going to have to convert the power for usage and buy the equipment for the conversion. On top of that, if the panel provides more than what is needed, then its wasted. I say just go with a whole house system. You can check with local companies as some you have to buy the panels, others they install panels and you just buy the electrictiy it produces. Of course while your power company charges you .11/kwh they may only charge you .05/kwh. With whole house, you reap the benifits more.



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    4. #4
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      Quote Originally Posted by jimfish98 View Post
      You are going to have to convert the power for usage and buy the equipment for the conversion. On top of that, if the panel provides more than what is needed, then its wasted. I say just go with a whole house system. You can check with local companies as some you have to buy the panels, others they install panels and you just buy the electrictiy it produces. Of course while your power company charges you .11/kwh they may only charge you .05/kwh. With whole house, you reap the benifits more.
      I TOTALLY AGREE WITH JIM HERE! Had a company (they provide the panels/maintenance and I pay for the power the system generates) install a whole house system and fired it up at the beginning of May. As our electrical power from our provider is WAY HIGHER/KwH we went from spending an average, during the summer months, of around $550/mo to $25/mo plus around $225/mo to the solar provider. So I cut my energy bill in half or more. Where I live, and using power up to tier 5, my charge/KwH for tier 4/5 was/is $.35+/KwH. We're paying the solar company $.20/Kwh and most days, we're spinning the meter backwards during the daytime hours. I;m figuring a saving of over a year at around $2500-$3000/yr! Oh, and the panels, installation, including an entire new electrical service panel was - FREE! And the solar company is responsible for maintenance as well! How do you say "Cha-Ching"!!!
      Mike

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    5. #5
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      Quote Originally Posted by koiman1950 View Post
      I TOTALLY AGREE WITH JIM HERE! Had a company (they provide the panels/maintenance and I pay for the power the system generates) install a whole house system and fired it up at the beginning of May. As our electrical power from our provider is WAY HIGHER/KwH we went from spending an average, during the summer months, of around $550/mo to $25/mo plus around $225/mo to the solar provider. So I cut my energy bill in half or more. Where I live, and using power up to tier 5, my charge/KwH for tier 4/5 was/is $.35+/KwH. We're paying the solar company $.20/Kwh and most days, we're spinning the meter backwards during the daytime hours. I;m figuring a saving of over a year at around $2500-$3000/yr! Oh, and the panels, installation, including an entire new electrical service panel was - FREE! And the solar company is responsible for maintenance as well! How do you say "Cha-Ching"!!!
      Bumping for info!! Details please!!! How exactly does one get free solar panels
      I asked mom about this tonight because I thought the huge panel thing would be out of the question but if we can get something like this here she would totally be alright with it
      Sooo...if we're paying like 8 cents per kwh here, this would save $ right?

    6. #6
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      this is a good way to go if you dont have the money to purchase the system outright

      http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/buygp/solarpower.htm
      Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead. - Benjamin Franklin.

      you cant fix stupid no matter how hard you try.

    7. #7
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      Quote Originally Posted by kwickcut View Post
      this is a good way to go if you dont have the money to purchase the system outright

      http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/buygp/solarpower.htm
      I would do that if they had anything in my area... Maybe I need to start a business in my area

    8. #8
      koiman1950's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by Midorigoi View Post
      Bumping for info!! Details please!!! How exactly does one get free solar panels
      I asked mom about this tonight because I thought the huge panel thing would be out of the question but if we can get something like this here she would totally be alright with it
      Sooo...if we're paying like 8 cents per kwh here, this would save $ right?
      Quote Originally Posted by T9D View Post
      I've wanted to do this too some day. I would double up on the panels and have a battery bank. That way the excess is stored to run at night too. You'd basically need four 200 watt panels I guess.

      Here is an awesome site for cheap panels. I always keep an eye on them. http://www.wholesalesolar.com/solar-panels.html

      Amazing how much the prices have dropped in years. $1 a watt or less. The panels are DC. I wonder if you could also just skip all the other stuff and just run them direct to a DC motor pump. It would vary depending on how much light and energy you are getting at the moment. So your water might be a trickle one day and a river the next. But it would save massive money. I'm sure you'd need some limiters or something else but I'm sure it could be done.

      And my god.....California. That place is ridiculous. They screw you on everything. Prices and taxes, fees, bridge tolls, water and sewage, garbage, DMV fees, everything is insane there. Often it's 4 times the cost for many things compared to the rest of the country. We pay .06 to .08 kwh in Oregon.
      Yeah, you people up North just have it made as far as electricity goes. However, in many parts of the country, due to inconsistent weather patterns or patterns that are not as conducive, solar is not necessarily the answer. Please, at your current costs of electricity, don't come on here and complain about your elec. bill. I'd trade you in a heart beat!LOL
      Mike

      check out our website at: http://www.pond-life.net




      "Our goal is to assist with emergency and Koi health issues, as well as educate on best practices. Please help us gain a clear picture by giving the original poster time to answer our questions before offering opinions and suggested treatments."

    9. #9
      jimfish98's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by koiman1950 View Post
      Yeah, you people up North just have it made as far as electricity goes. However, in many parts of the country, due to inconsistent weather patterns or patterns that are not as conducive, solar is not necessarily the answer. Please, at your current costs of electricity, don't come on here and complain about your elec. bill. I'd trade you in a heart beat!LOL
      I use up my first teir .11 and get a bit into my second teir .13

      Of course then they hit you on coal and fuel costs on top of that tacking on a couple more cents per teir, they just seperate it out so it looks like you are getting charged less.



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    10. #10
      avorancher is offline Senior Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by jimfish98 View Post
      I use up my first teir .11 and get a bit into my second teir .13

      Of course then they hit you on coal and fuel costs on top of that tacking on a couple more cents per teir, they just seperate it out so it looks like you are getting charged less.
      Here in SoCal, you would need to be homeless, living in a cardboard box, to stay in the first tier at $0.11. I seldom use air conditioning, but with a pond I was consistently in tier 5 which was around $0.32/kw, so I did a solar system in two stages. I had a solar company install a small array of panels but pre-installed the wiring and inverters for a larger system. That small system put me into tier 3 which was much cheaper...somewhere around $0.24. The payback for my investment was around 6 years because I was replacing the most expensive kilowatts and thus getting a big bang for my buck. I was so happy with the system that I later added enough panels to max out my inverter and put my monthly bill at zero. Of course replacing the first couple tiers doesn't have the attractive payback time... but it certainly is nice to eliminate that monthly fee and the hassles of dealing with the local power company. My advice on solar is to do it however you can.

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