We are SAVED

Y'all gotta get one of these units. Your power problems will be solved.

http://www.mysolarbackup.com/

WOW! 90 watts in, 1800 watts out. Will wonders never cease (OK, maybe they will in about 3 minutes under load) I just ordered a bunch of them When the end times come, you doubting schmucks can kiss my shiny solar ass :wink:

Watts = Watts no matter the voltage.

"The massive “generator-backup”, the high efficiency solar panel, and the charge controller."

methinks the "generator" is a sla battery. with a inverter. "free" energy for $2,200.

A harbor freight 45 watt panel with an inverter and battery $400 - 500.

Yeah, would provide power about as long as my gas generator does on about a cup of gas. Not going to heat your house, running the furnace fan for long.
My gas generator runs about 12 hours pulling 1500 watts continuous. Saved my ass during the recent big freeze, that shut down the local power plants for about 4 days.

I shoulda had more gas on hand, luckily with everybody conserving, I could buy gas most of the time. Had to drive to where the rolling blackouts weren't happening.

This event did get me thinking again though, aobut a smallish off grid solar panel and battery backup. Could have a very small panel, and work for a long time with enough battery. Something to give you lights for a few hours, saving you from dragging out and setting up the generator for a short blackout. Be nice for the shorter blackouts to just flick a switch on the alternate house wiring for just some lights. Wouldn't take much more than the HF setup previously mentioned to keep a coulple batteries topped up.

They are very careful not to lie any where on that page (though they do confuse the terms power and energy a few times).


I think it's a neat product.

It's just an inverter and SLA in a box together of course, with charge controller and solar panel to top-off the battery.

Very simple to us ebike guys who could buy the parts and wire it up in 20minutes for half the price, however, I think the product is a good idea for non-electrically minded folks to be able to have a little short-term power source for whatever.

If it's something like an 8D sized battery inside there, it could have maybe 2kw-hr of power. Enough to run a few compact florescent bulbs and a modern laptop and charge a cell phone for about 20hours with no sun, and with daily sun, it just might manage to function for those low energy tasks on a long-term basis. Obviously it's not useful for heating or cooking level energy, but it's enough to be useful for some things, like running a vacuum cleaner for 5minutes to clean up a spill or something, or running a blender or whatever intermittent loads you wanted to give it.

The scary part is that they don't mention the capacity of the battery, so it's quite likely to have just a few cheapie UPS size lead batteries in there and 200-300wh of effective storage. Also, I think motors like in vacuum cleaners don't work very well with cheapie inverters, so powering LED lights or a single CFL is all I'd connect to it. The way it's sold and the missing pertinent info screams rip off to me.

Conceptually it's cool, and really isn't to far from the ebike charging shelter I want to build.

I'd prolly get one of these and DIY the rest.
http://www.realgoods.com/product/outlet/renewable+energy+products/xantrex+xpower+1500+powerpack.do?search=basic&page=1

I know Harold is being scarcastics but dang $1700.. without knowing any specs that is a lot to spend, no? I bet you guys are right and it *is* just som tiny 12ah bats, otherwise they would have nothing to hide!

$400 at the local harbor freight for panels..
$500 for a few flooded deep bats..
$50 for an old dead-bat APC 1000 UPS..
For less than a grand you've got 50+ watts in, 1000W max, and 5+kWh, booyow!

vanilla ice said:

I know Harold is being scarcastics but dang $1700.. without knowing any specs that is a lot to spend, no? I bet you guys are right and it *is* just som tiny 12ah bats, otherwise they would have nothing to hide!
$400 at the local harbor freight for panels..
$500 for a few flooded deep bats..
$50 for an old dead-bat APC 1000 UPS..
For less than a grand you've got 50+ watts in, 1000W max, and 5+kWh, booyow!

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$1700 is about what I have into my small to medium size DC solar system except I have much better output.
Panels: 2 Used 125W Kyroceras.
Batteries: 4 Costco golf cart type (plus 2 used truck starter batteries I plan to replace).
Charge Controller: Morningstar 45amp mppt (went overboard here but very nice!)
Inverter: Morningstar 300w pure sign wave.
Wire: Leftover #8 stranded I had around.

With this system I try to power those small long term "always on" loads like my DSL modem and router, cfl porch light (on photo cell), door bell transformer, garage door wireless control, and sprinkler timer. Then I also put our 4 cell phone chargers, this laptop, and finally, my ebike although I charge the ebike mostly in the summer when there's lots of power available. I've had this system close to 4 years now and I have consistently saved $50 per month on the electric bill! I'm just now recovering my investment in this system. Plus we have been having a lot of power failures lately and I'm able to play dvd movies on this laptop for the kids and run a couple of cfl lights and still able to open the garage door, ring the doorbell, etc.

This is about what I hope to achieve. We don't have a LOT of load, if I don't use the big wood shop tools. I just don't like the .24cents per whr the local crooks charge.

Harold in CR said:

This is about what I hope to achieve. We don't have a LOT of load, if I don't use the big wood shop tools. I just don't like the .24cents per whr the local crooks charge.

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24 cents a kwh! You must live in Hawaii or New York City! It wouldn't take long to recover your investment. You could get one of those Harbor Freight systems or just start buying a piece at a time off craigslist or ebay.

I have Solar Cells, and, just bought the glass. Have the EVA for sealing the panels. Just can't buy Aluminum Angle for the frame around the glass. I have LOTS of lumber, but, I'm afraid the wood will warp out in the sun-shade-sun-rain, etc., and break the glass.

I'm building battery strings now, and, will go into the city Monday, to look for Angle.

Yeah, .24 is a bit much, but, we have monopolies down here, that control the prices, after paying bribes to the crooked politicians. The head of one Electric Co. just went to jail for stealing funds from the account.

They are ALL thieves here, from the President(a) right down to the common people.

As my buddy used to say,

If ya wanna live in Paradise, ya gotta be willing to suffer

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:lol: :lol:

I just moved to a new rental house and my first full month I'm up in the $0.30 /kwh tier. And that was after I unplugged one electric water heater and replaced 18 - 40w incandecent lights on the fence with LED. Working on replacing the bulbs in all the recessed cans that have 75 reflector lamps in them. The dimmers are a problem with running CF or LED in them. I might have to replace them with switches at my own expense. Getting ready to cancel the cable, the boxes pull 60watts on or off.

I just replaced the electric cloths drier with gas, that should help. And I have 200w of solar pumping back into the house. I might up that to 400 or 600w after I see my next bill. SoCal Edison. Gotta love it.

My panels are generating about 1kwh per day.

yopappamon said:

I just moved to a new rental house and my first full month I'm up in the $0.30 /kwh tier. And that was after I unplugged one electric water heater and replaced 18 - 40w incandecent lights on the fence with LED. Working on replacing the bulbs in all the recessed cans that have 75 reflector lamps in them. The dimmers are a problem with running CF or LED in them. I might have to replace them with switches at my own expense. Getting ready to cancel the cable, the boxes pull 60watts on or off.

I just replaced the electric cloths drier with gas, that should help. And I have 200w of solar pumping back into the house. I might up that to 400 or 600w after I see my next bill. SoCal Edison. Gotta love it.

My panels are generating about 1kwh per day.

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Yeah, that's how I save on the electric bill, by staying out of the upper tiers. Now the gas is becoming more expensive than the electric bill and all I have is a water heater and a clothes dryer. I'm thinking of making one of those solar water heaters mentioned in the other thread!

Vanilla Ice I was given two small UPS used on alarm systems, I wish to use the electronic out of them, from the ac plug in and whatever electronics on the UPS switches ac/charger off (when power is goes out) and dc/inverter on I wish to also integrate my own more powerful charger into the mix, amd ALOT more batteries, eventually solar and wind to also input ac power to charge battery bank, think one vertical axis wind turbine, two 150 watt solar panels, hopeful this will be enough to run a laptop and a few power tools.
And small aquaponics setup.

KiM

Edit. And charge my ebike I course lol

Whoo-Hoooo! Just scored another 160 watts of panel for nearly a buck a watt including charge controller. Yesssss!

Evoforce said:

Whoo-Hoooo! Just scored another 160 watts of panel for nearly a buck a watt including charge controller. Yesssss!

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That's a great price. Prices have come down on these things!

Yes Ed. I look forward to the day when it is truly affordable (up front) for people to power their own needs without owing the banker or manufacture residule debt.