Off Grid Permaculture’s Daniel Mark Schwartz ranks Alabama as the best state for off-grid life. What state is the most convenient for living off the grid? Installing a septic system that complies with health department regulations is another significant obstacle for individuals interested in going off the grid. Such behavior can result in hefty penalties or possibly prison time. Problems typically emerge when homeowners wish to completely disconnect their homes from the electrical grid or install composting toilets. Tracking mounts used to make a lot more sense when solar panels were selling in the $10+ a watt range, but with current prices around the $4.50 to $5.50 per watt range, the economic advantages of tracking are less.Although living off the grid is not technically illegal in any of the 50 states in the United States, several of the most important infrastructure parts of going off the grid are either overly regulated or prohibited. If you have plenty of power in the summer, but fall short in winter, your best option may be to use a maximum power point tracker (MPPT Charge Controller). The biggest problem with tracking mounts is that they give the biggest increase in the summer, while the biggest need for power is in the winter. A single axis tracker, like the Zomeworks, will be a little less, but still considerably more than a fixed array. The example shown is for 2-axis tracker, like the WattSun. This map shows the yearly average for an average January (worst case) day, but with a solar tracking mount.Ĭompare this to the previous map, and you can see what a difference a tracking mount system can make. Much of the country now gets an average of 4 hours or less of full sun hours per day. This map shows the yearly average for an average December (worst case) day.Īs you can see, in the winter it's an entirely different story. This map shows the yearly average for an average June (best case) day.Ī large portion of the country is now yellow, showing that good solar power is available for most of the country during the summer. So, if the map says that you live in a "six" area, you can expect sun power equal to 6 hours per day over the entire year. Since the typical modern solar panel is about 12% efficient, you will get about 700 watts per square meter of panel. So, even though the average day is exactly 12 hours, the power you actually get on your panels is equal to about 5 to 6 hours of full sun per day. If you look at the large yellow areas, you will see that it gets around 6,000 watts on an average day. Translation: At high noon on a clear day, each square meter receives 1000 watts of solar power. This first map shows the yearly average, in kilowatt-hours per square meter for an average yearly day. If you look at a roadmap and see the latitude is 23 degrees, then the panel would be tilted at 23 degrees. Tilted South at Latitude: The panel is facing due South, and tilted at the same angle as the latitude. Modern solar panels are around 15% efficient, so that works out to approximately 150 watts per square meter, or 15 watts per square foot. If the map says 9 kWh/m2, then you are getting about 9 full hours of sunlight on the panel. Some Definitions: kilowatt-hours per square meter: The earth at sea level receives about 1,000 Watts per square meter. Maps, solar radiation - These are the maps at NREL.The full set of maps (all 300 or so) are available at the NREL website: "Flat-plate collector" is simply a solar panel.
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