I think about doing a lot of things that I never actually undertake. And S olar Collectors are one example of this. Seems like a good project, but it also seems like a bunch of work. So another idea is using solar panels in a super simple way. Not to replace electricity, but to provide a little h eat to the basement. So it would just be solar panels connected to a resis tive load. No battery storage, no inverter, no temperature control.
AliExpress or maybe it is Ebay has ads for 100 6 inch by 6 inch solar cells for about $100. So could make 4 panels , 2 feet by 3 feet to hold 24 sola r cells on each panel. Maybe run lines for each panel to the basement.
Solar Collectors are one example of this. Seems like a good project, but it also seems like a bunch of work. So another idea is using solar panels in a super simple way. Not to replace electricity, but to provide a little heat to the basement. So it would just be solar panels connected to a res istive load. No battery storage, no inverter, no temperature control.
ls for about $100. So could make 4 panels , 2 feet by 3 feet to hold 24 so lar cells on each panel. Maybe run lines for each panel to the basement.
Nothing wrong, but lots of work soldering cells. You also have to make fra me to protect them from breakage. I would rather get pre-made panels.
Solar cells are inefficient, and resistive heaters are inefficient. The sunlight is hot already, so maybe use a hot water loop, basically a solar water heater.
I guess a solar cell could run a small circulating pump.
--
John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc
picosecond timing precision measurement
jlarkin att highlandtechnology dott com
http://www.highlandtechnology.com
Solar collectors are great at cooking hot dogs on a sunny day, you could cook the hot dogs and then eat the hot dogs and with your new found strength from eating ride a stationary bicycle with a generator that powers an electric heater.
I don't know what the conversion efficiency of that is but can't argue with ease of system design.
Solar Collectors are one example of this. Seems like a good project, but it also seems like a bunch of work. So another idea is using solar panels in a super simple way. Not to replace electricity, but to provide a little heat to the basement. So it would just be solar panels connected to a res istive load. No battery storage, no inverter, no temperature control.
ls for about $100. So could make 4 panels , 2 feet by 3 feet to hold 24 so lar cells on each panel. Maybe run lines for each panel to the basement.
Compared to using a solarthermal collector, you'll spend far more to get fa r less.
The heat pump extracts low level heat from the outside world, and delivers slightly higher level heat to your environment.
You get more heat delivered (in joules) per joule of electrical energy invested, but any "efficiency" calculation would have to take the change in outside world into account.
Solar Collectors are one example of this. Seems like a good project, but it also seems like a bunch of work. So another idea is using solar panels in a super simple way. Not to replace electricity, but to provide a little heat to the basement. So it would just be solar panels connected to a res istive load. No battery storage, no inverter, no temperature control.
ls for about $100. So could make 4 panels , 2 feet by 3 feet to hold 24 so lar cells on each panel. Maybe run lines for each panel to the basement.
Just the hassle. How much is it to buy the panels? Are these cells fully functional? I'm willing to be they only partly work and will give a poor r esult.
I guess I'm just lazy these days. We had a big storm last night with serio us winds. I expect anything I had built like this would have been damaged either from debris blowing around or the panels picking up in the wind and becoming debris.
--
Rick C.
++ Get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging
++ Tesla referral code - https://ts.la/richard11209
d Solar Collectors are one example of this. Seems like a good project, but it also seems like a bunch of work. So another idea is using solar panels in a super simple way. Not to replace electricity, but to provide a littl e heat to the basement. So it would just be solar panels connected to a re sistive load. No battery storage, no inverter, no temperature control.
lls for about $100. So could make 4 panels , 2 feet by 3 feet to hold 24 s olar cells on each panel. Maybe run lines for each panel to the basement.
"Resistive heaters are inefficient"??? So they are less than 100% efficien t? I guess some of that electricity gets turned into waste heat that you m ust get rid of while the main heat is dumped into the room. Got it!
--
Rick C.
+ Get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging
+ Tesla referral code - https://ts.la/richard11209
wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@googlegroups.com...
You will have to do the soldering together and mounting them into useable panels, and adding a protective cover sheet of glass. How many watts will these provide, compared to the cheap 100 watt panels on amazon for $90-100 USD? Lots of reviews and youtube videos testing these, and they seem to be good. If you got 400 W total from the aliexpress cells you would be saving $300, then doing all that labor - your choice.
Efficiency-wise, using solar heat directly is definitely more efficient but a lot more work. Now you have panel plumbing plus controller wiring plus adding radiators and a pump if you don't already have hot water heating, and dealing with freezing if it gets that cold where you are. I always assumed that either using air heating panels or a water collector would be the way to go, but apparently PV cells have gotten cheap enough that some people are using them for heating water. Just add a few more PV panels to make up for the lower efficiency and avoid all the plumbing costs and hassles. One example video doing this for domestic hot water is this one:
formatting link
plus a couple of followups. He used an MPPT controller designed just for this, driving the lower heating element in a standard US-style two element electric water heater. This is sold by the developer through his website
formatting link
or through the ebay store TechLuck. It doesn't drive the heater at full power but since it is heating all the time the sun is shining it gets the job done and keeps the tank hot. You just set the thermostat on that heater up the the maximum safe temp for the tank and let it go. Make the tank big enough to still have enough hot water for the morning showers and the second heater still connected to the mains won't ever come on. Lots of info at the website on PV array sizes, heater wattages, etc. MPPT is definitely the best way to extract power from the PV panels so I recommend either his controller or some other, to drive your heaters.
I haven't done this myself, I just like researching and learning about stuff, that's why I lurk here :-).
Standard 1.0 x 1.6m panels deliver 300W max. These are available for under $200 each. I have 34 of them on my roof. You might want two or three of them. While thinking about system, which includes a large hot-water heater, I considered using a solar thermal collector system for the hot-water function. But after adding up required the roof space, and plumbing and long-term maintenance issues, it was clear solar panels was a tossup. So I went with solar electricty to heat my hot water.
100 6x6 inch is 2.323 m^2
2.323 m^2 might garner 2.323kW at the equator on a clear day if pointed directly at the sun. With a (generous) 20% efficiency, you would get about 465W at that location. Of course, if you live at the equator, you won't have a basement and, if you did, you wouldn't need heating. Since you have a basement, you probably live north of the equator. Your solar input will be less than 465W. In addition, you may not need the collector in the summer months. In the winter, you will have even less solar input and shorter days of daylight. Are you going to make the panel track the sun somehow? If not, you will your power will peak at about noon and will be less at other hours. Including nighttime which is when you will need the heat most.
ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.