Re: (ET) Re: et/solar

["Jeremy" <nagidog starband net>]

I think there are two schools of thought surrounding the elect trak, which
seems confirmed by the demographic info people have been submitting.  One
being the person that loves the convenience, quietness, uniqueness,
engineering, quaintness, and memories of the elec trak.  The other being 
the
person that is trying to severe the link between them and fossil fuel
dependency, and finds an elec trak fits right in to this vision.  I am with
the second camp, and it is more important to me that I mow my lawn off 
power
generated from either the sun, wind, or generator (biodiesel ran) than to
just mow my lawn using electricity, which is probably produced using dirty
coal, diesel, dammed rivers, or nuclear power.  So for some it may seem off
topic to talk about the Solar PV system behind the elec trak, but for 
others
running an elec trak poses a special challenge to solar systems and I
welcome any discussion on the ins and outs of solar systems that keep the
elec traks going.  Maybe I am one of the few that do this and there is no
need to bring this up because I think I got it down.  But I am willing to
give exposure to this type of system and help anybody that has an elec trak
and is thinking about generating their own power for it.  For discussion of
strictly PV solar systems there are better venues to discuss the subject.
The thing I like about this group is that it seems very engineer smart.  I
am interested in all aspects of energy production, particularly related to
keeping the hungry elec trak fed.  I once just about got thrown out of the
group for mentioning the idea of turning an elec trak into a hybrid,
charging off the back with a small motor and alternator while you mow.  The
response was, "why use an elec trak if you are just going to run a dirty,
loud motor to power it", which was a mute point to me since at the time I
was running a dirty, loud motor to charge my elec trak anyway and could 
have
increased my efficiency by converting it to a hybrid based tractor. For 
what
its worth.

Jeremy

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "robert winfield" <winfield100 yahoo com>
To: <Oasis654 aol com>; <elec-trak cosmos phy tufts edu>
Sent: Monday, May 31, 2004 9:46 AM
Subject: (ET) Re: et/solar


> Oasis654,
> I am not sure how appropriate this is for the ET forum
> since it is Solar PV. The ET's do run on batteries and
> Chris Zach in Baltimore has a totally solar PV powered
> ET.
> Here is some info.
> http://www.dsireusa.org/
> this is a site which details financial incentives,
> which differ wildly state to state, in the USA. Right
> now the US is experiencing a shortage of high wattage
> panels due to Germany, Italy and Spain having national
> programs to PV their countries, Holland is buying ALL
> the output of GE wind turbine manufacturing
> http://lists.topica.com/lists/RE-wrenches/read?sort=d&start=15187
> (RE-Wrenches list)
>
> California, New York, Delaware, New Jersey, Illinois
> and a few others offer quite lucrative incentives to
> homeowners for PV.
>
> New Jersey offers a rebate of up to $55,000
> ($5.50/watt) for a grid tied, netmetered PV of up to
> 10kilowatt system. IE, for a net cost of about $23,000
> you can buy most of your electricity forever a single
> time
> New York offers between $4.00 and $5.00 for up to a
> 15kilowatt grid tied system rebates
> (i.e., some one giving you a check of between $60,000
> and $75,000 to make your own electricity)
>
> Maryland has a program that gives a measly 15% tax
> credit (better than zero) up to $2,000 that ends this
> year
> (the meter runs backwards on my system occasionally
> here in Maryland)
> (I have a tiny 1.2kw system and would like a 6-10kw
> system but big buck$)
> I would like to go all electric and use a 48v system
> to invert (lower wire gauge) and have the ET be 48v as
> part of my battery bank.
> I made a LOT of mistakes with my initial system
> I got Amorphous Silicon thin film panels which was at
> best 5% efficient and now are about 4% (20%
> degradation in 6 years) and they are no longer
> manufactured due to QC problems. They are hi voltage,
> 81v each,
> (Only one company still manufactures thin film)
> If I got another inverter to use for them, I could
> only use something like a Sunny Boy (no battery
> inverter but in the low 90's efficiency as it is high
> voltage but I hate even the idea of fiddling with up
> to 4-500v DC)
> I got an Omnion Inverter and I have to maintain it due
> to the company going out of business. (what warranty!)
>
> I would get single or poly crystal panels only.
> http://altenergystore.com/
> http://www.sunelec.com/
> (lower cost Renewable Energy supplies for the handy
> person as examples)
>
> http://homepower.com
> Very good magazine on Renewable Energy
>
> http://www.solar-guppy.com
> dude who has several arrays and forums
>
> Solar panels are essentially commodities and I would
> go for lowest cost per watt but make sure they have at
> least 12-14% efficiencies
> (Also remembering that any panels in a series string
> are current limited to the LOWEST amperage panel)
> I would get a battery capable Inverter like
> OutBackPower.
> http://www.outbackpower.com
> grid tied with battery inverters
>
> I firmly believe the grid is going to go down a lot
> more often simply by driving about my neighborhood and
> looking at the NON-maintenance of the electric lines
> and all the trees growing up through the lines.
> Hurricane Isabel was an eye opener.
>
> Hence, we have to start relying on ourselves for
> continuous electricity. PV, Solar, Wind, micro hydro,
> ET are all part of the problem
>
> --- Oasis654 aol com wrote:
> > hi folks, i think there are several people on this
> > list particularly
> > interested in solar/electrak technology.  would any
> > of you care to talk more about a
> > package of solar gizzmos we could use to get
> > started? a standardized, entry
> > level solar package, easily replicated?  thanks jon
> > k albany ny, where there is a
> > solar house tour coming up soon.
>
>
>
>
>
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