Buy the book; Sunshine to Dollars.
All practical application by an engineer.
No theory, or "Here's what I think you should do."
The book is cheap and there are practical solutions
for solar power.

-Rick

Solar electric production is only economically effective/practical if grid power isn't immediately available. Nothing comes close to affordable as grid power. But if you don't have it available, and from what I've been learning, I offer a few suggestions. You can start small and build up, but a few things should be followed whenever possible.

1. When you decide on a particular panel, stick with it when adding on. Mixing panels can be done, but it is a pain to efficiently integrate the system.

2. Plan your voltage choice based on the future of your home. Almost all cases will have a growing system, and along with it, an increased bank voltage to overcome cable and system size restrictions. Planning a higher voltage is never a bad idea.

3. Choose good batteries, and care for them like your life depends on it. Like panels, when you choose one, stick with it. You can add on, but it isn't the best thing to do. If you are adding on, only do so by adding a complete string. Don't intermix old with new in a string.

4. Get an MPPT charge controller. They cost more, but squeeze many more watts out of the panels. The cost is easily offset by being able to buy less panels and still get the same amount of watts in a day.

5. And finally, it always easier/cheaper to conserve than it is to produce. Find ways to reduce your energy demands and you'll end up keeping money in your pocket.

Man, you nailed it Rod!

Might also add; "More Power to You" by Skip Thomsen.
The book is based on generator power, but if you have
solar, just also plan on introducing a small generator
system someday. Even if you never have a generator
the book is still worth its weight in gold.

-Rick

I will try and get hold to the Skip Thomsen book - I was thinking of generators - thanks

With regard to the cost of solar vs grid, I wont know what the comparisons are until we move back to Trinidad. Our main concern is the course then money to build.....one mountain at a time :-)

You can build your own for about $105 / 66 watts.
Look at green power science.com

-Rick

I don't really like the videos, as they seem to be a chance for "Dan Rojas" to parade his wife in front of a camera (she is easy on the eyes), that and he's kinda a retard, in my opinion. That being said, this video is by far the best I have seen of theirs. Watch it to the end (or where the "bloopers" start), they warn you that it is not really that easy and you have to count the casing costs and time to string them together and seal them.

Put that together with Rod's earlier point about keeping the same panels for the whole project, and you get that you should either do all of them diy or do none of them diy.

Some members believe that the price is coming down. I don't really see that since the value of the US dollar is sliding now and I believe it is on the precipice. Anyway, my advice is to listen to rod. go solar only if cheaper than grid. if you are within 1/8 mile of grid it will generally be way cheaper to go with the grid.

If you decide to go with solar, then make sure you tabulate all the costs, and decide what you want to buy--you'll want to stay consistent on the panels and the batteries (and only buy the latter all at once). $4/watt is a good price, I'd buy them if you can.

Didn't someone recently find a 45 Watt solar panel for a great price somewhere?

Speaking of solar panels... I'm a complete n00b at this topic, but I've been trying to read Home Power Magazine and some other things to get up to speed.

I've been formally trained in basic electronics (USAF bomber systems tech years ago), but I'm having trouble getting my head wrapped around the basics of solar calculations. I've printed out my detailed bill showing my usage for the heaviest month of the summer down here in MS (July), and I want to use that info to estimate the costs of replacing the gridpower 100%. Does anyone know a good site that gives some basic configuration examples for us novices to better understand how many panels (varies based on output, I know), what kind of controller/inverter we need, etc.?

DGC

An easy way to reduce demand is to walk around your home in the dark (be careful lol) and any item that has a small glowing LED light is an energy drain. Examples might be vcr, cable box, tivo, printers, etc. Read an article that claimed (sorry cant remember the reference) that many of these electronic devices will consume 1/3 the power they use when "ON" in their "Standby Mode". One suggested way to eliminate this power drain is to plug them into a powerstrip or the on/off flip switches to cut off the power when not in use. Just a thought.