Solar Panel

[william webster]

Is it worth it? Money wise that is. I am imagining that you use the inverter and batteries most of the time and have a generator when ever the batteries lose charge. How much is your operating costs on a monthly basis? Are you able to run AC units, fridges, TVs or do you have a Wattage limitation?

My monthly costs are negligible.... the sun charges the batteries, the batteries feed the house.
The generator is used if the sun is weak/poor for a couple of days or in the shorter days of the year if we have used a lot of power.
More solar panels woul reduce generator time.

We live normally, no A/C but a double door fridge, internet, TV lights, music all day.

As others have said, LED lights where possible, 5W squigglies otherwise (5W delivers 40W of light or so)

The pool light went from 200W to 12W by going LED.

Having no power outages or surges is a luxury hard to quantify. Peace of mind in our 6 month absence that things are operaing well.
We check the battery charge regularly to protect the integrity of the batteries and extend their lives.

Truly, the monthly cost is just the fuel if we turn on the planta - 1 or 2 hours of operation each time.
Minimal

 

[lisagauss]

My monthly costs are negligible.... the sun charges the batteries, the batteries feed the house.
The generator is used if the sun is weak/poor for a couple of days or in the shorter days of the year if we have used a lot of power.
More solar panels woul reduce generator time.

We live normally, no A/C but a double door fridge, internet, TV lights, music all day.

As others have said, LED lights where possible, 5W squigglies otherwise (5W delivers 40W of light or so)

The pool light went from 200W to 12W by going LED.

Having no power outages or surges is a luxury hard to quantify. Peace of mind in our 6 month absence that things are operaing well.
We check the battery charge regularly to protect the integrity of the batteries and extend their lives.

Truly, the monthly cost is just the fuel if we turn on the planta - 1 or 2 hours of operation each time.
Minimal

That is awesome William. I don't know anyone here in the US that is truly off the grid. I also recently purchased some 7W LED bulbs that produce 40W equivalent white light. I was very surprised by how bright there are.

 

[william webster]

That setup is in RD -- Cabrera.
Not US

Lowe's and Home Depot for those bulbs.
They're expensive but the new ones that look orange before you turn them on are the best for color/clarity

 

[lisagauss]

That setup is in RD -- Cabrera.
Not US

Lowe's and Home Depot for those bulbs.
They're expensive but the new ones that look orange before you turn them on are the best for color/clarity

What I meant was that I dont know anyone in the US and you are doing it in DR. Thats great!

I bought the LED on Newegg for $6.44 each. Got 10 of them, they were on sale.

 

[william webster]

It could be done in the US.
Where I am , on the great Lakes, gets cloudy in the winter so it might not work so well.

The big adavantage w/ RD is the steady sunshine -- Ariz, New Mex, etc would work well too.

My farmer friends in snow covered areas say that when snow is on the ground they tilt the panels to get the direct sun and the reflected sun.
Charges like crazy - double strength.

Thats the other thing about being farther south - my panels are fixed at 23 degrees.
Farther north, the tilt needs to be adjustedbased on the sun's position

 

[lisagauss]

It could be done in the US.
Where I am , on the great Lakes, gets cloudy in the winter so it might not work so well.

The big adavantage w/ RD is the steady sunshine -- Ariz, New Mex, etc would work well too.

My farmer friends in snow covered areas say that when snow is on the ground they tilt the panels to get the direct sun and the reflected sun.
Charges like crazy - double strength.

Thats the other thing about being farther south - my panels are fixed at 23 degrees.
Farther north, the tilt needs to be adjustedbased on the sun's position

If someone now wanted to be off grid in the DR, what would you say the cost$ would look like? Thanks.

 

[william webster]

Hard to say.... depends on the requirements

I have a bit more than 2KW ( 12 panels of 195W ) and 36 big batteries.

The big battery bank is key - thats the 'engine' the amount of power at your disposal.
The panels dictate how fast you can recharge them.

As a guess for you gauss........... +/- $40,000

 

[lisagauss]

Hard to say.... depends on the requirements

I have a bit more than 2KW ( 12 panels of 195W ) and 36 big batteries.

The big battery bank is key - thats the 'engine' the amount of power at your disposal.
The panels dictate how fast you can recharge them.

As a guess for you gauss........... +/- $40,000

Yeah that sounds about what I have seen also.

 

[william webster]

Panels can be had for 500-700.... panels differ
Baterries are about $500

the other paraphanelia can really add up..
the OutBack System is well respected

 

[lisagauss]

Wirh a 12 volt fridge - and other economical equipment such as 7 hour battery life laptop , led monitor screen,
LED bulbs, Installation should be possible for less than 2k$ in DR.
Inverters, battery chargers etc. are very cheap.

The big expense would be 12 volt fridge - but would save 1-2 panels plus the cost of a 110 volt fridge. Believe they retail at about $500 in US. 110v fridge needs a heavy inverter to start up - 12 volt fridge not.
Amazon.com: Waeco Cdf-11 Cool Freeze 12 / 24 Volt Digital Portable 10.5 Liter Compressor Cooler Refrigerator Freezer with Thermostat: Automotive
Generally you can shop every second day in the DR and for 1-2 people small fridge unit is ideal. Should only need one panel to run at 30 watts. It can also be taken in the vehicle for out of town shopping trips.
Icemaker or buying ice and a coolbox is good also.

pi2

I think $2K might be a really low estimate IMO. Also, 12V fridge is too small for a family. I know they have energy conservative AC units now which are almost twice the price of the conventional units.

 

[peet]

Have a look at these sites :
Portal • Photovoltaikforum
Overview.?SMA Solar Technology AG
China is the Mekka for the production of solar panels and Germany for the know-how.
Actual product prices (in Germany for panels + invertor + profiles and ... everything) )for 1 kWh are +- 1.400 USD. That means a 5.5 kWh installation costs +- 7.700 USD without installation costs and can produce in the D.R. +- 8.250 kWh yearly.
This means that you get a on grid installation without batteries. You will have no production when there is no electricity on the grid : it shuts automaticly off and restarts when the grid is available.
When you do not have a regular electricity supply and you need a back up and you need to invest in batteries and that is an extra cost.
I believe In D.R there are no import duties on green supplies.

peet

 

[mountainannie]

i am gonna just have a rant here
about

how the solar panel technology is not being designed for the tropics

the panels are being designed for the temperate zones

and do not do well here

this according to my french friend expert who has been installing them for 10 years here

he says

that we are making them here but they are for export to Spain

because the tropical countries are poor

there has been no market

but i would think that between the tourist industry here and in the Bahamas and the other islands

there would be enough of a market

to redesign the panels for tropical use

and reconfigure the production here so that they could be produced here as well

seems possible, no?

 

[Tom F.]

The solar panels which we installed in the late 80's in the DR are still producing and people are still using them. Over the years we had a very low failure expect with on exception in with a cheap now amorphous technology that I am sure has been improved. I have been out of the solar loop for a while now but keep up the best I can. Solar cells are the key and not a lot of companies make them. Many of the companies buy the cells and assemble the panels with different materials as frames and backboards. The quality of the connections and seal will determine the lifespan of a solar (photovoltaics) panel. When you look at the production of a panel under extreme heat or cold, there is a slight decrease but it is not significant. This information is provided by the manufacturers. I do not think you can design a panel for a tropical climate. It is more about available sunlight. They work great in Alaska during the summer months. What is interesting in the manufacturing of solar panels is the efficiency rate. If I remember right, most of the better technologies in solar cells convert in the range of 20% of the sun's light into energy. There have been attempts to use concentrators which almost double the efficiency and are used in large systems out in the desert. For home or business use, the costs keep the solar cell technology where it is for now and improvements are more in manufacturing processes or use of materials. That is how I understand it and things might have changed. There is more hope for improvements in battery technology and fuel cells to encourage more use of solar panels than design changes. A few years ago I read an article talking about how nano technology could dramatically raise efficiency of solar cells but waiting for more news on that.

Meteoro, the Dominican battery manufacturer has long been assoicated with the Spanish company called Isophotron. The name has probably changed. They began assembling panels, I think in Haina, in the late 90's. I do not think it was ever really intended for the Dominican market to any real extent because of the size. I had thought it was to also supply panels to Latin America more than Europe. Any solar panel manufacturing in the DR would have to be intended for export to make a profit. I really do not know and have no idea how it has progressed over the last decade. There has been a lot of changes in pricing over that time.

There has actually been quite a bit of international attention brought to the Dominican Republic over the last 25 years in relation to rural electrification. As prices decline on cost per watt and other traditional energy sources continue to rise, more and more people with access to the grid will supplement their energy needs with solar panels in the DR. Until there is 24 hour electricity you really cannot have a successful net-metering program because the idea is to eliminate the need for a battery bank. So Las Terrenas and Punta Cana offer the chance to tie your system into the the grid and eliminate or severely reduce your bank bank.

 

[Luperon]

i am gonna just have a rant here
about

how the solar panel technology is not being designed for the tropics

the panels are being designed for the temperate zones

and do not do well here

this according to my french friend expert who has been installing them for 10 years here

he says

that we are making them here but they are for export to Spain

because the tropical countries are poor

there has been no market

but i would think that between the tourist industry here and in the Bahamas and the other islands

there would be enough of a market

to redesign the panels for tropical use

and reconfigure the production here so that they could be produced here as well

seems possible, no?

Why are the panels not good in the tropics?

BTW Costco now has them .... Costco - Your search for "solar" produced 21 results.

 

[winning]

Led bulb longevity will prove to be many years. The president of Philips Canada is my customer in my business, here in Canada and he told me, they know they are going to lose millions because of the lack of repeat business they will receive due to the long life of these new led bulbs. So much so, they are getting into home defibrillators, to offset the lack of future non led bulb sales. Philips is responsible for 80% of all bulb sales in Canada now. They are also charging 30 bucks for an led bulb with torpedo base, that replaces the older style incandescent, halogen and fluorescent (50 watt lumen) bulbs.
Light emitting diodes, are the bulb present and future when it comes to efficiency and longevity. They are still lacking in brightness a bit but are getting better all the time.

 

[donluis99]

The solar panels which we installed in the late 80's in the DR are still producing and people are still using them. Over the years we had a very low failure expect with on exception in with a cheap now amorphous technology that I am sure has been improved. I have been out of the solar loop for a while now but keep up the best I can. Solar cells are the key and not a lot of companies make them. Many of the companies buy the cells and assemble the panels with different materials as frames and backboards. The quality of the connections and seal will determine the lifespan of a solar (photovoltaics) panel. When you look at the production of a panel under extreme heat or cold, there is a slight decrease but it is not significant. This information is provided by the manufacturers. I do not think you can design a panel for a tropical climate. It is more about available sunlight. They work great in Alaska during the summer months. What is interesting in the manufacturing of solar panels is the efficiency rate. If I remember right, most of the better technologies in solar cells convert in the range of 20% of the sun's light into energy. There have been attempts to use concentrators which almost double the efficiency and are used in large systems out in the desert. For home or business use, the costs keep the solar cell technology where it is for now and improvements are more in manufacturing processes or use of materials. That is how I understand it and things might have changed. There is more hope for improvements in battery technology and fuel cells to encourage more use of solar panels than design changes. A few years ago I read an article talking about how nano technology could dramatically raise efficiency of solar cells but waiting for more news on that.

Meteoro, the Dominican battery manufacturer has long been assoicated with the Spanish company called Isophotron. The name has probably changed. They began assembling panels, I think in Haina, in the late 90's. I do not think it was ever really intended for the Dominican market to any real extent because of the size. I had thought it was to also supply panels to Latin America more than Europe. Any solar panel manufacturing in the DR would have to be intended for export to make a profit. I really do not know and have no idea how it has progressed over the last decade. There has been a lot of changes in pricing over that time.

There has actually been quite a bit of international attention brought to the Dominican Republic over the last 25 years in relation to rural electrification. As prices decline on cost per watt and other traditional energy sources continue to rise, more and more people with access to the grid will supplement their energy needs with solar panels in the DR. Until there is 24 hour electricity you really cannot have a successful net-metering program because the idea is to eliminate the need for a battery bank. So Las Terrenas and Punta Cana offer the chance to tie your system into the the grid and eliminate or severely reduce your bank bank.

The best effeicency availble commerically is 19% and that is the Best of the Best and only availble recently, effiecincy has been stuck at 14% +/- for the last 25 and 90% of new panels available today are no better..

There is no Dominican Battery Manufacturer anymore.

The Panels assembled in Haina with Participation of Meteoro are thermal not photovoltic.