The ideal solar operated house?

[johne]

I am interested in hearing about what the ideas of knowledgeable people that live in the DR have about a new construction operated by solar.
The house has not been designed but..It is a second home for us and would have about 1500 square feet of living space. It will be designed as a "modern" style, totally enclosed property, with access to the grid in Juan Dolio.

I know very little about the workings of a solar house and even less about building and operation of one in the DR.
Where do we begin??
Fire away.

 

[Yourmaninvegas]

Two things to start with
1. Passive solar cooling designs
2. How do you wish to use electricity?

As an example, I prefer to overbuild and use as much electricity as I want.
I did not incorporate any passive solar cooling design into my structure (casa de campo).

Remember if you grid tie your solar energy generation system when the grid goes down then so does your system.
Unless you battery back it up and set the battery back up system to the critical circuits in the house.

Also, if your building site allows you might want to consider wind also.
The wind blows even if it is cloudy and at night.

My final fall back is my generator.

The biggest expense of the system will be the batteries.
And I have not found a whole lot of places to buy good batteries for solar energy storage here in 🇩🇴 .

 

[william webster]

A few years ago we had discussion about batteries for solar system..... search 'Trace' & 'Trojan'

 

[Yourmaninvegas]

Trace and Trojan
Neither are Lithium iron phosphate technology
The king of solar batteries is lithium.

So if the discussion was a few years ago.
I don't give a (insert inappropriate language of your choice here).
I am looking for information right now.
A lot has changed when it comes to battery tech
I am waiting for the 🇩🇴 to catch up.

Thank you very much ‼️

 

[william webster]

Well, while you're waiting..... the choices are limited

As I posted before - taking L Kaufman's advice, I hooked to street power solely to charge my batteries.
The house runs on them... not the street power

Batteries rarely run alone.... in an emergency (street power extended outage) I will use my generator.

I have no surges in the house since I use the battery bank

Street power charges at night - sun during the day

Best thing I ever did..........gracias LK !!

 

[Yourmaninvegas]

That plan is not for me.
I have no plans to hook up to the grid.
Going to have Lithium iron phosphate batteries shipped in.
Using flooded lead acid in the mean time.
I am a man in the arena.

 

[johne]

I'm interested in more forward thinking than "hooking" something up as opposed to what's the cutting edge technology available now or in six months. I want to go into this with a very open mind. Like a child that's learning...

 

[johne]

Two things to start with
1. Passive solar cooling designs
2. How do you wish to use electricity?

As an example, I prefer to overbuild and use as much electricity as I want.
I did not incorporate any passive solar cooling design into my structure (casa de campo).

Remember if you grid tie your solar energy generation system when the grid goes down then so does your system.
Unless you battery back it up and set the battery back up system to the critical circuits in the house.

Also, if your building site allows you might want to consider wind also.
The wind blows even if it is cloudy and at night.

My final fall back is my generator.

The biggest expense of the system will be the batteries.
And I have not found a whole lot of places to buy good batteries for solar energy storage here in 🇩🇴 .

So, how can those batteries be gotten? Why do they not exist here? What's the biggest obstacle in getting such a product?

 

[johne]

Should I call Elon ?

 

[william webster]

The costly part of solar is the batteries....

A smaller bank and you need to charge in the morning....
Short winter days mean you usually charge before bed too.

 

[william webster]

Trace and Trojan
Neither are Lithium iron phosphate technology
The king of solar batteries is lithium.

So if the discussion was a few years ago.
I don't give a (insert inappropriate language of your choice here).
I am looking for information right now.
A lot has changed when it comes to battery tech
I am waiting for the 🇩🇴 to catch up.

Thank you very much ‼️

Here's a start for you
Lots of Internet info

Are lithium ion solar batteries the best energy storage option?

Find out why lithium ion solar batteries are popular for home solar storage. We reveal popular brands, their costs, and pros and cons.

www.solarreviews.com

 

[JD Jones]

So, how can those batteries be gotten? Why do they not exist here? What's the biggest obstacle in getting such a product?

They are available locally. IIRC believe they run about 40K pesos each.

 

[Yourmaninvegas]

They are available locally. IIRC believe they run about 40K pesos each.

Where...exactly?

 

[Yourmaninvegas]

Here's a start for you
Lots of Internet info

I actually do not need information about the technology.
I know about the technology.
I told you about the technology after you posted about flooded lead acid batteries.

Do you have any information to add about where to purchase batteries based on lithium technology?

 

[Yourmaninvegas]

So, how can those batteries be gotten?

I am still looking for a source.
Lots of talk up in here.
No actual location where they can be bought.

Why do they not exist here?

My guess is the both the cost and lack of knowledge.
People don't understand that you can get 5 to 10 time more recharge cycles out of lithium iron technology compared to flooded lead acid.
You can also pull charge down to 20% for my usable amp hours per equivalent flooded lead acid battery.
They don't need to be recharged fully after each discharge cycle in order to maintain the storage qualities.
And they are lighter. Something that is important for mobile application.

What's the biggest obstacle in getting such a product?

The cost of shipping.

 

[D'Arcy (Apostropheman)]

I am interested in hearing about what the ideas of knowledgeable people that live in the DR have about a new construction operated by solar.
The house has not been designed but..It is a second home for us and would have about 1500 square feet of living space. It will be designed as a "modern" style, totally enclosed property, with access to the grid in Juan Dolio.

I know very little about the workings of a solar house and even less about building and operation of one in the DR.
Where do we begin??
Fire away.

Johne,

I have little to add on the Solar front...

If you are also interested in passive solar house design, how to design houses that do their own cooling thus minimizing or eliminating the "need" for AC, I have some thoughts and links to "experts" and those in the know and who have real-world experience.

Thought I would ask before bombarding your thread.

If not I may start my own thread.

Thanks

 

[Yourmaninvegas]

I'm interested in more forward thinking than "hooking" something up as opposed to what's the cutting edge technology available now or in six months. I want to go into this with a very open mind. Like a child that's learning...

If you are going off grid...you need in addition to your normal electricity needs during the day and night...three days of backup.
That can get costly.
Because myfundssolo...
I have decided that my back up plan is going to my generator until I can add the extra batteries to my bank.
And remember you will probably have one or two battery replacement cycles depending upon how long you live to use the system.

 

[D'Arcy (Apostropheman)]

Here is a link to a company that claims to sell Lithium invertor batteries in the DR

Where To Buy - AimsPower

Scroll down to find:

Distributors in Dominican Republic​

Critical Power International LLC (southern)

www.CriticalPowerInternational.com

786-499-6825

franklin.guerrero@criticalpowerinternational.com

Vega & Asociados (northern)

www.vega.com.do

809-581-7887

 

[D'Arcy (Apostropheman)]

Some past thread/posts that are possibly applicable to solar/lithium batteries in the DR:

Inverter battery question?

Bought falsificated Trojans around 2010 in San Pedro from a local electrician. Super offer for a complete system including installation. Too good to be true. Got suspicious because the stickers with the product name were not properly aligned and later verified that the originals look somewhat...

dr1.com

posts #22 and #30

 

[johne]

Johne,

I have little to add on the Solar front...

If you are also interested in passive solar house design, how to design houses that do their own cooling thus minimizing or eliminating the "need" for AC, I have some thoughts and links to "experts" and those in the know and who have real-world experience.

Thought I would ask before bombarding your thread.

If not I may start my own thread.

Thanks

I appreciate your suggestion. As you know I Iive in JD and have read here on DR1 for ever and ever, all about energy, outages, costs etc and never paid any mind to them bc was it NA to me. Now I am moving forward with a venture that involves an investment in the DR/JD on a personal level with a potential for a new venture on the business side. My mind is open as I have been a real estate developer (small scale) for the past 30 years in the states. I am interested how the technology impacts me in Juan Dolio. I'm trying to get an education that will be right on target for me and my current project.
Clearly, I am more interested in what is new today, cutting edge, that I can take advantage of.