From the category archives:

Batteries

Off-grid solar power system in Sydney’s Western Suburbs

September 27, 2011
Thumbnail image for Off-grid solar power system in Sydney’s Western Suburbs

Nev and Linda Sweeney have been living on their 500-square-meter suburban plot in Sydney’s St Clair Suburb since the early 1980s, and have been trying to live sustainably using the resources on their land for almost just as long. Their approach includes innovative energy generation and efficiency strategies (including off-grid as well as grid-connected solar [...]

Read the full article →

Residential Solar System Warranties: What to look for, what to watch out for

May 9, 2011
Thumbnail image for Residential Solar System Warranties: What to look for, what to watch out for

When thinking about installing a residential solar power system, it is important to carefully consider the types and durations of the warranties offered by solar system installers. This article explains the differences between the types of warranties that may be available to you when shopping around for a solar photovoltaic system for your home. (Get [...]

Read the full article →

Renewable Energy: Charging Electric Vehicles

March 29, 2011
Thumbnail image for Renewable Energy: Charging Electric Vehicles

How will the transportation of the future reduce its reliance on fossil fuels? Despite all its advantages, one of the biggest disadvantages of photovoltaics (PV or solar power), and most renewable energies sources, is the difficulty of storage and transport for later use. Storage of PV-generated power is inefficient without good batteries. You can fill [...]

Read the full article →

Queensland floods and solar power arrays: safety and precautions

January 21, 2011
Thumbnail image for Queensland floods and solar power arrays: safety and precautions

The cataclysmic flooding in Queensland has devastated individuals and communities, taking and ruining lives, and leaving large sections of cities and towns underwater. As the flood waters recede and people survey the damage, there are a few things to keep in mind for those who have roof-mounted solar power systems. Most importantly, solar panels continue [...]

Read the full article →

Batteries for Stand Alone Solar Power Systems: Maintenance

December 9, 2010
Thumbnail image for Batteries for Stand Alone Solar Power Systems: Maintenance

This is the third installment in a series about batteries for stand-alone or off-grid power systems.  Our first blog in the series provided a rundown on how to size a battery bank, while the second was about the different types of batteries that you will typically find in a remote power system. This time we’ll [...]

Read the full article →

Solar Powered Stand Alone Power Systems: Ways to minimize cost!

November 19, 2010
Thumbnail image for Solar Powered Stand Alone Power Systems: Ways to minimize cost!

There are several components to designing a Solar Powered stand alone power system and thus there are several ways to minimize the cost of the system! This article will talk about each component how it is sized and what your options are in each case. Blog this! Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share on [...]

Read the full article →

Inverters for Stand Alone Solar Powered Systems

November 17, 2010
Thumbnail image for Inverters for Stand Alone Solar Powered Systems

When you decide that you want to power your entire home from solar power one of the decisions that installers make is the size of the inverter this is the one of the most important pieces in the puzzle and its pretty important to know how to size it. Blog this! Digg this post Recommend [...]

Read the full article →

Batteries for Stand Alone Solar Power Systems: Types of Batteries

November 15, 2010
Thumbnail image for Batteries for Stand Alone Solar Power Systems: Types of Batteries

Part 2 of 4 Welcome to the second installment in a four-part series about batteries for stand-alone power systems (SAPS) otherwise known as ˜off-grid’ power systems. Blog this! Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Print for later Tell a friend

Read the full article →

Solar Power produces Direct Current: what does that mean for your appliances?

September 13, 2010
Thumbnail image for Solar Power produces Direct Current: what does that mean for your appliances?

Stand-alone (off-grid, remote power) systems tend to require significantly more caution, care, and maintenance than grid-connected systems, where you can plug in and use any appliance you want without having to think about the consequences–there usually aren’t any!  Blog this! Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin Share with Stumblers Tweet about it [...]

Read the full article →

Batteries for Stand Alone Solar Power Systems: Sizing Battery Banks

September 10, 2010
Thumbnail image for Batteries for Stand Alone Solar Power Systems: Sizing Battery Banks

Part 1 of 4 Previously we here at Solar Choice wrote a bit about some of the things you would need to take into consideration when thinking about installing an off-grid (or stand-alone) power system in your home.  There are a number of reasons you might want to install an off-grid system, the most obvious [...]

Read the full article →

Solar Panel System Design and Reliability for non-grid-connected systems

April 28, 2010
Thumbnail image for Solar Panel System Design and Reliability for non-grid-connected systems

One of the biggest decisions for any engineer when designing a system is reliability. However, you don’t have to be an engineer to design your own Solar Energy Panel system. Well, not after you read about these system design tips! Blog this! Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin Share with Stumblers Tweet [...]

Read the full article →