Solar e-zine #1

Solar power and emergency backup power
Since 1986, I have been involved in using solar power as a means to charge batteries for both 12 volt use and 110 volt use. Solar electric power has been around for a long time and it has evolved dramatically since 1986. Efficiencies are going up but still are only at about 15 to 25% so there is a great deal of room to grow. What I did back in 1986 is purchase my first 20 watt panel an old used one, a 12 volt used gel cell battery and I also bought a 100 watt inverter. Back in 1986 the inverters were square wave only at least the ones I could afford. You used the inverter to run lights and a fan or a drill but no computers or solid state equipment. Believe it or not I still have that old inverter Triplight and it works well. What I was able to accomplish was fun and exciting, I turned don some lights using the sun and my inverter and I also ran an old fan occasionally and a few other little experiments. This was my first attempt at emergency lighting and it did work well.
Now in 2009 things are a bit different yet also eerily similar. Solar panels have progressed in efficiencies, inverters have come down in price and now can do a simulated sine wave (good enough for most electronics) and batteries are a tad bit better. So what am I doing now with solar energy and inverter power? I am using a solar panel and a 35 amp hour battery to run two lights in my office for one thing. I can run the lights for several hours at a clip. Those lights are by the way brighter than the power grid lights. So what good is that you ask? Well it is not to save money, at a savings of about .02 per hour or so I will not get rich but what I will have is quick and reliable emergency backup power. If the power goes out for 30 minutes to several hours , I will have light in my office and also able to run some key office systems without having to get out a bulky gas generator. Currently I have five lights running on solar power/inverter back up energy. Oh yes, my basement is totally wired and running on if needed solar power and inverter driven 110 power. A true story, I was up early and working out in my basement and I had on my back up lighting. My basement has a lot of things going on that give off noise such as the heating system, the refrigerator etc. As I worked out, oblivious to everything around me, I noticed how quiet it had become. The lights were on, my radios were on but no other noises were present. I looked around and realized we had had a power failure. Yes you can run a radio and a TV and more on backup power. How much would this cost and what else can I power you ask? Well that is for my next article. Look for me and read my blogs at www.solarsavior.com.
Until then

This is Joe Rossini Jr