Solar power your shop

C

caribooblades

Joined
Jul 8, 2007
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Aki and I have run our shop and cabin on solar power for 11 years.

We are 100% solar powered from the end of March until the end of September. We work full time making knives and large timber tools.

On this thread, http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57640&highlight=generators , I described our "neighbour friendly" power generation when the sun is low. We have no neighbours. The method is for us.

We designed and installed our system.
We went with 6 volt golf cart batteries. They are very tough (I've frozen them and they have come back. It can go to -40 here), inexpensive and easy to replace although we haven't had to. 8 batteries and they are all in perfect shape. Twice a year I'll clean them with baking soda and water then top off each cell with distilled water.
I've seen people spend lots of money on batteries. Tough golf cart batteries are the way to go for a shop.

We have 390 watts of panel. 2 are BP and one is made by Sharp, a 20 amp regulator and we have a 2,500 watt (with a surge of 3,500) inverter.

*I built a manual tracker. Three panels on top of a 20 foot pole set into the ground in a cement housing. As we work we turn the panels to face the sun.
This has increased our power by 35%.
The tracker put us at the level of power we are satisfied with and a ground.--- An excellent ground is really important. Ground your inverter, batteries and panels.

Trick is to work with the sun. Don't think of it as storing power. Use power a lot when it is there in the sky.
At night use stored power for light, music and small amp tools.

If you have a steady wind a wind generator is the way to go. I wouldn't even consider panels.

It's quite amazing once you begin... Turning on your grinder and being powered by the sun.

We also heat with wood. I connected our stove to a 60 gallon tank and it was like adding a second stove except the tank stays warm much longer.

If anyone wants to know more go to our site at,
http://www.caribooblades.com

And our blog about living in the bush in British Coluimbia at,
http://aki-and-scott-fireweed.blogspot.com

Please beware of the hipe. They will tell you you need more - spend more.
You don't.

Oh ya, we do it this way because we can't stomach using oil. No matter what side of the fence you're on there are many people dying, environments being ruined and freedoms lost.

Scott.
 
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very cool, i just had 4 estimates for solar on my house to put me at zero energy from the grid and it going to cost me in close to 55k when done. I am about to do this myself and lower my cost alot. solar in america is really just getting going, as the prices are substantial to start but make since int eh long run. Im in construction and feel if the climate is right like california every new house should madatory have solar installed during construction.
 
Very cool Scott

Freedom is so fragile and rare. It's nice to see someone taking full advantage of it.

Mark
 
Word on the street is that panel prices will drop by half in the next two years.

See the prometheus report.
 
I hope the solar trend sticks this time. I installed a Solar hot water system on my old house about 30 years ago. It had a 120 gallon reservoir and that fed the 55 gallon gas fired tank.The system provided me with a near endless supply of 160F hot water. I never had a gas bill of more than $15, and we cooked with gas,too. It provided all the hot water a family of five could use. I could have run a hot water heating system off it,too. Sadly, once the oil prices dropped, and people suddenly forgot about conservation, smaller cars, and alternate energy...the solar businesses all went belly up. I took the panels off five years ago, because the tank had finally worn out,and I couldn't get a replacement. I have the panels stored until I move to the country, where I will use them for a recirculating hot water heating system.

Like cell phones and DVD players, when everyone suddenly WANTS one, the price will shoot sky high....when everyone finally HAS one, the price will fall like a rock.
Stacy
 
bladsmth said:
I have the panels stored until I move to the country, where I will use them for a recirculating hot water heating system.
Stacy
Click to expand...

Stacy,

I happen to know a fella that lives in the country in SW Virginia that hears of some word-of-mouth real estate sales for prices that are just incredible. You just have to be a self sufficient person like yourself down here as their are few jobs.

A three bed, two bath with 7 acres sold for 27k not too long ago about 5 miles from us. This was a crappy old house, but it had great bones and just needed a new skin.

let me know if this area is maybe :)
 
bladsmth said:
I hope the solar trend sticks this time. I installed a Solar hot water system on my old house about 30 years ago. It had a 120 gallon reservoir and that fed the 55 gallon gas fired tank.The system provided me with a near endless supply of 160F hot water. I never had a gas bill of more than $15, and we cooked with gas,too. It provided all the hot water a family of five could use. I could have run a hot water heating system off it,too. Sadly, once the oil prices dropped, and people suddenly forgot about conservation, smaller cars, and alternate energy...the solar businesses all went belly up. I took the panels off five years ago, because the tank had finally worn out,and I couldn't get a replacement. I have the panels stored until I move to the country, where I will use them for a recirculating hot water heating system.

Like cell phones and DVD players, when everyone suddenly WANTS one, the price will shoot sky high....when everyone finally HAS one, the price will fall like a rock.
Stacy
Click to expand...

We'd be in a different place if we'd taken heed 35 years ago.
The gov't here was offering a 25% rebate on alternative energy purchases and re-insulating older homes etc ... Today when the situation is clear they still aren't at the levels they were at then. Instead the gov'ts here are imposing taxes.."carbon taxes". But sadly are taxes and high gas prices the only way that will bring change - it seems we will only change our ways when we are forced to do so or is that what we've been led to believe?
The frustrating aspect of high prices for gas and new carbon taxes is that it seems to be another way of making a ton of money. Everything is green now.

I'm of the opinion though that we have no one else to blame but ourselves.
Over a 12 year period it has cost us under $4000 to live almost exclusively off the sun for power. We are in a position to do it all ourselves without permits and inspection etc...If we had some wind it would be 100%.
With a bit of care we are running all the machines off our panels. Table saw, grinders, sander, a 2 hp band saw...then after a dvd, lights and and some music.

Are we afraid of independence and freedom?
I say don't f... with me and will just move farther into the bush.
It sure is nice to run a shop off the sun.

Scott
 
I don't consider myself really into the whole eco movement or whatever, but the idea of being self-sufficient with energy is really appealing to me from a freedom/self reliance standpoint. Even if the initial costs are high, it removes a great deal of uncertainty about the future when you're not depending on someone else to supply your basic needs.

Several newer houses in this area use geothermal for heating & cooling; again what (very) little I've heard about them, they sound expensive to install, but give very cheap living costs afterwards.

I remember when I was little, standing beside my grandma when she bought an old wind mill at a farm estate auction. It got hauled home and never put up. It's still laying in pieces, decades later. I always wondered if there were some way to make it turn a generator rather than pump a well...

Now if only there were some way I could create or harness my own energy to power my car...
 
Mark Williams said:
Stacy,

I happen to know a fella that lives in the country in SW Virginia that hears of some word-of-mouth real estate sales for prices that are just incredible. You just have to be a self sufficient person like yourself down here as their are few jobs.

A three bed, two bath with 7 acres sold for 27k not too long ago about 5 miles from us. This was a crappy old house, but it had great bones and just needed a new skin.

let me know if this area is maybe :)
Click to expand...

:eek:At that price you might have a new Yankee neighbor ;)
I'd love to get out of nazi york
 
Wow, you guys put us to shame. I thought we were roughing it here in North Central Washington State, just south of the Canadian border. We are off the grid too, but I do supplement my solar power with a generator now and then, especially in the winter. Congratulaltions, and good luck with your life and business! Mud season is done with here!

Phil Millam
Winthrop WA
 
We've just bought a house in Germany.
Here the supliers of electricety, by law, have to buy all the power you produce with solarpanels. (don't know about wind, but it would surprise me if not)
They have to pay app. 2,5 times what you pay for the power you use from the net.
So you put panels on your roof, sell all the power you produce expensive and buy back what you need(use) for normal rate.
So many, many, many south-facing roofs are covered with solar panels around here.
Buying a house is expensive, but if there'll be some cash left we'll go solar panel as well.
I like the idea of producing what you need and not use poluting power.
 
The point of this thread is that anybody can start to take control of their power consumption. All you need is a minimal amount of space, or maybe a small amount of allocated money, or some spare time, or handiness with tools, and you may start producing your own power. Aki and I are simple people. We are not special.

Here is a link to dealing with one of the biggest culprits... your fridge.
http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/hackleman56.html

We have been sold a bill of goods. To be indifferent to this is a crime against humanity and the planet. We, as tool and knife makers and woodworkers can start simply and can convert our shops.

Scott.

Cariboo Blades
 
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