There are generally 3 types of residential solar power system that you can choose from:
1) Grid-intertied solar power system.
2) Grid-intertied solar power system with battery backup.
3) Off-grid solar power setup.
In this post, I am going to write about the battery bank.
Building Your Own Battery Bank
To build a battery bank for your home, firstly, you have to know what type of battery to choose. The type of battery suitable for a residential solar power system is the “deep cycle”.
Deep cycle batteries are more durable and capable of discharging at a slower rate. The battery also discharges at a deeper level without destroying itself.
Deep cycle batteries are direct contrast to conventional lead acid batteries used on automobile. Car battery discharges very fast in order to have sufficient power to crank the engine. It is also not recommended to discharge the battery to a low level or it will damage the battery.
Therefore, if you are planning to make a home battery bank, do not use car batteries.
The video above shows a battery bank made out of 6 volts cells. You may be wandering, why use 6 volts when you can get 12 volts battery?
The answer is simple really. It is because of the “cost”.
There are benefits of using a 12 volts battery though. The major advantage is space saving and less power cables to deal with. Secondly, 12 volts battery requires less maintenance. Maintaining 1 unit of battery is easier compared to 2.
Safety First
When building your DIY battery bank, remember, safety first. Batteries are filled with sulfuric acid which is a very nasty stuff.
Always wear protective clothing and safety glasses when working with battery. As a safety precaution, have a box of baking soda nearby. If for any reason you got sulfuric acid on you, use the baking soda to neutralize the acid.
DIY Home Solar Power System
When you have the battery bank all set up, you can now charge it with a solar panel. A DIY solar panel with 36 pieces of Photovoltaic (PV) cell usually will generate 18 volt and approximately 75 watts of electricity on a clear sunny day. The solar panel will be suitable for your battery bank.
How much would it cost to make the solar panel? As a matter of fact, you can get it done for less than $150.
To find out how you can build an inexpensive solar panel, check out the Green DIY Energy program. The program comes with 2 e-books and 6 High Definition (HD) instructional videos showing you step-by-step how to make a solar module at minimal cost.
For more information, read the Green DIY Energy review at www.greendiyenergyreviews.com.
==> Click here to read more about Green DIY Energy now!
2) Solar Panels For Homes – Back To Basics
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Is it possible to do this on a mobile home(trailer)? If so, do I do the same as I would a house?
Generally, the solar components for a home and mobile home is the same. As long as you have a sturdy platform to setup the solar panel, you’ll be fine.
Some mobile homes use Direct Current (DC) electrical appliances. If you have DC equipment, you do not need a power inverter to change the battery DC to Alternate Current (AC).
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I have an infrared electric heater which I use in the winter. It says its 1500Watts. How many panels would it take to run this.( It’s AC so an inverter would be required). What would the entire thing cost & how many batteries would be needed?
Generally a small DIY home solar power system would be sufficient for your infrared electric heater. The size of the battery bank will depend on how long you are going to keep the heater on. 1 – 2 units of 12v deep cycle batteries should do the trick. To build the DIY home solar system, you would need a budget of approximately $600 – $900.
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how many 150ah batteries can be attached in parallel with a 850 va inverter if charging the batteries with 500 watts solar panels