Solar Electricity

[echnidna]

I'm considering the practical feasibility of solar electricity at the scout camp.

All comments and observations are invited.

[DavidG]

See (http://www.renewablestore.com.au/)
They seem to have pretty good prices and I have had no problems with them. :U

[HappyHammer]

What do you need to run off of it Bob? My outlaws have Solar and from what I know of it you'll need room for the following;

Panels (Assuming on the roof)
Fuse and switch panel (safely locked away from scouts)
Battery storage (also safely locked away)My FIL also has a windmill that tops up the batteries if the suns not out. Depending on what you need the juice for this might be enough, it did take him a while tinkering to get it to work but it all works well now and supports a three bedroom house with washing machine, fridge etc.

They also have a special fridge working off of the solar that needs less juice not sure what that means technically. Also those eco friendly light bulbs would be worth considering they use those as well.

HH.

[echnidna]

Thanks for the info fellas.
I'm looking at maximum wattage grid connected

The cost of electricity here is around $1200 to $1400 per quarter so fitting solar electricity to 2 halls as well as my house should enable large reductions in fixed operating costs.

At the same time fitting solar hot water units will reduce LPG costs for twin gas hws noticeably as well as electric costs a bit further as the other hall has electric HWS (connected to day rate meters)

All in all I might be able to reduce total energy costs between $4k and $5k yearly

[HappyHammer]

The ongoing costs might reduce but you may find a 4-5 year ROI based upon the initial setup costs which I believe are quite expensive.

HH.

[thatirwinfella]

are the hw systems solar electric powererd or the solar "pipes on the roof" type? if it's soloar elec you'd need some decent panels and storage capacitt as anything with a heating element drains power pretty quick.

as you seem to be already doing, a connected to the grid system is probably the best way to go as it removes the problem and expense of storage; batteries are one of the biggest set up and ongoing costs and some may require maintenance as well.

there are government grants and rebates available for the solar panels so thats help with another expense major expense.

even if you have the expertise, you're probably unable to complete a lot of this work yourself regardless of voltage if it's going to backfeed to the grid, and an inspector may be required. There are probably specific australian standards for the installation of this stuff too.

from my experience in scouts, the odd wind turbine near anywhere scouts congregate would be an excellent option. the amount of wind expelled by the average scout is just phenomenal.

[echnidna]

from my experience in scouts, the odd wind turbine near anywhere scouts congregate would be an excellent option. the amount of wind expelled by the average scout is just phenomenal.

:2tsup: :2tsup: :2tsup: :2tsup: :D