Solar Electricity 101

Solar Electricity 101

The Hemlocks has a solar electricity plant on the side porch of the cottage next door to the main cottage I live in. It is where Paul and Martha Hargis use to live here. The intent is to use it for two main reasons:  1) As a backup to the place’s micro hydro turbo plant (which also makes electricity), which is in itself a backup to public electric TVA power, which is still affordable these days; and 2) to recharge all the batteries up here and also to power the electric shears so we can have once a month haircuts and beauty service. The rechargeable batteries will power all the night light stuff I hope, and also be used by the security people to even power the NVG gear.

Now most solar plants have two or three main elements. The Hemlocks solar plant has all three main elements.

First a quick beginners review, kind of like taking a class but there is no test other than real life.  The whole system uses 12 volts. So like the 3 solar panels are hooked up in parallel to make 12 volts of electricity (which is really measured in amperes (amps)). Then the battery bank is made up of 6 deep cycle kind of marine batteries (like for a boat), and they are all hooked up in parallel, too. Six (6) batteries together make a pretty big battery. Then a “load controller” is hooked up to an inverter that turns battery electricity into home style electricity.  In America we tend to use individual photo cells to turn some of our city night lights and home security lights on and off at dusk and dawn. In China, where this controller came from, they tend to use this controller to turn city night lights off and on, and that is what the Hemlocks has. So the Hemlocks uses home style 120 volt electricity, vice RV (recreational vehicle) 12 volt electricity. The intent was mostly to not have to buy and maintain two different systems on a routine basis.  Last, and again there will not be a school test. The solar controller also makes sure the batteries are not overcharged, which can ruin them early. Now the present set of batteries (for both plants) still should probably be replaced around the year 2020 or perhaps by 2022.

So the present setup has the “plant hot house”  already made and installed on the porch next door, being heated at night by solar made electricity. Mostly the Hemlocks is growing Siberian tomato seeds and mini-green pepper seeds which I will plant outside after the old Granny planting date of May 15^th.

Last, and always, there is Plan A and Plan B.

Plan A is what the Hemlocks has been using the last few years. That includes ignoring the “load controller from China (like turning on the street lamps at night) and just hooking up the inverter to the battery bank in order to put a “load” on the batteries. Now that was a good plan, but….. the warning light came on that the battery bank was “too” full of electricity. I suspect the present location of the solar plant is the cause, but really don’t know for sure.

So today, I am moving to experiment with Plan B. That has the Hemlocks using the solar controller’s “load function” in order to turn on the heat lamp (used in chicken houses) at night time and in the “hot house”, and also put a load on the batteries to better make them ready for recharge the next day.

To conclude, even I will not live forever, and someone else will have to try maintain and even improve what has gone on so far.  So is it Plan A, or Plan B or some other plan?