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Wind/Solar Electrics ???



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 20th 05, 06:29 PM posted to rec.aviation.owning,sci.electronics.design
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Default Wind/Solar Electrics ???

It seems as though we are trying to build a cathedral foundation to hold an
outhouse. It isn't like I'm LIVING in the hangar, nor am I there working
all day every day. Sure, lights when you are elbow deep inside an engine
are nice, but hardly bleeding edge solar design. What? Ten fluorescent
fixtures with 80 watts of bulbs each? A drop cord with another 20 watt
fluorescent bulb? Perhaps a hand drill twice a day WHEN you are working in
the hangar?

As to the compressor, drill press, grinder etc., a gas generator for the few
times a month you need them is quite in order and certainly less expensive
in both the short and long term than gearing up for 100% solar for the
peaks. And, if you design the system correctly, letting the gas generator
run for an hour every time you fire up and letting the batteries take a full
charge from an inexpensive battery charger can add to the output of the
solar system.

I've done a little digging and it seems that Great Plains has the best
pricing on solar panels. Harbor Freight has a little better pricing, but I
need something that I can reliably get month in and month out (I'm the
guinea pig for about 50 hangars) and I can never rely on Harbor Freight to
have what I need when I need it.

My best guess after doing a little educated digging is that I can come up
with a system I can live with for a little over 1 AMU.

(For those of you not on the aviation newsgroups, an AMU is a measure of
money used to disguise the true cost of airplane ownership from other ...
ummm ... family members who might think that clothes, food, and other
nonessentials take priority over flying. 1 AMU = $1000US.)


Jim

In order to make an intelligent decision and design an economical system,
your very first step has to be to estimate your electricity usage as
accurately as possible. In addition to adding up your daily consumption
in
kWh or amp-hours, you also have to consider peak loads. And, especially
since you may be using a compressor, you will also have to consider the
startup surge -- with a compressor this may be five to ten times the
running amps. That information should be decipherable from the motor face
plate.





  #2  
Old December 20th 05, 06:50 PM posted to rec.aviation.owning,sci.electronics.design
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Default Wind/Solar Electrics ???

On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 10:29:12 -0800, RST Engineering (jw) wrote:

My best guess after doing a little educated digging is that I can come
up with a system I can live with for a little over 1 AMU.

(For those of you not on the aviation newsgroups, an AMU is a measure of
money used to disguise the true cost of airplane ownership from other
... ummm ... family members who might think that clothes, food, and
other nonessentials take priority over flying. 1 AMU = $1000US.)


"Aircraft Monetary Unit?"

I've heard that a boat is a hole in the water lined with wood, into
which one pours money. ;-)

Do airplane people have a similar saying? I have only a little bit of
experience with airplanes - I logged 4 hours in a Cessna 150 before the
local flight school got shut down because of fuel considerations, and
I've sat in a DC-9 simulator, and had a simulated airplane ride where
I drove, but I've never gotten into any of the cameraderie, like one
would do as a skydiver.

Yeah, that's it - the best experiences I've ever had with airplanes
has been either abusing them or jumping out of them. ;-P

But, do airplane guys use the term "money hole" like boat and house
owners?

You can't "pour" anything _up_, you know, albeit I have heard that
humans were created by water to transport itself uphill. ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

  #3  
Old December 20th 05, 06:54 PM posted to rec.aviation.owning,sci.electronics.design
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Default Wind/Solar Electrics ???

Rich Grise wrote:

You can't "pour" anything _up_, you know, albeit I have heard that
humans were created by water to transport itself uphill. ;-)


How about suck, as in "an airplane is a rather small hole in the sky made
of aluminum or cloth and wood that sucks the money right out of the owner?"

--
Peter
  #4  
Old December 20th 05, 07:25 PM posted to rec.aviation.owning,sci.electronics.design
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Default Wind/Solar Electrics ???

Rich Grise wrote:

But, do airplane guys use the term "money hole" like boat and house
owners?



We drill expensive holes in the sky
  #5  
Old December 20th 05, 07:59 PM posted to rec.aviation.owning,sci.electronics.design
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Default Wind/Solar Electrics ???

Boring $100 holes in the sky ... going fifty miles for a $100 hamburger ...
standing in front of a fan tearing up $100 bills ... dozens more.

Jim


"Rich Grise" wrote in message
news
I've heard that a boat is a hole in the water lined with wood, into
which one pours money. ;-)

Do airplane people have a similar saying?



  #6  
Old December 20th 05, 11:57 PM posted to rec.aviation.owning,sci.electronics.design
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Default Wind/Solar Electrics ???

I've heard that a boat is a hole in the water lined with wood, into
which one pours money. ;-)

Do airplane people have a similar saying?

An Airplane is a large mobile fan into which the owner is obliged to
throw handfuls of money (to watch it blow away).

David Johnson

  #7  
Old December 20th 05, 08:50 PM posted to rec.aviation.owning,sci.electronics.design
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Default Wind/Solar Electrics ???

On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 10:29:12 -0800, "RST Engineering \(jw\)"
wrote:

It seems as though we are trying to build a cathedral foundation to hold an
outhouse. It isn't like I'm LIVING in the hangar, nor am I there working
all day every day. Sure, lights when you are elbow deep inside an engine
are nice, but hardly bleeding edge solar design. What? Ten fluorescent
fixtures with 80 watts of bulbs each? A drop cord with another 20 watt
fluorescent bulb? Perhaps a hand drill twice a day WHEN you are working in
the hangar?


It's not a matter of building a cathedral foundation, but rather trying to
design the least expensive foundation.

But I guess if you're going to light 35 hangars with ten fluorescent
fixtures that are on for a few minutes each day, you won't need much.


As to the compressor, drill press, grinder etc., a gas generator for the few
times a month you need them is quite in order and certainly less expensive
in both the short and long term than gearing up for 100% solar for the
peaks.


Very reasonable, and what I would suggest depending on how much the surge
is. Of course, that means you'll have to have wiring so that those items
will plug directly into the generator, rather than going through the
inverter.


And, if you design the system correctly, letting the gas generator
run for an hour every time you fire up and letting the batteries take a full
charge from an inexpensive battery charger can add to the output of the
solar system.


It is extremely inefficient to bring the batteries up to full charge using
the gas generator. Batteries charge more slowly as they approach full
charge. Better get a reliable generator, then.



I've done a little digging and it seems that Great Plains has the best
pricing on solar panels. Harbor Freight has a little better pricing, but I
need something that I can reliably get month in and month out (I'm the
guinea pig for about 50 hangars) and I can never rely on Harbor Freight to
have what I need when I need it.

My best guess after doing a little educated digging is that I can come up
with a system I can live with for a little over 1 AMU.



Ron (EPM) (N5843Q, Mooney M20E) (CP, ASEL, ASES, IA)
 




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