Shaula EvansNov 27, 2024

A question for people who have emergency back-up solar generators:

How did you calculate what size to get?

This is far outside my experience, I'm keen to learn from people who know their (solar) onions.

*As ever, I'm only looking for A) answers to what I asked, B) from the people I specified. Whatabboutery and second-guessing are not helpful or welcome. Thank you for your reading comprehension. xo

#Solarpunk #SolarGenerators #SolarPower #Solar #AskFedi

Show threadPhil Dennis-JordanNov 27, 2024
@ShaulaEvans There’s no one true way. In the end you’re limited by what you can afford & available space.
Some key considerations:
- The inverter & battery need to provide enough power to (a) run the devices you want to run, simultaneously & (b) have enough reserves for the often much higher startup draw when first connecting a device.
- You can never have enough battery capacity, but it’s diminishing returns. Diversify your energy sources if you’re truly serious about grid independence.
Show threadPhil Dennis-Jordan
@ShaulaEvans
- Panels are the cheapest component at this point, even the mounting brackets can be more expensive sometimes. Ideally, aim for a setup that works well for the worst case in your particular location, e.g. winter or whatever season has the fewest sunlight hours: this also extends to angles, so e.g. consider a mix of roof & wall mounting, the vertical panels will often yield more than roof ones in winter. If in doubt, add more panels.
Nov 27, 2024 at 8:45amWeb