do it yourself 12 volt solar power - michel daniek [mrchatterbox]

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12v solar power training tutorial

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  • Published by:Permanent PublicationsHyden House LimitedThe Sustainability CentreEast MeonHampshireGU321HRTel: 01730823311 or 0845 458 4150 (local rate UK only)Fax: 01730 823 322

    : . Overseas: (int. code +44 1730)Email: [email protected]: www.permaculrure.co.uk

    2007 Michel Daniek

    The rights of Michel Daniek to be identified as author of this work has beenasserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and PatentsAct 1988.

    Designed and typ,eset by John Adams and Tim Harland

    Printed by CPI Antony Rowe LtdChippenham, Wiltshire

    -i:,1 Printed on 75% recycled paper paper

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  • ContentsForward 7About This Book 9Introduction 11Solar Panels 15Batteries 19Regulators 33Watt & Volt 39Multimeters 47Cables 54Fuses 55Plugs t)[ Polarity 56Switches 58Connection Plans 59Inverters 69Electrosmog 73Lamps 80Music Systems 84Cordless Tools 88Solar Grinders 90Solar Circular Saw 93Sun-following Systems 95Solar Welding 97Battery Tester 100Special Voltmeter 101Tips & Tricks 102Bench Power Supply 118Home-made Regulators 119Tables 121Further Reading 122

  • Forewordby Ben Law

    This excellent practical book contains all you need to know to set up a 12 volt,off grid solar system. It contains a wealth of information from constructing12 volt circular saws to electric guitars. There is even a solution for makinga 12 volt washing machine, the 'holy grail' amongst many of us living off theNational Grid.

    Michel Daniek cleverly combines his mechanical training with solar energyto offer many DIY solutions for anyone living or aspiring to live with anautonomous energy supply.

    I have been living with 12 volt electricity for 16 years, and I have had tolearn, change, upgrade and experiment to reach the system I now have atmy Woodland House, running on 12 volt solar and wind power with a largebattery storage capacity. I made many mistakes along the way, like sufferingvoltage loss from insufficient sized cables in my first caravan. I struggled tofind the necessary knowledge and experience to help me unravel what at thetime felt like complex physics.

    Yet,here in one book are all the answers I needed. Volts, amps, watts and ohmsare explained with logical clarity - and batteries don't wear out because Michelhas solutions to repair them! This is what is so empowering about this book,it allows and encourages you to create simple 12 volt tools from everydayitems such as windscreen wiper motors and -motorbike starter motors. I amparticularly impressed with the bicycle wheel sun following system to gain themaximum potential from your solar panels. And if you have problems withyour panels, Michel has answers for how to repair them.

    For anyone who is living in a truck, bender, caravan, yurt or other low impactdwelling,or if you are inquisitiveabout options beyond the national grid and alternative energy supplies, DIY 12 Volt SolarPower is full of practical solutions andis sure to become a well thumbed classic for many off griders around the globe.

    Ben LawAuthor, woodlander and off grid ecobuilder

    October 2007

  • About This BookWhen I started to work with solar energy, I thought I had found asolution for at least one part of our global problems. Very enthusiastic,I started to give solar workshops all over Germany. I found it quite easyto convince and inspire people but after a year I was sick of telling thesame thing over and over again, so I decided to write this book. It wasabout this time that I moved from cold Germany to this crazy townhere in the south of Spain which with its abundant sunshine, has proveda perfect playground for my solar experiments. When I first arrivedthis area still needed a lot of development - many people were stillliving with candles. It was a pleasure for me to bring the luxury ofelectric light and music into their lives.

    However energy use consciousness was sadly lacking. Things developed really quickly and the level of consumer demand soon outpacedthe capacity of my small solar systems. Many people changed to usingelectricity from the National Grid. My idealism with solar energy wasbadly punished but it opened my eyes to the fundamental problembehind the destruction of our planet: consciousness.

    I started to write a book about it but the theme is so huge ... HoweverI still think that small scale solar energy is an important field of learningto increase awareness of one's own energy use. It's just one little step,but it is a step in the right direction.

    So... let the sunshine in!!!

    Thanks to all of you! Thanks for all the great help, enthusiasm, idealismand all the love that the world needs so badly in these times ofchange.

    This book was originally written in German in the sunny winter of1997-98 in EIMorreon, Spain. It was translated into English by CathyGreen, Rod Wilson and Abi Hill nearly at the same time. The drawingsare by Carma Sola, Demian Oyarce, Michel Daniek and Marion Miller.Proof reading was done by Achim, Felix, Elke, Frederik, Christian,Gunther and Patricia.

  • In 1999 it was translated into Spanish by Concha Buenaventura andNatalia Rodriguez. A new typed Spanish version will soon be available with great help from Nadin, Timbe-Drums and ConchaBuenaventura.

    In the summer of 2005, I rewrote and typed out the English version,adding some new material, including many experiences from theprevious seven years of living and working with solar electricity insouthern Spain. Special thanks for Jeem, Daniel Wahl and PatrickWhitefield for their good help with that.

    The German version, Einfdlle stattAbfdlle - Solarstrom in 12VAnlagen,published in 1998, can be ordered quoting: ISBN 3 924038 58 9.Or you can buy it direct from:

    Einfalle statt Abfalle, Christian Kuhtz, Hagebutten str.23, D-241l3Kiel, Germany. Or send a fax order to: +49 431 320 0686.

    For any further questions please write to me at:

    Michel Daniek, Apartado 254, E-18400 Orgiva, Espana.Or email: [email protected]

    Michel, August 2007

    10

  • The electricity industries do not produce many power saving appliancesor teach people to use energy more efficiently. Instead they put productson the market such as TV's with standby buttons and appliances that usepower even when they're switched off. These appliances are continuallyadding to your fuel bill, CO2 emissions and creating electromagneticfields (electrosmog) even when they are not being used. We can standup to these commercial and political manipulations by using alternative,decentralised energies to show thatit is possible tolive free from thegrip of large energy concerns. We can lead by example!

    Alternative energy includes fast growing biomass fuels such as rape,hemp and coppiced willow; heaters using insulated storage tanks; solarcars; wind and water energy. Last but not least is photovoltaic energyfor producing solar electricity. This must become affordable foreveryone and part of our everyday lives. It is important that growth isencouraged - the more consumers spend money on solar panels, themore producers will be encouraged to market them, drastically reducingthe cost. But within this process there must also be a change in patternsof energy consumption because todays wasteful attitude cannot be thebasis of a solar future.

    For many people, solar energy is already a part of their lives. People withmany different motivations are creating new power systems and houseswith autonomous energy supplies. There are solar associations spreadinginformation and setting up groups to create solar systems. Howeverwhereas a solar water heating system will pay back the initial financialoutlay within only a few years, a solar electricity system connected to theNational Grid is only financially viable if it's on a large scale. Thereforemost solar power systemsare now in alternative communities where theyhelp to fulfil the desire for an autonomous and ecological life.

    Low voltage solar power systems can allow us to maintain our standardof living without the electrosmog of the National Grid. Solarpowersystems with battery storage are being put together by people lookingfor new ways of living and a way out of this apparent dead end as webecome less and less able to ignore the worldwide ecological crisis allaround us. More and more people want to act instead of just sittingback and watching the earth being destroyed. Many people would liketo have a future!

    12

  • models were made with plastics containing Fluoride. However todaythey are made with PVC instead which is recyclable and non toxic.There are some toxic satellite solar cells but these are not the sort youwill find in the shops.

    Another rumour is that solar cells are ecologically unviable because theyrequire such a large amount of energy to produce. I have informationthat, depending on the methods of production, solar cells will recoupthe energy used within 3 to 7 years.

    Poly and mono crystalline cells have now been in use for around 40years and (apart from those which have been damaged) are still workingperfectly. The very early solar panels had some problems with brokenback covers, so water or humidity could damage the silicon cells. Plussome old series of AEG solar panels were made with aluminiumconnectors between the single cells inside the panel which also causedproblems after 10 years or so. All modern solar panels use silverconnectors and do not have these problems.

    Every single silicon plate in the panel increases the voltage of the panelby 0.55V. Every solar cell has more or less this same voltage regardlessof its size because the size of the solar cell affects the power in amperesbut not in volts. Therefore to create enough tension (volts) to chargebatteries it is necessary to connect a series of many solar cells together,with the bottom (+) of each cell connected to the top (-) of the nextone. In this way all the volts are added together. For example 36 solarcells will produce 19.8V when the sun is shining on them. This is thevoltage required in order for the electricity to flow into the battery,and therefore most solar panels sold are comprised of 36 cells. Thesolar plates are combined to make large modules behind special glasscoated in PVC to protect it from the weather. The frame is made fromaluminium or stainless steel. On the back are the plus and minusconnections for the wires. In many solar panels there are also one ormore diodes which ensure that energy continues to flow into 'all thesolar cells even when some are in shadow. If you connect two or moresolar panels together it's important to separate them with diodes (seethe chapter, Connection Plans, page 59). This is useful if you connectsolar panels of different output voltages, like different amount (36 and40) of cells or anytime when there is more than a 2V difference.

    16

  • You can use solar electricity direct- for instance garden fountain pumpsor fans which only work when the sun is shining on the solar panel.You can also put the solar electricity directly into the National Gridbut this is very expensive and you need the consent of the Grid. Forthis you must have a second electricity meter to measure how manykilowatt hours you put into theGrid, and the end of the year youpay the balance, if you have usedmore from the Grid than you haveput in. This is useful to avoid thetoxic waste from old batteries butthe downside is that you still relyon the Grid and you still have theunknown dangers of 'electrosmog'.

    Another possibility is solar hydroelectric power because then the energycan be stored as water, which has the potential for electricity on demand.You use the sun to pump water from a low point to a high point and thenrelease the water through a microhydo generator when you require thepower. A wonderful idea but for small groups of people this is far tooexpensive. A quite new idea is to store the solar power with hot oil (up to200C) in big tanks and produce electricity when needed from the hot oilusing a sterling motor. You can also cook with the oil when you let it flowinside the stove plates. See www.tamera.org for more information.

    So the only viable option left to store the electricity is still good old batteries. The problems ofbatteries have been going on for 30 years - theyhave too low capacity, are too heavy, producetoxic waste and are expensive. Researches havebeen trying to produce better batteries (e.g. forelectrical cars) but so far no alternative has beenfound. All types of batteries are 1000/0.recyclable

    and so in theory there are no problems. However, in reality they are rarelyrecycled properly. One way to reduce waste is to take good batteries fromscrap yards, but generally it's better to compromise and buy new ones.

    Batteries

    19

  • If you treat your battery well it will last you for many years. There arealso a couple of things you should know about the different types ofbatteries in order to extend the lifetime as much as possible.

    Batteri~s should have a big capacity i.e. be capable of storing a lot ofenergy - capacity is measured in amp hours (Ah). In small rechargeablebatteries this is measured in milliamp hours (mAh).

    Batteries should be capable of being charged, used and recharged overand over again. The number of times a battery can be recharged variesa lot, but you can only find outthe number of so called 'charging cycles'from the manufacturer. In some cases, e.g. car batteries, the battery hasto give out a lot of electricity in a very short time, for example whenyou start your car. Or it may be made to be able to recharge very quickly(for example in cordless tools). But not every battery type is able to dothis 'high current' input or output. Batteries should also store the energyfor a very long time. This is measured by the rate at which they slowlylose their charge, which is called the 'self discharging rate'.

    There is a confusing profusion of batteries for different uses. I wouldlike to talk about the most usual types which are: car batteries, solarbatteries, lead gel batteries and heavy duty batteries. They are all alsocalled Acid Batteries. Then you have small rechargeable nickel cadmiumbatteries, metal hybrid batteries and lithium ion batteries.

    Car BatteriesThis common battery type is used to start theengine and so can give a lot of energy in ashort time. Peak currents in small cars can beup to 1,OOOW,in trucks even up to 4,?OOOWwhen you start the engine. .

    A car battery may be marked 12V/44Ah/175A which means that175A is the maximum current possible; there is a capacity of 44Ahand 12V tension.

    Car batteries are normally sold in black or transparent plastic cases

    20

  • 21

    with 6 cells, lead plates and sulphuric acid mixed with distilled water.Most of them have 6 vent caps on the top to refill distilled water. Youcan also buy maintenance free batteries where you will not find these refillcaps on the top. But mostly they are only hidden under a plastic cover.

    All the plates must be below the surface of the electrolite (diluted acid)because electricity cannot flow between uncovered plates. If theelectro lite is too low the battery must be filled with distilled water andnothing else - normal water contains many different mineral ions. Onlyput more acid into the battery if it has spilt. But be careful - batteryacid, even dilute is very corrosive, so avoid contact with the body. Ifyou get it on any of your clothes you must wash them immediatelywith lots of soapy water - otherwise they will be full of holes. In generalyou can neutralize battery acid with soapy water. However it is a goodidea to have some Baking Soda to hand to use on spills. If you intendto work with batteries regularly it is worth investing in a Hazard Kitwhich should include a plastic apron, rubber gloves, eye protection,acid neutralizer and cleanup materials.

    You can check a battery's charge in two different ways, Firstly, you canuse a voltmeter to measure the tension - lO.8V is empty and 13.8V isfull. Secondly, you can use a hydrometer to check the acidity - 1.1 kgper litre (kg/l) is empty and 1.28 kg/l is full. Hydrometers are verycheap and you can buy them in most petrol stations. Don't forget toclean the hydrometer with lots of water to wash away the acid!

    However voltmeters are safer and more practical.See also the chapter, Multimeter, page 47.

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