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To turn solar power into a reliable source of AC power off-grid you need an electricity storage system that will easily cost more than the PV installation itsel
by eigenvector 13y ago
To turn solar power into a reliable source of AC power off-grid you need an electricity storage system that will easily cost more than the PV installation itself. Micro-hydro, if available, provides a very high capacity factor output without the need for an inverter / PCS / battery.
- comicjk 13y agoIf you have space for a pond but no reliable flowing stream, you can use the pond as the battery for your solar panels. Each kWh of storage in a 2m deep pond will take about 100 m^2 of area. A typical American house would use 6 kWh or so per night, but probably someone building a system like this would use less. Calculations: https://www.google.com/search?q=12+kWh&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:unofficial&client=firefox-a#q=%281+kWh+%2F+%28%281000+kg%2Fm^3%29+*+%2810+m%2Fs^2%29+*+2+m%29+%29+%2F+2m&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:unofficial https://www.google.com/search?q=12+kWh&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=...
- Filligree 13y agoThat's actually a surprisingly large pond! I don't have enough flat space for that. I do have a large mountain, but there's no room for ponds on that - more's the pity, no streams nearby either.
- omegant 13y agoDoes the pond volume/kw vary if the height of the pond is higher?(so the water has more potential energy)
- madaxe_again 13y agoOr, scrap the solar panels, fill that pond with salt, and make a solar pond. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_pond http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_pond