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View Poll Results: How likely are you to undertake a solar household do-it-yourself project?
Very likely. 22 70.97%
Somewhat likely. 4 12.90%
I dare to dream. 3 9.68%
Seems like a lot of work. 0 0%
Nah. I'm good. 2 6.45%
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  #1  
Old 01-19-2008, 12:50 PM
 
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Post How many does it take?

How many 6V 50mAh Solar Cells wired in series would it take to provide the same output as the average household electrical outlet, which I assume to be 120 volts (to power an air conditioner)? Are power converters necessary?
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  #2  
Old 01-19-2008, 06:03 PM
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Not sure the answer exactly, but for someone willing to undertake a solar project, it seems the next best thing to work on would be a swamp cooler style AC unit.
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Old 01-19-2008, 06:25 PM
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It will take 2,240+ cells

You would need 8 cells in series to get a 48VDC string.
You would need 280 strings in parallel to get 14.0 amps.
Then you could fed this into a 48VDC to 120VAC inverter to power a very small room AC unit.
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Old 01-19-2008, 08:00 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by n3qik View Post
It will take 2,240+ cells

You would need 8 cells in series to get a 48VDC string.
You would need 280 strings in parallel to get 14.0 amps.
Then you could fed this into a 48VDC to 120VAC inverter to power a very small room AC unit.
Sorry, I'm a little confused:
8 Cells in series = 48VDC STRING.
Does that mean I would need 2240 Cells to for the 280 strings in parallel?

Thanks for the reply!
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Old 01-19-2008, 08:03 PM
 
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Default Swamp cooler style AC unit?

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Originally Posted by dentedvw View Post
Not sure the answer exactly, but for someone willing to undertake a solar project, it seems the next best thing to work on would be a swamp cooler style AC unit.
Sorry. I was born and raised my whole life in a file cabinet like environment. So please forgive the following question: What's a swamp cooler style AC unit?

Thanks for the reply!
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Old 01-20-2008, 12:51 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LuLuRivera View Post
Sorry, I'm a little confused:
8 Cells in series = 48VDC STRING.
Does that mean I would need 2240 Cells to for the 280 strings in parallel?

Thanks for the reply!
Yes, that would give you about 600 watts.
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Old 01-20-2008, 03:40 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LuLuRivera View Post
How many 6V 50mAh Solar Cells wired in series would it take to provide the same output as the average household electrical outlet, which I assume to be 120 volts (to power an air conditioner)? Are power converters necessary?
You don't have to worry about how many volts, how many in series, or in parallel to figure it out. All you need to know is the amount of power in watts the device needs. An outlet in your home is capable of supplying rougly 1800 watts. So the answer is 1800W/.05W = 36,000. Have fun wiring them up and paying for it.

FWIW solar PV's cannot handle large loads like HVAC, ovens, water heaters, blow dryers, clothes druers, irons, toasters, etc...
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Last edited by Sunking; 01-20-2008 at 04:02 AM.
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Old 01-20-2008, 10:47 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LuLuRivera View Post
Sorry. I was born and raised my whole life in a file cabinet like environment. So please forgive the following question: What's a swamp cooler style AC unit?

Thanks for the reply!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaporative_cooler

FYI
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Old 10-08-2008, 12:46 AM
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Originally Posted by Sunking View Post

FWIW solar PV's cannot handle large loads like HVAC, ovens, water heaters, blow dryers, clothes druers, irons, toasters, etc...
So if solar photovoltaics can't handle large loads such as water heaters. Then what do we use to power an electric water heater? By the way, an iron and a toaster is considered a large load? What is considered a small load if a toaster is a large load?
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Old 10-08-2008, 12:51 AM
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Quote:
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So if solar photovoltaics can't handle large loads such as water heaters. Then what do we use to power an electric water heater? By the way, an iron and a toaster is considered a large load? What is considered a small load if a toaster is a large load?
A small load is a light bulb. We hope you are powering a few CFLs these days instead of a standard incandescent.
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