# Solar for the Urban Apartment Dweller?



## IrritatedWithUS (Jan 9, 2011)

I saw this from the website PicklesAndAmmo.com (lol)

Sounds cool.

He starts out with "We decided on the APC Back-UPS RS 1500, which is good up to 865 watts. This guy has a nice interface to your PC as well, so you can monitor how much battery time you have left, plus get reports on last outages, etc. PLUS plus, it's expandable, so you can hook a secondary battery on it, which adds about 60% more battery power / lights / internet / toast / whatever time to your outage adventure. Highly recommended - feel free to email us with any questions about this or other UPSs you're thinking about."

He uses the Xantrex Solar Generator. It's pretty cool.

PART ONE:





PART TWO:


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## Nadja (Jan 12, 2011)

Save your money for some good solar. That won't do diddly squat.


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## IrritatedWithUS (Jan 9, 2011)

Nadja said:


> Save your money for some good solar. That won't do diddly squat.


Yeah, it supposedly runs 850-1500 watts


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

The theory behind that video is sound, the execution of it is lacking from what I see, but, that is only due to the size of the wiring and the wattage of the solar-panels. Otherwise, it could be enough to keep a person happy for the short-term with 120-volt AC power (a couple hours at most based on power draw).


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## Nadja (Jan 12, 2011)

IrritatedWithUS said:


> Yeah, it supposedly runs 850-1500 watts


I'm not sure how much power you really need, but from looking at this little tiny unit, at 850 watts continuous use, I wouldn't give it a full hour even. More like about 10 min.

Here is a thought for you. Why don't you outline what you really need to power and for how long on a given day ? Then we will be more able to help you figure out what you are really going to need. Worth a try any way.


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

I have quite a few UPS units that I have collected over the years to protect my computer systems and other sensitive electronics. My smallest UPS will keep my laptops and modem/router running for about 6-hours. My biggest UPS will keep my power-hungry computer running for about 2-hours.

I have a UPS put into the power-circuit to my gas-heated furnace that can keep my fan blowing (intermitantly) for about a day and a half.

Like I said, his theory is correct on the system, but, he requires significantly more solar-generating power to keep the battery in his UPS topped up during use (oh ya, his cigarette-lighter cord might be heavy-duty for $5, but, it wouldn't be enough .. )


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## Nadja (Jan 12, 2011)

NaeKid said:


> I have quite a few UPS units that I have collected over the years to protect my computer systems and other sensitive electronics. My smallest UPS will keep my laptops and modem/router running for about 6-hours. My biggest UPS will keep my power-hungry computer running for about 2-hours.
> 
> I have a UPS put into the power-circuit to my gas-heated furnace that can keep my fan blowing (intermitantly) for about a day and a half.
> 
> Like I said, his theory is correct on the system, but, he requires significantly more solar-generating power to keep the battery in his UPS topped up during use (oh ya, his cigarette-lighter cord might be heavy-duty for $5, but, it wouldn't be enough .. )


Well, my position on solar is to get people started in a way that they can add to as needs are recoginized later on. With these little units, adding is not so easy. You state you have several of these little aa battery chargers right ? What if you had taken all the money you pup into them and bought just one good solar panel, 2 or 4 - 6v batteries, a decent charge controler and a good inverter ? Then you could add solar panels and batteries at will. Can you do that with your several little systems ? My system started with one 85 watt panel, two 6 v. batties , a small charge controller and a decent inverter. After all the years, I now have 16 solar panels, 18 batteries , a wind generator, 3 charge controllers, and a 2500 watt sine wave inverter. I also have 3 spare charge controllers and a spare mod sine wave inverter. But I grew this system as I began to understand it, and needed the power. All my house runs on this just fine, including my two desk top computers, refer/freezer, chest freezer, 27" old power hungry tube tv, lights, water pumps and anything else I wish to plug in. Oh , right now a water cooler and several fans also.


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## Ingway11 (May 31, 2011)

*solar generator*

I am no expert on solar but I picked up this vsp 450 AH solar generator that sells for $3500 for $850 off of craigslist, still new in the box to experiment with. VSP 450 AH Cheaper Than Oil.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

In a SHTF situation having solar power shows other that I might have prepared in other ways too. I don't the idea of solar power for that reason.


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## Oldschool (Jul 4, 2011)

No offense to others but yes, visible, especially for those of us who are apt dwellers. (sudden image of Mrs. Kravitz peering through the shades)
Anyone look into the smaller stuff offered by Goal0?

Thanks,
Rich


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## Oldschool (Jul 4, 2011)

Sorry that last reply was in agreement with BillS.


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## Nadja (Jan 12, 2011)

I live in a very private and very remote valley. If you can see my house, you are too close. Warning, warning warning, I don't play well with others.


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

Nadja said:


> Well, my position on solar is to get people started in a way that they can add to as needs are recoginized later on. With these little units, adding is not so easy. You state you have several of these little aa battery chargers right ? What if you had taken all the money you pup into them and bought just one good solar panel, 2 or 4 - 6v batteries, a decent charge controler and a good inverter ? Then you could add solar panels and batteries at will. Can you do that with your several little systems ? My system started with one 85 watt panel, two 6 v. batties , a small charge controller and a decent inverter. After all the years, I now have 16 solar panels, 18 batteries , a wind generator, 3 charge controllers, and a 2500 watt sine wave inverter. I also have 3 spare charge controllers and a spare mod sine wave inverter. But I grew this system as I began to understand it, and needed the power. All my house runs on this just fine, including my two desk top computers, refer/freezer, chest freezer, 27" old power hungry tube tv, lights, water pumps and anything else I wish to plug in. Oh , right now a water cooler and several fans also.


My smallest solar thing is a calculator, then I have some solar-powered LED garden-lights, solar-powered AM/FM radios, some 1-watt solar panels to use as a trickle-charger in my vehicles that I rarely drive, some 13-watt solar panels that I use to keep my power-packs topped up and finally an 80-watt solar-panel on my tent-trailer (with charge-controller and dual 6-volt deep-cycle batteries) that keeps my tent-trailer alive and well....

Shortly, I will have a whole-house solar-system installed through the local power company that will be hooked up to my house and to my UPS (which runs off of standard 120-volt connection). One of my UPS units is dedicated to my laptops, another to my stereo, another to my main computer, another .... you get the point. My biggest UPS weighs-in around 250lbs, one person can barely move it, two people still strain ... and I have spare battery-packs for them all.

I just moved into my new house, I still have to get my UPS hard-wired into key places, but, my back-up power is alive and well.

What I am saying about the original posting is that the solar-panel that they have for charging up that UPS is not sufficient for the task - I know because I tried it and found that it doesn't work.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

Oldschool said:


> No offense to others but yes, visible, especially for those of us who are apt dwellers. (sudden image of Mrs. Kravitz peering through the shades)
> Anyone look into the smaller stuff offered by Goal0?
> 
> Thanks,
> Rich


 I'm looking into the smaller stuff but something comes up and takes the money for it.Maybe I'll sell a vehicle and get a couple panels.
I ordered a catalog from'BackWoods,but have'nt gotten it yet.
So i just read the deals of the couple websites I can load.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

NaeKid said:


> My smallest solar thing is a calculator, then I have some solar-powered LED garden-lights, solar-powered AM/FM radios, some 1-watt solar panels to use as a trickle-charger in my vehicles that I rarely drive, some 13-watt solar panels that I use to keep my power-packs topped up and finally an 80-watt solar-panel on my tent-trailer (with charge-controller and dual 6-volt deep-cycle batteries) that keeps my tent-trailer alive and well....
> 
> Shortly, I will have a whole-house solar-system installed through the local power company that will be hooked up to my house and to my UPS (which runs off of standard 120-volt connection). One of my UPS units is dedicated to my laptops, another to my stereo, another to my main computer, another .... you get the point. My biggest UPS weighs-in around 250lbs, one person can barely move it, two people still strain ... and I have spare battery-packs for them all.
> 
> ...


 Do you know about or have an opinion of or about BackWoods ?


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## Nadja (Jan 12, 2011)

Backwoods has been around for a long long time. They are very pricy though. You can use their book to start getting an idea , but should be able to beat their prices on just about everything they sell.


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## NaeKid (Oct 17, 2008)

Meerkat said:


> Do you know about or have an opinion of or about BackWoods ?


Are you talking about: Backwoods Solar Electric Systems

I personally haven't dealt with them. My dealings have been with RV-based systems (my friend's business) and a couple of industrial companies like Carmanah. My best experience with solar is on my own camper doing the mounting, wiring and using it to its fullest-extent.

I have plans on expanding my solar-system on my camper to include a 5,000 watt (running, not peak) inverter for running power tools off of the trailer without needing to carry my generator and fuel for my gennie.

I practice stealth boon-dock camping deep in the woods away from most civilization - the silence of nature makes me happier than the noise of the city.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

Nadja said:


> Backwoods has been around for a long long time. They are very pricy though. You can use their book to start getting an idea , but should be able to beat their prices on just about everything they sell.


 Thanks ,I thought they looked like they were high priced 'what time I could stay on their website.


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## SoundWisdom (Jul 28, 2011)

*They ARE high priced*

I haven't seen any mention here of Sound Wisdom's turnkey, plug and play expandable solar power system. It gives you 5,000 watts running power, 10,000 watts peak power, has a 40 amp charger, 230 Ah batteries, and 2 120-watt solar panels. Most importantly, you can add panels and batteries at your own pace, even from other companies.

Their people are willing to spend time educating you on the phone, too; can't beat that with a stick. They're at Sound-Wisdom.com.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

*a place for everything...*



SoundWisdom said:


> I haven't seen any mention here of Sound Wisdom's turnkey, plug and play expandable solar power system. It gives you 5,000 watts running power, 10,000 watts peak power, has a 40 amp charger, 230 Ah batteries, and 2 120-watt solar panels. Most importantly, you can add panels and batteries at your own pace, even from other companies.
> 
> Their people are willing to spend time educating you on the phone, too; can't beat that with a stick. They're at Sound-Wisdom.com.


there's a vendor forum


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## Nadja (Jan 12, 2011)

SoundWisdom said:


> I haven't seen any mention here of Sound Wisdom's turnkey, plug and play expandable solar power system. It gives you 5,000 watts running power, 10,000 watts peak power, has a 40 amp charger, 230 Ah batteries, and 2 120-watt solar panels. Most importantly, you can add panels and batteries at your own pace, even from other companies.
> 
> Their people are willing to spend time educating you on the phone, too; can't beat that with a stick. They're at Sound-Wisdom.com.


Pay for you adds. And you are not able to deliver 5,000 watts with this little bitty system


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## SoundWisdom (Jul 28, 2011)

*Shows what you know.*



Nadja said:


> Pay for you adds. And you are not able to deliver 5,000 watts with this little bitty system


That "little bitty system" will deliver 5,000 watts for as long as there are charged batteries to provide it, and 10,000 watts in an emergency. We have satisfied customers all across the country, and can provide references, if you like. For that matter, you could just watch our video on Sound Wisdom - Solar Generator & Power Products and see us load it up with 5,000 watts of work, all powered at once from that one "little bitty" system.


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