NEW! SOLAR POWER CALCULATORHow to connect a solar panel to an outlet?
October 11th, 2008
My home is a cabin way up in the woods. I would like to install a solar panel. I get plenty of sun but I do not know how to connect a solar panel to a power outlet. I am looking for a solar panel with a wire that connects to an outlet so I could power a TV. It seems really hard to do this. Is there something that is pre-made that I can buy? Also, should I consider wind power? I was looking for something that costs less than $500.
A typical solar panel will produce about 50 watts of power in the form of 24 volts DC. You need 120 volts AC. So here is what you need to do:
Since you will need at least 200 watts to power a small TV, you would need about four solar panels, and a solar controller. Then you need a 24 volt battery to store the energy that comes from the panels.
Next you need an inverter. This is a device that changes 24 volts DC into 120 volts AC, which you can wire to a standard outlet for the TV set.
You can get solar panels that cost around $3 per watt of power. 200 x 3 = $600
A Solar Controller will cost around $100
The battery will cost around $70
The inverter will cost around $100
Now this setup will give you lots of power. You can get by with less than 200 watts of solar panels if you let your solar panels charge your batteries up all day and only watch TV for a few hours at night.
You could get by with less than 200 watts of solar panels if you just let it charge the battery all day and only use the TV for an hour or two in the evening with the TV running on the inverter which is powered by the battery.
Wind power is really a good option as well especially if you live at a high elevation where the wind blows a lot.
Check out this diy solar guide. It will show you how to build a solar panel for under $200 and a wind power generator for under $150.
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