sqft wrote:amorphous wrote:We had a blackout juzi jioni and there I was enjoying my well lit sitting room, laptop and TV running shwaaaaaaa bila msukosuko wowote for hours while I sipped my coffee. Solar backup na beautiful thing -oo. Voltage on the battery was about 12.8 and only went down to 12.5 after all that usage.
Why not use the solar for those things you have mentioned above on a daily basis instead of waiting for a black out to switch to the solar power? If solar can run those items then wire them permanently to solar and that way you utilize your solar investment 100%.
Just seeing this today. Good question. I had not thought of that. I guess to preserve the battery and charge controller+inverter for longer? I guess I have always looked at my small size portable solar system (80w Panel, 75ah batt, 300W inverter) as backup and not as something I would use daily. I guess I could use it daily but the energy savings from my KPLC bill would not be so much, I suppose? The beauty and convenience of my compact system really emerges during blackouts IMHO.
In the final analysis, it all boils down to sheer plain old hard work and dogged persistence. Nothing more, nothing less!!