Solar Panel System

solar panels on our roof

I think I have had more email asking about our solar panels than any other thing I have blogged about.  A number of people have asked what we bought…so I decided to do a post about it.

We have:
2  Kyrocera 135 Watt Solar Panels
1 Blue Sky 3024i Solar Boost  Controller
1 Blue Sky IPN-Pro Remote (display)
1 Xantrex PROsine 2.0 Inverter/Charger (2000 watt, also has a remote interface)
5 12 volt deep cycle batteries - 115 amp hours per battery  -  we bought these 3 years ago

top: inverter remote interface

bottom: Controller remote display

For the entire package (excluding batteries) with installation, we paid about $4,000.00 but you can definitely go cheaper.  We went with the best they had at Discount Solar for the Inverter and the display for the Controller.  It just depends on what all you want your system to do.

Something else people ask is what we can run off the inverter.  Today I vacuumed, charged my ipod and computer, ran the Keurig coffee maker, some lights, the water pump, used my curling iron, watched TV which includes running the satellite dish receiver, plus the furnace was on  for a while this morning.   It’s about 4:30 p.m. and our batteries are 100% charged.  I’ve also cooked a roast in the crockpot while on the inverter and we have run the microwave (only for about 3 minutes) and my hairdryer on low for just a few minutes.  The hairdryer and microwave are the two things that we use the least on the inverter as they both suck up amps like you wouldn’t believe!  

We’ve had no trouble fully charging our batteries on a nice sunny day.  If it is cloudy, depending on how overcast it is, we may have to use our generator to charge the batteries.  They say if  you can’t see your shadow then the solar panels aren’t getting enough sun to charge the batteries.  If we had a couple cloudy days then we would definitely have to use the generator.

Hope that helps!  Feel free to ask if you have any other questions!

sunset in Quartzsite - 02-05-11