Posted: 1/2/2008 8:00:39 AM EDT
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Help!!!! I want to get my pellet stove off the grid in case of power outage, I will still have it to use for heat. I was thinking of looking into maybe hooking it up to a solar power, but don’t have the slightest clue about anything electrical. Would solar be the way to go? If so what would be the best and inexpensive way to go? The electrical rating for the pellet stove according to the owner’s manual is 115 VAC, 60 Hz, Start 4.1 Amps, Run 1.1 Amps |
| Solar power, backed up with some good batteries and a quality charge controller (like Xantrex), may be a good choice for you. However, there appears to be some fairly convincing rumblings that new solar technology is going to cause major price drops in the coming months. I'm holding out. In any case, it's a fairly significant investment up front. Using it for more than just the pellet stove would help justify the cost. |
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if your stove is drawing 1.1 amps, at 115 volts, thats about 127 watts. If you plan on running the stove for a longer time period than the sun shines, then you will need more than 127 watts of solar panels, and a battery/charger. Due to conversion inefficiencies going from charger to batter to inverter, your probably going to need at least 200watts of solar panels, and i would think quite a bit more if you need to run the stove more hours than you have daylight. stove running 10 hours = 1270 watt/hours 200w solar panel, 8 hours of good light = 1600 watt hours If you had to run the stove all day, all night (24hours), that would be 3048 watt/hours. so for that same 8 hours of good sunshine, you would need about 400watts of solar panels. hope thats clear enough. im tired and not too coherent right now 
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BlammO, could you fill us in on the rumblings? Thx |
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Generator. Solar is expensive, batteries are expensive, and a good inverter is expensive. You can get a generator for less than each of the previous three. During a frosty power outage is no time to be counting on sunshine! My BOL for TEOTWAKI has a solar setup with nice inverter etc, but my house has a generator for simplicity. Whatever you choose, buy once cry once. |
Sure. (BTW, I love your screen name) I first read about the new solar technology here on Arfcom, then saw it in Popular Science or some similar magazine [disclaimer for the record: I make absolutely no assumptions of credibility when it comes to Popular Science]. Here's an excerpt from an Industry Week article:
More info, via the Great Googley Woogley. |