Most people will tell you that you can’t run your car on solar electricity, but that’s exactly what I do. In 2001, during California’s energy crisis, I installed a grid-tied solar-electric system with design assistance from Bob-O Schultze of Electron Connection. My original motivation was the desire to avoid rolling blackouts. Today, not only am I powering my home with solar electricity, I’m running my car on sunshine too! Our system has 3,600 watts of solar-electric (photovoltaic; PV) modules mounted on three dual-axis tracking pole mounts.
At our location, the tracking arrays generate about 30 percent more energy than fixed arrays on an annual basis. Since the system is tied to the utility grid, there is always somewhere for our electricity to go, and regulation losses are avoided. To ensure that we have electricity during power outages, a deep-cycle battery bank was included in the system. The inverter maintains the batteries at 100 percent state of charge, so they’re always ready for the next utility outage. I have been extremely happy with my PV system, and delighted with the decision to include battery backup. While the grid goes down periodically, our home has never experienced any blackouts. When the grid fails, our inverter seamlessly switches our appliances over to the battery bank, and life continues normally. The system functions as a wholehouse uninterruptible power supply for all 120 VAC loads. Efficiency & Rates Before the installation, I reduced my monthly electricity use from about 1,000 KWH to around 600 by replacing a refrigerator and freezer with new energy efficient Kenmore appliances from Sears, and converting all the house lights to compact fluorescent's.More...
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