I've built the panel about a year ago and finally got to attaching it permanently to harness the sun's power. It's a 60W panel on a 12V regulater capable of handling 30 amp on a 102 a/h battery, the inverter is modified sinewave 600W. The panel can deliver up to 3.5 amp.
Jan 17
The last 12 volt battery provided power for just over 5 years, but, the solar regulator has the capacity for larger solar panels, up to 10 amps. We do have larger ones, that can recharge a flat battery, but as a result of theft problems, would rather lose a 5 watt panel than one of our 80 watt panels. We do have alternate backup lighting such as hurricane lamps, if the solar system fails, but so far over about 10 years, no failures. Initial testing, we left the led lights on for 24 hours, no probs at all.
Jan 09
From towers to dishes to linear mirrors to troughs, concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies reflect and collect solar heat to generate electricity. A single CSP plant can generate enough power for about 90000 homes. This video explains what CSP is, how it works, and how systems like parabolic troughs produce renewable power. For more information on the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's CSP research, see the Solar Energy Technology Program's Concentrating Solar Power Web page at www1.eere.energy.gov
