What is Digg?Sponsored by Sony Pictures
Adam Lambert sings the 2012 theme song, "Time for Miracles" view!
whowillsurvive2012.com - Watch the Adam Lambert music video for the 2012 theme song. See 2012, in theaters Nov 13
75 Comments
- martian, on 10/12/2007, -4/+80How is this a 'How To'? All it says is to go buy stuff.
Here's my own 'How To':
How to make a car:
1) Buy a car - clinko, on 10/12/2007, -2/+49Excellent how-to! I'll summarize it!
#1: Buy Solar panel
#2: ENJOY! - Hentez, on 10/12/2007, -5/+43and a flux capacitor
- DealCracker, on 10/12/2007, -1/+25While I think this is great stuff...it would have been nice if this article gave some clues about which local stores carry these items and at what cost. For example, I am not sure which store in my neighborhood carries 25 or 40 watt solor panels. I would normally expect to buy something like that online. However, in some areas HarborFreight stores sometimes stock popular sized panels. In fact, the photo of the panel in this article is a Harbor Freight 45W unit which sells for $199.
- wbeavis, on 10/12/2007, -9/+30But will it generate the necessary 1.21 GIGAWATTS!
- allaboutdatiki, on 10/12/2007, -2/+21One day soon, every home will have its own small solar generator.
- jpp123, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19Bad idea - really bad idea. That expensive deep cycle gel battery is going to cook itself to death really fast if you don't include a charge controller in the system. (my system uses to Xantrex 5048's with 11kw of panels - stats at http://www.cloudview.com/swca/ )
- bigd063, on 10/12/2007, -11/+28$199 for a photo of a solar panel? Wow, the panel itself must cost a fortune!
- dailyjunkmail, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17Nice shopping list. If anyone has a REAL how to BUILD your own solar power generator, I would give it my digg for sure.
- DiggingDeep, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13How To Make Solar Power Generator revised:
1) Steal jasonliman's. - CrimsonParser, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12@wbeavis
1.21 GigaWatts will be easy, getting your house to do 88 MPH is the tricky bit... - esquilax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photovoltaics#PV_power_costs
"Normally, photovoltaic modules have a 25 year warranty, but they should be fully functional even after 30-40 years." - shaun1018, on 10/12/2007, -2/+14You left out ???
- SteaminTmann, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14I think that, more than likely, Intangir wears a tinfoil hat on the regular.
- myfanwy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13@steamintman
wouldn't he wear it on his head? - wvdavis, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12& Profit
- Ejonason, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8@ minideezel
Um ok do some research before saying something is not possible. With the right system it is possible to sell power back to the utilities. Thousands of people do it. - indy500fan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7I'd much rather have a Mr. Fusion Home Energy Reactor than a small solar generator, but I guess it will do.
- chadseld, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Dear lord! This article is so very very wrong. I'll skip over the part about finding a 30-60 W solar panel at the hardware store and focus on the complete lack of discussion about the circuitry required to charge the battery. Many solar panels will be destroyed if you simply attach them to a battery. At the very least, you want to put a diode in there. Anybody who doesn't want to loose their $300+ investment in solar panels absolutely needs to buy a charge controller. This is especially important when you consider that the voltage output from the panel changes as the clouds pass over.
- Devrdander, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Horrible write up, its a shopping list and a very nondescript one.
The solar panel KIT he has there comes with a charging device, you cant strap just any SP to a battery and expect it to work. I would start with a Solar Panel Kit like he has there, and then match up components to the kit since its the most expensive component. - DealCracker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Here is how I built a solar powered light for my shed:
1. Buy solar powered shed light: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93244
2. Screw it to the wall. - Seidoger, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6"How To Make A Solar Generator Using Parts .."
SWEET! I can now generate my own Sun. - rouslan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Big deal...The article just tells you to hook up a solar panel to a battery then to an inverter. A 10-year old can figure that out. When anything DIY comes on Digg, it's no more complicated that hooking a few wires up. I was expecting something like "Inverter Schematic" or "Automatic Battery Controller", etc. If the result did not destroy your solar panel yet, it will be of low performance.
- Devrdander, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Apparently hes using the harbor freight kit mentioned above:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90599
It has a "power center" that will output at 12volts and can be used to charge a car/12v battery like the one he mentions.
Another item that he should have mentioned actually listed with this item on Harbor Freight:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90599
Charge Controller! - jgoulden, on 10/12/2007, -5/+10Cool. You're spending $200 for a solar cell that delivers 45 Watts peak during daylight hours and using it to charge a battery. That same 45W, 10 hours a day, costs about $20 per year from the local electric coop. You think that solar panel will last a decade?
- crexor, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5that script on that cloudview site is awesome. anyone recognize it? its almost like mrtg graphs for your solar cells.
- prisoner24601, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@ minideezel
"you can't supply power for the grid"
Seriously, it took like 45 seconds to google this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_metering - mrwonka, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Wasn't it 1.21 Jigawatts?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I think the profit kicks in after 7 years though, when the cost of energy becomes greater than the cost of the solar panel
- kurtwinter, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4How to build an antimatter combiner for unlimited power at home, using parts found at any hardware store:
1. Wait for an antimatter combiner to become available at hardware stores.
2. Buy one.
See, I can write articles too! - cayuga23, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Didn't the Professor on Gilligan's Island invent the Human Powered Generator further down on the page?
- grubesteak, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4It costs less than $300 if you use this method: http://www.rain.org/~philfear/how2solar.html (note, this article was linked to from the Digg article).
I've been saving up to make the one on the rain.org site. I've recently priced the parts and it came closer to $250 instead of $300.
I normally would bury this because he so blatantly ripped off the rain.org site, but since it's for a good cause I'll let it slide. - thankyousir, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3it is still pretty cool even though it isn't so much building as it is buying
- t0ken, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3The actual linked article does- although they are 1996-era prices:
http://www.rain.org/%7Ephilfear/how2solar.html - cubbieco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Doesn't blogspot host pictures? Why would you link to imageshack from blogspot?
- greymaxcat, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5I so saw this on McGuyver...
- duhblow7, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Click on the link right at the top of the article; How To Make A Solar Power Generator.
Then you'll see the directions like you want: "Buy yourself a small solar panel. For about $100 you should be able to get one rated at 12 volts or better (look for 16 volts) at an RV or marine supplies store.". - minideezel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3also that is not 45 watts AC power, that is DC power. Plus that is only charging the battery, the battery delivers much more wattage when it is needed, but the solar panel simply maintains that battery. So if you want more power you add batteries and add solar panels to keep those batteries charged.
- davidrools, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4If you really want to make proper use of your solar panels, you'd probably want to hook them up to the grid (MUST BE DONE PROFESSIONALLY SO YOU DON'T F^*& THINGS UP FOR EVERYONE ELSE ON YOUR BLOCK). That way you can be selling power back to your utilities provider when your batteries don't need charging. Then you can just charge your batteries from any of your regular electrical outlets and use them when the power goes out, if that's what you want to do.
- rigwit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Buried for lame content I could have found in Popular Mechanics 15 years ago and "Picture Removed" lameness
- scottmartinez, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I just purchased a 60 watt kit from Costco.com for $300 with the inverter and charge controller. Also, it included a hand crank LED flashlight. The battery was on sale for $55. The whole thing powers a 12 volt pump and some basic lighting making it one of the first solar powered biodiesel service stations I know of.
- yamyogurt, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Now all you need to to is connect the generator to a light and then you will have power all day.
- minideezel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2This post is horribly wrong. First the system described wouldn't power a tv for more than a few hours, then you would have to wait a whole sunny day for the battery to charge itself back up. Also it states in bold letters, "attach negative first," this is very wrong you always attach the positive first as the negative grounds and i you have it grounded to anything you could touch it and it would cause a arc.
Second, If you want a good system you can spend some money and put up a couple of good 125 watt solar cells ($800) running to 4 or more huge deep cycle (interstate deep cycle over a 1000 amp batteries) that keep you running note that you need a over a 30 amp controller to control the panels, then run it to a a huge 3000 watt inverter that will allow you to run your whole house on solar panels.
Solar panels($800): http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200307839_200307839
3000 watt inverter($550): http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200332071_200332071
30 Amp Controller($100): http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200332575_200332575
plus batteries - Lewie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2You're shopping at the wrong place:
http://www.solarpanelstore.com/solar-power.small-solar-panels.html
Shipping the 30W model to Michigan costs $13, totalling $238.30. - solarpowered, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Warning! You need a charge controller (~$100), else you'll cook your battery.
Also, you need a *real* deep-cycle battery. If it says "Cold Cranking Amps" or "CCA rating" on a so-called deep-cycle battery, RUN AWAY. Ig you go below %80 charge on those, you've killed it.
Get a real deep-cycle battery from a specialty battery shop. Anything intended for a golf cart is great. Trojan is a good brand. - garyh84, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Where the hell are you shopping at?
- gizmo8500, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@cubbieco
Ok, so you corrected him on his spelling...nitpicking some may say, but then you insult him. Why did you feel this was necessary? - droversoul, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@ mrwonka
He says "jiggawatts" but he means "gigawatts"
You say toe-may-toe, I say toe-mah-toe. - TheMattrix, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Thought it said: "Here are some step-by-step instructions with photons as well."
- amythewasp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Hi Dealcracker,
Your local yellow pages are a good way to find what is available in your community. Also, google is a good way to find things too.
If we all do our homework, we can make darn near anything! -
Show 51 - 75 of 75 discussions
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is