Electric Solar Panel
are Solar Panels sufficient for electric heating?
can anyone help me? i was thinking of Installing Solar Panels to cut bills but would it be a waste considering its gonna need a circulating pump running almost 24/7 (which will use electricity) and even still will only provide me with “warm” water? also would it be possible to install the solar panels for the sole purpose of providing sufficient power to run electric heaters instead of using gas/oil? this way allowing me to have a warm house without the expensive bills. brobably talking about running 7 heaters/electric radiators.
In truth, unless you was willing to spend about £50,000 ($75,000), you will not be able to gain the electricity needed to power a house full of electric heaters by using Photovoltaic Solar panels. Electric heaters just demand too much electricity to run them off a battery bank.
However, you could use solar water panels to at least preheat your hot water system and so, reduce your gas/oil usage. It is also possible to arrange your internal plumbing, so that you can use the natural rising of hot water (gravity system), to circulate around your building. This is easier to do, if you are plumbing in a new system instead of adapting an existing system. But you can buy a electric Solar Panel to run a 12 volts continuous water pump, either storing the power in a battery or incorporating a large capacitor which automatically runs the pump on full “charge”.
But if it is cost of your electrical bills you are aiming to reduce, there are many other things that a small amount of panels can do, such as lighting, charging your phone and running a T.V., or laptop. It helps if, when buying items, you try to get ones which use a small amount of power, as different makes and models use different amounts of power. If you wanted to do your lighting, all you have to do, is at your fuse box, disconnect from the mains and hook up to your battery bank. You would also need special 12 volt bulbs, which can be pricey due to there only being a small amount of manufacturers, but I personally prefer using the white light led bulbs, as they use about 1000th of the electric a 12 volt bulb does.
If you need any help advice, you can either contact me, or place an advert in your local newspaper or shop, saying what you want to do and asking for help or ideas. You should get a lot of replies, as most of the people who currently have these types of systems set up, are keen to help others convert.
It is also worth considering a small wind turbine (in many areas, these need no planning permission), as they are both cheap to buy, run well and provide quite a lot of power if you get the right one.
Don’t be too put off by the prices that some installers and suppliers charge, as there are many systems that can be home built for very little cost.