Solar Power Generator

Hello guys in reprap forum,

Sorry for inconvenience if my post was already posted by another user. I will just ask if solar power generator is effective in your community? Read [www.sunpowerport.com].

The sunpowerport is a bit of overkill I would have thought, as it converts DC to AC and then you have to convert it back to DC.

A better approach to solar power would be:

Get one of the Solar Panels for Motorhomes (e.g. an 80 Watt one), with all the standard attachments that go with it, a Deep Cycle 12Volt Leisure battery (not a car battery) and that should I believe provide enough power to run it. The Leisure battery should be able to provide 5amp for a long enough period of time, and the Solar Panel can top the battery up during the day.

Typically the 80 Watt Solar panel can provide up to 5A of current, but in practice this has is more typically 1 or 2 amps, but this depends on the sun and the angle of the solar panel to the Sun.

A Leisure battery can typically provide 120 Amp Hours of current so a single leisure battery can provide 20 hours of operation for the printer, on a single charge.

David

No, we need at least 60 watts of power(from one of the most efficient machines by far, probably more given that power input hasn't been measured) in order to run. At 60 watts(assuming no reprap host, best case estimates) I'm getting something like 3.3 hours of run time which is enough to make a solid plastic cube about 2 inches on the side. This probably isn't enough for some of the big parts on RepRap Mendel. This might equivalent to making one or two small parts per day with your system. This also limits max part size, as we can't stop midprint and start reprinting the object again.

Of course most setups are going to require more power, this will typically be around 90-200 watts(maybe a bit higher probably 350 very max) and will tend toward the higher side if one is using something called a heated bed which improves print quality. Most of the time the setup will have a host computer that will require power too.


Also, I can provide machine specs if anyone wants them. Also, I'd like your machines specs(print speed, extrusion width, extrusion thickness, power consumed, what material you use to print, and if you use a heated bed). I'm making a RepRap efficiency scoreboard and so far I only have 3 challengers....

So I would not say this is effective, add a larger solar panel, 500 watts might do the trick.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/17/2010 04:17AM by Gene Hacker.

My view was that the 80 Watt Panel would be for charging the battery only. The battery would be responsible for the delivery of the current rather than the solar panel itself. I know from experience that a solar panel will not delivery enough current for long enough (That sun keeps moving). But it will delivery a top up current for a number of hours in a day.

So will a 120 Watts requirement on a 12Volt circuit that would be 10Ah drain (if I have got my maths correct) on the battery so you would be looking 12 hours with a 120Ah battery, this is pushing the limit, so you are more likely to get 6 hours printing time powered from a high level Leisure battery. (And you could stick a couple in Parallel in order to get a longer period of time.)

Note you must use Leisure batteries and not car batteries. Different current draw profiles. (recycled submarine batteries would be the "green" option)

David

For the Solar power in the Mendel workshop.
I have 8 15W panels that will be providing 120W to charge a 220A solar battery with two 1kw inverters.

I'm expecting most of the power to be used directly from the panels during daylight hours only as the sun goes down will the battery power come into play.

The 12v battery charge controller maintains 14v max on the battery in peak sun the 12v Panels will be producing 15~19V peak according to the specs.

The workshop is built with the vast majority of its roof facing south thus plenty of room for quite a few more panels. I was about to fit this first stage of solar this week but a planning issue has prevented further work on the workshops.

Waiting to find out if I have to lower the whole structure by 150mm to meet the UK permited development specs. 150mm = 6"

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