Starting costs?

OK, been looking around and am wondering what a common start up (Inverter, batteries and wiring)cost would be for jsut general usage items in a 1 room house.
I have seen 6V batteries for $80 but the inverter is $500? Seems a bit high, but the lesser ones don't seem to be able to power the devices I have in decent shape.
Another way to go other then either shelling out the bucks or running the gen longer?

"Gene" wrote in message

OK, been looking around and am wondering what a common start up (Inverter, batteries and wiring)cost would be for jsut general usage items in a 1 room house.
I have seen 6V batteries for $80 but the inverter is $500? Seems a bit high, but the lesser ones don't seem to be able to power the devices I have in decent shape.
Another way to go other then either shelling out the bucks or running the gen longer?

Is there any way you could work out the watts and kilowatt hours you consume? Then there's a chance someone could tell you what you need. What appliances do you have? How long do they run each day?

Gene wrote:

OK, been looking around and am wondering what a common start up (Inverter, batteries and wiring)cost would be for jsut general usage items in a 1 room house.
I have seen 6V batteries for $80 but the inverter is $500? Seems a bit high, but the lesser ones don't seem to be able to power the devices I have in decent shape.
Another way to go other then either shelling out the bucks or running the gen longer? That depends. For the "starter" system I have been considering around

$10,000. What are you load requirements? how reliable do you want it? How long do you want the system to last? Michelle

Gene wrote:

I have seen 6V batteries for $80 but the inverter is $500?

Try Costco or equivalent. Golf cart batteries are closer to $50, and inverters are cheap. However, you really do need to know your load before selecting your equipment.

Gene wrote:

OK, been looking around and am wondering what a common start up (Inverter, batteries and wiring)cost would be for jsut general usage items in a 1 room house.

I've set up houses with starter systems under 10k$, and summer use cottages that went past 40k$ for 'decadent' turnkey systems. It all depends on what's inside those four walls ;-).

I have seen 6V batteries for $80 but the inverter is $500? Seems a bit high, but the lesser ones don't seem to be able to power the devices I have in decent shape.

That's the first question. What do you want to run, how long do you want to run it, and how do you intend to charge the system. That determines the initial inverter options, output quality, battery bank size. The next question is what's the five year plan? The problem with cheap starter sytems is that when you want to expand later, it's replacing components, not expanding on the ones you already have. The last question is whether the Electrical Code needs to be respected, (UL, etc) ratings need to be present, do you plan to wire into an AC distribution panel.

Another way to go other then either shelling out the bucks or running the gen longer?

Well, no, that about covers it. Shell out bucks to not run the generator, or shell out bucks to buy gas for the generator. Often times at the start, folks go heavy into batteries, and charge with the generator to get the maximum out of the generator, and maximize the periods of "quiet" with no generator.
DJ

"William P.N. Smith" wrote in message

Gene wrote: I have seen 6V batteries for $80 but the inverter is $500?
Try Costco or equivalent. Golf cart batteries are closer to $50, and inverters are cheap. However, you really do need to know your load before selecting your equipment.

I've had good luck running several small inverters as needed for small appliances. For things like charging cellphones, the cheap 75-watters work fine. You can switch on a bigger one (400-750 W) for a computer or a TV. But never, NEVER hook them together on the same circuit!
If you must have everything wired together through wall outlets, then invest in a big inverter of 1500-3000 watts, but be prepared to spend thousands of dollars. They also waste a bit of power running when you're drawing a light load.
Also, inverters aren't very good for small things like clock radios. Mine lost over an hour a week. That's when I switched to a battery clock.

JoeSP wrote:

Also, inverters aren't very good for small things like clock radios. Mine lost over an hour a week. That's when I switched to a battery clock.

I've seen that with the mod-square in my shop, but the OutBack FX in my basement runs clocks just fine. But as you say, there's another digit in the pricetag between the two of them ;-).
DJ

On Tue, 21 Mar 2006 01:30:23 GMT, "JoeSP" wrote:

If you must have everything wired together through wall outlets, then invest in a big inverter of 1500-3000 watts, but be prepared to spend thousands of dollars.

Reman DR inverter/chargers http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/57/p/1/pt/18/product.asp here http://www.sunelec.com/Distributors_/Trace/invacccltrace.html for under $500. Or, about $700 new most places, like here for example http://store.solar-electric.com/dr1512.html
Wayne

wmbjk wrote:

If you must have everything wired together through wall outlets, then invest in a big inverter of 1500-3000 watts, but be prepared to spend thousands of dollars.
Reman DR inverter/chargers http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/57/p/1/pt/18/product.asp here http://www.sunelec.com/Distributors_/Trace/invacccltrace.html for under $500. Or, about $700 new most places, like here for example http://store.solar-electric.com/dr1512.html

Unfortunately, not an option in Canada. Xantrex dropped the CSA certification on their DRs lately. Up here, for AC Service Panel direct wire, it's sine or nothing.
DJ

"DJ" wrote in message

wmbjk wrote:
If you must have everything wired together through wall outlets, then invest in a big inverter of 1500-3000 watts, but be prepared to spend thousands of dollars.
Reman DR inverter/chargers http://www.xantrex.com/web/id/57/p/1/pt/18/product.asp here http://www.sunelec.com/Distributors_/Trace/invacccltrace.html for under $500. Or, about $700 new most places, like here for example http://store.solar-electric.com/dr1512.html
Unfortunately, not an option in Canada. Xantrex dropped the CSA certification on their DRs lately. Up here, for AC Service Panel direct wire, it's sine or nothing.
DJ

That's easy then. Use your generator through your panel when you need it, and use small inverters around the house for the little things.

JoeSP wrote:

That's easy then. Use your generator through your panel when you need it, and use small inverters around the house for the little things.

Yep, that works. And if you grab AGMs or Gels, you don't even have to build little battery boxes everywhere ;-).
DJ

Does anyone have any French sites that deal in alternative energy. I'm going to communicate with someone in a French speaking part of Africa and I need to ensure I'm using the correct terms.
Olushola

olushola wrote:

Does anyone have any French sites that deal in alternative energy. I'm going to communicate with someone in a French speaking part of Africa and I need to ensure I'm using the correct terms.

My site is bilingual, being in Quebec. Might be of some use to you. Dub-Dub-Dubya dot-thingy leboisealternatives dottie-thingy com.
Sorry for the obscurity, but I'd rather the spam bots not be more familiar with it than they already are ;-).
Also, consider the ESQ, Energie Solaire Quebec, at: http://esq.qc.ca/phpBB_esq/index.php
They have a discussion forum at the above website. Not alot of traffic, but a fair bit of info.
And then there might be some uppity French-from-France sites, but that'd be like asking an American Revolutionary how they liked their tea ;-).
DJ

On Mon, 20 Mar 2006 05:48:34 GMT, "JoeSP" wrote:

"Gene" wrote in message
OK, been looking around and am wondering what a common start up (Inverter, batteries and wiring)cost would be for jsut general usage items in a 1 room house.
I have seen 6V batteries for $80 but the inverter is $500? Seems a bit high, but the lesser ones don't seem to be able to power the devices I have in decent shape.
Another way to go other then either shelling out the bucks or running the gen longer?
Is there any way you could work out the watts and kilowatt hours you consume? Then there's a chance someone could tell you what you need. What appliances do you have? How long do they run each day?

Well, I have (Or will use) the following:
Coffeemaker (2-4 hours per day)
Tower Computer with 15" Monitor ( 1 hour per day, 2 if I get landline into house)
TV 20" About 1-2 hours per day (Mostly for news, few programs are worth watching now) Maybe more on weekends when off, has DVD and VHS player combined (I helped build the things for 6 years...
Reading your experience with clocks, I think I'll switch to battery only also.
Maybe 3 florescent lights, might go with tube 2 foot types....
I've seen hot water heating using small candle and gravity feed...Might be a good way for cost savings.
I guess that's it...

In article , Gene wrote:

OK, been looking around and am wondering what a common start up (Inverter, batteries and wiring)cost would be for jsut general usage items in a 1 room house. .... Well, I have (Or will use) the following:
Coffeemaker (2-4 hours per day)

A thermal carafe, airpot, or thermos will cut that way down unless you are swilling a LOT of coffee. Given that this is also your largest wattage appliance listed (typically 900-1575W), this is worth doing. The actual brewing only takes 10-15 minutes for a full pot on most machines. Moving away from this appliance and towards heating water on some sort of fuel stove and brewing with either a filter, filter-press, stove-top percolator (for that old-time coffee), Chemex or whatever would reduce your minimum inverter size quite a bit. But I admit the electric is easier, especially when you have not had the first cup yet. You could simply run the generator when making a pot, and not plan to run the coffeemaker off the inverter.

Tower Computer with 15" Monitor ( 1 hour per day, 2 if I get landline into house)

Flat-screen monitor takes less power than CRT. Trade-off is money for that, .vs. monitor you have.

TV 20" About 1-2 hours per day (Mostly for news, few programs are worth watching now) Maybe more on weekends when off, has DVD and VHS player combined (I helped build the things for 6 years...

With the right setup, one flat-screen monitor can do computer and TV functions. Might cost too much, though.

Maybe 3 florescent lights, might go with tube 2 foot types....

Consider bulb costs before doing that. 4-footers are much cheaper to buy bulbs for than 2-footers, at least in my experience. Compacts are also (now) usually less expensive than 2-foot bulbs, at least at my local hardware stores.
-- Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by