Project Solar-Ownage
I’ve decided that I want to do a solar project. I live in Arizona, where we have tons of sunshine, so why not? I’m not sure what kind of solar project I am going to do, not anything full bore crazy like powering the whole house, I think I will just do something like a fully solar powered WiFi router and/or WebCam. Some things I will be doing as part of the project:
- Solar panel research – How many watts of output do I need? What are the cheapest ones? http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200263174_200263174
- Mounting options – Where to put this stuff? I don’t want the backyard to look like a crazy science experiment. It needs to be clean-no messy wires, etc, and not break if a gust of wind hits it.
- “Charge Controllers” – A charge controller could be required to keep from overcharging the battery if the panel output is not well-matched to the battery.
- Power Regulator – A gizmo needed to step down the 12V power to the 5v or 9v that the WiFi router will require.http://www.dimensionengineering.com/DE-SWADJ.htm
- Sensors – Talking remote-wired or wireless sensors here. I want to be able to interactively graph the voltage and current draw of the system, this will provide useful info on the effectiveness of the charging system, and will also be awesome eye candy. I will have to write some custom C++ code, will be fun. I’m considering using “phidgets”: http://www.phidgets.com/
After the WiFi experiment I may adapt the base of the solar setup so that it powers some landscape lighting. I’m sure I will come up with some other ideas as well, like using it to power things that use a lot of juice but not all the time – garage door opener? Of course with something like that it has to be stable enough to work every time, including at night and cloudy days 
I will fully document the any code that I write and however I build stuff, as I like to provide info for others to duplicate if they wish. To be Ownage-worthy the final system will have to be stable, clean, and cool enough interface that people say “wow that is awesome”.
March 11th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
It is indeed amazing that we can make use of it’s heat. To have energy for our homes and appliances and of course, to save!
Solar energy panels really helped many people. It is very useful and reasonable in saving money. It is all natural and a green nature friendly.
March 16th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Speaking of solar things… Did I happen to leave the solar powered phone charger at your house at some point over the last year>
March 16th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
Ummm…no. I didn’t even know you had one of those. Nice!
March 17th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
Lol, well I DID have one….till i lost it
. Jeramiah hates me now
April 23rd, 2009 at 9:14 am
I really will look forward to hearing what you get from this because I’ve been thinking alot about solar power in the wake of our impending move back to Arizona, a state that is a prime candidate for wide-spread residential solar power usage. I’ve been reading some (not a ton, but some) on the incentives they are doing in Arizona right now for having them installed.. I’ve heard that you can do them yourself. Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn’t be worth it get a huge group of technologically savvy friends together and do everyones’ house. Aside from the environmental benefits.. knowing you could cut down your energy bills significantly is a HUGE motivator for that. I’d love to hear anything you’ve found on the matter.
What I’ve read so far says that it’s still a bit too expensive for the mainstream public, but still a good idea though..
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:02 pm
Time to make this happen!
March 5th, 2010 at 11:53 am
[...] realized it was nearly a year ago when I first mentioned the Solar Project that I wanted to do. What better time to work on it than now, when I am in between jobs? Of course [...]