Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Solar System

The photo shows me wiring up a solar system (of my own design) last night. The lamp is a part of it. What I have tested so far is regulator, lights, auto night-light, alarm, and inverter (the inverter not my own design) -- however, I haven't yet tested the regulator under full sun -- that's where the sparks and smoke appear! OBSERVATION: My best guess is that a useful solar power plant could be done for R100-R150 ($10-$15), although this one cost me R400 retail ($40). So why are people not using solar power? Note, however, that this is Mickey Mouse compared to powering a whole house "as normal" off the sun. The lamp, incidentally, is a beauty -- a 1.5W super-efficient Osram lamp (80 lumens -- more or less equivalent to 80 candles).

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