On Sat, 1 Dec 2012 08:48:26 -0500, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:

"William Bagwell" wrote in message
$39.99 supposedly marked down from $79.99. No coupons... Need to
look at one of
those panels next time I'm in there. Have been dreaming of solar
since we built
our house twenty years ago. Roof faces as close to true south as I
could get it
and the pitch angle matches our latitude....

They'd put out "45W" into a 17V battery or intelligent switchmode
charger. The current is about the same for a 12V battery but of course
the wattage is lower. The charger in the kit simply connects the panel
to the battery as long as the battery voltage is below 14.4V.

My HF panel kit was good for 2.8A when new, now it rarely reaches
2.0A.

How old are those, Jim?


Last fall we lost power for a week and it was enough to run this
laptop an hour or two a day. I use only about 200W on average anyway
(4-5 KWH/day) and can do without, or run a small generator an hour or
two a day to recharge batteries, but if you need a generator
constantly I don't think they are worth buying. A decent battery and
inverter double the system cost. My panels can't produce $0.02 worth
of grid electricity per day.

No, they're not for powering the grid. g A several KW/H system is
better for doing that.

I got mine for emergency lighting and maybe heat. The HF heater only
puts out 180W, so it's doubtful it would be much help.

--
Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.
-- Franklin D. Roosevelt