A good customer of ours reported their utility billing history after implementing sealed, non-spill deep cycle batteries.
The Solar Power Journey started by the phrase "Find a need and fill it"
So, now 9 months later. My wife and I both have equal systems
running our entire side of the house ,desk lighting[led strip], Ham radio
operating,110 office needs supplied by Xantrex 600/1200 watt pure sine
wave inverters sitting within 2 feet of running radios. No RFI Birdies at
all. We both have 180 watts of poly panel and 220 ah total batteries, both run
by Renogy Commander MPPT 20 amp Solar power controllers [2 feet from the
radio,and no RFI birdies]
The house bank now running the refrigerator 24/7 with Xantrex switched grid backup in
case of need for grid power. Our 110 vac needs have changed drastically
due to experimentation with passive swamp cooling [all 12vdc powered and quiet]versus
active[noisy,major cost,lots of power needed for small return] and LED lighting experiments to fill our retirement needs.
Instead we have a 8 unit bank of 4" silent computer fans running in he
back bedroom window blowing out and sealed. In the other end of the
house,theres an array of wetted swamp cooler pad hanging in the window
with the air being drawn thru it, and changing by an average of 22
degrees. I can stand 80 degrees with my M.S., and it drops the temp 22
degrees on LOW!! If I turn one all the fans, it drops temp 26 degrees,
and still doesn't make as much noise total as one computer tower. The water pump is
12 vdc.
The house system is 600 watts of Costco poly panels [100 watt 12volt $139 free
ship], the 4ea 150 Ah Fiamm Batteries From San Diego Deep Cycle ,a 40 amp Commander MPPT Renogy solar controller,and a Xantrex ProWatt pure sine wave 2000/4000 watt inverter.
As impressed as we are with the 600/1200 inverters from Xantrex, the ProWatt PSW
2000/4000 is trash on the hoof.A $400 investment,and since july 1,2016, 2
have died and been replaced Now,I have come to the realization that the major inverter can be
turned off as long as it takes to bag that ham radio rare one,and turned back
on,for 1/3 the cost of an RFI proof unit that dies every 4 months.It was only running a 3 years new Sears refrigerator[250 watts/110vac]. I operated THAT off a $125 PSW inverter from Amazon waiting for my 3rd Xantrex replcement in under one year.
All said and done, a $4000 investment and some labor[fun] and now, my
electric utility bill went from $170 a month avg. to $35 a month.Yes, we are both retired,and have minimal needs,but this has put cash in our pockets. I want to Thank You
guys for helping me make an investment that is netting me a minimum of
$100 a month return on investment. My credit union is jealous as heck.