Back up Solar Power

Back up alternative energy

Interest in Back up Solar Power has been steadily increasing particularly in locations where energy conservation regulations exist that trigger regular brownouts and blackouts.

Emergency Solar Power Solutions

back up solar power

While solar energy in general continues its progress as a mainstream power solution, backup solar power has come to play an important role.

In areas where daily power consumption can exceed production and energy reduction laws are in place and firmly enforced, the need for a backup energy power source, such as solar energy, increases.

A back up energy system will make life a whole lot easier in any emergency where power is lost due to environmental disaster. Whether for a day or a month, emergency solar power systems can take on the task of powering basic systems such as water pumping and filtration, essential tools, communications and lighting.

If the power grid is supplying energy to medical equipment and sensitive electronics it may be vital to your health or livelihood to maintain an uninterrupted energy stream at least to the most critical systems.

As with any solar power system you'll benefit from adopting some Energy Conservation Tips and Techniques that'll give you more bang for every solar dollar you spend.

During peak hours of energy usage, a process called load shedding is often used, meaning that all but the most pertinent of energy consumption must be reduced. Much of this is done via daylighting using the light produced from the sun to shut off unnecessary lighting within a building via a signal to a photocell.

However, even with such regulations, there continue to be rolling brownouts and blackouts in many heavily populated areas of California.

In order to prevent the complete loss of power during such times, many residences and commercial buildings have begun installing backup solar power devices that will maintain pertinent lights and other sensitive equipment.

Back Up Solar Power You Can Count On.

Other areas, primarily in the US, are heading toward the same situation as California and finding solar power a viable solution.

By installing solar panels to meet the needs of the particular building size, as well as an emergency transfer switch that, upon loss of power, reroutes electricity from the solar power source rather than the mainstream power. When a brownout occurs, the switch intelligently flips and allows power to continue flowing from the backup energy power.

Solar panels can be installed on the roofs of most buildings, meaning there is no need for special locations or reservation of property upon which to install the backup power source.

Large population centers across the world are seriously considering such an alternative, especially in Germany, where the leading research on the use of solar energy is occurring.

A back up solar power system requires the following components:

Solar Panels ~ How many watts you need will vary greatly, depending on what you expect to power during a blackout and a number of other variables.
Inverter ~ The inverter converts the DC power to your AC, household power. If you intend to only power DC (12volt) devices you won't need an inverter, you can use the juice directly from the batteries.
Batteries ~ 2 deep cycle batteries will store energy so that you can use it even when the sun isn't shining. The more batteries you add the greater the storage capacity. If you don't have batteries the panels will provide power only when the sun shines on them and the strength of the power will vary depending on how much sun is striking it at the moment.
Charge Controller ~ The charge control prevents the batteries from being over or under charged and damaged.
Hardware ~ A sundry supply of wires and hardware will round out your back up solar power system.

A 260W Solar Kit will power lights, fans, a 12V cooler , small power tools and a laptop computer.

If you want power that you can access 24 hours a day, a small bank of batteries can be added to the system to store energy for use at any time. The battery bank is not included with the kit and would cost another $200 - $400 depending on the number and type of batteries.

On smaller, portable back up systems, a power pack provides the battery, charge controller, inverter and outlets in one convenient package. For small devices and appliances choose something like the Xantrex PowerPack 400 and for a larger system choose the more powerful Xantrex X1500, add a solar panel and your back up system is ready.