Solar Panels installed at the Sumac

In pursuit of a little more self-sufficiency, Sumac supporters installed at set of solar panels on the front of the building. A south facing wall that seems to get sunlight for most of the day.

They have already seen some service, and being of much older stock, it would be a shame to see such tech thrown away. So they have been polished up a bit and recyled in use.

The object is to provide sufficient power to recharge 12V batteries. Because of their age, there are a number of surface blemishes and thus, they are unlikely to reach their full potential voltage. To begin with, power can just be taken from the setup, 'neat'.

Eventually, they hope to include a control box in the wiring, to act as a cutout on the battery becoming fully charged. Also, being wired together in parallel, current will continue to flow, even if one of the panels should fail.

Now, I can see this is a pretty 'low-tech' project, but being so promenantly placed, an objective is to inspire visitors to the centre to give some thought on how they might do something similar themselves ..... to consider a variety of solutions.

Every little helps ...... !


Photovoltaic module - wikipedia
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photovoltaic_module

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_cell

ow do Solar Panels Work?
 http://www.wisegeek.com/how-do-solar-panels-work.htm

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ALAN LODGE
Photographer - Media: One Eye on the Road. Nottingham. UK
Email:  tash@indymedia.org
Collected Web:  http://tinyurl.com/ynttvo
Member of the National Union of Journalists [No: 014345]
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"It is not enough to curse the darkness.
It is also necessary to light a lamp!!"
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