Nov 1, 2008 08:23 pm
Can we set up a partial solar system and add on?
Hello, We are so happy to have found this website!!
My husband and I are looking into setting up a solar system for our home, yet we are not able to afford a full system all at one time. Can we start out with a basic system and add on?
We live in South West Florida.
Our home is a 14 X 52 foot Mobile Home.
We have a well system for water.
After Hurricane Charlie,in 2004,power was out for two weeks. A 3500watt gas powered generator kept lights and fans going, yet there was no way to pull water from the well nor have refrigeration.
We would hope to start out with a very basic system that would pull up water and allow us to have lights.
As we add on to the system we would increase to support refrigeration, and finally work up to a system that would run the entire home.
Our initial purchases would need to be limited to approx. $1000.00-for panels and inverter-not including batteries or cables, and other small items.
My husband is very capable of installing the system..with directions of course!!
So our questions are:
1)Should we put most of our funds into a moderate capacity inverter? (instead of a small one that would need to be replaced)
2)If we intend to end up with a system that will run the entire home, what size panels should we be buying?
3)Can panels of diffrent sizes be connected together or do they all need to be the same?
I'm sure we will have many more questions, yet will wait to find out the answers to these first.
Thank you so very much, we will look forward to hearing back from you.
Kimmie and Jerry