Thomas Allen Schmidt's posts

I would agree. The advertisement says max. amps. but consider this, when was the first time you saw an advertisement the didn't pan out to be the entire truth? Like that picture, of a roast beef sandwhich with the thinly sliced meat piled up 2" high, on the bill board menus over the cashiers, but then once you unwrapped yours to eat it, mouth all watering in anticipation, all you see is bun. You have to move the bun to see the roast beef.
Wheres the beef?!
I am not calling anybody a lier over here or nothing, just maybe their not telling the whole truth in advertising. You have to go to the manufactures specifcations PDF file, which they do provide a link to over there.
Those PV module ratings are at a STC or Standard Test Condition. The equivalent of 1000 watts per square meter of sunlight with a PV cell temperature of 25 degrees Celsius. There are very few, if any, places on Earth that receive the equivalent of 1000 watts of sunlight where a cell temperature of 25 degrees Celsius can be maintained for relatively long periods of time. There is however, calculations involved where the NEC or National Electrical Code and UL Underwriters Laboratories are concerned, in sizing the wire as well as charge controllers, means of disconnect, fuses, and breakers for PV source circuits. These calculations start with the Isc or short circut ratings at STC then this is multiplied by 125% to meet UL requirements and after that another 125% to meet NEC requirements, or it is acceptable to do this once by a factor 156% (125% X 125% = 156%). It has something to with "edge of cloud effect and snow reflectance."  So according to this the KC 130 is capable under very certain circumstance of producing 12.52 amps, but hey, I don't make these rules. So if you to argue about that with somebody go see them. I find hard to believe it could ever happen myself but those are the rules.

As for your charge controller "accepting" only 13 volts, if that is what its manufacture states is the high voltage input limit to the charge controller from a PV source, then no. You cant use any PV module with an open circuit voltage higher than 13 volts on that charge controller. That I find very hard to believe. Chances are your holding back on us. Your only giving us a few pepperonis, maybe some tomatoes sauce over here but we need the whole pizza to make a more informed decision. You know what I am saying? So what do you say? Eh? Give us break and let us know who manufactured that charge controller and what model it is? Then maybe we can help you to make a more informed choice.

The "12" is a nominal voltage.

Adjective: nominal  nóminul
Pertaining to a noun or to a word group that functions as a noun
"nominal phrase"
"Even though the battery voltages of his PV system could fluctuate between 10.5 to 14.7 volts, he has a 12 volt nominal system."

There is also the open circuit voltage. If you didvide 130 by 7.39 this would be 17.6, but is 7.39 the short circuit amperage or the nominal amperage? Then there is the power curve caracterisitics of a given PV module. Here is something that might help you to understand all of this.
http://photovoltaics.sandia.gov/docs/AMIntro.htm
http://photovoltaics.sandia.gov/docs/Database.htm
http://photovoltaics.sandia.gov/docs/ArraysModules.htm
http://photovoltaics.sandia.gov/docs/Standards.htm
You can "pull up" any particular PV modules entire specifacations, including power curves, at its manufactures web site. Here is something thats just plain cool to play with.
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/solarcell/index.html

It depends. When is Armageddon going to get here?
Awww! I am just spoofing you Patrick.
It is however (and you have probably heard this too) a lot like asking, "I have a 20 gal. tank of gas, how long will it last in my car?" What you want to know is "what is the shelf life of that gas?"
I don't know that I can answer your question to your satisfaction, but maybe I can at least help you to formulate your own.
A lot of it has to do with cycles and how deep the cycles go. In your case, if the batteries are just sitting there "self discharging" during times of no Sunlight, then the cycles are extremely low, possibly < 5%, and this will, in effect, promote more than advertised cycles which if stated at all, is stated in terms of "number of cycles at a __ depth of discharge" which could be, 20% or 50%, possibly as low as 80% depth of discharge.
Now!, when "Armageddon" gets here and you start to use the batteries, obviously that < 5% depth of discharge between times of no Sunlight will change and this in effect will change the number of cycles available and the over all life expectancy of the batteries.
It would seem that, right about now we have the need for a calculator capable of ciphering a balance between, depth of discharge and number of cycles, and it could be very complicated or very easy "depending" on how exact of an answer one is expecting. Variables that could change the outcome would involve such things as chemical composition, impurities, temperature, humidity, and time from date of conception. Some might argue that the date, time, and location of conception could be an aspect of the ratio's within the computations (astrologists). We are afterall, trying to foretell a future event. Give me a little time and I'll see what I can find. Later.

Opinions are like bellybuttons, everybody has one.
Some can even have a "classic" opinion.....
However, it is a widely excepted opinion that an off grid residential system would cost the same as a lifetime of paying for grid power. An exception to that would be a remote off grid home where the homeowner would have to pay the utilities to set many poles and run miles of wire. The PV industry tried to change this by coming up with battery-less grid interactive/PV/inverter systems. All in all, photovoltaics is very expensive no matter how its advertised. Why else would one of its selling points be that you can get government assistance in the form of tax credits and buy back programs for utilizing it? Not to mention, you would be saving the planet Earth.
Personally, I think that last point is moot because all it really does is enable the energy addiction.

Look at it this way, does your power provider generate electricity by burning coal? How many of your years on Earth do you expect to pay for grid power? How many $ per year? 40 years at $1000.00 a year? What kind of PV system could you put together for $40,000.00?
Ask yourself, "How is it that the human race thrived on the planet Earth for thousands of years without electricity as we know it today, but I cannot live without electricity?"
If you are allready on the grid, re-learn how to live without electricity, slowly wean yourself off of it or as much as you can manage then think about PV and other alternatives. Other enablers include LP and natural gas, fuel oil and kerosene, wood and coal, but of course why not just let the power company burn coal for you right?

How did the human race do it for thousands of years? What are the basics to human existence on Earth?
That would depend on region first of all so I will use New England.
What people are/were indigenous to that region prior to utilitized electricity? Wampanoag perhaps? How did the Wampanoag live "off grid" before the "white settlers?"
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/northamerica/wampanoagculture.html (I offer my respects to the Wampanoag and their ancestors on their Day of Mourning, for it is all I have to give.)
Of course we can't have 6.5 billion people living that way world wide now can we? The affects of that would be disastrous to Earth, to say the least; but aren't the affects of 6.5 billion people just as disastrous to Earth the way we are living today? Why else would "saving the planet" be another selling point for RE?
http://www.history.com/states.do?action=detail&state=Air%20and%20Water%20Pollution&contentType=State_Generic&contentId=58538&parentId=earth
One more question for you, and this is a little off subject but one I feel needs to be ask. How is it that the people of this American nation allowed the U.S. government to set into motion, the means of turning America into a socialist republic?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/14/business/economy/14treasury.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
There used to be the U.S.S.R. or, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, now its just, Russia. Will it soon be that U.S.S.R. stands for the United States of Socialist Republics? The answer may lie in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18, of the Constitution of the United States of America. McColloch vs. Maryland
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/article01/44.html#1

I think you may be a little confused there Dave.
If your 12 volt nominal dc generator is capable of 1,000 watts output, then 1,000 divided by 12 = 83 amps but, chances are it may not actually be able to produce maximum output for very long a period of time because of increasing heat. I would have know its manufactures specifications to know for sure. As for wiring your inverter straight to the generator, consult its manufacturer. Chances are it would be okay as long as you have the correct wire size and fuse in line but, there could be sensitive electronics in the inverter that may not handle a lot of spikes and dips in voltage or the ripples formed by some generators may cause excessive heat on the electronic circuitry.
Consult its manufacturer.

At maximum output, your 2,500 watt inverter can produce 20 amps at 120 vac.
To do that it will be pulling 208 amps from a 12 vdc source.
2500 / 120 = 20
2500 / 12 = 208
If your generator produces a maximum of 83 amps then your inverter will only be capable of 996 watts.
12 X 83 = 996
996 / 120 = 8
On almost all electrical gadgets there is a label or tag that states the amount of power it needs to run. It will show either volts and watts or volts and amps. Either way you can get the third value from those two by multiplication or division. Look on your dishwasher, if its more than 8 amps or 996 watts at 120 vac, you cant use it.

Nix the idea of using a car cranking battery altogether. If your going to use a battery get true deep cycle batteries. I can tell you too that those so called marine "deep cycle" batteries are not true deep cycle batteries, the are just cranking batteries with a larger than normal reserve. A good battery for beginners would be two 6 volt 220 amp hour "golf cart" batteries wired in series for 12 volts nominal. For one thing you should be able to find them locally, and you wont have to pay for shipping. You will need some sort of battery monitor. 220 amp hours will power your inverter at the maximum output of 2500 watts for 1 hour BUT! The batteries will be completely dead. Not a good idea. You only want use 50% or less of its capacity before recharging them. I prefer keeping them in the top 20%.

Look at the power requirements of all the electric gadgets you want run. Determine how long a time you will use each over a 24 hour period and add it all up, then divide by 12 and multiply by at least 2. Example:
TV - 80 watts for 4 hours = 320 watthours
Computer - 70 watts for 2 hours = 140 watthours
Lighting - 100 watts for 6 hours = 600 watthours
Total = 1060 watthours
1060 / 12 X 2 = 177 amphours
Your generator would have to run at max. for about 2 hours to replace that.
177 / 83 = 2
Make sure you know the correct wire size for everything you wire up Dave otherwise your parade could end in fireworks, capisce?
Look up Ohm's Law for more about this math.

That is the function of the charge controller, to keep that from happening. As far as I know there is no such product other than that but, I think it could be made. A redundant voltage sensor could be wired to hold in a contactor and if too high a voltage is reached, cause the contactor to drop out. It would have to be reset manually.

Kind of like the overloads on a motor starter only they work by excessive heat from over amperage.
 
This would have to work by overvoltage. The only problem would be at sunrise, something would have to pull in the contactor. If that part of it was automated and there was an over voltage "trip" the battery voltage would drop off quickly and then it would pull in the contactor, overvoltage, trip and drop out again and again.

This is sort of how a simple on/off charge controllers like the Trace C-30-A works, only you can set the low voltage reconnect and high voltage disconnect where you want them. But as far as I know they do not have over voltage protection.

 There would have to be a relay to open the "sunrise" circuit once it pulls in the contactor and close the "seal in" circuit to start charging but allow it to drop out in a high voltage fault and be manually reset.

Again this would work like 2 and 3 on a motor starter. 3 is the start and 2 is the seal in but the overloads protect by opening X2 and have to be manually reset. But, the coil would use power... Hmmm.
 
Uhh, sorry about that. I was just thinking out loud.
How about sharing with us the name brand and model of that charge controller that failed, so I know not to ever buy one?

Clean Technology, Renewable Energy, and Sustainability as Sound Engines for Economic Growth

Its a little ironic that the word greenback or just green has been used as a slang word for The U.S. dollar. All of this green you speak of cost green, lots of green. If its suppose to be so good for us then why is it priced in a range that is well above what the majority can afford. Most of them would have to go into debt to "go green."
Green is just another marketing ploy like so many others before it. Its a means to an end for the wealthy to stay wealthy. Unless of course you know somebody thats giving it away for free, then we can talk turkey.
Did you know that at one time it was considered that the American wild turkey was to be the national bird? Imagine that, a wild turkey on the U.S. dollar instead of a wild eagle. Seems to me if we humans are supposedly of a higher order than the creatures we call wild, why aren't they trying to sell each other green. What your calling green I call baloney. The only ones that can afford it are the ones with the same mind set that created the problems in the wild environment that prompted a concern and negated the need for green.
I remember an article that blamed the poor people of India for its air pollution saying it was coming from them burning cow dung. Of course it did not mention the millions of automobiles whizzing by every day all day or the jet planes taking off and landing or, well I guess you get the picture. There must be a whole lot of poor people burning dung in India to not just keep up with all that modern day pollution but surpass it.
You want to save the planet Earth? The answer is simple, give up all this machinery that pollutes. Sure, billions of people will die but, it would seem to me that the only reason for those "excessive" billions is to generate revenues for the wealthy class. Think about one state and all of the school bus's moving kids to and from school everyday and how much fossil fuel that burns not to mention fossil fuel for heating is burned and how much coal is burned to supply electricity, just in one state, and what is the real reason for it all? The true bottom line? To produce taxpayers that create a flow of revenues to fund government and armed services that... What is it all for anyway? To keep us from becoming enslaved by tyranny? An elected legislature can cripple a mans right just as easily as any tyrant. Especially when the "good of all" outweighs the needs of the few. But go ahead, keep "buying" into it all. Time will eventually tell right from wrong. I just hope we 6.5 billion human beings don't destroy Earth and its wild creatures while chasing after that dollar like mindless automatons.

Clean Technology, Renewable Energy, and Sustainability as Sound Engines for Economic Growth

And here I was thinking it was to save the planet Earth.
Whatever it takes to sell it, right Shaguf? It should be even easier now that the news media has scared the heck out of everybody by making statements like "the U.S. government failed to pass the bailout bill." That to me sounds like making the news, not reporting it. But we all know how that turned out. Everbody got a few days of news media propaganda, enough to get really scared, and then the U.S. government voted again and low and behold, it passed.

http://dbs2000ad.com/narayan/baby-bird-personality.htm

Personally, I would prefer conservation. Re-educating human beings with how to live on Earth again, without the obsession over utilizing more and more and more energy.

If that makes me backwards thinking, then I am glad to be a backwards thinker in that respect.

There is enough energy in an apple or a fish or many other things natural to Earth to keep us alive and healthy but, it would appear that is not enough for some of us. Some of us want to pull out of the Earth all that is vile and toxic and harness these things in an effort to empower themselves over other humans and over the forces of nature itself. Quite a few have succeeded in this endeavor. So many have in fact that, in todays world it can be construed as being abnormal to think otherwise.

DEMETER.
The goddess of the Earth, in its capacity as a fruitful, growing thing, Demeter (also known as Ceres), was a daughter of Kronos and Rhea, and was looked upon by the Greeks as the all-nourishing mother of the Earth. The way life evolves from the seed which is cast into the ground and allowed to rot was the principle tenet of the belief in her. The seed was in the keeping of her daughter, Persephone, Queen of Hades, and the life that sprang forth from that seed was Demeter's. In this way the two goddesses were inseparable, and were styled as 'the two in one', or 'the great deities'.

When Hades carried off Persephone, to make her his bride, Demeter, with a mother's grief, mounted her car drawn by winged snakes and traveled through all lands searching for her, leaving traces of her blessing, in the form of instruction in the art of agriculture, wherever she was kindly received. But the person who treated her with the utmost hospitality was Keleos, in the district of Attica, where she in return taught him the use of the plough, and on departing presented Keleos' son, Triptolemos with the seed of the barley, plus her snake-drawn car, so that the boy could travel the lands, spreading the knowledge of agriculture to all men. In Arcadia, in Crete, she bore to Jasion, the first sower of grain, a son, Plutos, while in Thessaly she battled Erysichton, 'the earth upturner', or 'the ploughman', and Aethon, the personification of famine.

When Poseidon threatened to manhandle her, she turned herself into a horse and fled, but the sea god pursued her, turning also into a horse. He caught her, and together they produced the winged horse Arion. Horrified at this deed, Demeter hid for a long time in a cave, finally emerging to purify herself in the river Ladon, and rejoining the other gods and goddesses. Demeter's sigils were ears of corn and poppies, and her sacrifices were cows and pigs.
 

http://www.enphaseenergy.com/
Can't say as I do. I am off grid kinda man myself. Would you believe that this idea is not new? A company called Solarex tried it back in the early to mid 90's. Must not of sold very well. Of course they didn't have MPPT technologies way back then. Solarex was a subsidiary of Amoco (American Oil Company) which was bought out by BP (British Petroleum). It was just a short amount of time before BP absorbed Solarex as well.
Notice the date at below site.
http://www.ibiblio.org/london/renewable-energy/solar/general-info/msg00317.html

None. If its a good charge controller, because it should "see" this as being the same as nightime and stop all "reverse" flow to the PV array.
Does it have an electro magnetic coil relay in it or is it all solid state?

I can't be 100% certain but, if I understand the problem its too many AC inputs on line to one main power panel?
The grid, UPS, genset and, grid tie PV powered inverter all at once trying to feed the only AC main?
I am at a little bit of a loss. Is the UPS acting as the main controll hub for all of these input powers, matching sinewave form and phases harmonics with the grid?
Like I said I can't be sure so, I am just throwing an idea off the top of my head, it might be possible or necessary to add some automation into the mix with transducers and contactors. Its hard to imagine a system such as this evolving without something of this nature already in the mix, at least not without something going boom!
I would love to see this in person so I could wrap my mind around it better. It sounds really interesting. Are there any web sites that can show the specs. on the equipment?

Not trying to sound insulting or anything Stephen but, thats like asking, "I have some gasoline and tires, whats the best car for me to drive?"
Two things you need to know; how much power are you estimating to get and, what are your power needs converted into amphours at a given nominal voltage, all over a 24 hour period and Ohm's Law. Well, ok, three things.
Then there is personal preference. Some folks like sealed gel cells I prefer the traditional flooded cell.
I can give you an example that might help. Bear with me though 'cause I ain't no expert on wind power estimati'n.
Lets just say for example your Air X 400 produces an equivalent average over a years time of 2400 watts per 24 hour period (day/night) at the nominal voltage of 12.
That would be 2400 / 12 = 200 amphours.
Now if your are using close to 100% of his power during that same 24 hour period and you want to keep the battery bank in the top 20% of charge to prolong its over all life expectancy, simple multiply by 5. (Shallow cycling promotes more cycles.)
That would be 200 X 5 = 1000 amphour battery bank at 12 volts nominal.
Does this example help?
In this example you could run your 2500 inverter at full capacity for about 1 hour without going much below the 20% depth of discharge. Or any variable of this.
2500 / 12 = 208.
http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/Biographies/OhmBio.htm
http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/Biographies/VoltaBio.htm
http://www.corrosion-doctors.org/Biographies/AmperBio.htm
Truly amazing ain't it? I mean that this all took place almost two hundred years ago.

I can honestly say that, in my personal experiences over the past 15 years, I have had a lot of encounters with people that have had a sincere desire to utilize PV power on their homes and or business'. Some of them were even ecstatic to finally be talking to someone about it but, when I added up the cost minus any government assistance, minus any profit or overhead for the PV system and showed them the price for materials alone, I got reactions that range from a blank stare of disbelief to a look of horror. One fella just let air out between his teeth, turned and walked away.
In my opinion, there is absolutely nothing Barack Obama or any politician could every do to change those reactions from potential investors of PV energy.
While I am on this subject, does anybody know were I can find a list of PV industry CEO's, chairpersons and, their yearly incomes? Can I at least assume that they are not living in slum housing or single wide mobile home parks, riding the bus or driving beater cars and pickup trucks like millions of other American people are? Working fulltime jobs but the pay is at a scale that still allows them to get government assistance for food to feed there children, like millions of American people are?
George W. Bush was paid $400,000.00 a year to be our U.S. president. Does anybody know what Barack Obama is getting paid to be our U.S. president?
Would somebody correct me if I am wrong but, in America, isn't the U.S. president still considered an employee in the public service? Or maybe they would prefer the word official? Lest they be thought of as inferior.

You can't seriously believe that this politicians campaign promises are going to be different than any other politicians. He is only different because he is the first African American U.S. president but, that alone does not make him an honest politician? Hey thats an oxymoron, like jumbo shrimp or pretty ugly.
Honest politician.

It will take a year to get the results but once you have them you can tune in your PV array to your exact location with two simple items; one is an angle finder and the other is a block of 2"x4"x12" cut square at both ends. You can check once a month or check it on the solstices and equinoxes or when ever you want.
At 12:00 noon on the day you want to know the perfect angle, hold the block of 2"x4" too the face of the PV array, adjust the array until there is no shadow any where around the block, then just hold the angle finder to it and there you have it. Of course you may want to write it down somewhere or maybe drill set holes in the adjuster legs or something. This all depends on the PV array facing solar south during the winter solstice. On the shortest day of the year in my region at 12:00 my block doesn't cast a shadow but at 12:00 on the longest day this doesn't happen until 1:30 which fine because there is still lots of daylight left.

Or you could just dispense with all of it like I do and once a month adjust the array so that there is a slight shadow on the top side of the 2"x4" block of wood or bottom if progressing from winter to spring and then summer again. This assures that the sun is coming in perpendicular to the array as the month progresses. Its a chore but one that I like doing because it also gives me a chance to clean and inspect the array and array mount and all. So far so good.

http://www.evalbum.com/build
I have often kicked around the idea of setting several smaller electric motors in a radial pattern around a central heavy steel flywheel that in turn drives the axle. Maybe six motors with small pneumatic tires making contact with the flywheel. Wired in such a way as to make all 6 available at full "throttle" but as highway speeds are reached and "throttle" demand lessens fewer motors are utilized. The rest going into free spin. Of course regenerative braking would work the same way. As well, hydraulic pump/motor/reservoir systems may or may not be an advantage. The air system you mention could be used as added regenerative braking. As an example, mountain driving, there is always the trip down the other side where all of these regenerative braking implements could come into play. Just ideas though. I guess the real big idea here would be, who's going to pay for it all? It sounds harsh but I am only being realistic. Something I learned from a friend. http://www.cloudelectric.com/home
 In the mean time though, here is somethings for us to drool over, I mean if your into this sort of thing and all.
http://www.teslamotors.com/
http://www.nedra.com/

If you could give us the measurements L x W x H of your battery compartment and what the primary use of battery power is we could help you to get the most out of that space. Not that you can't do this on your own but, we may know of options that you may not be aware of.
http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f14/6v-trojan-vs-8d-batteries-6471.html
Here are some places that may help you to decide a few things.

Correct me if I am wrong but, aren't 8D batteries "big rig" cranking batteries? If so, are they being used for cranking an engine or lighting and entertainment such?
If I am not mistaken about 8D, they only have about 100 amp hours at the 20 hr. rate. Although the height of a Trojan T-105 "golf cart" battery would be greater, you might be able to get 8 of them on the same foot print. Wired in series parallel you could have 800 amp hours at 12 volts nominal instead of only 200.
Of course this is just a thought. You have the actual measurements, so...

Hi Patrick.
I don't consider myself a smart electrician. A smart electrician might advise you to consult with a state licensed electrical contractor instead of giving away free and possibly incorrect information over an internet forum but, if you cannot find such a contractor who has first hand experience with these types of RE inverters nothing has been gained so, I'd like to take a crack at it. I'll also give you links to the information I have found. As for telling you how to wire it all up, I will have to refrain from that because I cannot actually see for myself what you have. If I am right though, it should be fairly straight forward wiring.

You say there is a "neutral" wire coming from the pump motor? Is this what you see in the controll box?
http://www.do-it-yourself-pumps.com/franklin-electric-submersible-pump-control-boxes.htm
The explanation provided at the above site is somewhat confusing. It makes a reference to using a neutral wire with the incoming power but it tells us to land it with the EGC or grounding wire. This is pointless. The only time a neutral is needed is to obtain one or more single 120 volt line(s) from a 120/240 supply. The neutral provides a safe potential and can "carry back" the unbalanced load of multiwire branched circuits. When 240 volt alone is needed a single grounding wire is sufficient because the load is balanced against the two "hot legs" for the potential.
Are you sure its not a yellow "L2" wire? Anyway, it sounds as though it may be a simple capacitor start single phase 230 vac motor, only I would guess that the capacitor(s) is in the control box you mentioned. As opposed to being in or on the motor itself. What you are wanting to know is how to supply 3 wire, 230 vac to the controll box from a single inverter. Correct?
There is a single inverter capable of suppling 4 wire, 120/240 vac. Its the Magnum Energy MS-AE series inverter/charger.

 !!CAUTION!! !!CAUTION!! !!CAUTION!! !!CAUTION!!
The wire coming from the pump motor that you are calling a "neutral" wire, may not be a neutral wire at all. Be sure you fully understand whats going on with this before appling power to the control box. Does the control box have a terminal for a neutral wire with the in coming power supply? Is there a neutral wire with the existing supply wires? If so, where is it landed?
 Here is some more information about the subject from someone who has been in the business of RE water pumping a long time. http://www.wholesalesolar.com/Information-SolarFolder/Invt-sizingforwellpump.html
Heres is the Magnum MS-AE inverter/charger (24 vdc model)
http://www.wholesalesolar.com/products.folder/inverter-folder/magnum_ms_4024AE.html

Just out of curiosity, would changing the pump be out of the question?

Yes Eric, that is the point. No amount of matter is every lost and none is every gained but, it is being "tied up" in a form that is consuming or maybe a better way of saying it, transforming an every increasing amount of natural resources into matter that cannot be utilized by nature again for thousands of years or just plain never be used by nature again but "stored up" or "locked into" nature in the form of toxins. One example of this is PCB's not only "locked up" in the sludge at the bottom of ponds and lakes but in living cells as well.
As you may know, the manufacturing of PCB's was only just outlawed in the late 70's and during the 80's thousands of gallons of PCB laced oils were illegally released along thousands of miles of roadsides in the southeastern states. Just recently in this decade has the holding area (were most of the contaminated soil from those roadsides was store and treated) been declared safe by government standards.
This is just one example. One that was discovered and dealt with. Pity about the Hudson river, huh? There are other types of pollution that do not involve toxins, such as light pollution. There was a time, not that long ago when our Milky Way could light up our Earth under a night time sky with the intensity of a full moon.

One possible definition of the word flourish is - to grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way - where as mankind has grown vigorously since the advent of the machine, has it really been a healthy growth on the planet Earth or decadent growth? Not unlike a cancer.
 To speak of human accomplishments in technology over the last 100 years as being mankinds greatest accomplishment smacks of complacency and pride. I would say that mankind's greatest stroke of luck is that we haven't completely destroy the planet Earth with our technologies, yet. Maybe you and I could just agree to disagree on that point, eh?
One claim is that people live longer now than those that lived several thousands of years ago but, is that the overall healthiest way to be? No matter what one believes to be the beginnings of the human race on Earth, it took several thousands of years for worldwide human population to reach 2 billion but it has only taken the last 100 years for that number to increase by 4.5 billion more. I don't have any scientific proof but, something about that doesn't strike me as being healthy for the planet Earth and, without a healthy Earth, what do we have? Mars? Too late for Mars. Venus? Will the human race last long enough on Earth for Venus to cool down and conceive a sustainable atomsphere capable of the bio diversity we have known here on Earth? If so then what? Start the same process all over again?
In an election of what will ultimately save the planet Earth, my first vote would be abstinence of procreation on the part of the human race (for a period time of course) then maybe renewable energies.

I think I know what you are asking but, I am not 100% sure that I know what you are asking so, I will take my "best shot" at giving you an answer.

Wow! I must have started writing 10 times and deleted it 10 times because all I could come up with is more questions of my own. Questions like; are you on or off grid? What is the nominal voltage of your solar yard lights? Do you want to wire them all in permanently to one power source? Are the solar cells built in or separate from the light? Are they all identical to one another?

Anything is possible but, without some base of reference it would be difficult at best for me to help you come up with a safe and viable lighting system. I assume that you are attempting to reuse existing lights without purchasing anything more than necessary to utilize them indoors. This would involve some sort of voltage supply equal to the nominal voltage of each light if they are all identical to one another.
http://www.powerstream.com/dc2.htm
Look over this site and read the ratings carefully. Be sure the voltage range is not spread to far apart from what your lights need but keep in mind that the more lights there are on one string and, the longer the wire, the more of a voltage drop. Also the amperage. You will have to know how many amps are to be drawn from the power supply. Of course I don't know what the input voltage would be to the converter so... All in all, you may just have to experiment but, please practice safety. We wouldn't want to read about you burning yourself up now would we?

If you have 120vac, use a NO. relay with a 120 vac coil.
The motion detector would energize the coil of the relay by way of the wires that would normally go to the lamp socket(s). This action would close the normally open contact, which has the low voltage dc circuit going across it.
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/SR510.html
Take notice that the contacts on this particular relay is only good for 10 amps at 30 vdc. If you needed to have more lights, say 50 amps worth at 12 vdc nominal then use the above relay in the same fashion except to pull in a larger, higher rated contactor with a 12 vdc coil.
http://www.evparts.com/prod-SL2555.htm
I don't know why anybody would want to but, this would allow a simple 120 vac motion detector turn on a whole "bank" of car headlights or more precisely off road lights.
Low voltage dc LED lighting would seem to be the rage now.
http://www.theledlight.com/12volt-led-bulb.html

A solar electric system for your home can be a do it yourself project but, without knowing your experience level of electrical wiring, I will have to caution you on a lot of things so please don't take offense.
If you don't have one allready, get a current copy of the NEC code book, and make friends with an electrician that can help you decipher it. In particular Article 690.
I kind a get the impression that you know a little about it allready. So you know to get the most out of a PV module it has to be perpendicular to our Sun as much as possible through out the; day, season, year.
Heres a place that might help you.
http://rredc.nrel.gov/solar/old_data/nsrdb/redbook/atlas/
Dang! Its 5:49 allready. I got to get ready for work. Sometimes, it seems as though there is know end to trouble shooting problems with industrial motor controls.

There are some particulars involved in the wiring, but ya, its that simple. I cant possibly know how much electrical wiring experience you have but basically speaking safety is the key factor. Wire size and wire protection (fuses and/or breakers) depends on amperage. On the back of PV modules are ratings at STC or Standard Test Condition.
One of those is Isc or short circuit amperage. Multiply that by 156%. This will give you the minimum wire size.
You know what, when I started out down this road, I didn't have the internet. We had been living without electricity for over 20 years. Somebody gave me a years subscription to HomePower magazine. I learned more about PV power systems and RE in general from those pages than anywhere else. In case you don't know about it, check it out at www.homepower.com

I certainly don't want to squash ingenuity or burst anybodies bubble but, why go into a intergrated fixture?
If you want to experiment with PV, maybe to get a feel for it before making the big plunge into offgrid living and telling the local power provider where they can put there power.
Start with a 100 watt, or so, PV module - 2, six volt 220 amp hours golf cart batteries, C35 charge controller, and a Samlex 600 watt inverter. Sure its all going to cost you around $1,000 bucks or more but, think about what you payed for the attic exhaust fan and all it does is move air during the day in the summer time. If you try tapping into that fixture, there is a good chance you will not be satisfied by what your able to get from it.
With a very basic system, but one that can be added onto as time and finances allow, I think you will be more satisfied with the outcome. To the point that once your ready to make the big plunge and tell the power company to come drop your service, you'll be asking yourself, "why didn't I just do this to start with?"
Its understandable though. If I am going to dive off into water unknown to me I'd like to swim around first and feel for anything that might bust my head open like a pumpkin on asphalt.

"It Asnwers everything about the energy crisis."
I am curious Sherry, does it "Ansnwer" the increased demands for energy by a world wide human population increase of 4.5 billion people in less than 100 years? Or the prediction that there will be an additional increase of 4 billion people demanding energy over the next 20 years?

Nature is a closed system. No amount of matter is ever lost and none is every gained, but like energy, it changes state. Dry grass and leaves and dead wood lying on the forrest floor slowly rots and becomes soil but, if it is set fire, then time becomes a factor. A balance in nature has been upset for that eco system. Wild life is lost, soil erodes, streams fill with sediments and on and on, a whole chain of events for a hundred years or more before it returns to a balanced state.
 If there is 12.5 billion people weighing in at an average of 125 pounds each, then there will be 1,562,500,000,000 pounds of matter taken up by the existence alone of humans on Earth. Every heard the expression "dust to dust, ashes to ashes, we commend thy body back into the Earth from which it has come"?
Then there is what we consume as food, what we expel, the natural resources consumed to produce energy in order to have a life of,,, I'll just go ahead and say it, luxury.
I cant even imagine how many tons that would equal up to. Even though it will all be returned to the Earth eventually, there will be an upset or an out of balance where it could all come crashing down to one side and it will take thousands of years to recover, if it does recover.
After all, humans not only lived on Earth for thousands of years without all of the modern conveniences we take for granted today, the human race flourished without them. We today are testimony to that fact but, at the same time, we are a testimony to the a possible future where mankind will annihilate itself if things do not change where procreation is concerned. Or, by the looks of things, maybe I should say recreation.
In our time on Earth we are a living contradiction. We are at a pivotal point and no amount of RE is going to change that fact. Contraceptives? Maybe.
One thing is for sure if nothing is done about population growth of this rate, it will be a pity about Earth.

Beware! PV can become addicting. First a car radio, then lights, a scanner, CB, TV, computer, etc., etc..
If your somewhat serious about expierimenting, start with at least two 6 volt 220 amp hour "golf cart" batteries wired in series for 12 volt nominal. These will be way better than those so called marine "deep cycle" batteries because the marine batteries are really just cranking batteries with an extra amount of reserve and they will not "live" as long.
As for a charge controller, plan for the future. You will want to add more PV modules as time goes by. 

Where I wrote "more interesting stuff," I wasn't implying that what your doing isn't interesting, just more interesting stuff like what your doing.
Another place to try would be the online archives of the Mother Earth News magazine.

Lots of similar discussions at this place.
http://www.fieldlines.com/
Or if your looking for something a little different, (lots of links here to more interesting stuff.)
http://www.redrok.com/main.htm

Just out of curiosoty, which variety are you raising? Hybrids? Long finned? Nishikigoi, maybe Tancho?
Can I assume that the 30 watt pump and LED lights is at 120vac? If so...
30 watts/120vac = .23 amps
30 watts/12vdc = 2.5 amps
2.5 amps X 24 hours = 60 amp hours
60 amp hours X 7 days = 420 amp hours
8 - 6 volt 220 amp hour "golf cart" batteries wired as 4 sets of 2 in series/parallel will provide 880 amp hours at 12 vdc. So, even if it were to go for 7 days of power outage, it would only be half "empty" or, still half full. That depends on you.
Of course there is the possible need for a small inverter but it would only change things by about 15%.
All you have to do is come up with a way to recharge after each discharge. If you have the grid just plug in a charger.
http://www.hajiwaru.com/img/jinmengyo.jpg