Educational videos from the altE staff on everything from what is a solar panels, how to troubleshoot a solar panel to how to size solar charge controllers and inverters.
Are you interested in designing an off-grid solar system? Here are the 6 steps to get you started. Precursor: Trim Your Power Use You will probably not be surprised to learn that designing a power system to run an off-grid…
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In our demo below, we show how you can wire your solar panels differently to help minimize shading. Ideally, each solar panel should have its own charge controller to achieve maximum performance. But if that is not an option, see what our…
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Other than the obvious difference of 12 solar cells, there are pros and cons to using 60 and 72 cells in different solar power systems. First a little background. Solar panels are made from blocks of silicon ingots that are…
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3 Facts About Kyocera Solar Panels Fact #1 PV Evolutions Labs performed Highly Accelerated Life Testing (or HALT) on all of the major solar panel brands. Solar panels were subjected to rigorous tests that are designed to mimic years of…
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Myth #5: It takes more power to make solar panels than they save. They wear out and have to be replaced often. The Embodied Energy is the energy consumed to make, deliver, and install a product. That includes mining the material, processing…
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A common question we hear all of the time is, “How much is solar?” Or more specifically, “How much will it cost for me to install a grid-tie solar system on my house?” Without knowing specifics, this is a very difficult…
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Installing Solar Inside We’re often asked if you can do a DIY install of solar panels inside some bright, sunny windows. We’re here to show what kind of results you’d get if you attempted this type of install. Is it doable? What conditions need to…
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We’re here to demonstrate how to ensure your DIY solar system is properly charging the battery through the solar charge controller. We’ll be using a 12V solar system with a 12V solar panel, a PWM charge controller, and a 12V battery. Using a multimeter…
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We’re here with an exciting deep cycle battery technology – the Aquion Energy saltwater batteries. Yes, you heard right, saltwater instead of lead acid. Aquion Energy saltwater batteries are safe, non-toxic, and long lasting. how batteries work A battery is made up…
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Our Solar Queen is just out here hunting Pokémon! She has been out here for a long time but, she doesn’t have to worry about her phone dying, because she had a little DIY solar fun and put together a…
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