Is it reasonable to consider pre-made solar panels?
Video #9 from the Top 10 Questions From Customers Considering or Implementing Power4Patriots
Scroll down for transcript.
Allen: Here’s question number 9, Kriss. It’s a little bit longer. And again we’ve got this mainly from folks who’ve gotten Power4Patriots and implemented it and are excited about it. So the question is, I have built a couple of solar panels using the instructions in Power4Patriots to power my cabin and it has been great so far. Now I’m considering a system to power my entire house. It is reasonable to consider pre made panels and get some professional assistance with installation?
Kriss: Absolutely, that’s reasonable. It’s not necessary unless you are going to connect to the grid. Well, I would suggest talking to an electrician if you are doing a big house-sized system, it’s reasonable no matter what.
Allen: Okay.
Kriss: You can do 90% of the installation yourself. It’s just the, you’ve got to remember that solar panels generate a very high voltage when you’re doing a lot of them and in most houses, you’re going to need a lot. So I would suggest for anybody considering a house-sized system to go ahead and call your local installation company and just have them look at your house.
Even you never hire them, even if you never, and even if the guy is a jerk and you don’t want anything to do with him, he’s probably going to teach you a lot about where you would install the system, how you would install the system and he might even give you some insight on what materials to use. And you can choose to use his services or you can just sort of replicate what he was going to do. So I would suggest anybody who is even remotely considering solar to, get on Power4Patriots.com, follow the link to our contractor finder and get an estimate.
Just to see what’s involved; to follow his thought process. He is going to teach you a lot about the shading issue we talked about, he’s going to talk about the mounting and where to put them and stuff like that. He can also tell you about the permit process too. So I would suggest that this would is a very good course of action and, like you said before, you can still do a lot of this by yourself. If you’re going to connect to the grid like we talked about, you will need manufactured solar panels, there’s a million options out there. So talk to a professional and then if you want to do it by yourself, come to solarsphere.com and we’ll help you with that and like I said, we have panels now. They can practically just plug into the wall.
Allen: Whoa.
Kriss: We have the deck power system now that can either be mounted in the yard or on a deck drilling and it literally plugs into your wall. So these systems have been getting easier and easier and we like to help people do it themselves as much as possible, do it safely but do it yourself. So I think talking to a pro is great and maybe picking up some keys and maybe you’ll decide ‘this is too much for me and I just can’t do it.’
Allen: Yes.
Kriss: And he can teach you about the local incentives and stuff like that as well.
Allen: Perfect I think that’s great advice and by the way it’s super that this customer implemented, followed the system and is now powering his cabin.
Kriss: Yes. That’s great.
Allen: Yes, do it yourself way and following what we teach in Power4Patriots. And I agree with you, I mean, listen, as we said throughout this interview Kriss it’s really where you want to take it and if folks building their own panels and wind generators and doing the solar thermal, they get excited by that through Power4Patriots for powering their cabin or garage and now they want to replicate it on a bigger scale. That’s awesome.
Kriss: That is awesome. Yes, we have a lot of people who do that, they start small, they start with a cabin or a shed or even like a garden shed. They start with that and they get excited about it and realize that they can do the whole house and we help ‘em out there, that’s really fun.
Allen: Cool, okay. Whoa we are, this has flown by Kriss, it’s unbelievable. We rock.
_________
Leave your comments below, we’d love to hear from you!
Watch the next video in the series: Does an off-grid power system typically increase or decrease the property value?
Related Posts
-
What are the top benefits of generating off-grid power using a system like Power4Patriots?
-
Give Your Windows Some Muscle for Home Defense
-
Getting off the grid could be the best thing for you and your family
-
Will Power4Patriots work for me if I have a lot of shade on my property and not a lot of wind?
can u use the water heater u already have and hook it up to solar panels. if so how do I do this?
i,m getting mail from a place called solar america to lease my roof to them to put up solar panels to cut my elec cost. is this feasible form me ?. bob pernell
“Hey, let me put something on your house that you do not own, has the potential to cause damage to your home and you will only get something back from it if we are honest and we feel like it.”
I would like to know how to evaluate a wind generator knowing that a single solar cell generates 0.5 volts. Can I setup a wind generator to run during the day for direct consumption while the solar panel charges the battery for night time use and would such a setup reduce the cost of a system that requires 1.8 kw at night and 1 kw during the day?
It is possible. You’ll need to consult with an electrician, but you can set up your house on a switch.
I need information on motors suitable for wind turbines! I have a few washing machine motors, and fan motors. Will they get the job done?
Rick
I have friends that have successfully used washing machine motors. I don’t see why a fan motor wouldn’t work, so long as it’s durably built.
Allen:
I would like to find someone that would make solar panels for us but not at the high cost.
I am willing to lease 200 500 watt panel in two weeks will you help us?
Thank you.
Billy
Hi;
Do you advise people replace their shinges (if they will need to be replaced in 3-5 years) before putting on the solar panels?
Not necessarily. You’ll want to clean and inspect your panels anyway. In 3 years, replacing your roof is a great excuse to bring them back down to ground level and run a thorough check.
Frank,
I ordered your Solar Energy CD several months ago and found it very interesting. I could see myself making my own solar panels and installing them on my roof. I watched other videos from YouTube and researched the idea thoroughly. I ran through the calculations for several different system configurations using the spreadsheet you included on the CD. It has some errors by the way. I really wanted to go “off the grid” but the cost of the batteries was a big deterrent. If I was going to use a “grid tie” system I would probably need UL approved solar panels. I decided to purchase the UL approved solar panels and started pricing them. In the end I was able to get my complete system professionally installed for what I would have to pay just for the panels. I have thirty Suniva Optima 260 Watt panels each with a Enphase Microinverter. A very clean design with AC current coming straight into my entrance panel. No DC voltage drop problems. The system startup was 02/18/13 and for the remainder of that month it generated 261 KWH and for March it generated 744 KWH. That averages 24 KWH per day and I purchased an average of 12 KWH per day. April is looking better yet! I am a member of a rural membership electric company and they are going to pay me quarterly the same as I pay them for excess energy put back into service.
Thank you so much for sparking my interest in solar electric. It was worth the money I paid for the CD. I enjoyed learning about it even if I didn’t build my own system. It answered a lot of questions I had pondered over the years.
Ernest Robbins
i use a portable solar panel that I bought at a reasonable price. This unit is only good for charging batteries and cell phones.
after using this set up for a year or more, I checked into having a system put into my home. What an education I received by interviewing different contractors.
My home is in the perfect location for a solar panel system. I have a roof without valleys so I could run an array 40′ long if I wanted to.
The amount of money to do this was staggering. That is why I paid for this program, so that I can attempt building a system with materials that I can scrounge.
I am a disabled vet on a fixed income. Scrounging and forrageing through yard sales and flea markets is the only way I can attempt energy independence.
I even went as far as trying to con the contractor into using my home as a demonstrator, like a model home, to advertise his system. No luck. At least I tried.
As I said in a previous comment, the Patriot system is not a viable system to build it yourself by seniors who, by the would be most interested in living off the grid, but because of limited finances, poor health, and limited or no experience with tools, might not be able to follow the videos or written instructions in a home study environment setting. As a psychologist, retired now, I have worked with many children and adults who have difficulty following verbal, written, and yes, visual instructions without hands on help. Kris’ classes can help those who take the class to develop the compensatory skills needed because students taking the class would reveal these auditory and visual processing problemsearly on in the class. However, the Power4Patriots materials would may as well be produced in Greek. That is where I think Frank’s product guarantee shines. It is the best money back offer I believe I have seen, especially for the folks I mentioned above. It allows these folks a chance to back out of a project that seriously confuses them with dignity and not have to explain why they want to back out. person I have tested and worked with typically have communication problems, so thanks Frank for empathizing with these customers. With some subjects, I am one of. them but my. main problem.
is financial and with climbing steps and ladders. On the other hand, I am reviewing the materials I justreceived in the mail and. am looking for a feasible way around my own deficiencies. I will have a few more suggestions later. Sorry about the length of this commentary. My wife listens to me for a few minutes, raises her hand and says I retired too soon. Hmmmm…
This is just great information.
Jettie Peterson
scott henderson has one of the best comments so far i know kriss has 1300 wats solar and 400 W ats wind but my hair dryer is 1500 wats what is he running in his house a couple phone chargers and a tv mabe a radio
my question is when you manufacture a panel and go to get it ninspected the local inspectors are going to ask for a underitors labritory sticker commonly known in the electrical industry as a ul lable. withoul this sticker you cant get inspection for your instilation.yet alone consider insurance costs should you go underground and install it without inspections. what will it cost for a ul lable? also are your manufactured panel ul listed?
What kind of solar panels plug right into a wall socket? And how much does it cost? Please advise, thank you.
Kriss said he has a 1300 watt solar panel and a 400 watt wind generator and is total paying nothing why dont he say how much did his cost??
Is this because he wants you to get this info from him and pay for it??
like we can do an estimate on your home for additional xxxxxxxx$dolllars
all you would need is the square feet he has , and adjust yourself for more or less watts
by taking his square feet and dividing it by watts you would know how much watts per square feet
you would need. I think thats simple enough.
example 1700 square foot house, using 1700 watts of power would be 1 watt per square foot
times the price of 1 foot cost and you have your answer.
then check your suppliers and find best price per watts.I think you need 20 questions
Why does he say to use mfged panels if you are going to do a whole house and want to be on the grid?
I have a 48×48 x1/4 plex panel and a great aluminum frame for my first project. I have looked on ebay and see many cells and different types. I am overwhelmed.. What, which,????
Looking for advice and why you choose whatever..
If some type of cell is a little easier but cost a bit more, thats ok. I have a friend who is an electrican and will check things along the way to ensure everything will be correct.
If this works well it will be experience I can use to build more to take the farm and plug it into the grid. Everything is electric , the local electric co. will buy excess providing everything passes inspection by a certified electrican.
Is there a spam cookie in this system?
Hugh,
We take great care not to have malicious code on the Power4Patriots site.
i have plenty of room on my land for what ever way i do decide to go
i have nothing in the way for sun or wind to get
or i should say which would be the cheaper way to go to start out with i will be going small at first
I live on a hill and im debating on what system to use i live in the norteastern region and i have no problem using wind or solar which would be the best way to go
Somehow we went from video 5 and skipped to 9 ? Help
How do I get the “system” to last longer. For example ( my panels for solar hot water) Factory
made, came with a 5 year warrant. They lasted for 5 years and then broke. ( irrepairable). The
Cost of the panels was about the same as the saving for the electricity for the hot water heater, over the past 5 years. So I broke Even. but the idea is to SAVE MONEY. and so far Solar has not
done this for me.
What’s your Idea/comments on ” longivaity of solar panel”
Steve
Well, I am on video 9 and so far I really don’t know much about (1) how much solar or wind power will cost me or (2) How much equipment I will need to significantly reduce by power bill (3) where to buy any of this stuff (4) How much it will cost. It sort of seems that the videos so far are g-r-e-a-t marketing pieces for spheralsolar and power4patriots.
Again, this video Q&A is simple common sense. If my kids in high school couldn’t answer these questions better than Kriss, I would be surprised and disappointed.
Total waste of time, & money so far
Why don’t you ask some real questions, like how much did Kriss invest for the system he has to power his house. What happens when you make more power than you are useing. Questions that help us to know what size of system we need for ourselves and how to size our systems. Seems like your top 10 “Questions” are just your attempt at another sales gimick. Ask some real questions, your top 10 gave NO information. Thanks’ for the great gift!
can’t view this one either. Instead of trying to add Facebook ‘likes’, how about you make sure video is viewable?
Thank you these videos. How c an get pricing information on the indiveual ,5 volt panels?