how stuff works

http://home.howstuffworks.com/


Finishing Your Solar Power Setup

The use of batteries requires the installation of another component called a charge controller. Batteries last a lot longer if they aren't overcharged or drained too much. That's what a charge controller does. Once the batteries are fully charged, the charge controller doesn't let current from the PV modules continue to flow into them. Similarly, once the batteries have been drained to a certain predetermined level, controlled by measuring battery voltage, many charge controllers will not allow more current to be drained from the batteries until they have been recharged. The use of a charge controller is essential for long battery life.

The other problem besides energy storage is that the electricity generated by your solar panels, and extracted from your batteries if you choose to use them, is not in the form that's supplied by your utility or used by the electrical appliances in your house. The electricity generated by a solar system is direct current, so you'll need an inverter to convert it into alternating current. And like we discussed on the last page, apart from switching DC to AC, some inverters are also designed to protect against islanding if your system is hooked up to the power grid.

Most large inverters will allow you to automatically control how your system works. Some PV modules, called AC modules, actually have an inverter already built into each module, eliminating the need for a large, central inverter, and simplifying wiring issues.

Throw in the mounting hardware, wiring, junction boxes, grounding equipment, overcurrent protection, DC and AC disconnects and other accessories, and you have yourself a system. You must follow electrical codes (there's a section in the National Electrical Code just for PV), and it's highly recommended that a licensed electrician who has experience with PV systems do the installation. Once installed, a PV system requires very little maintenance (especially if no batteries are used

they show the entire thing, this above is just the finish

cool site for those who like to learn

ok i found them on youtube. They been around for a while but they have some neat stuff if you havnt visited.

Chrissy,

I How Stuff Works! My dad bought me _The Way Things Work_ (* Amazon link below) for my 17th birthday, and I sometimes still type-in www.howTHINGSwork on accident.



I am now unable to find these on the website, but I used to use their articles and animations for How Wind Turbine Gearboxes Work, how Wind Turbine Generators Work (the part, not the finished product) and How Wind Turbines Work as part of my training package for all the office team members for whom I was responsible, emphasizing that if they did not gain working knowledge of the turbine they would not be able to satisfactorily meet the needs of our customer (Production), as they would not be able to communicate effectively about the parts for which they were responsible. I also used to send them the link to Wind Turbine Parts page but it used to be much more detailed, and I'm a little disappointed to find it so lacking at the moment.

Too bad there isn't a section on direct drive turbines. I understand and grasp mechanical concepts fairly easily, so geared turbines don't puzzle me. As many times as DD turbines have been explained to me, I still don't get it. I had a "flash" of understanding one time, but it was fleeting.



*_The Way Things Work_, David Macaulay: http://www.amazon.com/The-Things-Work-David-Macaulay/dp/0395428572/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_7

riceme wrote:Chrissy,

I How Stuff Works! My dad bought me _The Way Things Work_ (* Amazon link below) for my 17th birthday, and I sometimes still type-in www.howTHINGSwork on accident.



I am now unable to find these on the website, but I used to use their articles and animations for How Wind Turbine Gearboxes Work, how Wind Turbine Generators Work (the part, not the finished product) and How Wind Turbines Work as part of my training package for all the office team members for whom I was responsible, emphasizing that if they did not gain working knowledge of the turbine they would not be able to satisfactorily meet the needs of our customer (Production), as they would not be able to communicate effectively about the parts for which they were responsible. I also used to send them the link to Wind Turbine Parts page but it used to be much more detailed, and I'm a little disappointed to find it so lacking at the moment. Too bad there isn't a section on direct drive turbines. I understand and grasp mechanical concepts fairly easily, so geared turbines don't puzzle me. As many times as DD turbines have been explained to me, I still don't get it. I had a "flash" of understanding one time, but it was fleeting. *_The Way Things Work_, David Macaulay: http://www.amazon.com/The-Things-Work-David-Macaulay/dp/0395428572/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_7

I like your new avatar. In particular the dark sunglasses and most especially the hat...

*****CHUCKLE*****

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty7ET1f5E_Q



(,,)

riceme wrote:Chrissy,

I How Stuff Works! My dad bought me _The Way Things Work_ (* Amazon link below) for my 17th birthday, and I sometimes still type-in www.howTHINGSwork on accident.



I am now unable to find these on the website, but I used to use their articles and animations for How Wind Turbine Gearboxes Work, how Wind Turbine Generators Work (the part, not the finished product) and How Wind Turbines Work as part of my training package for all the office team members for whom I was responsible, emphasizing that if they did not gain working knowledge of the turbine they would not be able to satisfactorily meet the needs of our customer (Production), as they would not be able to communicate effectively about the parts for which they were responsible. I also used to send them the link to Wind Turbine Parts page but it used to be much more detailed, and I'm a little disappointed to find it so lacking at the moment.

Too bad there isn't a section on direct drive turbines. I understand and grasp mechanical concepts fairly easily, so geared turbines don't puzzle me. As many times as DD turbines have been explained to me, I still don't get it. I had a "flash" of understanding one time, but it was fleeting.



*_The Way Things Work_, David Macaulay: http://www.amazon.com/The-Things-Work-David-Macaulay/dp/0395428572/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_7

rice, i dont know a darn thing about turbines lol .. I just like to have conversations about different stuff occasionally and this way I get to learn from others here who have expertise in different feilds than I.

I have never had the patience for macro mechanics of large objects. I guess thats why my profession is what it is. a sort of georgia okeefe of micro mechanics of things. It takes both types of mind think to make anything work. such as you can put together turbines and i may figure out what materials are needed to make a metal strong enough to hold that nut tight. To me thats what makes the world go around beautiful. All of our unique ways of thinking make stuff work.

your such a smart lady and i adore you and any input/commentary from you I get is appreciated to the fullest.

Damaged Eagle wrote:

I like your new avatar. In particular the dark sunglasses and most especially the hat...

Thank you, sir! That picture has always struck me as a little bit Clockwork Orange-y, so the filename is "ClockworkCowgirl." Regarding my new avatar, I have been trying to get over old issues and be a little more trusting of folks. I'd been thinking on it for a while, and since I live all the way across the country from you all, I figure I am safe to post a small picture of myself here, 'specially considering I have big sunglasses and a hat on and I'm in-shadow.

I have a small collection of cowboy hats. My favorite one is straw hat with a silver Sheriff's star on the front. I wear a lot of hats, and have been known to wear funny (funny to ME, anyways, as I have an odd sense of humor) hats in inappropriate situations.

When I lived in the Pensacola area, I could be seen at times wearing my Sheriff's badge cowboy hat and tall-shaft cowgirl boots to The Oar House, The Fish House (Deck) on occasion and to Pirate's Cove. Tee hee!

Rogue wrote:

rice, i dont know a darn thing about turbines lol .. I just like to have conversations about different stuff occasionally and this way I get to learn from others here who have expertise in different feilds than I.

I have never had the patience for macro mechanics of large objects. I guess thats why my profession is what it is. a sort of georgia okeefe of micro mechanics of things. It takes both types of mind think to make anything work. such as you can put together turbines and i may figure out what materials are needed to make a metal strong enough to hold that nut tight. To me thats what makes the world go around beautiful. All of our unique ways of thinking make stuff work.

your such a smart lady and i adore you and any input/commentary from you I get is appreciated to the fullest.

I also love learning new things from the folks here @PDF who have different areas of expertise than my own. While I never, EVER want to go back to university I LOVE learning new things, and often become side tracked while reading the news or a thread here researching a subject upon which I am not unfamiliar.

Regarding "macro vs micro mechanics," as you refer to it, it was necessary in my past positions that I know not only dimensions of hardware from 4M to 44+ head size, but also what materials mated and which ones did not... Not to mention whether Loctite was appropriate for the application. Ya, I know, we should have had engineers to tell me all that stuff. But they were over-tasked, so I relied upon prints, specs, and callouts. If I was ever unsure, I'd ask a "professional."

One of the things in my noggin that I sometimes wish I could get rid of to make room for current "stuff" is that at a glance, I can tell you the material and metric size of any piece of hardware you put in front of me. I learned hardware ID on the imperial system when I was a little girl, but after total immersion in the metric system, have completely lost my ability to ID any hardware size in imperial. For shame.

Oh, I just noticed that I never "sent" my PM to you last night... Lemme finish it up and shoot it over your way.

riceme wrote:

Rogue wrote:

rice, i dont know a darn thing about turbines lol .. I just like to have conversations about different stuff occasionally and this way I get to learn from others here who have expertise in different feilds than I.

I have never had the patience for macro mechanics of large objects. I guess thats why my profession is what it is. a sort of georgia okeefe of micro mechanics of things. It takes both types of mind think to make anything work. such as you can put together turbines and i may figure out what materials are needed to make a metal strong enough to hold that nut tight. To me thats what makes the world go around beautiful. All of our unique ways of thinking make stuff work.

your such a smart lady and i adore you and any input/commentary from you I get is appreciated to the fullest.

I also love learning new things from the folks here @PDF who have different areas of expertise than my own. While I never, EVER want to go back to university I LOVE learning new things, and often become side tracked while reading the news or a thread here researching a subject upon which I am not unfamiliar.

Regarding "macro vs micro mechanics," as you refer to it, it was necessary in my past positions that I know not only dimensions of hardware from 4M to 44+ head size, but also what materials mated and which ones did not... Not to mention whether Loctite was appropriate for the application. Ya, I know, we should have had engineers to tell me all that stuff. But they were over-tasked, so I relied upon prints, specs, and callouts. If I was ever unsure, I'd ask a "professional."

One of the things in my noggin that I sometimes wish I could get rid of to make room for current "stuff" is that at a glance, I can tell you the material and metric size of any piece of hardware you put in front of me. I learned hardware ID on the imperial system when I was a little girl, but after total immersion in the metric system, have completely lost my ability to ID any hardware size in imperial. For shame.

Oh, I just noticed that I never "sent" my PM to you last night... Lemme finish it up and shoot it over your way.

rice, I do the same with regards to researching topics that come up when I dont know nothin about em. Thats one thing i love about a forum.

I have to say i have no damn idea what the hell you are talking about when you are talking about hardware to this size or that. I admit I leave that to you and those who know about it. My interest would be more on a molecular level as to how many moles of something to add to a substance to make it a certain strenght. thats what I meant. but only as a hobby or chemist thinking about the elements and there structure. Thus my mind interest always goes back to a micro level of thinking. and I mean micro as in molecule wise, not just tiny but positivly basic structure.

I could never have a conversation with you on what you do. its over my head. and to be honest with what youve given me so far on it, i dont even know where to begin to google it.

but thats ok. I just like to see you

it would be nice if you could tell me exactly what it is in private so I dont make such a fool of myself

I used to have a shop when my daughter was little. She used to clean a straighten my tools. Plus she learned all the bolt sizes, wrench stuff, what neverseize is, like Riceme the different types of locktite, etc. When she was in college she took a mechanical aptitude test for a Army recruiter. She really scored very high. They offered all type of "deals" to enlist. She wisely refused.

Rogue wrote:
rice, I do the same with regards to researching topics that come up when I dont know nothin about em. Thats one thing i love about a forum.

I have to say i have no damn idea what the hell you are talking about when you are talking about hardware to this size or that. I admit I leave that to you and those who know about it. My interest would be more on a molecular level as to how many moles of something to add to a substance to make it a certain strenght. thats what I meant. but only as a hobby or chemist thinking about the elements and there structure. Thus my mind interest always goes back to a micro level of thinking. and I mean micro as in molecule wise, not just tiny but positivly basic structure.

I could never have a conversation with you on what you do. its over my head. and to be honest with what youve given me so far on it, i dont even know where to begin to google it.

but thats ok. I just like to see you

it would be nice if you could tell me exactly what it is in private so I dont make such a fool of myself

Roger that, you meant micro in the true sense of the word and not just relative to a wind turbine. I'm with ya now, sister! Yeah, the chemical make-up is WAY over my head. You are MUCH smarter than I am, Chrissy! However, calculation of tensile strength was always the most critical calculation which I always triple-checked as it has the very real potential to cost men their lives, so on at least THAT point, I follow you. I think.

Technically I now work in transportation and logistics managing a trucking company, but my true love is wind and that's where I spent nearly 12-years of my career after working for the USFS and USPS (PARK Service, not Postal Service, although I have worked at the PO before!). However, I still do a lot of business in the wind industry and although I love the work I do now, I miss wind terribly. Trust me though, what I do / did is absolutely NOT over your head... it's just not something you've ever done, so you're not familiar with it.

What is it you want me to tell you about privately? I missed that part. Sowwy!

hallmarkgrad wrote:I used to have a shop when my daughter was little. She used to clean a straighten my tools. Plus she learned all the bolt sizes, wrench stuff, what neverseize is, like Riceme the different types of locktite, etc. When she was in college she took a mechanical aptitude test for a Army recruiter. She really scored very high. They offered all type of "deals" to enlist. She wisely refused.

I am grateful to fathers and men like yourself and my dad, who took (or take) the time to teach their daughters these important things. Neither of my brothers were interested, nor were any of my sisters, so my dad was thrilled to finally have a kid who actually wanted to learn everything he had to teach us... Not that I could ever POSSIBLY learn everything that's in that amazing brain of his, but I sure took every opportunity as a child (I followed him around since I was three, and he'd explain whatever he was doing, like replacing a water pump as though I was a grown man) and still do to this day.

I have often been told (and have thought) that I should have been either a Mechanical or Manufacturing Engineer, and regretted that I did not take that route at university. Honestly, I don't think I'm smart enough even though I have a minor in Mathematics... it takes a lot more than that. Maybe in my next life...

riceme wrote:

Rogue wrote:
rice, I do the same with regards to researching topics that come up when I dont know nothin about em. Thats one thing i love about a forum.

I have to say i have no damn idea what the hell you are talking about when you are talking about hardware to this size or that. I admit I leave that to you and those who know about it. My interest would be more on a molecular level as to how many moles of something to add to a substance to make it a certain strenght. thats what I meant. but only as a hobby or chemist thinking about the elements and there structure. Thus my mind interest always goes back to a micro level of thinking. and I mean micro as in molecule wise, not just tiny but positivly basic structure.

I could never have a conversation with you on what you do. its over my head. and to be honest with what youve given me so far on it, i dont even know where to begin to google it.

but thats ok. I just like to see you

it would be nice if you could tell me exactly what it is in private so I dont make such a fool of myself

Roger that, you meant micro in the true sense of the word and not just relative to a wind turbine. I'm with ya now, sister! Yeah, the chemical make-up is WAY over my head. You are MUCH smarter than I am, Chrissy! However, calculation of tensile strength was always the most critical calculation which I always triple-checked as it has the very real potential to cost men their lives, so on at least THAT point, I follow you. I think.

Technically I now work in transportation and logistics managing a trucking company, but my true love is wind and that's where I spent nearly 12-years of my career after working for the USFS and USPS (PARK Service, not Postal Service, although I have worked at the PO before!). However, I still do a lot of business in the wind industry and although I love the work I do now, I miss wind terribly. Trust me though, what I do / did is absolutely NOT over your head... it's just not something you've ever done, so you're not familiar with it.

What is it you want me to tell you about privately? I missed that part. Sowwy!

I'm not smarter than you sexy. People typically learn what they are interested in. unless they are forced into learning it for some other survival reason. Id love to learn about wind turbines. today is not turning out to be a day for me to sit around on google all day though since your not going to spoon feed me it.

I think it would be very cool to be able to build a small wind turbine to power up some batteries or even a light or something. that appeals to my prepper side. seems like thier would have to be some kind of generator on the inside with copper wires etc to produce a charge. Id really have to think about it ( read up)or you could just tell me

oh and you know me, I'll do anything to get you to private message me

Rogue wrote:

I'm not smarter than you sexy. People typically learn what they are interested in. unless they are forced into learning it for some other survival reason. Id love to learn about wind turbines. today is not turning out to be a day for me to sit around on google all day though since your not going to spoon feed me it.

I think it would be very cool to be able to build a small wind turbine to power up some batteries or even a light or something. that appeals to my prepper side. seems like thier would have to be some kind of generator on the inside with copper wires etc to produce a charge. Id really have to think about it ( read up)or you could just tell me

oh and you know me, I'll do anything to get you to private message me

How Stuff Works has a lot of articles about wind turbines. Below is a link to several pages of information on how wind power in general works. At the bottom of the second page there's a neat little animation-thingy, but you have to click the buttons to read and watch it.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/wind-power1.htm

I used to have tons of information on this stuff... Lemme see if I can find some of it.