Looking For 3kw min Solar panels...

[estherina34]

Hi im now looking for solar panels for my place in italy,just wondered if anyone can recommend anywhere and costs...we are in campania region....looking for min 3kw of electricity.

thank you for any advice!

[NickZ]

You don't buy a single 3kw panel. You buy a set of smaller panels and link them together. I haven't looked lately but 150watt used to be the biggest single panel. OTOH the big panels tend to cost more per watt so unless you're short on room it often makes sense to buy more smaller panels.

Is there an Enel shop near you? 3kw isn't a big project so the size shouldn't be an issue.

[estherina34]

hi there,yes i belive there are Enel offices locally,but looking at their website,they only do solar panels for water....am i right?im not fluent in italian,so might have got it wrong!!

so if we buy say 2X 120watts i ve seen,would that be enough?does anyone know what else i would need to complete the kit? battery...inverter?
thanks for your reply,really appreciate it!

[NickZ]

There isn't an Enel shop near me -( But my understanding is they do soup to nuts for solar electric. Estimates,installs etc.

Are you on the grid?

You need enough panels. The number depends on how much you use and how much you'd like to spend. 2 panels likely aren't worth the effort.

Then if you're on the grid you need a grid connect inverter. This will feed the power into the grid when it exceeds your needs. At night or when you need more then the panels output you draw off the grid just like now.

You only need batteries if you are off the grid. Then you need enough panels to keep the batteries charged for the worst possible period. Usually this is dead winter . The length of the period depends on how big your battery bank is. The problem with off gird is you spend much more on panels. Then you spend even more on batteries. Then you have the upkeep of the batteries.

[estherina34]

there is no electricity connection at the house as the neighbours are refusing the overghead wires to go across their land,whislt ENEL say we will eventually be allowed this,it may delay things up to 2 yrs,so this is why im looking for solar alternative.
ive seen this on ebay....
3KW Stand-Alone Solar System Complete Package (12v)-New on eBay (end time 23-Aug-09 12:36:32 BST)

[NickZ]

If you aren't on the grid it gets more expensive. You can't sell excess power back to the grid. That alone can pay for the system over time.

The link you provided isn't a true sine wave inverter. It'll cause problems with sensitive things. Worse once you get on the grid you'll end up throwing the thing out and replacing it with a grid connect model.

I don't see any batteries in the ad. Which you also won't need once you're on the grid.

[estherina34]

sorry for my lack of knowledge ,but what is 'the grid'?

[NickZ]

The grid is the Enel mains supplied power. Enel buys you're power at a rate above what they sell it to you. I haven't checked lately but it was about 3x higher. To do this you need an inverter that can divert excess power out of the house . The one in your link charges batteries.

[estherina34]

thank you ,yes i thought it may have been that!honest!! now you also say the ad from ebay "isnt a true sine inverter",is that because it says its 'modified',and what on earth does that mean,apologies for all these questions!! but you do seem to know!!:O)x

[NickZ]

The power coming from the power company is nice . If you could look at it it would be basically a sine wave. Older home inverters were square. This caused problems with things like computers/printers and I think microwaves. Modified tries to round off the square parts. It's better but still isn't perfect. A true sine wave will produce power on par with what the power company sends you. Actually might be better.


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