[nodiak]

I know some folks have done this and it would be nice if you would share what you've come up with. I haven't yet followed through on the idea but am thinking of getting a Charlize or similar and solar panels to use with efficient speakers. I have a good south facing situation. Tho not in an area known for strong sunshine (pacific northwest), I think it could work fine for at least a small T amp.

Please share your off the grid systems, especially the equipment used and technical details...and costs if you want to. Also share good examples you may have come across. Some of you have your entire house off the grid and the stereo may be just along for the ride. Others may have a smaller system just to power the stereo and/or other items. I know the RV community has used solar systems for appliances and av systems for many years (I'll be brousing such sites for ideas too).

Don



*Please no politics or diatribes about energy situation. This is not meant to be an alarmist thread in any way. So called "alternative technologies" are sensible regardless of current energy situation, and have been around for decades/centuries. Let's just keep discussion to a technology show and tell. Thanks!*

[jazzcourier]

 The thought crossed my mind...to be totally off the grid for audio power through solar.I became skeptical when i went to recycle my cans on a cloudy day and the solar powered scale was down.They just put out one panel facing the sun and go all day,providing the sun is out.

[nodiak]

Does anyone know if this a good system for powering Charlize/etc. ?
http://www.navstore.com/detail.aspx?ID=1818

Btw, I'm not throwing out my tube amp, just think this is a good/interesting idea. Want to share the idea with my son and see where it goes with him.

[ferenc_k]

Actually in my second system I am using a Macbook, Altmann DAC, Altmann BYOB amp and a Danley SH 100B PA speakers or a Hawthorne open baffle DIY 15 inch speaker. If I disconnect the Macbook from the mains it runs completely off the grid as the Altmanns are powered from a car battery. A solar battery charger can be used to recharge the car battery and providing power to the Macbook. So it can be completely off the grid.

[jb]

I know the RV community has used solar systems for appliances and av systems for many years.

I have solar panels on my camper and I would not recommend using a solar cell to directly power an audio device. In my experience, solar panels are very noisy power sources. The CD and radio are unusable when the charge controller switches the solar panels into the circuit: horrible noise/static. Perhaps some brands/types of solar panels are not as noisy or it may be possible to filter out the noise. For my needs, it's not worth the trouble. When camping at night...no sun and no noise. If I want to listen to the radio or CD in the camper during the day, I turn off the solar cell and run off the camper batteries.

[nodiak]

ferenc_k, that sounds like a great set up for this idea, nice. I may upgrade my pc this year and will consider a macbook for the bonus of battery operated source. Thanks for the post.
jb, I've been doing searches and finding several examples of solar panels charging batteries for audio systems. Including some large portable systems with high quality speakers, t-amps and solar panels mounted on the box.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=104402&perpage=10&highlight=solar+power&pagenumber=1

No mention of any noise problems like you brought up. I'm going to forge on.
Don   

[jules]

Hi Don,

I'm fully solar, as in solar powered house, so I can't give you any direct feedback on smaller systems. There used to be a solar circle here on AC and it's still there to browse through if you look at the list of circles. I haven't been there for several years so I'm not sure if it has anything relevant. Maybe the time will come to revive it.

Some of the smaller gear doesn't represent great value per solar watt. If you're buying a panel, it might be worth looking at something that gives you a bit in reserve for upgrades. 55W is about the smallest for serious panels but they do last up to 30+ years and per watt they are vastly better value than the smaller ones, some of which look poorly made to me. Poor quality has become something of an issue lately as there's been a rush to buy panels and some of the companies now making them are not up to scratch.

Your choice of batteries needs to match your usage so that you've got enough stored to allow for a couple of days of cloudy weather. Conventional lead/acid batteries work out as the cheapest here. As well as allowing for a few cloudy days, it's not a great idea to discharge batteries below maybe 85% full because it shortens their life greatly so generous storage capacity is wise. I'm using some ex Telstra [phone company] batteries that are now 25 years old and they are still showing no signs of weakening ... very different to car batteries in this sense. While it might seem useful, it's not a good idea to boost capacity by using two 12V batteries [or more] in parallel. The problem is that in-equalities develop and grow as charging becomes unequal. So if you want a bigger store, you can use a bigger 12V battery or 2X6 batteries in series. Big systems often use 2V batteries in series

The regulator can cause the problems mentioned by jb but doesn't have to. A good regulator will not cause interference so I'd say that if you make it clear when you're purchasing that this is a prime need, the you've got yourself covered if the particular item doesn't work for you.

The system I use is 240V AC inverted from 24V DC though there's the possibility of using 12V DC if it happens to be a good choice for a particular piece of equipment.

I'm a huge fan of solar. I've been using it for 20 years now and apart from some damage by a hail storm with tennis ball sized ice chunks, it's been more reliable than the local grid system, so yes, go for it but make sure the equipment you are buying is good quality and not intended for part time or occasional use only.

jules

[nodiak]

Jules thanks for that, good wake up call for me. I had wanted to go solar and as much self sufficient tech as possible 15-20 years ago. Started studying, took whole earth engineering courses at college, but didn't get it together as fatherhood and work took over. I should be able to take steps toward that goal again.
I missed out on buying land before prices went up 3-5x here, and have rented instead. There are people in my area who live off the grid and a company within 70 miles who develops home and business systems. I'll get in contact with them and get back to discovering what systems are available to provide the electricity I use.
The stand alone solar audio systems I found from googling are great. But your post has spurred me to go for more again. I can start researching solutions to generate enough for the few lights I use, pc, and audio/video. In the past worked on a project for a simple batch water heater. I have a roof where I could put one now. Etc., time to get out the old notes.
Still want to keep the thread open for anyone with solar powered audio systems to discuss.
Don
     

[Canyoneagle]

Hi Don,
I am going to be moving off-grid, and have built my system with the focus of being able to run it off of a small panel and voltage regulator, with battery-powered components.

I have a Red Wine Audio Signature 30 (with the new 30.2 mods) and it is a phenomenal battery-powered amp that has been compared to high end SET's. If you aren't already aware of it there is a dedicated thread on this site in the manufacturer area.

My sources are a Red Wine-modified iPod (iMod) with its own battery, of course, and a Rega Planet CD player that a friend is helping me to convert to SLA batteries.
My intention is to feed the system from a single PV panel with a voltage regulator / charge controller.

Good luck, and please post your journey for the rest of us!

Warmly,
Michael

[mcgsxr]

Would I be wrong in thinking that a deep cycle marine battery would be a good one to leverage, for the repeated charging and draining that such a system would likely face?

Neat idea BTW Don!

[nodiak]

Michael, it'd be interesting/helpful for you to post some specifics on your system if possible, good for the knowledge pool. What panels/regulator/batteries? TT on SLA, nice! I have an iMod too, rest of Vinnies gear is out of my budget but I believe the reports. Charlize or similar is doable for me tho. I like my cd/dvd player a little better than the iMod, but that is some to do with not being computer savvy and my pc with stored cd's crashing and unuseable now, tedious for me to download again (bit of a neanderthal tech here).    
Well, I had just recently started catching up on Geddes waveguide speakers, and had planned on getting his 10" kit, posted on diyaudio (DIY Waveguide loudspeaker kit). I'm leaning towards putting that money into solar power now, juggling issues. As mentioned this is digging up an old trail I wandered off but should get back to. I have an interest in keeping good audio too, so it's not an either or situation, but I will likely compromise the audio a little in the long run...oh, if I have to   . I think that would be in losing the bottom octave, but we'll see.
Don
 

[Canyoneagle]

Don,
I've been holding off on speccing out the components for the charge side of things because I'm not likely to be building my house on our land for several more years, and will delve more into the details then.
A search in the archives may reveal some of the older threads on this topic - I recall several posts with pictures and links to panels and components that would fit the bill.

As far as batteries are concerned, the RWA sig 30.2 runs off of 2 12V SLA batteries - you can search the RWA thread for battery specs - many postings exist on this topic.  The standard iPod battery powers the iMod.  The Rega CDP is a work in progress (still in the expressed intention / basic discussion stage, knowing that it is feasible).
FWIW, I bought my Sig 30 from Audiogon for about $1000 including shipping, and had it sent to Vinnie for new batteries and the 30.2 partial upgrade ($600 these days, but certainly not required).
I never heard the Sig 30 on its own, but the many rave reviews tell me it is a special amp, even without the mods.

mcgsxr touches on another possibility - a large capacity 12V or 24V deep-cycle battery (as is used in most off-grid power systems) specifically dedicated (possibly with its own inverter if you have AC components) to the audio system.  It would be a miniature power system all its own.
IMO this makes alot of sense of you are going to have a bare-bones power system, otherwise it would probably be easier to simply integrate this function into the home power system.

My wife and I will be minimizing our power system to the bare minimum, with as few technological components as possible - for example we are focused only on DC power to avoid the complexity, cost and additional wire/outlets/inverter, etc of AC power.  We are also minimizing our ambient and task lighting as much as possible - LED clusters and arrays -, moving towards manual options for clothes washing, etc etc etc.
My point here is to demonstrate that in this context, our audio system will utilize a standalone, simple (as simple as possible) power system which is not likely to be tied into a centralized power system, because it is quite possible that the centralized system will be incredibly small and basic.

If you are planning on having a more conventional power system, you have more options, IMO.

Warm regards,
Michael

[jules]

I agree with mcgxsr that a deep cycle battery could be a good idea. A deep cycle battery isn't quite as deep cycle as the name might suggest though. A typical deep cycle battery will offer something like 600 cycles to 80% discharge which isn't all that remarkable. On the other hand, if you only discharge it to 90% it will give many more cycles. The problem with an unregulated [un-measured] draw-down is that it's quite easy to discharge to 80% or more on a regular basis thus shortening the battery life rapidly. Regular discharges to 50% are a disaster! I don't know what the experiences of T amp and other battery powered systems are but I'd guess that battery life could be low unless almost obsessive care is taken with recharging.

If you're thinking of going anywhere with a solar system I'd suggest starting with a good [charge] regulator. This will work equally well with one panel or a roof full and manage looking after whatever battery bank you happen to have so as to maximize its life while freeing you of a lot of maintenance and monitoring.

jules

ps Hi Michael ... seems we might be the only stand-alone solar supplied people on the forum  .