Solar powered studio

So I'm suprised that there is no-one on this site yet running a solar powered studio....Why? AT magazine had an artical a few months back regarding running a small DAW system via solar panels. And again in the current issue of AT Andy Stewart has been talking about running his new studio with a mix of Wind and Solar. Though hasn't yet. Not that his build is up to our standards 8) Does any one have any thoughts on this? The system I'm looking at does not store power on-site it simply pumps un-used energy back into the grid. I'm waiting to heard how noisy the invertor is? But, not having batteries reduces the noise of the system. Australian goverenment is currently giving a $8000 rebate if you switch to solar. Now there is a stand alone system with batteries. Which means the studio would be completely self suffient, but you then run the risk of running out of juice during a long session. I'll keep you posted. lil

Actually, Lil, I was thinking of doing exactly that! The only thing that has kept me back is cost: Where I live (Chile) there are no government incentives that I'm aware of for using solar power, and solar panels are Really Expensive here (with a very large capital "E"!). So its out of my price range right now, but it is something that I'm considering for the future. I figure that my power consumption will be low enough that I can run the entire studio (except for the HVAC) on solar power. My plan is to use a system with storage batteries, that is interconnected with a UPS somehow, so that the solar panels charge the batteries during the day, and if they batteries run low at night then the UPS will just switch to drawing power from the grid instead. I haven't looked into any of the details of how to do that, but it sure is something that I'm thinking of! - Stuart -

I did a power consumption table for my control room for the HVAC and solar guy. Does 1012 watts sound correct? Item Watt total Apple G5 430 430 Benq 17in mon 40 40 Benq 17in mon 40 40 Fostex speakers 40 x 2 80 Yorkville speakers 100 x 2 200 Peak amp 80 80 Digi 002 rack 50 50 Cd player 15 15 8 way pre 25 25 JV 1080 17 17 compessor 15 15 Roland FX 20 20 TOTAL 1012 watts

Deanne - I lived with solar power for 5 years. Here's an excel spreadsheet that costs the various systems.

Thanks John, The one I'm looking at after rebate is $2700, with no "unforseen" extras. It's a 1.1Kw intverter, no batteries. Simply pumps power onto the grid. It's so cheap because your selling the "GREEN CREDITS" back to the company (makes them look greener). It's a bit sneaky, but works out to be $1400 off.

The new Tariff has been increased to .60c per KWatt That better than the .15c from the artical

but it's a scam - the power company doesn't need your 1kW, you can't turn down a coal fired power station. It's just a political move to attract the greenies to vote for them.

We're solar powered. Have been for about 1.5 years... http://www.evergroove.com Not a huge system -yet- but we've sized our inverter to be able to double the number of panels we currently have. That number, currently, is 14 and we can grow to 28.

lunatic wrote:

We're solar powered. Have been for about 1.5 years... http://www.evergroove.com

what is your storage system?

Hey John, Unfortunately, we couldn't afford a battery bank so we're grid tied. We also didn't have anywhere to store the batteries and I didn't really want to build a box and store them outdoors. Winters get bitter here in Colorado and I'm sure that would have a negative affect on the batteries. Overall the system works out pretty well since anytime the studio isn't in use we make sure to shut everything down. Then, any power generated by the panels is sold back to the utility company and, therefore, shows as a credit on our electric bill. This past Summer was our busiest year yet and our largest electric bill was $5 USD. When we add on the additional 14 panels we should actually get a check at the end of each year. -Brad

Hi Brad, Thats good to know. I'm still waiting on the government to process the rebate and then they will start work. I hope I get good results, but I haven't seen any sun for about 3 weeks here. It's been a very wet start to winter.

Which is another reason why we had to go grid-tied. While Colorado, USA has MANY sunny days we live at 8300 feet above sea level and often, in Winter, the panels will spend a day or two covered in snow. Our next location will have a much longer and larger solar window :mrgreen:

where are you in Victoria Deanne?

Close to Ballarat, but out in the sticks. it's normally hot, sunny and drought ridden.

Ah - I was wondering where in Victoria you were getting rain :)

:D It feels like it might snow today :mrgreen:

lilith_envy wrote:

Thanks John, The one I'm looking at after rebate is $2700, with no "unforseen" extras. It's a 1.1Kw intverter, no batteries. Simply pumps power onto the grid. It's so cheap because your selling the "GREEN CREDITS" back to the company (makes them look greener). It's a bit sneaky, but works out to be $1400 off.

did you get your rebate claim in before Garrett went and cancelled the whole scheme?

I hope so, I assume they will still process the claims they have. :oops: Hmmmm i think I might make a few calls!

if you claim is already in you should be OK.

lilith_envy wrote:

So I'm suprised that there is no-one on this site yet running a solar powered studio....Why? AT magazine had an artical a few months back regarding running a small DAW system via solar panels. And again in the current issue of AT Andy Stewart has been talking about running his new studio with a mix of Wind and Solar. Though hasn't yet. Not that his build is up to our standards 8) Does any one have any thoughts on this? The system I'm looking at does not store power on-site it simply pumps un-used energy back into the grid. I'm waiting to heard how noisy the invertor is? But, not having batteries reduces the noise of the system. Australian goverenment is currently giving a $8000 rebate if you switch to solar. Now there is a stand alone system with batteries. Which means the studio would be completely self suffient, but you then run the risk of running out of juice during a long session. I'll keep you posted. lil

Switching to solar was the best idea.. Govt is paying good amount of subsidy and even I have shifted to solar power system.