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Welcome to the Alternative Energy Store Calculator.

This calculator is
designed to help you size a system for off-grid use.
Start by filling out the first tab, titled Solar Panels. This tab will calculate how
many Solar Panels you need, based upon you load(how much electricity you
consume).
Once you've completed this tab, move on to the other tabs labeled Charge
Controller & Battery Bank.

Solar Panel Array Sizing


Determine the size of the solar panel array you will need.
Step 1:
How many kilowatt-hours (kwh) does your
home/location use per month?
(This value is usually printed on your electric bill. If you don't have
a bill, or don't know your consumption, click on 'load calculator' at
the top of this page to go through the steps to determine this
value.)

kilowatt-
hours per
month

Step 2:
You need to determine the minimum number of sun hrs
per day during the winter.
Select the State-City Closest to your location (currently
only US states are provided)

MA-Boston

Minimum
sun-hours
for the
winter
times
or
Manually enter the minimum sun-
hours for your location.

Step 3:
The total wattage of Solar Panels that you
need is:
This value takes into
account losses due to
system inefficiencies.
Step 4:
How many solar panels do you need? That depends on the panel
you choose.
Select the wattage of the panel your interested in, and
see the results below:
125

© 2005 Alternative Energy Store - www.AltEnergyStore.com

| Solar Panels | Charge Controller | Battery Bank | Load Calculator |

| Solar Panels | Charge Controller | Battery Bank | Load Calculator |

Charge Controller-Used between your solar panel array and your battery bank, charge controllers
optimize how your batteries are charged and prevent current from going back through the panels
from the batteries during the night time.

Solar Charge Controller Sizing


This calculator helps you size the solar charge controller(s) needed for your system.
Step 1:

(taken from the previous calculation of solar panels)


Step 2:
Choose the voltage of your battery bank:

12

Step 3:
You will need a charge controller(s) that can support at
least:

Amps
| Solar Panels | Charge Controller | Battery Bank | Load Calculator |

| Solar Panels | Charge Controller | Battery Bank | Load Calculator |

Battery Bank Sizing

This calculator will help you size the battery bank for your system.

Wattage
of solar
panel
array: Watts

Step 2
How many days of backup power do you want in case
of cloudy/rainy days?

Step 3
What is the lowest temperature your battery bank will
experience?

Degrees
Fahrenheit

Results

Amp Hrs
Select a battery
amperage: Select a battery voltage:
350
8

Amp-Hour capacity of
this battery is: amp-hrs
Voltage of this
battery: volts
Batteries per row (in
series)
Number of rows in
parallel

Total number of these


batteries you will
need:
Total Amp-Hours of Amps-
this Battery Bank is: Hours

*All calculations assume only a 50% discharge to your


batteries to optimize battery life.

© 2005 Alternative Energy Store - www.AltEnergyStore.com

| Solar Panels | Charge Controller | Battery Bank | Load Calculator |

| Solar Panels | Charge Controller | Battery Bank | Load Calculator |

To use this form, simply list all of your appliance that use electricity. These
are items like Refrigerator, Range, computer, stereo, lights etc..
For each appliance, enter the number of that appliance that you own (Qty), the
power is uses (Watts) and the number of hours a day (Hrs/Day) you use the
item.
We have a provided a list of common appliance and their power consumption
at the bottom of the page.

Load Calculator
Use this form if you don't know what your power consumption (kilowatt-hours)
is.
Name: Date
Watts
(Volts x Watt
Appliance* Qty Amps) Hrs/Day Hrs/Day
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Total Watt
Hrs Per
Day:
Total Kilowatt Hrs Per Month (30
Days):
(write down this value and enter it into Step 1 of solar
panel sizing calculator)
© 2005 Alternative Energy Store - www.AltEnergyStore.com

*Help! I'm not sure of the wattage of my


appliances.
Select the appliances from this drop down menu. To the right will
appear typical wattage values for the appliance you selected.
However, for the most accurate information look on your appliance
to find its wattage rating (or it amperage rating and then multiply
that by its voltage to approximate its wattage).

Stereo Watts

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