Solar energy

Post by **Dakoda** » November 1, 2005, 5:30 pm

Just wondering if anyone has or is interested in Solar energy

I have a neighbor that runs a solar business out of the house. Been meaning to talk to them about it, but have not got around to it yet. Thinking that energy seems cheap, so kind of wonder how many years to pay back. Plus can't sell! But they are real busy:!:

Post by **BobHelm** » November 1, 2005, 5:51 pm

Dakoda,

After I have moved and settled I do eventually plan to build my own place (well, get someone else to build it, of course

) So about 2 months ago I did a bit of Web research into Solar Energy in Thailand, as it seemed to me just such a sensible thing to do. I started at the coolthaihouse forum and slowly worked my way through various sites that posters 'sent me' to .... well it all seemed pretty negative reading, so much so that after a couple of days I lost interest in the idea completely. It still, in theory, seems a really good idea to me....but no-one else seemed to agree and they all had a great deal more experience of house building & Thailand so I put that down to naivety on my part

. If you want to start off looking at a positive posting, then here it is...

http://www.coolthaihouse.com/forum/view ... ight=solar

Post by **BobHelm** » November 1, 2005, 6:09 pm

And here is a typical, negative one...

http://www.coolthaihouse.com/forum/view ... r&start=15

Post by **lee** » November 1, 2005, 6:19 pm

Does anyone know where you can buy solar powered garden lights? Like the ones you push into the ground with a small solar panel on top. They sell them in Argos back home but I haven't seen them out here yet. I think they're a good idea and it would be nice to have a few in the garden.

Post by **Dakoda** » November 1, 2005, 7:37 pm

Bob that first link has some nice designs. On the second link, ugh

Knowing nothing about what solar can & can not do

All I know is that they sure use a lot of batteries. Truck loads

Good idea Lee, I will check to see if anyone there knows, one of the guys speaks pretty good english. So I will post back here if they know of any. I think I could also use a few.

Post by **allen** » November 1, 2005, 9:16 pm

http://www.tgs.co.th/index.html I found this while looking for solar
info. There might be something you could use Lee. As Bob said there
is a lot of mixed reviews on the subject here in the LOS.

Post by **BobHelm** » November 2, 2005, 12:11 am

Nice site Allen....boy what I could do with an unlimited budget and their shop in Udon...

I notice that prices are not included tho....

Post by **Thai_1_On** » November 2, 2005, 3:34 am

Bob living here in Florida there are a lot of solar powered devices here. I hate to be a downer on this but from my own experance it can be a lot of work. My younger brother had a solar unit on his house that was a hot water heater. We were not sure how old the unit was but just a few years afetr moving into his house the solar collector sprund pin hole leaks. I helped him nurse another year out of it by running radiator stop leak in it. After that we just ran water through the system and filled it up everytime it ran dry. You should see the system it took to run the system 2 coolant pumps, heat exchanger on top of the waterheater, and tons of plumping

Can be fun if you like to tinker with things and it will keep you busy

Post by **BobHelm** » November 2, 2005, 4:06 am

Thai_1_On wrote: Can be fun if you like to tinker with things and it will keep you busy

Thanks Thai_1 as i am not too keen to tinker with 'plumbing' and certainly have no desire to be kept busy that is the final nail in the coffin of my search for eco-electricity in Thailand..

valentine · Post by **valentine** » November 2, 2005, 5:51 am

For hot water, you don't really need anything. An aluminium water tank will attract the sun and every evening will give you enough hot water for a good bath, free.

Post by **Dakoda** » November 2, 2005, 8:06 am

An aluminium water tank will attract the sun and every evening will give you enough hot water for a good bath, free.

except on those cool cloudy days

or those 40+ days and you want to take an afternoon shower

if anyone is putting in a water tank, I would find a shady spot for it and a water heater.

Post by **Dakoda** » November 2, 2005, 9:16 am

Thanks Thai_1 as i am not too keen to tinker with 'plumbing' and certainly have no desire to be kept busy that is the final nail in the coffin of my search for eco-electricity in Thailand.. Very Happy

don't give up Bob. I wonder if any of those people from the negative info site would care to stand in a rice paddy and hold two wires from a bunch of batteries, just to see if it curls their hair

Post by **canuck-viking** » November 2, 2005, 9:59 am

On the highway north to Nong Khai about 1 kilometer from Udon there is a display on Solar Energy. It is a government site on the right side of the road. There is a large white tank and some panels etc. I think it is between the rail crossing and the pedestrian overpass. Hopr my directions are clear. cheers

Post by **businessman** » November 5, 2005, 1:17 pm

The last time i looked at solar it was something like 400 dollars for a 200 watt panel.

valentine · Post by **valentine** » November 5, 2005, 1:29 pm

Lee, the solar garden lights, just little ones you poke in the soil, yes 2nd floor of Robinsons, down by the baby ware dept. They were about 300bht each, no idea of quality though.

Post by **dainorth** » November 5, 2005, 7:42 pm

check out http://www.cat.org.uk fopr all sorts of solar energy ideas . In the uk in the summer we have a lot of daylight but in thailand you never have much more than 12 hours so solar powered lights dont stay bright for to long I've not seen any articles but heating a big tank of water and then using a heat exchanger to cool a house seems a reasonable idea to me

Post by **lee** » November 6, 2005, 10:55 am

Lee, the solar garden lights, just little ones you poke in the soil, yes 2nd floor of Robinsons, down by the baby ware dept. They were about 300bht each, no idea of quality though.

Thanks for the information Val, much appreciated. I'll take a look today or tommorow and report on my findings.

Regards,

Lee

Post by **Paul** » February 23, 2006, 4:46 pm

lee wrote:
Lee, the solar garden lights, just little ones you poke in the soil, yes 2nd floor of Robinsons, down by the baby ware dept. They were about 300bht each, no idea of quality though.
Thanks for the information Val, much appreciated. I'll take a look today or tommorow and report on my findings.

Regards,

Lee

So Lee, did you purchase any of the small solar powered garden lights?

I have seen them in Robinsons for 399 baht each but was wondering what you thought of them before I splashed out (if indeed you did buy any)

If not I guess I will have to be the guini pig !

Post by **lee** » February 23, 2006, 4:56 pm

So Lee, did you purchase any of the small solar powered garden lights?

When I found out they were only two watt I didn't bother with them, I was hoping they were atleast 5 watt. Still they're not too expensive and would probably look good in the garden.

Post by **Alagrl** » February 23, 2006, 10:46 pm

I was disappointed in the solar lights I bought for my driveway and garden paths. With the two watt limit, unless they are in full and strong light, they simply don't store enough energy to last the eight-plus hours that are advertised. Mu house is in a heavily wooded area, and the most I got was a faint glow.

Solar energy

Solar energy

Solar Energy

solar energy

Well Lee - how was it for you ?

Solar energy