Cabin Solar Electric Systems

We build our cabins in remote locations, away from the hustle and bustle of the everyday world because we are looking for an escape – a place where we can go and get away from the pressures, deadlines and challenges that we face every day. For many, cabins, lodges, and lakeside cottages are the perfect escape from reality – the place where we can let loose, be ourselves and have happy, fun, back-to-the-basics down time.

Unfortunately, we have also gotten used to the comforts that our lives have offered us. We are heavily reliant on the creature comforts of home, and from time-to-time, we need these comforts to be available to us, even when we are away at our dream getaway.

What can’t you live without? The television? Your computer? Cellphones, PDAs and other electronic devices? A microwave? A hot cup of coffee in the morning?

Whatever it is that you can’t live without, it requires power to operate. And electricity is becoming increasingly expensive. No to mention the fact that the price for running electric power lines to a remote location and connecting to the electric grid can make providing power to your remote cabin, lodge or cottage cost-prohibitive and out of reach of your current, or projected, budget.

Cabin Solar Electric Systems are the efficient, affordable and cost-effective solution to this problem.

What is a Cabin Solar Electric System?

Cabin Solar Electric Systems are Off-Grid Solar Panel Systems. They are completely standalone, and require no connection to the electric grid to provide backup electric capacity. However, Cabin Solar Electric Systems are smaller than the type of Off-Grid Solar Panel System you would use for your home or office.

Cabin Solar Electric Systems are designed to provide electrical power to the limited number of appliances typically found and used in a cabin, lodge or cottage in a remote location. These systems can operate lights, televisions, radios, and your computer, keep your cell phone charged, and help you bring all the comforts of home you cannot live without with you when you head out to the middle of nowhere to get away from your everyday life for a while.

A Cabin Solar Electric System contains all of the same components of a larger Off-Grid Solar Panel System; solar panels, mounting hardware, DC-AC inverter(s), wiring, charge controller and battery backup. It is also recommended that you have a traditional generator operating as a backup in case of inclement weather or spikes in electrical demand which may drain your batteries and leave you without power for a time.

What are the Benefits of a Cabin Solar Electric System?

Cabin Solar Electric Systems have many financial and ecological benefits which will help you live a cleaner, green, more affordable and sustainable life without breaking your budget.

Cabin Solar Electric Systems, because of their relatively small size, are generally low-priced, and quick and affordable to install. Beyond this, there are a number of financial benefits of Cabin Solar Electric Systems that cannot be overlooked when considering how to provide power to your cabin, lodge or cottage.

• The Cost of Electricity - it is becoming increasingly expensive to use electricity to run the devices that keep us connected in our everyday lives. These rising costs also apply to the creature comforts and basic necessities of life including lights, heat, running water, television, computers, radio and much more. All of these require expensive power to operate, and a Cabin Solar Electric System can eliminate your monthly and annual bills for powering these appliances at your weekend getaway.

• Installation of Electric Grid Connection and Connection Fees - In many remote locations, it is cost-prohibitive to connect to the electric grid for power. You are responsible for pay for additional transformer, electric poles and power lines, as well installing a meter, and the monthly demand and service charges that are associated with using the electric grid. Even if you could afford to have this extra equipment run to your cabin, there is no guarantee that the electric company provides service at your specific location.

• A More Sustainable Lifestyle - each and everyone of us needs to work harder at becoming a steward of the environment and begin to live lives that are more eco-friendly, contribute less pollution, and begin to curb our dependence on fossil fuels which are both dirty and irreplaceable. Whether you believe in global warming or not, there is no doubt that humans are damaging the Earth, and that we must all take steps to slow down and reverse our negative impact.

• Ecological Conservation and Landscape Preservation - You bought your cabin or remote getaway so you could forget about the signs of our crowded, fast-paced world. Why ruin the beauty of the place you call your home away from home by bringing electric poles, wires and transformers into the area. A Cabin Solar Electric System is self-contained, and will not damage and detract from the natural beauty that is all around you.

What Components are in a Cabin Solar Electric System?

Like any Solar Panel System, a Cabin Solar Electric System requires a number of specialized components to operate correctly, and as efficiently as possible. A good Cabin Solar Electric System will come with all, or at least, most of these components right out of the box so that you are ready to install your new Solar Panel System as soon as it arrives.
Here are the major components of a Cabin Solar Electric System:

• Solar Panels - like with all Solar Panel Systems, good, efficient, and affordable Solar Panels are the key to making a good Cabin Solar Electric System. Because of their relatively small size, Cabin Solar Electric Systems can be made from Amorphous Solar Panels or Crystalline Solar Panels depending on your budget and the needs and specifics of your location.

• Solar Panel Mounting Hardware - Solar Panel Mounting Hardware is important to ensure that your solar panels remain safe and intact and that your Cabin Solar Electric System continues to operate at its peak efficiency. There are three main types of Solar Panel Mounting Hardware available for Cabin Solar Electric Systems, including Roof Flush Mounting Hardware, Ground/Roof Tilt Mounting Hardware, Side of Pole Mounting Hardware and Top of Pole Mounting Hardware.

• DC to AC Inverter - This is a required component for Cabin Solar Electric Systems that will be running AC (Alternating Current) appliances. If your cabin has only DC (Direct Current) appliances, your Cabin Solar Electric System does need a DC-AC Inverter, and the DC power generated by Solar Panels will be able to run your appliances.

• Battery Backup - Because a Cabin Solar Electric System is a standalone power system, without an electric grid connection, your system will require a battery bank to store the energy that is generated by your solar panels to be used later as your demand requires. This allows you to work entirely off your Cabin Solar Electric System, even at night and in cloudy conditions, without drawing excess electricity from the electric grid at a cost per kwh, like at home.

• Charge Controller - The batteries used in Cabin Solar Electric Systems are expensive to maintain and replace - you would like to replace them as infrequently as possible, and to ensure this, you must protect your batteries from damage. A good Charge Controller will protect your batteries from overcharging (which can reduce the efficiency of your batteries, or damage them beyond salvage). A good Charge Controller will also help your batteries from discharging valuable power over time, which leads to a higher overall efficiency of your Cabin Solar Electric System.

The illustration below shows a typical Cabin Solar Electric System.

This is just a typical system layout for demonstration and illustration purposes, and your own system layout will likely vary from this diagram based on your home layout, power needs, and the other specifications of you site.

What can a Cabin Solar Electric System Power?

The amount of electricity produced by your Cabin Solar Electric Kit depends on a variety of factors that determine the output and efficiency of Solar Panel Systems in general. To function properly, your Cabin Solar Electric System will need to produce enough electricity in your location to power all of the appliances and electronics in your cabin.

The major factor in determining how much electricity your Cabin Solar Electric System produces is your location. Here is why – The amount of Solar Insolation (essentially the number of hours worth of direct sunlight that reaches the ground everyday) varies from location to location across the United States. In order to determine the amount of electricity a Solar Panel System will produce, we must multiply the size of the array (kw) by the solar insolation. This will tell us how many Kilo-Watt Hours (kwh)our Cabin Solar Electric System will produce.

The map below shows the annual average solar insolation levels across the United States according to the most recent solar and climate data. The table below the map shows how many kwh (how much electricity) we can expect different sized Cabin Solar Electric Systems to produce in areas with different solar insolation levels.

	165W	330W	660W	990W	1320W	1650W	1980W
3 Hours/Day	3	6	13	20	27	34	41
3.5 Hours/Day	4	8	16	24	32	40	48
4 Hours/Day	4	9	18	27	36	46	55
4.5 Hours/Day	5.	10	20	31	41	51	62
5 Hours/Day	5	11	23	34	46	57	69
5.5 Hours/Day	6	12	25	38	50	63	76
6 Hours/Day	6	13	27	41	55	69	83
6.5 Hours/Day	7	15	30	45	60	75	90
7 Hours/Day	8	16	32	48	64	80	97
The above power outputs are only estimates based on computer models. Due to actual system inefficiencies and real-life climate circumstances, your actual output may vary slightly from that mentioned. Outputs are listed in Kwh generated per Week (7 day charging week assumed).

Using the power outputs above you can get a rough estimate of which Cabin Solar Electric System from Silicon Solar is right for you. To do this, you need to determine what your electrical usage is – basically add up all of the power that you use when you are at your cabin to determine how much power you need to have in reserve (battery backup) and how large of a Cabin Solar Electric System in order to meet your power demand.

You can use the following worksheet to help determine what you power needs are, and which of our pre-packaged Cabin Solar Electric Systems is right for you. If none of these Cabin Solar Electric Systems are a perfect fit for your needs, our professional staff can help size a custom Cabin Solar Electric System to meet your needs and your budget.

Use our Cabin Solar Electric System Sizing Worksheet here!