Living on the outskirts of the city or in remote sparsely populated areas is a guarantee of silence, complete peace, and a favorable environment. But construction in such areas is often accompanied by many difficulties due to problems with infrastructure and various communications. The most pressing of them is the lack of electricity; it is important to solve it first. As you know, long-term installation of power lines from a centralized network is too expensive. It will be much cheaper to organize uninterrupted autonomous power supply at home. This is not so difficult to do if you carefully read the possible options and choose the most profitable one for yourself.
Installing an autonomous power supply is the only alternative when connecting to a centralized network is time-consuming, unprofitable, and problematic Source rina.pro
Requirements for home independent complexes
Before purchasing equipment to supply your home with electricity, you should calculate its required volume, which will cover the needs of all household appliances and other household electrical devices. To do this, the total power of all available electrical consumers is calculated. The most common of them are:
- refrigeration and freezer compartments;
- heating system;
- air conditioner;
- Appliances;
- pump (for delivering water from a well to the building);
- power tool.
The basic power of any unit can be found out from the instructions supplied with it by the manufacturer. This indicator is individual for different devices. But all devices certainly require a stable supply of electricity; voltage drops are unacceptable for them.
The data obtained is summarized, as a result of which they find out approximately how many kilowatt-hours an autonomous electrical system should produce daily. It is recommended to increase this number by 20-25% in order to have a small margin to increase energy consumption.
The total energy consumption in the house depends on the electrical appliances used, their models, as well as the constant number of residents Source dagzhkh.ru
Pros and cons of implementing autonomous power supply
The undeniable advantages of installing an individual electrical network are:
- independence from main power supply;
- minimum cost of one kilowatt of electric current;
- stability of electrical supply;
The presence of an autonomous power source in the house allows you to uninterruptedly receive electricity even when others are temporarily deprived of this opportunity due to repairs on power lines.
Flaws:
- high price of equipment;
- system maintenance costs are paid by the users themselves;
- space is required to accommodate an independent complex.
The positive and negative aspects of autonomous power supply described above apply to all types of existing systems. Moreover, each of them additionally has its own individual advantages and disadvantages. The latter to some extent affects the generated electrical power per unit of time and the cost of its production.
Using an autonomous energy supply, the home owner becomes completely independent in terms of obtaining electricity for consumption Source elektrikexpert.ru
Types of alternative energy sources
Modern technologies make it possible to obtain electricity from the following autonomous power systems:
- generators (diesel, gas, gasoline);
- solar power plants;
- wind generators.
The above equipment differs in price and profitability. In addition, for the installation of each of the listed installations, it is important to comply with certain conditions, which is sometimes impossible. It all depends on the location of the site, the local climate, and other factors.
The efficiency of using certain alternative energy sources directly depends on the region in which installation is required Source proekt-sam.ru
Electric generators
Modern generator sets are considered the most reliable and have the lowest price (compared to other independent systems). But the cost of one kilowatt of energy is extremely high. Such devices contain an internal combustion engine. It is connected to a coil, which, when untwisted, generates electrical energy.
When setting up a backup autonomous power supply, generators are connected to the electrical network in parallel. They additionally have an automatic connection system built into them, which starts the device when contact with the centralized power grid is lost. Electric generators can be adjusted to the required parameters. For example, it is possible to turn on an autonomous system only a few minutes after the power goes out. As a result, there is no need to manually start the unit, as well as stop it when the central power supply is restored.
The main advantages of modern generator sets:
- mobility;
- relatively small dimensions, which are influenced solely by the power of the unit;
- there is no need to install auxiliary devices that provide electricity generation;
- work regardless of weather, season, location.
Flaws:
- noisy operation, depending on the availability of high-quality fuel;
- difficult to start in the cold season (most of all this applies to diesel units);
- constant monitoring is required;
- the need for manual refueling of the tank;
- high cost of fuel materials.
Attention! Electric generators running on gasoline or diesel are not environmentally friendly. During their operation, harmful substances are released into the atmosphere. The latter should be taken into account when choosing the most suitable autonomous power supply system for yourself.
The operation of any electric generator requires periodic manual refueling of the tank Source iws.ua
No. 1. Generator for a summer residence: petrol, diesel, gas
The simplest and most popular way to solve the problem of electricity on a plot of land is to use a fuel-fired electricity generator . Essentially, this is a miniature power plant that operates completely autonomously and converts the energy of fuel combustion into electricity. Gasoline and diesel, less often gas, are used as fuel. To produce 1 kW/hour of energy, on average, 0.25 to 0.5 liters of fuel will be required.
The easiest way to organize power supply at home is with the help of generators : buy it, connect it and you can use it, just don’t forget to top up the fuel on time. This is the main advantage . The main disadvantage is the need to constantly buy fuel , and if the house is large and there are a lot of electrical appliances, then the costs will be significant. In addition, the generator itself also costs money, and the higher its power, the higher the price. But if you compare it with a windmill or solar panel, the generator will, of course, be cheaper.
When the generator is a backup source of energy , it is important that it not only starts up in a timely manner, but also turns off in a timely manner so that there is no collision between two counter flows of charged electrons. To avoid troubles, an algorithm for including a generator in the overall system has long been developed. If there is no central power supply network , then it is recommended to use two generators: one is the main one, the second is a backup one and comes into operation when the first one runs out of fuel. Alternating operation of two generators significantly increases the service life of each.
The fuel the generator runs on determines its power, durability, noise level, and operating costs.
Diesel generator for a summer residence
Diesel power generators are best suited for continuous operation . Long continuous operation is ensured by the presence of a water cooling system. Among its other advantages :
- high demand for strength. In terms of durability, a diesel generator outperforms a gasoline generator;
- among diesel engines there are much more powerful models than among gasoline engines, which makes it possible to use a similar energy source even to supply large country houses;
- diesel is a cheaper fuel compared to gasoline.
Among the disadvantages:
- price;
- high noise during operation, so it will be difficult to manage without a separate room with sound insulation and ventilation. A gasoline generator also has exhaust gases, but they are not as caustic. It is best to place the diesel generator at some distance from the house, but you will have to take care of a canopy and a locking system to protect the generator from theft;
- startup is possible at a temperature not lower than -50C, although at the moment there are diesel generators in a protective casing, thanks to which the device can be placed outdoors and operated at any temperature.
Gasoline generator for a summer residence
A gasoline generator is better suited in cases where the site is used from time to time . It can also work as a backup power source when the site is connected to the public network. In a small dacha with a minimal set of electrical appliances, a gasoline generator performs best. The power of gas generators is usually no higher than 7-9 kW (but you can find models with 15 and even 20 kW), and they cannot work longer than 8 hours continuously - they get very hot.
Advantages:
- low cost of the generator compared to its diesel counterpart. The price, of course, depends on the power, but it is, on average, two times lower than for diesel models;
- mobility. Gasoline generators are lighter and more compact than diesel ones, so if necessary, they are easy to move around the site;
- noise level is lower than that of a diesel analogue;
- ability to work at low temperatures.
Minuses:
- low efficiency;
- high cost of gasoline.
The noise level from a diesel and gasoline generator depends on the type of housing and the speed at which the generator operates: a device with 1500 rpm will produce significantly lower noise than a similar power one with 3000 rpm, but it will also cost more .
Gas generator for a summer residence
Gas generators make it possible to obtain the cheapest energy, while their operating efficiency is the highest and the noise is minimal . The power can reach 24 kW, the generator can operate around the clock, and gas will be cheaper than gasoline and diesel fuel. It’s just that such devices have not yet become widespread, since they cost a lot, are complicated to operate and require connection to a gas pipeline, which is not available everywhere. However, some summer residents connect such generators to gas cylinders.
Video description
Which generator to choose: diesel or gasoline?
Solar panels
The main advantage of such independent power plants is the affordable cost of one kilowatt of electricity. They only require free energy from the sun to function properly. The operating principle of such installations is to convert light photons into electrical charge.
In order for solar panels to produce the required power to power home appliances, their area must be large. 1 m2 of surface of such an installation produces approximately 100 W, while the voltage is about 25 V. This is only enough to slowly charge the battery and power the lamps.
Solar batteries are devices that collect light energy from the sun's rays and convert it into electric current Source 220-on.ru
To obtain the electric current of the required parameters, it is necessary to install auxiliary equipment: inverter, batteries, controller. The first convert direct voltage into alternating voltage; it must correspond to the same indicators of 220 V electricity from a centralized network. To reap the full benefits of a power plant, excess energy must be stored for future useful use.
Solar panels allow you to generate electricity only during the daytime in bright natural light. At night such devices are absolutely useless. To solve this problem, a controller is used: it recharges the batteries. The excess electricity accumulated on it is used up during the dark period of the day; in the morning the charge is replenished again from the panels that have resumed their functionality.
The advantages of the above-described type of autonomous power supply to the house include:
- automatic operating mode;
- no additional costs;
- environmental friendliness;
- no fuel reserve required.
Flaws:
- the efficiency of the installation depends on the activity of the sun, the area where the system is located, and the time of year;
- considerable cost of equipment;
- frequency of operation, depending on the presence of abundant sunlight;
- the panels take up a lot of space and need to be installed in an open area.
Important! The surfaces of functioning solar panels must be periodically cleaned to remove dust accumulation. Otherwise, the efficiency of their work will decrease.
Solar panels installed on the roof of a house do not take up useful space and are highly efficient Source termico-solar.com
No. 3. Wind generator for a summer residence
Another free source of electricity is wind, but, like the sun's rays, it is inconsistent. The main advantages , as with photocells, are the absence of the need to constantly purchase fuel and the environmental friendliness of the resulting energy. Disadvantages : high cost of the design, the need to install not only the wind generator itself, but also additional equipment (inverter and batteries with controllers).
Two types of wind turbines are installed in dachas today :
- rotary with a vertical axis of rotation are characterized by a low noise level, do not require high wind speed and a significant installation height, but their efficiency is low;
- winged wind turbines with a horizontal axis of rotation are more common, have high efficiency, their installation cost is lower, but the material consumption, and therefore the price, is higher.
The main question facing those who decide to install a wind turbine is not even its type, but its power. When answering the question, it is worth taking into account the energy generated, accumulated and consumed . Therefore, it is important to calculate how much energy is consumed, for example, per day, what is the average and peak load. It is necessary to take into account the average wind speed, the number of days when the wind speed is above 5 m/s (the most favorable), as well as the maximum duration of calm weather.
In practice, it turns out that weak winds of 2-3 m/s do not provide enough energy. Therefore, experienced summer residents advise stocking up on high-capacity batteries in order to accumulate the energy received on windy days and use it during periods of calm and weak winds.
Video description
Solar panels.
Myths and reality. Many of the disadvantages of such power plants are easily resolved. Problems with the placement of this equipment completely disappear if installation is organized on the roof. It does not take up useful space, and nearby non-residential buildings and garden trees do not create shading. Considering the significant cost of the system, it is important to note: modern solar panels have a huge resource, so they manage to pay for themselves before their useful life ends.
In addition, you need to take into account: such a source of autonomous power supply at home implies fairly frequent charging and discharging of the battery. For this reason, its resource is rapidly decreasing. To have the necessary supply of electricity at night, the battery will have to be changed frequently.
Solar panels installed on the roof of a house do not take up useful space and are highly efficient Source termico-solar.com
Innovative combined electro-thermal cogeneration systems
Over the next two decades, humanity intends to dramatically increase the use of renewable energy sources. This is part of a concerted global policy to reduce life support losses and greenhouse gas emissions. Today it has become obvious that the use of simple single-resource schemes for creating an efficient power plant for a private home will not be enough; it is necessary to look for an alternative and independent way for the further development of the ESS.
Cogeneration EPSs combine proven photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal (SHW) technologies into a single integrated solar thermal power system that captures as much solar energy as possible to generate electricity, using all the useful heat of the system. Solar collectors are water-cooled concentrating PV—parabolic devices that capture rather than dissipate what other PV designs consider “waste heat.”
The architecture includes a series of above-ground or underground devices that independently track the sun along a single axis. The compact SHW heat exchange/storage system transfers heat to preheat water for domestic hot water supply. Thus, the world's most efficient mini-cogeneration autonomous power supply for a country house is being created, providing not only uninterrupted power supply to a private home, but also its almost free heat supply.
Autonomous power supply at home: ready-made solutions
Organizations that sell independent power supplies offer ready-made device packages that can work immediately after installation. For the most part, these are all kinds of sets of solar power plants, wind generators, and other devices that have completely different technical parameters.
Solar powered
One of the ready-made options for an autonomous home power supply system is highly efficient equipment that uses solar energy and converts it into electricity using solar panels. This process is shown schematically in the figure below.
Solar batteries generate direct electric current, which is subsequently converted into alternating current (used in everyday life) using an inverter Source gws-energy.ru
In the modern market, the White Nights 1500 W-100x2P power plants, produced by the Russian company, are quite in demand. The kit contains:
- polycrystalline panels – 2 pieces;
- inverter;
- charge controller;
- a set of connectors designed for connecting panels;
- cable;
- fastener
Technical specifications:
- operating voltage – 12 V;
- rated power of each battery is 100 W;
- recommended air temperature – 0-40°C;
- output voltage – 220 V, frequency – 50 Hz;
- rated power – 1.5 kW.
