Electricity
Here are some links related to solar generated electricity. The list is getting long so scroll down if you don't yet see what you are looking for:
GENERAL:
Ecocenter.org Solar Electricity Article
Solar Electricity and Solar Cells in Theory and Practice
Solar Energy Inverter Information
Choosing the Right Off-Grid Inverter
Huge List of Inverter Manufacturers
Solar Powered Wireless Laptop Web Server with great info
Solar Powered Web Site with great info
PHOTOVOLTAIC PANELS:
DIY Solar Panel Kits and Projects
SOLAR TRACKERS:
My Homemade Solar Tracker - “If you have enough carpentry skills to make a bird house, you can build this tracker.”
Redrok - A collection of DIY electronic projects including solar trackers, solar charge controllers, shunts and much more. Complete solar tracker circuits are available for sale.
Sun-Tracking Circuit for Solar Arrays.
Wattsun - Manufacturers of Wattsun Solar TrackersThe most “DIY” of the bunch looks to be the “My Homemade Solar Tracker” page, but these didn’t quite match what I was looking for, so I dug a little further.
As usual the people at BuildItSolar.com came out on top with this $35 solar tracker built with an LED tracker from http://www.RedRok.com/
BATTERIES:
Wiring Solar Panels and Battery Systems
Battery Reconditioning video from chinadepot.com
Batteries for Solar Energy Systems
How Lead Acid Batteries Work <--- EXCELLENT
Solar System Battery Metering - Otherpower.com page about monitoring batteries for a solar system. Also has a good battery state of charge chart.
SYSTEM SIZING:
Battery and PV Module Sizing Calculator <--- Use this to calculate your total system requirements.
Grid-tie Solar System Sizing <-- Detailed and informative
Basic Grid-tie Solar System Sizing
Grid-Tie Solar System Sizing on Yahoo! Answers <---- good info
Grid-Tie System Size Estimator <- This page has a calculator, with interactive map to figure out sun hours per day. Will also recommend a system for you, and gives an "Environmental Benefits" metric that looks like this: You will eliminate 16740 lbs. of C02 per year and this is equivalent to planting 24 trees every year
Another Battery Sizing Worksheet <^--- Use one of these once the load and module size has been determined.
Solar Wiring Size Reference Guide <-- Useful for determining the size of conductor needed for your system.
RV and Camper Solar Electric:
Simple article on How to Install a Solar Panel
RV Boondocking Article about their 780w roof mounted system
RV Solararticle on RV Solar Electric Power. I like the way this one was written, and it has some excellent points.
HolySolar Article on 64w Unisolar Thin Film panel
12voltsolarpanels.netRV Solar Charger Article
SYSTEM OVERVIEWS:
Setting Up a Solar Electricity System
Ward's Cheap (<$700) Solar System
Bob's Solar Project - Simply the most detailed blog about installing and running a photovoltaic system in your home, that I have ever seen. Includes excellent pictures, graphs, and illustrations.
Maverick Solar DIY - excellent site detailing the author's grid tied PV system. He even has a web interface so that you can see how much juice he is producing in real time.
VERY LARGE Home PV Installation <——– GREAT!! 48kWh per day! Completely DIY! Here is a discussion about it at The Solar Power Forum
Selection and Installation of 6.1kW grid-tie system Thoughts on system after a month