All provinces and Territories in Canada offer a net metering / grid-tie power buy-back program. This means that if you generate your own electricity using renewable energy, you can feed your excess energy into the grid in exchange for credits that can be put towards your energy bills. Continue reading
Author Archive: Azimuth Solar
Silicon Dioxide Battery Excellent Performance in Extreme Cold Conditions!
Many places in North America are experiencing cold snaps this time of year. Extreme temperatures can decrease performance or cause damage and failure to most batteries.
If you are using batteries for off-grid, RV or backup power, or are planning to start, it is important to know what batteries can withstand extreme temperatures. Azimuth Solar’s Silicon Dioxide (Lead Crystal) batteries provide outstanding performance in extreme hot and cold weather conditions, faster charging and over 10 year lifespans, at lower lifetime costs.
Silicon Dioxide batteries (aka SiO2, Lead Crystal, or just Crystal batteries) are built to last in rough conditions. These batteries can be discharged deeper, cycled more often (even in extreme temperatures), charge faster and have longer lifespans. They recover to full-rated capacity. They do not require maintenance, special ventilation or cooling, and can be stored up to 2 years without recharge.
Extreme Cold Performance
Lead Acid batteries will freeze at -25C/-13F at 50% charge. The more you power you take from the battery, the easier it is to freeze and damage. Once a battery has frozen, you cannot use it until it is slowly defrosted and checked. This usually kills the battery. Lead Acid batteries can have lower freezing temperature ratings, but that is only helpful if you don’t plan on using them. The freezing point of Lead Acid batteries rises as their charge level drops. If you need a battery during an ice storm or winter blackout, you may not be able to use your Lead Acid batteries when you need them the most.Continue reading
Battery Basics – Difference between a Starter and Deep-cycle Battery
News regarding solar energy generally focuses on solar panels, but without a battery to store the power collected from solar panels, much of the energy collected is fed into the grid for others to use. If the system is off-grid, that excess energy is wasted and there is no power to draw on when the sun goes down. A battery bank allows you to maximize the efficiency of your system and to have power to draw from 24-7.
Batteries come in two broad classifications: Starter and Deep-cycle Batteries.Continue reading
How much Solar Power & Battery Storage do I Need for my RV / Cabin / Cottage / Tiny Home?
This question can be broken down into steps that give us the information we need to make a decision.
1. How much power do I need?
Residential homes use 900 – 5000kWh a month (30-166kWh per day). To generate this much power with solar / wind and to store it, you will need a lot of space and a large budget. It is unrealistic to generate that much power with portable power or when space is at a premium. Instead, power conservation and realistic expectations should drop your power needs by prioritizing what equipment and appliances are essential.
Something we rarely do when we are on the grid, but must be much more aware of when off-grid, is adding up the power usage from all sources.Continue reading
Solar Power 101: An Introduction
As concern over the increasing cost of energy grows, many people are looking into alternative sources of power, like solar. There are four main components in a basic solar setup: Solar Panels, Charge Controller, Batteries and Inverter. All components and the wiring connecting them need to be carefully chosen and sized appropriately to work together. Use this guide to demystify the terminology behind solar, and kick-start your journey to energy independence!Continue reading
The Boler Turns 50!
August 15th kicks off the beginning of a four-day event to celebrate the iconic Boler trailer’s 50th anniversary! Boler enthusiasts are set to travel from as far as Southern California all the way to Winnipeg’s Red River Exhibition park to attend the event.Continue reading
Why Many People with Solar Panels Still Don’t Have Power After a Hurricane
There has been a lot written about installing solar power at home, but unless you have specifically set-up your system for emergency backup or disaster response, then it won’t automatically provide off-grid power.
There are several reasons why your system doesn’t work after the storm passes.Continue reading
Our Debut
We are extremely excited to be debuting our products at the BC Interior Sportsman Show this weekend in Kelowna, BC! Come see us at Booth 34 from April 7th to 9th at the Capital News Centre. Tickets are available at the door and our own Matthew Longman will be speaking on Saturday the 8th at noon.
Matthew’s Speech – Portable Solar Generators: Solar Power for your RV, Cabin and EmergenciesContinue reading