Outline for Solar - Electric book

[GrantRobertson]

OK, here is what I have so far as to an outline for a book on solar-electric systems for vans and RVs. As you will see, there are some sections that aren't fleshed out at all. Not because I don't know what to put there, but mostly because my brain got tired working on the outline. My psych meds are now doing to me what all my past friends used to complain about: Making my brain get tired much sooner than it used to just a few months ago. I am posting what I have anyway, so people can look it over and offer suggestions. The numbers for the paragraphs are just to make it easier to discuss. They will change with each iteration, as things are added or rearranged. I will also discuss the content of each individual topic in its own separate thread, rather than all in this one thread. That way they will still be useful for people reading and searching the forum. So, this thread is just for discussing the outline.

---

Introduction/Overview
    1. This section will be a quick run-through of all the major parts of the system and what they do, in the order they show up on a basic circuit diagram of the whole thing.
    2. In the rest of this book, I don't try to explain every detail of every system at the same time. It is just too much information to take in at one time and it can get a little jumbled in your head. Instead, I explain the various components first. Then I show you how they work together. Finally, I show you how to connect them up so they actually work together. Rather than explain things in the order they would appear on a circuit diagram, I have organized things in a way that makes it easiest to understand and learn. For instance: You can't understand wire-sizing requirements without understanding current and resistance. Nor can you understand the need for those wire-sizing requirements without first understanding what is connected to each end.
    3. At the end of each part, I will provide a summary with much more detail than this overview, to help you tie it all together.

Part One - Understanding the System
    1. Electricity Basics
        a. Voltage
        b. Current
        c. Resistance
        d. Power
        e. Time (Watt Hours & Amp Hours)
        f. Series vs. Parallel
            i. Resistance
            ii. Current
            iii. Voltage
            iv. Power
            v. Amp Hours
    2. Sources of Electricity
        a. Solar
            i. How Solar Cells Work
            ii. How Solar Cells are Made
            iii. Basic Characteristics of Solar Cells
                1) Standard Test Conditions
                2) Voltage
                3) Amperage (Current)
                4) Wattage (Power)
            iv. Types of Solar Cells
                1) Amorphic
                2) Polycrystalline
                3) Monocrystalline
        b. Alternator
        c. Generator
        d. Wind
        e. Shore Power
    3. Storing Electricity
        a. Lead-Acid Batteries
            i. How Lead Acid Batteries Work
            ii. Design Characteristics
                1) Maximum Cold Cranking Amps
                2) Maximum Deep-Cycle Life
                3) Combination
            iii. Form Factors
            iv. Flooded
                1) Charging Characteristics
                2) Discharging Characteristics
                3) Electrical Maintenance
                4) Physical Maintenance
                5) Storage Requirements
            v. AGM
                1) Charging Characteristics
                2) Discharging Characteristics
                3) Electrical Maintenance
                4) Physical Maintenance
                5) Storage Requirements
        b. Lithium
            i. How Lithium Batteries Work
            ii. Design Characteristics
            iii. Charging Characteristics
            iv. Discharging Characteristics
            v. Electrical Maintenance
            vi. Physical Maintenance
            vii. Storage Requirements       
        c. Battery Configurations
        d. Mixing Battery Types
    4. Getting Electricity Into the Batteries
        a. Matching the Battery's Charging Characteristics
        b. Simple Chargers (Converters)
        c. Charge Controllers
            i. Shunt Type
            ii. Pulse Width Modulated (PWM)
            iii. (MPPT)
        d. Combination Units
        e. Using More Than One Source of Electricity
        f. Monitoring the Process
    5. Getting Electricity Out of the Batteries
        a. Matching the Batteries' Output Abilities
        b. Inverters
        c. DC-DC Converters
        d. Monitoring your Usage
    6. Moving Electricity Around
        a. This chapter is about considerations about the system wiring and how to choose the correct wire. Installing the wire will be covered in Part Three.
        b. Moving it In
            i. Connecting Solar Panels to Charge Controllers
            ii. Connecting Alternators to your system
            iii. Bringing in Shore Power
        c. Connections Between Charging System, Batteries, and Inverters
            i. Battery Configurations
            ii. Connecting Chargers and Charge Controllers to Your Battery Bank
            iii. Connecting Inverters to Your Battery Bank
        d. Moving it Out (Wiring Your Rig)
            i. 120 VAC
                1) General Wiring Rules and Guidelines
                2) Shore Power Only System
                3) Inverter-Based System
                4) Using the Inverter-Based System when on Shore Power
            ii. 12 VDC
                1) Limiting Wire Run Lengths
            iii. Controlling Phantom Power Use
    7. Systems Summary
        a. A detailed summary of the topics covered in Part One, tying them all together.

Part Two - Designing the System
    1. Sizing Your System
    2. Planning for Growth
    3. Laying Out the System
        a. Arranging Solar Panels
            i. Avoidance of Shadows
        b. Battery Placement
        c. Equipment Placement
        d. Roof Penetrations
        e. Wire Runs

Part Three - Installing the System

Part Four - Using the System
    1. A Day in the Life
    2. When the Sun Needs a Little Help

Part Five - Showing Off Your System
    1. Case Studies

Appendices
    1. Ancillary Electrical Components
        a. Wire and Wire Types
            i. Solid
            ii. Stranded
        b. Switches
        c. Fuses
        d. Breakers
        e. Transfer Switches
        f. Junction Boxes
        g. Buss Bars
        h. Lugs
        i. Connectors
    2. Tools Needed
    3. Test Equipment
    4. Maintenance Summary
        a. Maintenance Chart

 

[highdesertranger]

well to me it looks pretty good and you are covering the whole range. I will be interested to see more detail. I am no expert and only know what I know or maybe don't know so I am looking forward to this. highdesertranger

 

[GrantRobertson]

Eek! The outline has no indentation in Tapatalk. Oh well.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I applaud your effort; way more work than I would want to do.

Just a couple of changes and corrections (I'll use your numbering):

1.e. Time (watt-hours amp-hours)
 Correct terms are: Energy for watt-hours and electric charge for amp-hours.

2. Hydro:  Sailboats use this a lot and there are micro system available for anywhere you have enough head.
Thermoelectric is viable for small amounts of energy, if you can create a large temperature gradient.

3.a. Gel batteries are still a viable option (though they might be dying out).

3.b.  Lithium: Hard to do, other than a very generic overview.  This is a moving target.
If you think handybob's web site was difficult to follow, the lithium battery discussions are 10X worse; e.g.:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...or-those-using-them-as-house-banks-65069.html

-- Spiff

 

[jimindenver]

I have to agree. WOW.

 

[akrvbob]

Here's my reaction, if you're after the knowledgeable market, they're not buying.

If you're after the newbie, he's already overwhelmed just by the chapter titles.

The in-between market has gotten enough foundation that they can figure it out from forums and the internet.

I don't think you've got a market for that book.

I'd love to write a solar book, but if I did it would simply be my story of how I learned. More than anything it would be a crime novel about the many batteries I murdered and many other mistakes I made.

"Battery Murder on the Vandwelling Express--How to Install a Solar System Without Murdering your Battery"

Hopefully, I could semi-entertain people while I was teaching them.
Bob

 

[GrantRobertson]

If you're after the newbie, he's already overwhelmed just by the chapter titles.

Thanks, Bob. What about the chapter titles do you think is overwhelming?

 

[MikeRuth]

I'm not against what your doing, but for me and what I thought you originally were going to do seems to be way different. This is Electricity/batteries/solar 101 in a technical sense and not "if you read this you will have a good understanding of setting up a mobile solar system"

Of anyone is able to truly understand everything you have listed then they would be worthy of operating a mobile solar business.

My take was after reading this the reader would be able to make very educated choices and build a system for there vehicle. I'm not so sure they would, Just my 2 cents, Grant
Mike R

 

[jimindenver]

The outline is intimidating. Were it a Van Dwellers solar hand book for dummies, most of the subjects would be covered in sentences. Any more in depth and it would be a text book.

I would suggest adding conservation and understanding conditions and their effects.

 

[highdesertranger]

jim that's it. "RV Solar For Dummies". now that might work. highdesertranger

 

[SternWake]

Honestly, what outline for a text book is not intimidating? I remember the first day of school, looking at the middle of any textbook and thinking they were nuts, but when that page came it was understandable, more or less.


There are a lot of ifs ands and butts with this whole topic.

Whether the newbies eyes glaze over and they bother to read it, or just can't understand the words is another matter.

Even if there was a series of sticky's with all the topics in this outline dumbed down as much as possible, the same questions would be asked over and over.

I think most people's minds  are trained to bypass the stickys and think their issue or question has never had been addressed before, and that they are so supremely special, they deserve a specialized response.

But I am a Misanthrope and the last few days, completely unrelated to this forum, have just stoked the fires of those misanthropic tendencies.

Effing humans.  Grrrrrrrrrr.

 

[GrantRobertson]

Well, each topic heading is not an entire chapter. Only the second-level headings are chapters. And they wouldn't be too very long. The rest of the headings would, in fact be covered in just a few sentences or paragraphs. On the other hand, it has been my experience that subject matter experts often think what the know and do can be explained in just a few sentences. That is because they forget there are several layers of backstory hiding behind every sentence they say.

I have always been good at explaining things in ways that novices can understand, in both speaking and writing.

I'm gonna have a go at writing the book anyway. If there are, in fact, no good books on the subject, then I am convinced there will be at least some market for the book. Besides, as I said in my other thread, I gotta learn the stuff anyway, I'm gotta write it down anyway. Once I have gone that far, I might as well finish the job. And, it will be both a good learning experience and look good on my resume.

I think you will like the final result.