Running 240V appliances by solar power

I would like to build a device where a solar panel is connected to a UK standard plug socket, to power UK standard (240 volts I think) electrical appliances.  As far as I am aware I need a solar panel, a diode, a regulator, a battery, an inverter, and a plug socket.  The unit would be stand-alone, not connected to the national grid, but able to power standard 240v electrical appliances, e.g. electric kettles.

My questions are these.  Is this project possible (I assume it is, beacause it can be done on a larger scale by linking solar panels into the house mains electricity)?  How do I calculate the energy input output requirments of the components (can I use any components of different energy flow allowances with each other)?  Do the components have to be conected in a special way?

Thank you, Chris

Hi Chris,

Yes, the project you describe is certainly feasible, and in fact it's quite common to use solar power in this way to power 240V appliances where you don't have a national grid connection.

You can use our solar panel calculator to work out how much power your appliances will take, and how big a solar panel array would be needed to power them. The inverter size you need depends on the maximum power you need to draw from the system - so a laptop charger would be fine with a inverter of a couple of hundred watts; a kettle however would need a 2kW inverter at least.

You don't need a diode in the system if you have a regulator - the regulator stops the panel discharging at night.

regards,
Andy
Midsummer Energy