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  • #16
    Originally posted by jflorey2 View Post
    Depends where he is. If he's in a place where the grid will come back in six months, and will be working for even 50% of the time, it's worth it for the savings in battery costs.
    It still comes down to a matter of choice and expected costs although with a 50/50 chance of the grid being around IMO a hybrid system will never pay for itself.

    If a grid is stable (> 90%) and the cost of electricity is high then a hybrid battery system may be worth while. But if grid outages are often and the cost of electricity low a battery system would be hard to justify for any type of payback..

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    • #17
      Here you go PapitoHead .... my complete solar install time line with sales sources.

      https://www.solarpaneltalk.com/forum...here-i-want-it
      285Wx9 / MNClassic 150 / CSW4024 / TrojanL16H-ACx4

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      • #18
        Originally posted by SunEagle View Post
        It still comes down to a matter of choice and expected costs although with a 50/50 chance of the grid being around IMO a hybrid system will never pay for itself. If a grid is stable (> 90%) and the cost of electricity is high then a hybrid battery system may be worth while. But if grid outages are often and the cost of electricity low a battery system would be hard to justify for any type of payback..
        Right. But to extend that argument, if the grid never comes back and he is grid connected without solar, then he saves the most money possible - he never pays anything. But he also doesn't have power.

        Given that this is Puerto Rico, a battery based system makes more sense than it would in a place with reliable power. And given that the only difference between an off-grid system with an inverter/charger and a hybrid system is a different type of inverter, it's not as big a cost adder. ($1200 for a decent 4000 watt inverter/charger vs $1700 for a 3600 watt hybrid inverter.)

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        • #19
          Just so all of you have an idea of the Puerto Rico grid:
          Puerto Rico Territory Energy Profile

          Puerto Rico Quick Facts

          [LIST][*]Petroleum products fuel transportation, electricity generation, and industry in Puerto Rico, supplying three-fourths of the energy consumed in the commonwealth.[*]In 2016, 47% of Puerto Rico

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          • #20
            Originally posted by jflorey2 View Post
            Right. But to extend that argument, if the grid never comes back and he is grid connected without solar, then he saves the most money possible - he never pays anything. But he also doesn't have power.

            Given that this is Puerto Rico, a battery based system makes more sense than it would in a place with reliable power. And given that the only difference between an off-grid system with an inverter/charger and a hybrid system is a different type of inverter, it's not as big a cost adder. ($1200 for a decent 4000 watt inverter/charger vs $1700 for a 3600 watt hybrid inverter.)
            Again it is a matter of choice and costs deciding between a hybrid battery system or generator for emergency power.

            A grid tie solar system will pay for itself but a battery system will not always be cost effective.

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            • #21
              Originally posted by SunEagle View Post
              Again it is a matter of choice and costs deciding between a hybrid battery system or generator for emergency power.
              A grid tie solar system will pay for itself but a battery system will not always be cost effective.
              Agreed there. But the decision may be no power (which is very cost effective) vs. some power (which costs money.)

              If I were building a system for Puerto Rico I think I'd start with a small, efficient generator driving a hybrid inverter with a minimum-size battery. That would get power right away, and would minimize generator run time. The hybrid inverter would also allow generator support, which means the ability to run larger loads (or loads with higher surge ratings) with the small generator. If reliability was important I'd go with two small propane generators, so that one was always available to drive the system.

              Then I'd add solar later, only when money was available for a mount rated to (say) 150mph, which is cat 4 hurricane. That would extend the run time of the system and would eventually allow the generator to be idled most of the time. If/when the grid ever came back, the hybrid inverter would allow grid tie operation. That would not be as cheap/cost effective as a pure grid tie system, but it would be a lot more useful to someone without a grid.

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              • #22
                Originally posted by jflorey2 View Post
                Agreed there. But the decision may be no power (which is very cost effective) vs. some power (which costs money.)

                If I were building a system for Puerto Rico I think I'd start with a small, efficient generator driving a hybrid inverter with a minimum-size battery. That would get power right away, and would minimize generator run time. The hybrid inverter would also allow generator support, which means the ability to run larger loads (or loads with higher surge ratings) with the small generator. If reliability was important I'd go with two small propane generators, so that one was always available to drive the system.

                Then I'd add solar later, only when money was available for a mount rated to (say) 150mph, which is cat 4 hurricane. That would extend the run time of the system and would eventually allow the generator to be idled most of the time. If/when the grid ever came back, the hybrid inverter would allow grid tie operation. That would not be as cheap/cost effective as a pure grid tie system, but it would be a lot more useful to someone without a grid.
                Sounds like a pretty good plan. Depending on where the OP lives and how much constant wind they get, a turbine may also be part of the mix.

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                • #23
                  Originally posted by papitohead View Post
                  Just so all of you have an idea of the Puerto Rico grid:
                  Puerto Rico Territory Energy Profile

                  Puerto Rico Quick Facts

                  [LIST][*]Petroleum products fuel transportation, electricity generation, and industry in Puerto Rico, supplying three-fourths of the energy consumed in the commonwealth.[*]In 2016, 47% of Puerto Rico
                  a
                  This post is missing stuff. Perhaps it was not supposed to be posted here, lol. After I posted it, the post went to cyberspace waiting for approval. Now I see just the titles.

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                  • #24
                    The forum does not like external links (I think they have to be approved by the mods) and it also does not like some special charaters. so if you are doing a cut and paste from a web site ... you may want to copy into a text editor like Windows Note Pad (not word) or something other.
                    285Wx9 / MNClassic 150 / CSW4024 / TrojanL16H-ACx4

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                    • #25
                      One area where saving work for later can make sense is adding a string of panels in parallel with an existing string. If your charge controller can produce twice as much from 19A input instead of the 9.5A from a single string of fully-insolated standard PV panels, then you have doubled your system's generating capacity with no change in anything downstream from the combiner box.

                      It also makes sense for me in cloudy Washington State (probably doesn't apply to Puerto Rico so much) where the panels are often producing a fraction of their rated current. I'll be adding another 24 panels (currently sitting in the garage) pointed straight up, in parallel with the main array that is tilted 45 degrees, to catch photons from the light cloud cover we get around here. That should keep my charge controllers running at nearly 1/3 capacity even when you can't quite see shadows on the ground.

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