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  • Hello from NorCal

    Hey gang, looking to learn a bit about solar and get something going for the house.

    I see other folks talking about their plans here, so I'll do the same...

    I'll be honest, I'm not looking to build a 100% proper/legal/permitted system at first. I'd like to start by building an outdoor stand/frame for 5-10 panels, around 1000-2500 watts, then work my way to ~5000 watts total. Looking for a super simple setup, similar to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S93wbGlzsJg

    Further down the road I'd like to introduce batteries for feeding at night and wire/permit everything correctly. Not really worried about reselling gear, or having to do something over. I figure the simplicity in the above setup will get me started/interested/learning, then I can add complexity as I go.

  • #2
    It's a free country, and good luck, but that doesn't sound like the best way to start a sojourn into a solar project, beginning with the non legal part and continuing on to thinking u-tube is a good source of much of anything technical, to ease of upsizing and the efficacy of batteries at this time.

    I'd spend some time getting knowledgeable about solar energy, its potential and its limitations before I went further.

    Welcome to the neighborhood and the forum of few(er) illusions.

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    • #3
      First off that grid tie inverter in the youtube video is not the safest piece of equipment made and is illegal if you try to connect it to the grid in the US.

      Second adding any battery system to a solar pv will end up costing 5 to 10 times more to generate the same kWh then to purchase it from your POCO.

      The best way to save money is to install a properly sized grid tied solar pv system that is legal and contracted with your POCO.

      Please do not believe what you see in youtube because most if not all are misleading and can end up costing you much more then you think or worse get you in legal trouble if you follow what they do.

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      • #4
        We have also heard of situations where the Poco meter will actually charge you for solar power you generate, w/o a feed back agreement some Poco's meters can only go up, not backwards, in other words you could end up paying more on top of more.

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        • #5
          Cheers, guys. I very much appreciate the concern. We're out in the sticks and the perception of doing things by the letter isn't nearly as strong as in the city where everything is regulated and you have neighbors who report you for this and that. All I really need to adhere to is a practical sense of safety.

          Speaking of safety, I'll have everything in a location where damage is limited, should there be a catastrophic failure, as well as use overrated cables/connectors so that breakers trip before stuff melts. Maybe see if I can find some fact acting breakers as well.

          Great tip on the meter, I had no idea some would double up like that! I'll definitely run some tests to see how it reacts in a feedback situation. It wouldn't surprise me if it did, being that it's a 'smart' meter. Might have to opt out of it.

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          • #6
            If your system was totally off grid then there is always a way to build something that will work using solar and some type of battery chemistry even though it will have a very long if any payback.

            But if there is grid power available then usually the cost of solar equipment does not pay for itself unless you can get some type of Net metering contract with your POCO where you can sell back any extra power you produce to them even if it is for a small percentage of what they charge you to by it from them.

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            • #7
              Our situation is a little different. Most people are out of the house during the day using the least amount of power, but we're home during the day sucking it up. I've got work equipment running and there's always fans/tv/ac going in the summer. We use more during the day and less at night, whereas it's typically the inverse for most people. I'd be happy if I could cut daytime costs in half, or better, which I think I can do fairly easily and somewhat inexpensively. Also, I'm the type of person who would pay $1000 once to avoid paying $10/mo for 8 years, even if that's technically the more expensive route.

              If I may ask, what's the difference between a grid-tie panel and one that's not advertised as a grid-tie panel?

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              • #8
                Originally posted by corndog View Post
                Our situation is a little different. Most people are out of the house during the day using the least amount of power, but we're home during the day sucking it up. I've got work equipment running and there's always fans/tv/ac going in the summer. We use more during the day and less at night, whereas it's typically the inverse for most people. I'd be happy if I could cut daytime costs in half, or better, which I think I can do fairly easily and somewhat inexpensively. Also, I'm the type of person who would pay $1000 once to avoid paying $10/mo for 8 years, even if that's technically the more expensive route.

                If I may ask, what's the difference between a grid-tie panel and one that's not advertised as a grid-tie panel?
                A grid tie panel is usually rated above 200 watts and has a Vmp rating above 30VDC. A battery panel has a Vmp below 30VDC and usually less than 200 watts. Either type can be used in an off grid system but the higher wattage is better for a grid tie because it allows you to wire more in series to the grid tie inverter that have ratings around 600VDC input.

                I understand wanting to use the sun to run your loads during the day. But you really have to do the math. What you will spend for the panels, batteries, charge controller, wiring and inverter will take years to pay for themselves unless your electric costs are very high.

                Don't get fooled into thinking you will just spend a little up front to get the power generated you need. Without a battery a solar panel will not provide a constant current source for any load unless it is something like a DC fan motor or light. If your loads are AC it can cost on average about $2000 to generate 1kWh a day.

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                • #9
                  Right on, thanks for taking the time, SE. Right now I'm super green on the hardware and once I feel like I'm getting close to selecting panels/inverters, I'll sit down and crunch some numbers and evaluate what you're bringing up here.

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