Placement of solar system equipment

Collapse
X
 
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • Shalomorchard
    Junior Member
    • Aug 2026
    • 2

    #1

    Placement of solar system equipment

    I’m trying to put together a solar panel system, and I’m wondering whete to put various equipment.

    I have a long narrow house. Th roof I want to put the panels on, faces south with a 12/12 pitch. It has a plain 41 x 17 standing seam metal roof. It is at the opposite end of the house from the electric meter and main fuse box. About 150 ft total building length. There is an insulated storage loft under this roof. It might not always be sed just for storage, but there is room there for whatever equipment in necessary. Do I put any necessary wiring through the roof, or run it around the end of the roof, and down into the loft? I understand inverters can be quite noisy.

    The circuit breaker panel for that section in the the basement two floors below. Unfortunately the wiring from that panel to the next section is I believe, only 30 amps 240 volts. I’ve meant to up grade this, but the next section is built of a slab, and doesn’t have an easy wiring path. I’ve meant to drive a conduit onder the slab, but it’s never happened.

    The main house, where the meter and main circuit breaker panel are located in the rock walled cellar. The house is probably earliy 1800’s, and the basement is cramped and damp.

    so where should I put various equipment? What needs to be in the house basement, near the meter end maine circuit breaker panel? Does anything?

    should I use a main string inverter, or microinverters? Should each panel have it’s own microinverter? There are some microinverter s that can handle8 a couple of panels in series or parallel, or have up to four panel interfaces. Are the stats for a microinverter per nyerface or total? The panels are used REN 340 Watt panels, and I have room for 30 of them. Cost is a big issue, so I will have to use used or chinese equipment where possible. I’m looking at a Datouboss 12kw hybrid inverter, but I waner

    why is special solar panel wire used instead of outdoor/direct burial NMC/romex?
    Last edited by Shalomorchard; 08-27-2026, 12:15 AM.
  • Mike 134
    Solar Fanatic
    • Jan 2022
    • 451

    #2
    Solar wire has a higher voltage rating.
    Photovoltaic / USE-2 / RHH / RHW-2 | Encore Wire Corporation
    Myself after wiring the panels together I used a flashed junction box to poke through the roof and get the wiring inside out of the elements. You can transition to standard wire inside.

    Comment

    • Shalomorchard
      Junior Member
      • Aug 2026
      • 2

      #3
      Originally posted by Mike 134
      Solar wire has a higher voltage rating.
      Photovoltaic / USE-2 / RHH / RHW-2 | Encore Wire Corporation
      Myself after wiring the panels together I used a flashed junction box to poke through the roof and get the wiring inside out of the elements. You can transition to standard wire inside.
      can you comment on my other issues?

      Comment

      • scrambler
        Solar Fanatic
        • Mar 2019
        • 516

        #4
        String inverter versus microinverter is a matter of preference. They both have pros and cons. If you have 30 panels, cost may definitely be in favor of the string inverter though.
        One important point is how easy it would be to get to any of the panel on the roof as they can go bad.
        This means that if the roof is really high or has a strong pitch, or if the array would have many rows of many panels requiring to remove many panels to get to a middle one. This could create extra cost when replacing one.

        Apart from that if you do not have a good place to put a string inverter that would be separate from the house living quarters for the noise, they would solve that problem.

        But if you are thinking potentially adding a battery, and lowest possible cost, the Hybrid inverter is probably a better route.

        Using the loft for the inverter may be an issue because of heat. A loft under the metal roof I would imagine gets quite hot in the summer, and that is a No Go for the inverter.
        Passing the wires in there in a metal pipe would be fine though. but I would definitely choose to enter the loft from the side of the house rather than through the roof to eliminate any leak risks long term. Easier to flash the penetration that way.

        If the basement is really damp that may also be not ideal, but not as bad as heat. An inverter runs 24/7 so I would think they are better as resisting humidity than heat. Having the inverter closer to the main panel for connection is a plus. Make sure you understand the 120% rule for feasibility of connecting the inverter in any panel.

        Comment

        Working...