Greetings to you all,
I am interested in getting some solar panels for my home but I am finding a lot of conflicting information over what type of system, what panels, what inverters, and how large it should be. I have also heard that there are a lot of Fly By Night contractors out there that can't be trusted.
A bit of information that might be helpful. I live in eastern Idaho, not sure of the Latitude off the top of my head but we do get some severe winters and quite often we can go days with no sun so a grid tie system is almost a requirement. Power outages in the winter time are also fairly common and can last for several hours so I would like some form of reserve for those times. I have an 80 foot south facing fence line I would like to install the panels along so I do not have to place them on my roof.
What I am wondering is would I be better off buying a standby generator instead of installing a battery bank? Are Micro inverters at each panel better than a single large inverter? I know some places require your solar system to shutdown in the event of a power outage, is there a way to stay powered up in these events? I have installed transfer switches of both the automatic and manual variety for several generators and I don't see why one would not work in this situation.
Oh, last bit of info, I am thinking about installing around 15KW worth of panels, a lot I know but I want to be able to run my 3/4 HP well if the power is out. The good thing is I have 400 gallons of pressurized water storage at almost all times so my pump only has to run maybe once a day if that. Heat is all propane and only requires 500 watts for the fans. Water heater is electric but can be easily shut off if needed.
Basicly who should I avoid, what brands are the best for the buck. I am not looking for a quick return on investment but for more peace of mind.
I am interested in getting some solar panels for my home but I am finding a lot of conflicting information over what type of system, what panels, what inverters, and how large it should be. I have also heard that there are a lot of Fly By Night contractors out there that can't be trusted.
A bit of information that might be helpful. I live in eastern Idaho, not sure of the Latitude off the top of my head but we do get some severe winters and quite often we can go days with no sun so a grid tie system is almost a requirement. Power outages in the winter time are also fairly common and can last for several hours so I would like some form of reserve for those times. I have an 80 foot south facing fence line I would like to install the panels along so I do not have to place them on my roof.
What I am wondering is would I be better off buying a standby generator instead of installing a battery bank? Are Micro inverters at each panel better than a single large inverter? I know some places require your solar system to shutdown in the event of a power outage, is there a way to stay powered up in these events? I have installed transfer switches of both the automatic and manual variety for several generators and I don't see why one would not work in this situation.
Oh, last bit of info, I am thinking about installing around 15KW worth of panels, a lot I know but I want to be able to run my 3/4 HP well if the power is out. The good thing is I have 400 gallons of pressurized water storage at almost all times so my pump only has to run maybe once a day if that. Heat is all propane and only requires 500 watts for the fans. Water heater is electric but can be easily shut off if needed.
Basicly who should I avoid, what brands are the best for the buck. I am not looking for a quick return on investment but for more peace of mind.
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