Well as the title suggests here comes some dumb questions. First a little background. I have a serious tree hugger wife that has always dreamed of having a solar array. I am a union carpenter by trade and fairly mechanically inclined. I also like to tinker and do "the impossible" ( use to race karts and turned 5 hp lawn mower moters into 20 hp race engines) I do have a simi grasp on electricity (my questions will prove diffrent).
To make my dear wifes wish come true after 26 years marriage I will be building my first panels in the next week or 2. My land lord is a bit of a slum lord but gives me free reign to do just about what ever I want to the house and has given me the green light to do solar. The roof is crap and I will probably be putting a steel roof on in 2 years. This initial project is mainly to learn hands on the dos and don'ts of panels. I do live in Pa so the white stuff can be an issue. My true south roof space is about 20 by 35 and may just go crazy and fill it all 6 1/2 12 pich. Here goes the questions.
1) read the top post about snow. Would intergrating heat tape into construction be viable or would the heat be to much for the solar cells? Also crazy idea if heat tape is bad. Home heat is boiler type I could plumb a branch line and secondary pump to run say a 3/8 pipe behind the panels for thaw/melt. Then again roof insulation sucks and a 6-8 inch snow dump over night is usually melted by noon the next day at 20 degrees with that kind of roof heat loss am I worrying about nothing?
2) for my initial set up plan on using a basic inverted (maybe up to a $200 unit) with the intent of getting a full fledged metering tie in down the road. Any sugestion on a basic inverter and which metering tie ins do you guys recomend me looking into? ( I know harbor freight is not a real option lol)
3) with panels is it better to focus on total watt production, getting a system up to at least 15 amp or wire up a happy medium? What amp target do you suggest before ramping up watts? Also 12, 24, or 36 volts?
4) mounting brackets on shingle I am thinking 6 inch off the roof. When I convert to metal can/should I mount closer?
Got 1000 more questions floating in my head but lets start there. Thanks in advance for telling me I am an idiot and schooling me on reality. BTW great site and great info
To make my dear wifes wish come true after 26 years marriage I will be building my first panels in the next week or 2. My land lord is a bit of a slum lord but gives me free reign to do just about what ever I want to the house and has given me the green light to do solar. The roof is crap and I will probably be putting a steel roof on in 2 years. This initial project is mainly to learn hands on the dos and don'ts of panels. I do live in Pa so the white stuff can be an issue. My true south roof space is about 20 by 35 and may just go crazy and fill it all 6 1/2 12 pich. Here goes the questions.
1) read the top post about snow. Would intergrating heat tape into construction be viable or would the heat be to much for the solar cells? Also crazy idea if heat tape is bad. Home heat is boiler type I could plumb a branch line and secondary pump to run say a 3/8 pipe behind the panels for thaw/melt. Then again roof insulation sucks and a 6-8 inch snow dump over night is usually melted by noon the next day at 20 degrees with that kind of roof heat loss am I worrying about nothing?
2) for my initial set up plan on using a basic inverted (maybe up to a $200 unit) with the intent of getting a full fledged metering tie in down the road. Any sugestion on a basic inverter and which metering tie ins do you guys recomend me looking into? ( I know harbor freight is not a real option lol)
3) with panels is it better to focus on total watt production, getting a system up to at least 15 amp or wire up a happy medium? What amp target do you suggest before ramping up watts? Also 12, 24, or 36 volts?
4) mounting brackets on shingle I am thinking 6 inch off the roof. When I convert to metal can/should I mount closer?
Got 1000 more questions floating in my head but lets start there. Thanks in advance for telling me I am an idiot and schooling me on reality. BTW great site and great info
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