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  • New to Solar, will this work?

    Hi, Sorry if this comes across as a bit of a newbie question. I am new to Solar power, but it's something that I am keen to get into.

    I live in Central France, where we do get a lot of sun most of the time. We had the chap round from Enerdis (French power company) and he gave us an outrageous quote for installing panels, buying the power and selling it back to us. Told him no thank you, but since then have wanted to put in our own system.

    Not wanting to go totally off grid (at the moment) just want to use solar to help with our consumption.

    This is the system I am looking at: Epever UP5000-HM8042 hybride 5kW 48V - 450V- MPPT 100A, which can be used with or without batteries.

    Six 24v Saronic 315w panels, which would be wired in series and 20 metres of 6mm solar panel cable with MC4 connectors.

    I want to use batteries at some point, but this way I can get setup and then install the batteries at a later date.

    Would this system work and what will I be able to power with it?

    I know that I will have to work out our usage to determine what batteries we will need, but hoping that this will be a budget friendly way to get started.

    Let me know what you think and/or what I should look at instead.
    Thanks, Ben.




  • #2
    Hello Ben in France and welcome to Solar Panel Talk

    While going with a hybrid can work for some people I am not sure how good it will work for you. In the USA we still have to get a contract with our Electrical Power company (POCO) before we can install a grid tied system which can delay the installation.

    On top of that going with batteries raises the cost way up and makes it difficult to justify and have a reasonable ROI except for areas that have very high electric rates.

    And finally unless you plan on adding a lot more of those panels maybe going with the smaller 3000w inverter will make sense if the cost is much lower.

    I am sure others will post something that is useful to you.

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by Ben in France View Post
      Hi, Sorry if this comes across as a bit of a newbie question. I am new to Solar power, but it's something that I am keen to get into.

      I live in Central France, where we do get a lot of sun most of the time. We had the chap round from Enerdis (French power company) and he gave us an outrageous quote for installing panels, buying the power and selling it back to us. Told him no thank you, but since then have wanted to put in our own system.

      Not wanting to go totally off grid (at the moment) just want to use solar to help with our consumption.

      This is the system I am looking at: Epever UP5000-HM8042 hybride 5kW 48V - 450V- MPPT 100A, which can be used with or without batteries.

      Six 24v Saronic 315w panels, which would be wired in series and 20 metres of 6mm solar panel cable with MC4 connectors.

      I want to use batteries at some point, but this way I can get setup and then install the batteries at a later date.

      Would this system work and what will I be able to power with it?

      I know that I will have to work out our usage to determine what batteries we will need, but hoping that this will be a budget friendly way to get started.

      Let me know what you think and/or what I should look at instead. Thanks, Ben.
      If you are trying to conserve money and everything else, you want to avoid
      batteries and going off grid. Approach here started by tracking down all
      power usage and eliminating waste, not a trivial project. Most appliances
      were replaced with energy star types, big savings. The biggest was to convert
      to the highly efficient mini split Heat Pump technology for cooling and heating.
      It is possible to use HPs that connect directly to solar panels, with line backup,
      avoiding any special power line arrangements.

      After that, a net metering arrangement with the power co here is highly
      advantageous, no batteries. Check your local options. good luck, Bruce Roe

      Comment


      • #4
        I'm trying to avoid doing anything with the power companies. Plus I don't need any permits to do the work and if I keep the panels below 1.8 metres I don't need permission to put those up. I might need to have the work inspected and signed off by a qualified electrician to cover house insurance, but as far as officialdom goes that's it.

        We have three phase coming into the house from the grid, at present we are only using two phases, the third will run up to power my workshop. My plan was to separate part of the house and put it on it's own board and run that off solar, with the power coming from the inverter and a feed going to the inverter from the grid to top up if the solar isn't creating enough juice.

        Am I barking up the wrong tree here, or do you think it will work? I can get all the items I listed for around €1400, but don't want to pay out only to find that it does nothing.

        Comment


        • #5
          I really can't provide you with an professional help since I do not know the rules or codes for France. All I can say is adding batteries to a solar power system can be expensive in the USA and connecting to the Grid would require some type of contract from your POCO.

          If you don't have specific rules to follow then what you plan should work. Good luck.

          Comment


          • #6
            I have a basic off-grid newby question: I want to set up a few panels to run a DC fan unit only during the daytime. Can someone tell me if there is a good "everything in a box" solution to do this. Thanks.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by JMarker8489 View Post
              I have a basic off-grid newby question: I want to set up a few panels to run a DC fan unit only during the daytime. Can someone tell me if there is a good "everything in a box" solution to do this. Thanks.
              There are some roof top or attic fans that are DC and will run at various speeds depending on the amount of sunlight hitting the solar panel that powers it. I had a couple for my older home that kept my attic cooler. I now use one for my 10 x 20 shed.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by SunEagle View Post

                There are some roof top or attic fans that are DC and will run at various speeds depending on the amount of sunlight hitting the solar panel that powers it. I had a couple for my older home that kept my attic cooler. I now use one for my 10 x 20 shed.
                I have checked these type attic fans, and I want a larger fan and several solar panels. Can you recommend me such a system? Many thanks. JM

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by JMarker8489 View Post

                  I have checked these type attic fans, and I want a larger fan and several solar panels. Can you recommend me such a system? Many thanks. JM
                  I don't know of a larger solar/fan system that is a kit. I guess you can work backwards and first find a DC fan that provides the desired CFM and then determine the amount of solar panels needed to make it run.

                  I see that Lowes sells a solar/fan that includes a 40watt panel but I don't see how much air the fan moves
                  Last edited by SunEagle; 07-29-2021, 06:03 PM.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I've heard of automotive radiator fans and a 18V PV panel 1.5x the wattage the fan requires, can work
                    Powerfab top of pole PV mount (2) | Listeroid 6/1 w/st5 gen head | XW6048 inverter/chgr | Iota 48V/15A charger | Morningstar 60A MPPT | 48V, 800A NiFe Battery (in series)| 15, Evergreen 205w "12V" PV array on pole | Midnight ePanel | Grundfos 10 SO5-9 with 3 wire Franklin Electric motor (1/2hp 240V 1ph ) on a timer for 3 hr noontime run - Runs off PV ||
                    || Midnight Classic 200 | 10, Evergreen 200w in a 160VOC array ||
                    || VEC1093 12V Charger | Maha C401 aa/aaa Charger | SureSine | Sunsaver MPPT 15A

                    solar: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Solar
                    gen: http://tinyurl.com/LMR-Lister

                    Comment

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