diy solar

diy solar

Recent content by DThames

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    Sol-Ark 15k will only invert 13k of DC PV to AC

    My sister's setup has 14560 rated PV panels and was 13,400 yesterday at noon.
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    array grounding on flat roof

    Connecting to the grounding conductor that goes to the ground electrode (ground rod) is one way to do the grounding.
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    array grounding on flat roof

    It would be typical for a rack system to "bond" all panels together that were mounted on the same rail, or in some cases rail to rail bonding is part of the design. In cases where bonding is not part of the design, a ground connected to each panel would be needed. I am not an experienced roof...
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    Acquired Falling apart off-grid system, need advice

    Do you know how to maintain the electrolyte in the batteries. Since they appear negelected, I would expect maintenance is needed.
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    Parallel Connectors or a Combiner Box?

    Staubli is the original mfg of MC4s. Here is someone that sells them.
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    Parallel Connectors or a Combiner Box?

    My opinion is to use MC4 Y connectors but not the cheap ones on Amazon. Go to a supplier that sells quality parts.
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    Hybrid inverter doesn't work with generator

    In the case of this post, the use is having the issue even without a load on the inverter. Yes, what the video says is a fact, if there is an effort to deliver X watts or X amps back down the AC line. My grid tie micro inverters are pushing about 250v while I have 245v back at the house.
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    2 Growatt 5000 ES in parallel. One is charging the other from the same battery!

    Can you tweak the volts measured as well? I need to do that.
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    2 Growatt 5000 ES in parallel. One is charging the other from the same battery!

    I agree. My Growatt 3000 models use about 50-60 watts each with zero load. Anyone should expect some battery discharge at night.
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    2 Growatt 5000 ES in parallel. One is charging the other from the same battery!

    That seems confusing. Do you have a clamp on DC amp meter? If so, check the battery cable amps for each inverter and see if you can varify this is actually happen as reported by the inverters. The inverters have internal consumption and my Growatt 3000 units, they take this power from the...
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    Hi all, I'm just reading up on solar to set up an off grid system for my house.. Dump loads seem needlessly complicated though!

    Many All In One (AIO) inverters will blend solar, battery, and grid power to power home loads. They have different modes that can be programmed. The typical setup is to move critical loads to the output side of the inverter. In UPS type mode, the grid power can just pass through the inverter...
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    Hi all, I'm just reading up on solar to set up an off grid system for my house.. Dump loads seem needlessly complicated though!

    "I don't want to backfeed my panel because I'd like to use the PV energy as much as reasonable even when we have ongrid power." Sorry but that statement doesn't really make sense. If you put power to the grid, that is the ideal load to fully use all available potential. At any moment, what...
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    Winter panel performance - yes I know the sun is lower etc.

    This site is reference vertical, shows 36 degrees for Manchester UK. PVWatts is reference horizontal. Many of us in the US use this site. My power company wants to see numbers from PVWatts when you do a grid tie agreement prepositional.
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    Winter panel performance - yes I know the sun is lower etc.

    My references to angles were from horizontal.
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    Beginner - solar/alternator excess power water tank heating question

    An AC thermostat switch should not be used for DC. It can weld shut. You might get by with it at only 12v but I would use some other way to switch DC to a heater. You will need a control system or a charging system that has switching for transferring load after the battery is charged.....if...
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