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the thread drift here is mind-numbing......

Great thread for this newbie ..... consumption & production info is golden. My 'phase 1' has been to reduce consumption as much as practicable. Switched to a variable speed pool pump, induction cook top and scored a clearance isle last-year's model 80g heat pump water heater for less than the...

I went to Trade High School for a year in my hometown of Springfield MA. The school was setup so that you had one week of 'book study' classes then one week of your shop trade class. I was in the heating & air conditioning group. I loved the shop week but usually skipped the other.... Later...

I 'found' an AO Smith 80g unit in the clearance section of our local blue big box store. Was a previous year model advertised as 3x as efficient - the new ones advertise 4x efficiency. Anyway, orig price $2600 +/-, fir st saw it marked down to $1,600 and offered them $1,000. No dice. Went back 3...

I've been evaluating this also Growatt 2.2kW 3HP Solar Pump Inverter l Water Pump Inverter | Grid-Assisted | SPI 2200TL2-HV

Am a beginner myself but why deal with import/export crap when a supplier close by (or at least close enough for a long day trip) offers 'brand name' UL listed bifacial panels for .40 / watt? My little utility trailer will be headed that way before long ...

Patrick it seems to me that the issue is not the starting function of your LFP battery - you did not identify any problems with it handling the surge current of starting your outboard. The issues you describe are all on the charging side of the equation, and it sounds like your alternator is...

The Tiers for solar are defined in the Florida Administrative Code 25-6.065 - not applicable to those outside of FL. https://www.flrules.org/gateway/RuleNo.asp?ID=25-6.065 Tier 1 = 10kw AC or less. Requires $100K liability insurance Tier 2 = 10kw to 100kw AC. Requires $1M liability insurance...

Yea I saw the reviews also. But at this price I can just run it in straight electric mode if I lose the heat pump. 10 year parts warranty but I figure since it was a DIY installation they would find a way to not honor it.

Growatt makes a unit specifically for this: Growatt 2.2kW 3HP Solar Pump Inverter l Water Pump Inverter | Grid-Assisted | SPI 2200TL2-HV

Agreed - or at least I hope so. My estimated production used the 75% 'rule of thumb' and due to shading, roof shape / position, I used only 4 hours of sunlight per day. Neighbors have some really tall trees that are nice for everything except solar production....

A better than average chance that if you do not use a UL listed battery, your insurance would not cover your claim should something happen. The new ABYC standard also requires an audible alert from the BMS prior to reaching low voltage cutoff, etc. FWIW if this is a concern for you.

After many hours of researching, shopping for the best deals, and navigating the permit maze I've decided to throw in the towel. Going the solar mini-split route was roughly $1800 more expensive (meaning double the cost) than the conventional route, plus the added aggravation of the permitting...

Too bad the Renogy unit has a Frequently Returned Item warning on Amazon. Scared me off along with other experience reports on this forum.

I've been soaking up as much information as I can on this forum - many thanks to the community! I live where it costs me $0.17 per kwh (thank you Duke Energy...) and I am trying to get a handle on the financials involved. A Tier 1 system can be no more than 10kw (or 12kw of panels using the 120%...

New to us house has 10 solar pool heater panels on the roof as shown in the drawing. They all have to come down so the new roof can go on. No better time than now to correct any errors in the system. I already know that there are no back flow preventers in the supply riser so I plan to add one...

One of the main factors (to me) in the solar equation is the cost of installation for a grid-tied system. Since FL requires these systems to be installed by a licensed contractor, is it realistic to think I can save money purchasing a kit system and hiring the installation? For example - this...

this is for a pool pump. motor has l1, l2 and nuetral. both legs are 110v, reading across l1 & l2 you get 220v. either leg to neutral is 110v. the very definition of US split-phase 220v service if i'm not mistaken....

Not to get waaay off topic here but... from the utility pole secondary transformer to your service come 3 wires. Two are 120v and one is neutral, isn't that right? The main breaker box alternates its circuit breaker blade connections between these 2 'phase' legs, so that using a double (two...

How large is your PV array?

Looking at the amazon listing I saw that one of their picture panels said "Do not mix ELEFAST batteries with other brands...." so I did a quick search on 'ELEFAST' within Amazon. That brought up a listing for the same 12v 100Ah battery under a different brand name. In fact the bluetooth optioned...

I'm enclosing a screen room and will add a mini-split for cooling (in AZ). Since we lose power a lot here I thought it might be worth it to buy one of the solar powered units either from EG4 or Airspool. The Airspool unit is now Energy Star rated so I figured that's the way to go. Then the...

Reading further into the Xantrex manual, it shows that the absorb phase last until either: a) the charging current drops to 2% of the battery capacity; or b) the absorb timer lapses (default is 3 hours). Since the LFP batteries will accept all the current that the charger can supply until they...

yeah I guess that's the only way. was thinking that you don't want a hole in the flashing but that's what roofing sealant is for I guess....

I figure that I'll have to measure actual starting current once I get my variable speed pump. Then I can spec the PV & inverter.

No batteries planned for this system. Even though not part of my original question, the comments about pool solar water heater panels are interesting. The system my pump will supply does have the vacuum valve at the high point and thus water drains back down into the pool once the pump shuts down.

I have a flat section of roof that is plain old hot mopped roll roofing. I want to install the panels at a 26 deg angle. I've found a few mounting systems that look to be very expensive and hope that there's something else out there? This will be an off-grid system just to run a pool pump so I...

Looking at the Growatt 2200TL2-HV solar pump inverter manual they refer to 220v 1 Phase and 3 Phase. Is this just different terminology? I will be running a US split phase 220v pump. Do I need to find another box?

Watching... planning a similar Marion County / Duke Energy DIY build....

thanks for the replies

You are correct - I used neutral instead of equipment ground terminology. Pump manual shows two 110v terminal blocks and the pump equipment ground terminal.

If yours is a salt based softener system it will actually speed up deterioration of the anodes, etc. The HO Smith HP unit manual specifically calls this out for increased frequency anode inspections.

thanks for the replies - all very helpful

Agreed - the difference now, however, is that the new ABYC standard has been published.

Early design phase for my grid tied project. Wondering which smart phone measuring tool folks recommend? I want to map out my roof and need specific dimensions & angles. Would prefer not to have to do it the old fashioned way...

You have correctly identified the issues with so-called 'drop-in' LFP batteries. The new ones rated for starting battery current loads have the exact same charging constraints / challenges. So the answer to your question is "Yes, you still need additional components...." Fortunately the solution...

So how has this been working for you a month later? Considering the same unit. Does it produce enough suction to run a pool cleaner? TIA

Technically correct - I saw this in an amendment to the rule that was not adopted. They can only 'recommend' this amount of liability insurance for Tier 1 systems. My mistake.

The insurance is to protect you should the system malfunction and somehow create a hazard to linemen. You purchase your insurance through a private carrier, not the utility. I've heard figures of around $15 / month for a $1M policy. Each client is different though..

I already get a "Low Battery Voltage" warning from my chart plotters. I think the ABYC logic is that a LA battery will stay connected and provide power until it's completely flat vice the BMS cutofff. Not sure how that's a real-world difference except in the case of over-temp or high discharge...

Am considering doing likewise in a nearby county. Could you post your DIY plan? TIA, Mark

OK makes more sense now - thank you.

In the early planning stages for roof top solar. I have a pitched roof with new architectural composite shingles. Looking at the Ironridge installation guide for the Flash Foot2 mounts, it has you take the 9 inch wide by 12 inch long flashing and slide it up underneath 2 courses of shingles...

Just getting started in the solar world. I've got a long electronics repair & computer science background plus many years of DIY plumbing and electrical work behind me so I'm not completely clueless (I hope). We're buying a house in an area served by Duke energy, and that means higher rates than...

Been trying to read everything prior to getting to the detailed design phase. Planning to run a PV array to power a swimming pool variable speed AC motor through a Growatt solar pump inverter. I know best practice (and preference) requires a DC breaker to disconnect the PV array from the...

I have two 8D batteries for starting and six 8Ds for the house. I'm happy to say that they're all in need of replacement..... ugh! It's now cheaper for me to replace the house 8Ds with LIFEPOs than AGMs. 12V 280Ah Eco Worthy units are now just $500 each as opposed to the best price I could find...

Thanks. The google search results are all over the place.... yes, no, yes, no .....

During COVID I had to replace the 8 6V GC2 batteries in our RV. The only ones I could get at the time were FLA units to replace the solid-state units that had expired. Repair shop installed the new units and I set the inverter / charger profile to Lead Acid battery type. All is good..... until...

deleted so as to not hijack the thread....

Wondering what to use to meet the ABYC requirement of an audible alarm before the BMS will disconnect your LiFePO4 batteries? Would a simple low voltage alarm suffice or do we have some new products out there to meet this requirement? Would be nice to have something more than a dumb threshold...