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The energy is always free. The capture equipment cost money. ;)

Yes, and you can only order it to be delivered by Midnight Express.

I had an old Raspberry Pi from about 3-4 years ago that was just sitting around and collecting dust. So I re-purposed it. I watched this guy's video about how to do it: Many thanks to him for sharing this. Very complete. Everything went like a charm. He leaves off at the end, before showing...

I've really become fond of the hammer crimper. I usually take it outside and use it on a concrete slab. The end result seems more solid than pretty much anything else. And it does my spirit good to beat on something with a hammer from time to time.

The problem with the MC4 connector, as I've only recently started using them, is that (seemingly) 25% of the sources of info show that top connector as the "male" connector, while the other 75% show it as a "female" connector. Or it can be 50/50 depending on where you're looking at. So I've...

The panels at Harbor Freight work pretty well. I've got four of them. One is a backup at the farm and three at the place in Houston. They don't work very well in parallel, but do ok in series. I was getting about 270W out of three in series last weekend. The part that makes them useful and...

It's the season. Things are very unstable during November and December. Take a deep breath. I've had several orders that have gotten all the way to "out for delivery" and then BOOM!!! Delayed another day or two. Very frustrating, but not insurmountable. I remember the old days of ordering from...

I try not to use the word "idiot" very often. But in this case, I'm pretty much ok with you using it. ;) I built up a few cables last night and this connector is growing on me. I like the design of that compression sleeve, so far. I especially like the potential it has for supporting different...

On the following days (two following days), the wind calmed down and the output numbers got back down to something more realistic, at about 91W per panel. The sun is still down at a notable angle, so I guess this is pretty good for the middle of January. Not sure what was causing the high...

Yesterday (10/21/21) I got 288 watts (96w each) from them in the middle of the day, recorded by a Victron Smartcharger 100/20. They were propped up on their legs on the ground and had a nice 52 deg (F) breeze blowing on their back side. But that's 96w, which isn't bad at all. Charges up my...

Well, as long as you didn't break the little piece of tape that reads "Warranty Void if Seal is Broken". Then you're all good.

I now have two four-panel series strings on the roof of my storage building. One is running through a Victron Smartsolar 150-35 and the other is on a Victron Smartsolar 100-20. The first string is elevated 2.5" from the surface of the roof. The second is on Z brackets and at 1" above the...

Is the photo in your avatar the result of using this battery configuration and the wooden holder?

Not sure. The old panels have the plastic frames, if I'm thinking about the ones you are referring to. The new ones seem to be built much more like real panels for staying outside. I hope they don't easily break. That would suck. Today is 10,16 (middle of October) here in the Houston TX area...

I got some used SolarWorld (SW 235 Poly) panels last weekend. Finally got them out to test. Tested them with a DMM. The current rated/measured is 8.35/7.57, and the VOC is 37.0/35.5. The other panel is very close to these numbers as well. I was expecting at least some diminished performance...

Well this is convenient, since I'm just southeast of Houston (Clear Lake area). Glad I read this thread. Thanks.

Welcome to another Filipino brother. While I'm not actually Filipino, my mother and father went on vacation there and I was born 9 months later. So I've always told people that I'm "made in the Philippines", and felt a kinship with the country and people. I wish you good luck on your...

Just bought four more of these to cover the complete SW side of my shed roof. I'm typically getting 360 watts from the four current ones. So this will get the system to just above 700W. I'll play around with mounting the used 220W panels to the patio cover, but it only get sun after about noon...

They come with a HUGE multi-government rebate.

I've been looking at this inverter: https://www.amazon.com/WZRELB-3000W-Inverter-Outlets-RBP-300048/dp/B082XSR8JH/ref=sr_1_7?crid=LLMG6LVD1IKB&keywords=48v+inverter&qid=1643731958&sprefix=48v+inverter%2Caps%2C119&sr=8-7 But while watching a YouTube video, the guy mentioned that it uses 40W...

I'm using a couple of different sized Victron SmartSolar chargers. As soon as you put them on the network together, they select one as the master and it keeps the two in sync through the different charging modes. Pretty slick setup. They also both monitor the remote temperature/voltage sensor...

I now have four of these panels on my storage building rooftop. They are hooked in series and running to a Victron 150/35 smartsolar charger. Today we had a cold front and the temp was around 50 (maybe less) with a north wind at 25-40 mph. The sky cleared off early and I was getting 425-446...

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/new-solar-arrays-to-power-nasa-s-international-space-station-research Well, somebody had to post it. As if any of us could duplicate this, in its entirety.

Definitely "off grid".

Right. I was only planning on closing the lid for transport, or when I want to leave it shut down and secured in the shed. The thing I like about this box is that it allows for opening and closing the lid while the back of the box is pushed up against the wall. A handy feature if I decide to...

Graduated in 1983 with a BS in Electrical Engineering. Been doing electrical and electronic design engineering ever since, for that 38 years. The last 30 years has been the International Space Station. Even some of that was for the SARJ (Solar Array Rotary Joint). But that was primarily the...

I'm laughing now. Thanks. At the time, I just looked at the second one that is still in the box (just bought it this week) and considered driving it down to Kohl's to do an Amazon return. The jury is still out on that one.

That's pretty slick. I had not even thought about a suit case build. I used a hand cart (dolly) and roll it around the house, and out to the newly designated "solar shed". Takes up a bit more room, but I don't have to carry it. After seeing your design, it looks like a happy medium would be to...

I will go out and test the Giandel when this weather event clears off. Nothing but rain, rain, rain now... and still feel lucky that it's not ice and snow... yet.

Looks like both of them are generating 150W max, when the sun it out strong. The joy of used panels, I suppose. At least the two are almost identical, in terms of output. So I'd just chock it up to current state of degradation.