diy solar

diy solar

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  • Post in thread: Radiation Age and the prudent person

    TL;DR: How could one sensibly prep if they live close to an aging nuclear reactor? Thinking about getting a cheap detector for a cell phone, thoughts? I live within a 30 mile radius of a power source that back in the '50s promised energy that would be too cheap to measure. Not only did that...
  • Post in thread: Can Solar & Wind Fix Everything (e.g., Climate Change) with a battery break-through?

    Not on Track
  • Post in thread: How about this IDEA?

    I suspect if you're going to run into trouble it will be the voltage/current that the optimizer sees from having the panels in series and parallel. Given those voltages/currents and the specs on the DC optimizer should tell you what's what. That's why I think you'll need to layout at least one...
  • Post in thread: Cordless tool hack

    Lithium Ion is 3.6Vnom, so an 18V pack would have 5s?p cells. So, 18V tools must work in the range of 4V x 5 to 3.4V x 5, or 20 to 17V. That got me to thinking, we really only need to go from 24V to 20V... so how about 4 diodes in series? For example, this one is a $2.07/ea and has a 1.1V...
  • Post in thread: OTEC

    The navy report was interesting reading, particularly the rudder applications. Really would like to know how they would do in replacing a keel on a sailboat (obvious drawback is they consume power, but could it be the next America's Cup advantage?).
  • Post in thread: Two grid assist inverters and one hybrid inverter in home.

    Did the Microinverters shut down when the wifi switch was off? Please do test with the MPP, if the wifi switch does comes on it means that solution posted above won't work. Thanks for the tip! ;) Last one I watched was Crash Landing on You, seeing life in North Korea enacted was very different...
  • Post in thread: New Enphase system questions

    If you go to page 10 of this document, you'll see the sizing guide - basically, an Encharge3 can only support so many microinverters. I'm pretty sure it's the same problem/considerations for any AC coupling (ref).
  • Post in thread: Can Solar & Wind Fix Everything (e.g., Climate Change) with a battery break-through?

    Not sure about "them", but Gates & Hawking have definitely been taken out of context... FactCheck Gates on Population Population was one of the elements Hawkings talked about, but that wasn't to reduce the population but to expand to other planets: #525
  • Post in thread: An Enphase Ensemble Installation

    3 of my 4 batteries drop from 60% to 33% in a short period as shown to the right. As there was no corresponding power through the CT, it's once again the issue of the Envoy re-syncing with the actual SoC. Disturbing as it seems, this is actually an improvement as before the prior s/w update...
  • Post in thread: Fire suppression

    F-500 might interest you if you haven't seen it already.
  • Post in thread: Bonjour from France

    Welcome to the forums!
  • Post in thread: Off Road Trailer - Renogy smart lithium battery - and water?

    If that's the battery with the IP54 rating, this might help:
  • Post in thread: JUST SAY NO !! IC GOGOGO Store

    Tour the Factory
  • Post in thread: Cross Section sizing calculations

    Oh! I thought you wanted to understand the calculations. Just use an online calculator if that's all you want to know.
  • Post in thread: An Enphase Ensemble Installation

    Went back on grid a bit ago before the batteries were fully recharged. I only had one blip and that's when I was working away and turned on a big power consumer (forgot I was on battery, I'd been on battery with no issues for so long it took me a second to realize why the leds were flickering)...
  • Post in thread: Prematurely aging cells while charging?

    That makes great sense! Thanks!
  • Post in thread: First kick at the Cat after Energy Audit

    Some thoughts: Make sure the two inverters can work in parallel; sometimes to get them to do so you need to order a special cable. The 2/0 wire max ampacity is normally around 150 amps, since your max draw is 250 amps make sure there's no single path (e.g. to the BMS) that might exceed 150...
  • Post in thread: An Enphase Ensemble Installation

    From https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/wind/maps/202305, it looks like at 10m I could generate power from a wind turbine at 10m during the winter months. Unfortunately, unlike my northern friends, I consume most of my power in summer. From the maps that doesn't look viable. Seems...
  • Post in thread: Net Metering under attack, again....

    That's too kind... more like a million. Solar by itself is great, but those numbers don't include battery costs and that's probably the biggest flaw there. For a stable and reliable grid when you're essentially doing away with 90% of conventional fossil fuels in just a decade you need to...
  • Post in thread: LiFePO4 cordless power tools

    You can get 2.7v 18650 sized super-capacitors, 39g. So, you could re-purpose a 4 AH 5s2p pack into a 1.1Ah 8s1p pack. Only a 1/4 the power but lighter and fully recharges in a few minutes. Well, without some sort of voltage regulator, probably only 1/8th the power since the voltage drop is...
  • Post in thread: Looking for battery for telescope to replace FLA that is too small

    My God! It's full of stars!! Bowman jokes aside, You've got some serious skills ... it's definitely not crazy and I thank you for braving all those dangers and sharing. Wow! Now I need to figure out how to follow you. Yes. He runs these forums. Check his DIY Solar Blueprints. Will keeps...
  • Post in thread: The Renewable Energy Problem.

    Just heard on the news that "the 1.9T plan passed the House vote and was headed to the senate", so that "plan" must be H.R.1319; the "American Rescue Plan Act of 2021". That bill is about pandemic relief, no jobs program I saw in it. I suspect my confusion comes from folks calling it the...
  • Post in thread: Graphene Ultracapacitor now the same $/lifecycle as LiFePO4?

    Very true, batteries try to hold the voltage steady, but capacitors (AFAIK) can't. You need another component to regulate the output voltage. But just like a DoD on a battery or a sleep voltage on Li ion there's some bottom limit to V. The reputable vendors (not necessarily the device in the...
  • Post in thread: Building Battery Box for my 24v, 200ah Lifepo4 Battery Bank

    I just found out Class 1 fire-rated foam is available. Posted about it here and also learned the DOW stuff is available from Lowes/HomeDepot.
  • Post in thread: An Enphase Ensemble Installation

    Storm Guard The NWS issued a storm warning here and Storm Guard correctly caught it and shifted to full backup. Normally I leave the "charge batteries from grid" disabled and have been curious if Storm Guard would override it or not. Not to knock the NWS, but sometimes there is little warning...
  • Post in thread: North facing panels?

    It has a big learning curve, I highly recommend the tutorial videos.
  • Post in thread: Series or parallel for solar panels?

    Welcome to the forums! You might find these of help: What does it mean to have solar panels in parallel and series? Figuring out how many panels in series and parallel based on your MPPT
  • Post in thread: Can Solar & Wind Fix Everything (e.g., Climate Change) with a battery break-through?

    What does that have to with proving or disproving climate change? All those poor conspiracy theorists struggling to figure it out when they publish their research. You don't even need a FOIA request. They could also have used simple physics. Let's say like microwaves it can convert ~70% of...
  • Post in thread: Looking for an emergency unit to handle power outages in CA

    Generator is the cheapest upfront solution. Preferably natural gas if you can get it so you don't have to truck in gas...but if they turn the gas off in the event of an earthquake that might not work for you. Grid-tied Solar has a payback, so most economical - but... it won't provide power...
  • Post in thread: Off grind solar sistem

    Welcome to the forums! Data 30 LED bulbs at 10W each = 30 x 10 = 300 watts 6x 175W solar panels = 1 kW array Question Do I need more panels Do I need more batteries To answer this you need to know how long you'll run the lights. For example, if you run a 300W load for 4 hours, that's 4x300...
  • Post in thread: Double Pole Vs Single pole Breakers

    Yes! We're saying the same thing and arguing about it! ;) You have to expect that the ground will carry current (not the Ground doesn’t carry ANY current ), and it has to be sized appropriately (e.g., will survive long enough that a fuses/breaker (regardless of how slow) will give first).
  • Post in thread: DIY Grid Tied Storage

    Welcome to the forums Kai, I'm surprised you didn't get any hits on this, I guess most of the battery builders are off-grid. You might check out @GXMnow's thread, he's in SoCal and has his setup trying to keep from importing during high tariffs and chronically his struggle with Enphase and...
  • Post in thread: New From Florida

    AFAIK in Florida you can install your own microinverters... but some inverter companies might void the warranty if not "professionally" installed. Typically those vendors offer "installation" courses so the DIYer isn't out of luck.
  • Post in thread: An Enphase Ensemble Installation

    I had a 22 amp start today during some tests I was running, lowest so far! Most are 26-32 as there's a spike during the wave form. MicroAir said they thought they could get it down to around that consistently with an update they're working on.
  • Post in thread: An Enphase Ensemble Installation

    Like a UPS, no lights flicker, no PCs reboot, no clocks need resetting. The enpower is fairly slow to switch back to grid (5 min?), but again no issues. That's assuming you're within the load. One of the reasons I started looking into soft starters was a momentary power loss causes the Enpower...
  • Post in thread: Earth tilt and array alignment

    You can run simulations with SAM to find out.
  • Post in thread: Working on home solar estimate - Is my math right?

    I'm like DThames, state law that protects net metering. Do you have a reference for the federal laws in the pipeline? Last threat I knew about was the NERA pettition to FERC, and fortunately that was shot down. But it's hard to keep up with and one of the reasons I'm here. I know...
  • Post in thread: Off grid 100%

    Most people put the wire in conduit and bury it to some depth; otherwise the lawn mower is an expensive accident waiting to happen.
  • Post in thread: Hotch Botch System?

    Inverter Model numbers! Sweet! That's a great start! The Sharp has two conduits coming in the bottom? Are both of those coming from the roof? If so, probably two parallel strings of 4 in series? (see What does it mean to have solar panels in parallel and series? )? It's rated for 320V...
  • Post in thread: Enphase Bidirectional Charging

    I didn't realize the IQ battery already supported that (our utility still prefers to make customers pay peaker rates). Glad to see it's already out and tested though. Hey @GXMnow, maybe next year you can put the battery back in the car ; -)
  • Post in thread: Can Solar & Wind Fix Everything (e.g., Climate Change) with a battery break-through?

    NPR does lean left, but which part regarding the candidates' responses did you think was biased? I didn't watch the debate, so might have missed something - but the report aligned to what I've read about the candidates' stances on climate change so figured it was fair enough to post.
  • Post in thread: Time for a new weather station?

    Back around post #16 there are some ways to try and calculate the time the signal takes. There's a couple of methods, but they all were based on measuring the pitiful voltage created by the receiver from the incoming sound pressure waves. The three approaches in this paper are similar...
  • Post in thread: Think it works?

    As you already have a PV system you probably want to look at AC coupling solutions. If you're inverter is at end-of-life and you need a replacement, there are some hybrids (e.g. Sol-Ark, Skybox) that might be worth it. If you have Enphase microinverters, the IQ8 Ensemble solution may work with...
  • Post in thread: "Why I think it is illogical to purchase an electric truck"

    Saying there's only one way to use trucks is like saying there is only the missionary position. My thinking is people can do whatever the hell they want if it makes them happy and no one should tell them their business unless it hurts someone else (e.g., global warming). So, do what you want...
  • Post in thread: Good news for Farmers?

    The U.S. Long Term Strategy to Net-Zero doesn't do away with the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE). Instead, it suggests gasoline be replaced with renewable green fuels. Is this sustainability good news for farmers & the world? The U.S. 2018 Farm Bill Energy Title is probably just the...
  • Post in thread: DIY = Impossible to get SMART solar rebates in Massachusetts?

    What's the value of the credit versus the cost of the "primary installer"?
  • Post in thread: Can Solar & Wind Fix Everything (e.g., Climate Change) with a battery break-through?

    Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels jump again
  • Post in thread: Can Solar & Wind Fix Everything (e.g., Climate Change) with a battery break-through?

    The FERC regulates that, it's not a simple problem as "traditional" sources can't turn themselves on/off easily and solar without ESS provides no night-time power. FERC knows if the "traditional" sources go out of business (because they can't compete), then there would be night-time shortages...

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