diy solar

diy solar

My 44kW vertical and bifacial set in Finland.

55 degrees max tilt on the Sinclair.

I'll be happier with the MT Solar, higher height array which means less length for same number of panels, I get 4 feet ground clearance easily at the 65° tilt.
Thanks for that info! I had no idea. Will be checking out MT solar this weekend. I think my big challenge for tue ground mounts is going to be balancing out depth of the postholes vs location, as the the higher up the slope I go (I want to be on the high side for aesthetics), the closer I get to a huge amount of ledge (near-surface bedrock somewhat unique to New England). Gonna be putting a bunch of test holes into a perfectly good blueberry field come May, when it dries out a bit.
 
depth of the postholes vs location, as the the higher up the slope I go (I want to be on the high side for aesthetics), the closer I get to a huge amount of ledge (near-surface bedrock somewhat unique to New England)
Rent or Buy a good sized hammer drill and bits,
grout rebar into holes drilled into the rock to develop the anchorage you need.
If the rock is fractured/poor quality near the surface, keep drilling deeper. May need a bit extension.
 
Rent or Buy a good sized hammer drill and bits,
grout rebar into holes drilled into the rock to develop the anchorage you need.
If the rock is fractured/poor quality near the surface, keep drilling deeper. May need a bit extension.
Oh, that's part of the plan, my friend... All a matter of balancing how much of that I want to do with how far down the slope I go to avoid it. I don't mind pinning to ledge for a few posts, but working in a 2-3' hole gets old pretty quick, as I suspect you know all too well. We managed to get the pad and septic done without hitting ledge once, but we sited the house with that in mind. I don't know if I can get that lucky again for the array. Well driller coming to drill in a few weeks and location we're planning for that will tell me quite a bit if the ground will freeze up enough to get the rig in. As my wife says, "We just don't get real winter anymore."
 
Thanks for that info! I had no idea. Will be checking out MT solar this weekend. I think my big challenge for tue ground mounts is going to be balancing out depth of the postholes vs location, as the the higher up the slope I go (I want to be on the high side for aesthetics), the closer I get to a huge amount of ledge (near-surface bedrock somewhat unique to New England). Gonna be putting a bunch of test holes into a perfectly good blueberry field come May, when it dries out a bit.
MT Solar isn't cheap plus you have to source SCH 40 or SCH 80 pipe for posts.
 
The Rain in February is a bit of a mixed good/bad thing, I mean I am not complaining about the mild temperatures, but with them comes Fog and that is messing with my solar!
Heating load is nearly nothing though, can't complain there either.
I am not sure if I should be putting the snow blower away and getting the rototiller ready or what I should be doing! :unsure:
 
That’s what’s considered a perfect day? You Fins are a different breed.
I bet it doesn't happen often, but I have to say you were correct (just this once though): Yesterday wasn't that perfect after all... :oops:

Even with few small clouds interfering I got 190kWh today.
 
So your set is 16,74kWp? Using that means if your set was to be same size as mine (44,1kWp) it should have produced 47,42MWh yearly. So production wise we can be pretty equal, but location wise you are ~3000km more south. It tells me my setup is working much better than expected.

Yeah, I got only 13kW of panels. Got another 8 but not connected - running 3x8 in series now.
I need more panels. :cool: Considering another 24 on top of my carport this spring.
Sure, we get 320 days on average with sunshine down here and longer days regd. light ^^ so its easier that way here.
 
Yeah, I got only 13kW of panels. Got another 8 but not connected - running 3x8 in series now.
I need more panels. :cool: Considering another 24 on top of my carport this spring.
Sure, we get 320 days on average with sunshine down here and longer days regd. light ^^ so its easier that way here.
Redoing calculations makes 61,25MWh which is out of my reach by at least 20%. Which reduces my setup from "working much better than expected" to "Meh".😐
 
So as a newbie, I’ve been following this thread with interest/awe.

Out of interest why do you need 192kWh per day? 4.6 GW ? Is your heating bill that high?

Here in the “tropical” south of England 😉 I only need 14kWh ….
 
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So as a newbie, I’ve been following this thread with interest/awe.

Out of interest why do you need 192kWh per day? 4.6 GW ? Is your heating bill that high?

Here in the “tropical” south of England 😉 I only need 14kWh ….
Welcome!

Look at post #253 and some following posts. You are not the only one asking about this...

Summer consumption is much less, but total is 40-45MWh/year. This winter has been exceptionally cold and snowy.
 
204kWh today. 1,3MWh already this month. It is going to help with electric bill for sure.
44kW of PV
making 204kWh in Feb.
Sunrise/set at 63 north, you have 7hours (8:30 - 4:40)
44kW x 7hrs x Eff = 204kWh,
Your system is running 66% efficient in Feb. with stationary panels - well. at least during a sunny day.

This winter has been exceptionally cold and snowy.
That is because N.America exported our winter this year!
(we are calling this "The year without a winter" - it has been raining and we have nearly zero snow on the ground)
 
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