diy solar

diy solar

Hey everyone, another new idiot to solar mastery

clayswen said:
This!!! I feel like for the most part inverters and panels are priced reasonably, but batteries not so much. I would like to eventually get at least 10-15kwh of battery backup, but that expense will have to wait. :)
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In that case consider DIY with LiFePO4 cells in the 280 Ah range. Read all about it on the forum. I think the cells cost $75 to $100 per kWh. Choice of BMS may drive price, at least some high-end ones.

But just to given AIO a starting surge for motors, 4x automotive batteries from the junk yard will work. Find a way to shut down without draining the at night.
 
The new solar idiot said:
From what I read Tesla charging is a hassle because you cant run dc to dc car battery. It has to go from dc to ac back to dc. idk
CaliSunHarvester said:
It's like that with all EVs and PHEVs, it seems.
Unless one wants to modify their car.
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That's OK. Solar/PV is cheap and sunshine is free.

You can eventually add more PV and get there. This is also my eventual plan.

Hope you are in a place where the sun works good.

boB
 
Here's lowest price for new panels I've seen yet. Pallet of 31, 360W Gstar modules $1,450.80, $0.13/W
I know nothing about the name.

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Don't be surprised if rack mounting costs more than panels. But you can DIY with salvage material.
 
It says price reflects freight. So this is with shipping?
Dang it these are bifacial. So are bifacial the rated watts on the front and the rear adds a greater percent or does the rear watts take away from the total?
 
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clayswen said:
It says price reflects freight. So this is with shipping?
Dang it these are bifacial. So are bifacial the rated watts on the front and the rear adds a greater percent or does the rear watts take away from the total?
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It varies. In steep tilt to the south and 1m above mounting surface, you can get a 30% gain from the back side with high reflectivity (snow). What this really means is that in northern climates with snow and a far South solar declination, you can get full rated power output from the panel when non-bifacial panels will produce 60-70%.
 
"* Not applicable in all cases. Additional fees may be charged based on delivery details or instructions, including if inaccurate or incomplete information is provided."

When I bought 2 pallets from them earlier, shipping was free to a commercial dock or to freight terminal (where I picked up).
Others got liftgate delivery for a modest additional amount.

I also paid my state's sales tax and "Processing Fee $129.04"

They made a mistake and only sent one pallet at first. Second was delivered at no additional charge after I asked about it.
 
I reckon for that price I could mount those on a roof anyways. I watched a few of WIll's videos where the bifacial didn't gain a lot of output by using the back reflection. Aren't they usually thinner glass though on top?
 
If your intent is to charge your Tesla, your solar panels thus far are way undersized. A Model 3 standard range has a 60kWh battery. A Model 3 long range has a 75kWh battery.
 
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JWLV said:
If your intent is to charge your Tesla, your solar panels thus far are way undersized. A Model 3 standard range has a 60kWh battery. A Model 3 long range has a 75kWh battery.
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Yes ive come to the realization Tesla charging isn't worth it at all given dc>as>dc so I will be focusing on either grid feed depending on after I speak with my provider (AEP) on buy costs vs selling back otherwise I will do a cheap battery setup to utilize on something at home. Some say 6-8 deep cycles which isn't bad and I have been researching building my own lithium in cost comparison. At Sam's club j can get dc marine for $72 each. Don't know the a/h though
 
DC --> AC --> DC is worth it if DIY GT PV costs you $0.025/kWh and grid power costs you $0.50/kWh.
So long as you don't have to sell your PV production to the grid at wholesale.

LiFePO4 can cost $0.05/kWh of cycle life, if they last 6000 cycles (16 years).
AGM lead-acid can cost $0.50/kWh over cycle life of 200 to 700 cycles (varying brand, price, quality.)
I haven't worked out true deep cycle FLA forklift battery cost.

It is preferable not to add an intermediate battery charge/discharge in the path.
Best is going to be net metering, if we don't have variable EV charge rate.
 
So I think I am going to do an off grid setup with 10 240w panels (2400w) and 6 marine deep cycles batteries(unless there is a better similar priced option). Just need advice on a good budget inverter and maybe a schematic 😆. I'm happy with running my garage lighting and pond equipment to get my feet wet.
 
The new solar idiot said:
I do have a Tesla Model 3 I would #1 prefer to charge but that may not be feasible with what I have.
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1) Get a Level 1 charger (EVSE) that can back off to 6 or 8 amps. That's 720 or 960 watts.
2) Set up a system that charges a smallish battery (12V or 48V) and runs an inverter with that. An AIO would work well for this.
3) Add a relay that closes when the battery is at 90% and opens when the battery is at 10%. You can do this with a voltage sensing relay.
4) Connect the EVSE to the relay.

With that system, the battery will charge, the relay will close, the car will charge until the battery drops to 10%, then the EVSE will stop charging. It will cycle like that all day as long as the sun is out.
 
Marine deep cycle, the things that resemble car batteries and are meant to start a motor then power ignition without an alternator, are not good for true deep cycle application. They would be OK for an inverter powering loads directly from PV, with batteries just for starting surge.

Consider how many Wh of cycle you want, and how many cycles. FLA or AGM deep cycle batteries can do it, and will document cycle life. Calculate $/kWh for the batteries. Do the same for a LiFePO4 battery. That way you know what life to expect and what the cost is.
 
ok well here is the inverter main unit i just bought (hopefully links are okay?...) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C58FMFPY?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details. I kinda screwed up and didnt realize it was ac230 not 110/120. Oops and yeah apparently I cant read after some wine has bogged be down following binge reading of reviews. Either way I can find a comparable 110/120 with similar results I suppose. On a positive note my mobile ev charger does do 240v up to 32a supposedly not that I can support that. In any case, I thought about running 8 panels in series to get 230-240v(or if i do a 110/120 unit 2 sets of series into a parallel at the end to get around that 120v. Not sure if this even matters, I just thought maybe it might make it more efficient bringing in similar voltages as I am aiming to get idk.

So dont use marine batteries? and how many if not or if so?
 
The new solar idiot said:
ok well here is the inverter main unit i just bought (hopefully links are okay?...) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C58FMFPY?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details. I kinda screwed up and didnt realize it was ac230 not 110/120. Oops and yeah apparently I cant read after some wine has bogged be down following binge reading of reviews. Either way I can find a comparable 110/120 with similar results I suppose. On a positive note my mobile ev charger does do 240v up to 32a supposedly not that I can support that. In any case, I thought about running 8 panels in series to get 230-240v(or if i do a 110/120 unit 2 sets of series into a parallel at the end to get around that 120v. Not sure if this even matters, I just thought maybe it might make it more efficient bringing in similar voltages as I am aiming to get idk.

So dont use marine batteries? and how many if not or if so?
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Return that unit. Single phase 230V is very different from 120/240V split phase in how they handle their ground.
 
The new solar idiot said:
care to elaborate? thanks
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120/240V is center tapped neutral with ground bonded to neutral, so there's never more than 120V between a hot and ground.

With single phase EU 230V, N and G are bonded at 0V with hot at 230V, so you have 230V between ground and hot. Some north american 240V equipment may object to ground being connected 120V away from where it expects.

I've fried L-N-G 230V power supplies by connecting to L1-L2-G.
 
Amazon.com description actually says

"The inverter is a dual photovoltaic input and dual AC output 24V DC to 220V/230V/240V AC pure sine wave solar inverter"

But single phase 240V is not split phase 240V.
If you want to operate appliances that are standard in the US, you need split phase 120V-240V.

Single phase 240V is used in Europe.

In US, it's options 1 and 3 from the diagram below.

SmartSelect_20240403-192459_Chrome.jpg
 
sunshine_eggo said:
120/240V is center tapped neutral with ground bonded to neutral, so there's never more than 120V between a hot and ground.

With single phase EU 230V, N and G are bonded at 0V with hot at 230V, so you have 230V between ground and hot. Some north american 240V equipment may object to ground being connected 120V away from where it expects.

I've fried L-N-G 230V power supplies by connecting to L1-L2-G.
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Ok I didnt notice anything about EU but I understand what you are saying. So If I find a similar unit that is 110/120 would it be ok? or do you have any suggestions in the sub $300 range like this one?
 
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