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diy solar

NW OH DIY Roof Mount Solar

TechRider said:
I bought 56 just in case there were any issues but all 54 are installed on the roof. I've hit higher production than I thought I would with 8 total panels facing E / W. (4 each) My main roof section has 36 panels, then 9 on each side. 5 S facing and 4 E/W depending on the side.

I'm not sure... My AC is a 30+ yr old Geothermal system with an extra pump. Since I'm grid tied and the 15k has a 200a pass-through, I don't think it'll be a problem, I'll just have a grid spike every now and then. Most of this I just "shot from the hip" with basic numbers and will go from there.

That being said, I'm very very happy with the way things have been performing so far. I keep making little tweaks here and there. For instance, in my basement we had 3 - 4 bulb florescent lights that I noticed were using about 3.4a while running. I bought some LED replacements and when I was replacing them, one of them the ballast was almost too hot to touch. While the lights are on, we now use about 0.8a. My kids tend to be in the basement a lot, so that's going to help. We had the same thing in a room further in the back.

My big energy draw that I need to work on is my hot water. It's running very frequently, almost too often. I'm digging into that more now.
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You can sell those ballasts on ebay to help recoup your light costs if you still have them. I sold each for ~$45 and completely paid for all the LED lights I bought.

Your base usage of over 2kw seems awfully high. Do pool pumps really need to run all night? (I know nothing about pools). Once you get your sell back approved you will definitely want to try and lower your usage where you can. This will help fill your batteries faster and then sell back to the grid once your batteries are full.
 
Ha! No one will want the old lights. (Well almost no one, I'm giving them to my sister and she's going to mount them in her barn.) There's 30+ yrs of dust/etc on them. I'm just happy I don't have to trash them.

My IT rack uses about 900w which also powers my main TV and whole house audio system so it varies from moment to moment. I'm looking at some upgrades that will hopefully put more efficient devices in place rather than the 15 yr old switches I have in place.

The pool pump needs to run throughout the day but I currently shut it off between 11pm - 5 am and that's saved quite a bit. Last week with the 100° days, the AC ran almost constantly and was basically depleting the batteries over night. I'm looking at adding 2 more to compensate. At the same time, it was really hot but hazy and sort of overcast so I didn't get great solar numbers for those days either. Running into the 12kw bug didn't help at all either but that's resolved now.

My sell back has been approved! I signed all the paperwork and they're scheduling the meter install. I have to upgrade my 10kva transformer to a 25kva as well but they gave me a deal on it.

Another update, I just got my first full month of solar power bill. It was just under $26... Last year at this time it was $600. I'll take $26 all day long!
 
TechRider said:
Ha! No one will want the old lights. (Well almost no one, I'm giving them to my sister and she's going to mount them in her barn.) There's 30+ yrs of dust/etc on them. I'm just happy I don't have to trash them.

My IT rack uses about 900w which also powers my main TV and whole house audio system so it varies from moment to moment. I'm looking at some upgrades that will hopefully put more efficient devices in place rather than the 15 yr old switches I have in place.

The pool pump needs to run throughout the day but I currently shut it off between 11pm - 5 am and that's saved quite a bit. Last week with the 100° days, the AC ran almost constantly and was basically depleting the batteries over night. I'm looking at adding 2 more to compensate. At the same time, it was really hot but hazy and sort of overcast so I didn't get great solar numbers for those days either. Running into the 12kw bug didn't help at all either but that's resolved now.

My sell back has been approved! I signed all the paperwork and they're scheduling the meter install. I have to upgrade my 10kva transformer to a 25kva as well but they gave me a deal on it.

Another update, I just got my first full month of solar power bill. It was just under $26... Last year at this time it was $600. I'll take $26 all day long!
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I meant specifically the ballast if you had old tube lighting. Not sure if you did. But they definitely sell on ebay and are easy to ship in a flat rate box from USPS.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=advance+rs+ballast&_sacat=0&_odkw=ballast&_osacat=0

Glad to hear your bill is much lower. Hopefully everything with the transformer install goes smoothly (y)
 
Thanks! I'm not too concerned about it. The only real concern I have right now is the disconnect. They wanted a separate disconnect but there's one built into my ATS. I sent them pictures of that one as part of the final install so we'll see if they accept it. If they don't, I'll have 2 disconnects within 2' of each other wired one right after the other.
 
TechRider said:
Woot! SolarAssistant did an update and now I can see all 4 of my batteries off one cable!!
View attachment 224761
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Must be nice to have 1200Ah of battery power..

Did Solark fix the 12KW PV limit bug yet, and did that result in better production? Has your weather improved enough to get your production numbers up?

We used about 530Kwh for our last billing period, so our bill won't be as low as the $52 one we had last month, but I'm guessing it shouldn't be more than $75. Since it's been so hot the last couple of weeks, the AC has been on more, but we're still only averaging about 15kwh/day of grid power.
 
I like the ~15kw batteries. They take up more space than the 5kw but not enough that it matters. It's not difficult for me to deplete them in one "normal" day of low sun. That's when most of the chore stuff seems to get done so things like laundry, etc.

I'm not sure they've fully fixed it but they gave me a patch to apply locally and I was able to hit 17kw the other day so it's good. I think I saw the thermal affect as well. The other day when it was over 95° out, I just couldn't get much above 16kw. A few days later, it was around 71° with about the same "brightness" level out and I was getting 17 and change. Obviously a lot goes into that and my "brightness" is completely non-scientific but it was something interesting.
 
Subdood said:
We used about 530Kwh for our last billing period, so our bill won't be as low as the $52 one we had last month, but I'm guessing it shouldn't be more than $75. Since it's been so hot the last couple of weeks, the AC has been on more, but we're still only averaging about 15kwh/day of grid power.
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I just looked at Solar Assistant and May I used 139kwh and my bill was just under $26. My meter is read around the 20th so I don't think all of the 139kw was counted. So far for June I'm at 158kwh. Thankfully not too much more. Most of my usage was at night or during short spikes during the day. (Hot water heater, stove, AC, and griddle all running at the same time. Saw a new peak of 13kwh in use. I didn't think the kids needed breakfast but my wife thought otherwise. :ROFLMAO: )
 
TechRider said:
I like the ~15kw batteries. They take up more space than the 5kw but not enough that it matters. It's not difficult for me to deplete them in one "normal" day of low sun. That's when most of the chore stuff seems to get done so things like laundry, etc.

I'm not sure they've fully fixed it but they gave me a patch to apply locally and I was able to hit 17kw the other day so it's good. I think I saw the thermal affect as well. The other day when it was over 95° out, I just couldn't get much above 16kw. A few days later, it was around 71° with about the same "brightness" level out and I was getting 17 and change. Obviously a lot goes into that and my "brightness" is completely non-scientific but it was something interesting.
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Well, 17K out of 18K worth of panels is pretty good, that's over 90%. But, yeah the heat on the panels may be limiting your output. I imagine those black panels at 95 degrees would be getting pretty toasty..
 
It was kind of a hazy day out as well. I was just happy to see over 12kw at that point then every extra watt to put in the batteries was nice.

What's your next step on your system?
 
TechRider said:
It was kind of a hazy day out as well. I was just happy to see over 12kw at that point then every extra watt to put in the batteries was nice.

What's your next step on your system?
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I don't know. If I had $1500 to spend, I have considered these options:

1. Another 4KW of panels.
2. Another server rack battery
3. A mini split to put in our living room/kitchen

I'm more inclined to get more panels to be able to utilize the full power of my 6.5KW inverter, but it's also nice to have more batteries. My original goal way back in '22 was to have the present inverter, my present 10kWh battery bank and 8K of panels, so that would be the logical choice.

But, I'm getting more interested in the mini split, especially to supplement our heat usage in the cold months. Every time our electric heat comes on, that's a 12KW drain. The A/C only uses about 3KW, but it'd be nice to run a mini split off my single phase inverter, or even solar panels. Right now, I'm eyeing the EG4 12K BTU unit. I think it's something I could install on my own.

Actually I do have that money to spend, but there's running it by the Committee..
 
All sound like great moves forward. I looked into mini splits for another project that got shelved. There are quite a few DIY friendly units now. I want to eventually build a detached garage and put a room in it with one.

Keep your eyes out for panels, you'll never know when you come across a deal.

I understand the committee deal. I pitched 2 more batteries and it was a hard no until we got the power bill. Then they slipped back in the budget! :sneaky:
 
Subdood said:
We keep ours around 76 at the lowest, but it still runs most of the evening. I installed a programmable thermostat about 5 years ago, so I have the AC basically off (80) from 7am, while we're at work. At 4pm, I drop it to about 78, so it's running by the time we get home, and usually runs for a couple hours just to get it to temp.

I need to get that Midea U shaped air conditioner that I wanted so I could have it running off solar after the battery gets topped off. It'd be a good power dump during the day, and take the load off the main unit.

Do you have your BMS to switch to grid when the doc drops below 20%? That's what happens to my server rack batts.
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I was looking for additional load for my system and installed an LG inverter 8000btu window ac unit. 60F is as low as it will go. Seems to be good for an additional 6kWh or so of load per day, problem is it isn't super hot right now, I had to turn it off for a bit today got the house too cold running alongside the central air. One more unit on other side of house and the central 2 ton a/c can be turned off. For the next unit I was considering the non u shaped Midea it has heat pump capability down to 41F so I could keep using it into the fall.

Screenshot_20240626_190057_Gallery.jpg

Jump in output from 3 days ago was switching from 14 100W panels to 10 370W on the second tracker. Limited by load right now, but ran close to the edge of 10kWh of battery this morning. Cloudy day today. I have another 24kWh of battery to connect just have to crimp the cables.
Screenshot_20240626_172111.jpg


Screenshot_20240626_190955_VRM.jpg
 
TechRider said:
Keep your eyes out for panels, you'll never know when you come across a deal.
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I can get 10x395W bifacials from Sig Solar for about $1500 delivered. That would be ideal, but I'd have to also build another ground mount of some type, so that'd probably be another $500 minimum.

But I also worry that these cheap panel prices aren't going to last very much longer if those tariffs kick in soon.

TechRider said:
I understand the committee deal. I pitched 2 more batteries and it was a hard no until we got the power bill. Then they slipped back in the budget! :sneaky:
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Well, I'm sure she was pleased with the last $50 bill, but I doubt we see it that low again until the end of summer as we're using the AC more.

Part of the deal in building the solar project was renovating the chicken coop. So until that gets going, I'm probably not going to be making any more big purchases in the near term.

But, I might be able to convince her on the mini split as that could really make an impact on our winter heating bills.
 
Brucey said:
I was looking for additional load for my system and installed an LG inverter 8000btu window ac unit. 60F is as low as it will go. Seems to be good for an additional 6kWh or so of load per day, problem is it isn't super hot right now, I had to turn it off for a bit today got the house too cold running alongside the central air. One more unit on other side of house and the central 2 ton a/c can be turned off. For the next unit I was considering the non u shaped Midea it has heat pump capability down to 41F so I could keep using it into the fall.

View attachment 224860

Jump in output from 3 days ago was switching from 14 100W panels to 10 370W on the second tracker. Limited by load right now, but ran close to the edge of 10kWh of battery this morning. Cloudy day today. I have another 24kWh of battery to connect just have to crimp the cables.
View attachment 224859


View attachment 224861
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I've been looking into the Midea U shaped air conditioners, they're supposedly very efficient, and would be a good diversionary load for the solar. But now I'm thinking a mini split would be a better idea, as it'd help offset our winter heating bills. We live in a 14x70 ft home, so we wouldn't need a lot of heating/cooling power. A 12K BTU unit would be a good fit, I think.
 
Subdood said:
I've been looking into the Midea U shaped air conditioners, they're supposedly very efficient, and would be a good diversionary load for the solar. But now I'm thinking a mini split would be a better idea, as it'd help offset our winter heating bills. We live in a 14x70 ft home, so we wouldn't need a lot of heating/cooling power. A 12K BTU unit would be a good fit, I think.
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What do you heat with now?
 
Brucey said:
What do you heat with now?
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It's resistive heating, so it's very basic and also a power hog; it pulls 50A at 240V, so that's a smooth 12,000W every time it comes on. I can almost hear the meter whirring when it comes on..

Because of that we don't turn our heat up more than 65 when it's cold or our bills would be $200+ if we didn't. I remember one Christmas Eve when it dropped to 4 below and we used about 100kWh that day alone.
 
Subdood said:
It's resistive heating, so it's very basic and also a power hog; it pulls 50A at 240V, so that's a smooth 12,000W every time it comes on. I can almost hear the meter whirring when it comes on..

Because of that we don't turn our heat up more than 65 when it's cold or our bills would be $200+ if we didn't. I remember one Christmas Eve when it dropped to 4 below and we used about 100kWh that day alone.
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I heated successfully using two 1500W oil filled portable radiator heaters last winter. Could maintain 70+ no problem, mostly on low or medium, both on high would get the house too hot, 1300 sqft, very tight envelope and well insulated. Now we were lucky it didn't get real cold for long or I would have probably needed to add another 1500w ceramic heater.
 
Brucey said:
I heated successfully using two 1500W oil filled portable radiator heaters last winter. Could maintain 70+ no problem, mostly on low or medium, both on high would get the house too hot, 1300 sqft, very tight envelope and well insulated. Now we were lucky it didn't get real cold for long or I would have probably needed to add another 1500w ceramic heater.
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We used a ceramic space heater last winter during the day off the solar, that helped a little bit. We ought to look into the oil heaters if we don't get the mini split. We live in a single wide house, so it's probably less than 1000sf.

Those high efficiency mini splits are eligible for a tax credit aren't they?
 
Yeah.... This whole thing feeds into a dangerous part of my personality... just a little bit more... One more upgrade!
 
Yeah, it's tough because the way the industry is rapidly evolving, there's new fancy toys coming out almost every day. So it's hard to say no to that next upgrade.

I'm really interested in the new EG4 inverter, but it's just 1.5KW more powerful than what I have. Granted it's more efficient, split phase, and quieter, but I can't see putting out $3500 for that kind of an upgrade.
 
I know what you mean. My whole project started as "a way to run my well pump if the grid was down." Now I can basically run my whole house in a limited fashion with dreams of much more.

Good luck on whatever you decide to do!
 
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