diy solar

diy solar

Need help designing my system

also, just noticed you joined last friday. excuse me but welcome to the forum!

lots of characters here ? it can be quite shiny i assure you ☀️?
 
derriakadean said:
I'm just getting my feet wet on solar and would like to thank you for being cordial.
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will try to get better at cordial part ☮️ text on a screen can forget there's another people on other side.

the backfeed aspect kinda tripped my safety lecture protocol, as unpleasant as it can be ?

i'm still hodge-podging my way over here. been reading this forum for a while to learn from various projects. still an amateur ?

what's sure as sun☀️ thanks for posting
 
whats is the advantage of a single 300 watt panel vs 3 100 watt in series i looked at specs and it would be roughly the same and roughly the same price vmp is different but with series parallel cold be mitigated
 
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derriakadean said:
whats is the advantage of a single 300 watt panel vs 3 100 watt in series i looked at specs and it would be roughly the same and roughly the same price vmp is different but with series parallel cold be mitigated
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For me; less wiring fewer connections.
 
derriakadean said:
If there is anyone who could give me some advice on these Inexpensive inverters without using it as a way to boost there ego I'd would thank you. I'm not a smart a$$ I'm just not a punk.
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Several years back I started my solar experiments with 2-100w panels and a cheap micro grid tie inverter. IIRC it cost $60 at the time. i had to insure that I always had sufficient house loads so that I would not backfeed my meter as it was not an approved system. the inverter only lasted a couple of months before it stopped working. My observations was it is not really a effective means to utilize solar power. Even the newer style cheap grid tie inverters with limiters are no better.

I then changed to running a battery setup and mobile inverter to feed a few loads for several years. It was reliable enough and no chance of annoying the power company. However pretty much an emergency use setup. Last year I happened to get interested in Off grid AIO (All in ones) and put in a setup that has reasonably supplied several loads in my home and also reduced my grid usage. It can be done without grid tie. It is grid assist.

If you are interested in a grid assist (no grid parallel) than there are many here on the Forum running such setups. Some are even able to work without batteries.
 
Also in Kentucky.
So far, 100 panels installed. All from SanTan Solar.
Great prices, products, and service.
My next 100 panels, will also come from them.
 
I would recommend forgetting about the grid. Focus on going independent, that way you will be more free in the future.

All I see going forward is more outages and higher prices. Its a trap!
 
v
Mattb4 said:
Several years back I started my solar experiments with 2-100w panels and a cheap micro grid tie inverter. IIRC it cost $60 at the time. i had to insure that I always had sufficient house loads so that I would not backfeed my meter as it was not an approved system. the inverter only lasted a couple of months before it stopped working. My observations was it is not really a effective means to utilize solar power. Even the newer style cheap grid tie inverters with limiters are no better.

I then changed to running a battery setup and mobile inverter to feed a few loads for several years. It was reliable enough and no chance of annoying the power company. However pretty much an emergency use setup. Last year I happened to get interested in Off grid AIO (All in ones) and put in a setup that has reasonably supplied several loads in my home and also reduced my grid usage. It can be done without grid tie. It is grid assist.

If you are interested in a grid assist (no grid parallel) than there are many here on the Forum running such setups. Some are even able to work without batteries.
Click to expand...
thank you sir do you recommend an ALO for me to look into
 
sunsurfer said:
I would recommend forgetting about the grid. Focus on going independent, that way you will be more free in the future.

All I see going forward is more outages and higher prices. Its a trap!
Click to expand...
id love to build to that but its the batteries it takes a huge investment
 
I'm building my system gradually.
But I knew exactly where I was going , before I took the first step. Mistakes on paper are much cheaper than purchasing things that you may end up not using.
I started with a single inverter and 20 panels.
Once that was up and running. And decreasing my utility bill. I then purchased a small battery. Which decreased my bill even more.
One step at a time and eventually I will reach my goal.
 
derriakadean said:
whats is the advantage of a single 300 watt panel vs 3 100 watt in series i looked at specs and it would be roughly the same and roughly the same price vmp is different but with series parallel cold be mitigated
Click to expand...
It's all about the embedded shipping costs. When you pay retail for panels, that includes the cost of shipping, which for very large glass-made components, gets very expensive. The best deals are made with cash and carry purchases, where the seller has already absorbed the cost of shipping. Going to the Louisville Craigslist I found several panels which might be within driving distance that sell large grid-tie panels at a significant cost savings over retail purchasing. Looks like all the same guy? A cash and carry outfit.

https://louisville.craigslist.org/mat/d/knoxville-solar-panels-240-watt/7554195236.html Will sell 6 panels for 75$ each
https://louisville.craigslist.org/mat/d/knoxville-solar-panels-450-watt/7555253130.html will sell 6 panels for 175$ each
https://louisville.craigslist.org/mat/d/knoxville-solar-panels-270-watt/7542258199.html Will sell 6 panels for 95$ each

There are addition cost savings if you are willing to purchase more than just 6 panels.

As you can see, you can get as many as 3.2W/$ with the purchase of these grid-tie panels. Why would you want to buy 100W panels at 1W/$ and pay sales tax, when you could pay cash and drive off for 3+W/$.

It has been my personal experience that the best quality panels I've purchased have been off of Craigslist, and if you look at any of my older posts, you will see I've always touted Craigslist as an excellent venue to get high quality panels.

These prices are what have allowed me to bring 7500W of panels online, as of today, with another 2000W sitting in the shed, waiting for installation. Here is a pic of just some of my panels.
 

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timselectric said:
I'm building my system gradually.
But I knew exactly where I was going , before I took the first step. Mistakes on paper are much cheaper than purchasing things that you may end up not using.
I started with a single inverter and 20 panels.
Once that was up and running. And decreasing my utility bill. I then purchased a small battery. Which decreased my bill even more.
One step at a time and eventually I will reach my goal
Click to expand...
 
I went forward with buy a couple 100w panels because I have a tool shed that needs electrified. Just lights. Maybe battery charger for drills and such. I thought because these were easy to source they would be useful in my grid tie project but I'm leaning other wise thanks.
 
MichaelK said:
It's all about the embedded shipping costs. When you pay retail for panels, that includes the cost of shipping, which for very large glass-made components, gets very expensive. The best deals are made with cash and carry purchases, where the seller has already absorbed the cost of shipping. Going to the Louisville Craigslist I found several panels which might be within driving distance that sell large grid-tie panels at a significant cost savings over retail purchasing. Looks like all the same guy? A cash and carry outfit.

https://louisville.craigslist.org/mat/d/knoxville-solar-panels-240-watt/7554195236.html Will sell 6 panels for 75$ each
https://louisville.craigslist.org/mat/d/knoxville-solar-panels-450-watt/7555253130.html will sell 6 panels for 175$ each
https://louisville.craigslist.org/mat/d/knoxville-solar-panels-270-watt/7542258199.html Will sell 6 panels for 95$ each

There are addition cost savings if you are willing to purchase more than just 6 panels.

As you can see, you can get as many as 3.2W/$ with the purchase of these grid-tie panels. Why would you want to buy 100W panels at 1W/$ and pay sales tax, when you could pay cash and drive off for 3+W/$.

It has been my personal experience that the best quality panels I've purchased have been off of Craigslist, and if you look at any of my older posts, you will see I've always touted Craigslist as an excellent venue to get high quality panels.

These prices are what have allowed me to bring 7500W of panels online, as of today, with another 2000W sitting in the shed, waiting for installation. Here is a pic of just some of my panels.
Click to expand...
Thank you brother..I'll definitely give it look.
 
Another important point is what would happen if you connected your solar system (without permission) to the utility and there was a utility power failure?
The utility sends out a repair crew who innocently believe that the line is unpowered but YOU have put a potentially lethal voltage on the line?
I suspect you might get sued mightly quickly if somebody was injured! Your so called remoteness would not protect you from that.
I can only surmise that you are pulling our legs for a bit of fun.
 
mantonis said:
Another important point is what would happen if you connected your solar system (without permission) to the utility and there was a utility power failure?
The utility sends out a repair crew who innocently believe that the line is unpowered but YOU have put a potentially lethal voltage on the line?
I suspect you might get sued mightly quickly if somebody was injured! Your so called remoteness would not protect you from that.
I can only surmise that you are pulling our legs for a bit of fun.
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Anti islanding
 
I'm not here to give advice.

That said, is there a per-panel micro-inverter offering that shuts down when grid power is out?

That would solve two issues, for one you could buy one per panel at your leisure as you add to the system. You'd likely be sizing the panels for the micro inverter choice and not the other way around. But the other problem you'd side step is where you'd cause dangerous conditions if the grid was down as long as the micro inverters all shut down then.

Of course in theory you'd need to ensure you didn't produce more than your instantaneous consumption or else you'd be charged for the energy your supplying *to* the grid.

All that aside, I say build a standalone secondary system and stay away from the ethical and legal issues.
 
MichaelK said:
It's all about the embedded shipping costs. When you pay retail for panels, that includes the cost of shipping, which for very large glass-made components, gets very expensive. The best deals are made with cash and carry purchases, where the seller has already absorbed the cost of shipping. Going to the Louisville Craigslist I found several panels which might be within driving distance that sell large grid-tie panels at a significant cost savings over retail purchasing. Looks like all the same guy? A cash and carry outfit.

https://louisville.craigslist.org/mat/d/knoxville-solar-panels-240-watt/7554195236.html Will sell 6 panels for 75$ each
https://louisville.craigslist.org/mat/d/knoxville-solar-panels-450-watt/7555253130.html will sell 6 panels for 175$ each
https://louisville.craigslist.org/mat/d/knoxville-solar-panels-270-watt/7542258199.html Will sell 6 panels for 95$ each

There are addition cost savings if you are willing to purchase more than just 6 panels.

As you can see, you can get as many as 3.2W/$ with the purchase of these grid-tie panels. Why would you want to buy 100W panels at 1W/$ and pay sales tax, when you could pay cash and drive off for 3+W/$.

It has been my personal experience that the best quality panels I've purchased have been off of Craigslist, and if you look at any of my older posts, you will see I've always touted Craigslist as an excellent venue to get high quality panels.

These prices are what have allowed me to bring 7500W of panels online, as of today, with another 2000W sitting in the shed, waiting for installation. Here is a pic of just some of my panels.
Click to expand...
Them 450 watt bifacial solar panels, for $175 each is excellent, especially in overcast pore light days, and a pallet (28) of 240w panels for $1750 which will give you 6720w of pv ant bad too. Ps seeing Knoxville makes me think of that show "Jackass"
 
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