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Heck, they have Mein Kamph, Karl Marx, and Ayn Rand written in too. What’s your point?

Example of “programmable voltage monitor”?

the Outback FM100 has an aux float function that sends a 12V signal which in turn activates a relay which then completes the electric water heater circuit to the 240V out of the Radian inverter. At the end of float, the signal ends.

This is what I'm thinking of doing -- using an electric water heater to "pre heat" water for my gas water heater. The electric water heater would be activated by the FM100 CC going into float. And when float ends, the NO relay would break contact.

Not sure why all the hate towards Tigo — I’m a fan. Even those panels not directly shaded can benefit from installing optimizers. Also, it is incredibly valuable to be able to “see” what each panel and each string is doing in terms of power, voltage, amps, etc. at any moment in time. I learn a...

Fortress eFlex 5.4 are UL 9450A listed.

No need to be so defiant! ;)

Here on Boston I store my electric motorcycle in an outdoor shed during the winter months at 50% SoC. Never had a problem. Same battery behavior during riding season for three years now. Storing below freezing is not an issue. But charging is.

Parallel is never a problem within a string. Basically paralleled cells self balance. The issue is balancing between strings. For that you need a BMS.

A good read for all the anti-vaxxers who can’t grok basic risk/reward concepts: https://medium.com/incerto/no-covid-19-is-not-an-old-person-problem-6968f720d153

I use Affinity Photo/Affinity Designer. Basically, an Adobe Photoshop/Adobe Illustrator clone. No magic. Just a lot of work!

I leave my 72v li-ion electric motorcycle in the shed all winter. I leave it at 50% charge and it starts right up in the spring. No need for trickle charge with my setup. AFAIK, at 50% you can leave lithium batteries for a very long time with no harm.

So it appears you are not actually combining strings - correct?

I have an Outback FPR-4048 which I hope to commission before the end of the year. My basement space is VERY tight with low ceilings and little wall space. The output will be 60A distributed over 5 critical loads. I hope to double that over the years by adding more batteries and inverters --...

And then there is the issue of the per module rapid shutdown requirement of NEC 2020….

As I interpret the NEC 2020 specs, if my system has module-level rapid shutdown, the string combiner can be located anywhere I wish -- is that correct? i.e. it no longer needs to be within 10 feet of the array.

With some feedback from others, I've updated my basement inverter/charger/battery layout. I think this is getting much closer. Feedback still welcomed. The goal is to start installing things this weekend. Michael

Never having done a "Single Line" diagram before, and in preparation for the permitting process, I thought I'd try my hand at one. To my eye it looks pretty good -- have I missed anything that might perturb the AHJ ? Comments/feedback welcomed.

I recently purchased a complete "DIY" system from Northern Arizona Wind & Sun and the parts have (mostly) all come in. Now is the time for me to roll up the sleeves and begin the installation, starting with the basement in this antique barn I call home. While waiting on the parts to arrive, I...

Just took a look. Boy what a mess. But yes, the grounds and neutrals are definitely "bonded" (such as it is).

So how do I legally open the box? It has a lock on it. Do I call my electric company to ask them to open the box for me? Or would they be down with me opening it up?

The ground wire appears to be inside a conduit. And of course, the service box is locked. I assume one cannot measure resistance through a conduit? Seems I must get out a shovel and dig until I find either the wire or the rod — right?

1800s barn which has been converted back in the 1920s and 1960s to be a residence. I wish to bond my PV racks to the primary ground used at the 200A primary service panel. Given that this is an older home (where Harry Homeowner previously went wild), I'm not seeing a "traditional" place to...

That is very interesting. Why would a combiner be a weak point in a PV system? Lightning strike perhaps? Michael

So I'm now considering purchasing some 8" Tall L-Brackets which hopefully will allow me to simplify the design quite a bit as shown in the attached graphic. Before committing to this I'm going to have to get up on the roof first and precisely measure if such brackets will in fact allow my panels...

Well, the items have already been purchased and are in transit from Northern Arizona. So I'm kinda stuck with 12 PV panels, Tamarack, and QuickBolt as the tools I have to work with. I would prefer that all the panels were flush with each other. I suppose one solution would be to take @koobs idea...

So this is the only thing I can think of doing that makes any sense -- i.e. adding some sort of right-angle attachments to the rails to allow me to hold the vertically-oriented panels by their sides (this is for wind-load of course). Obviously, this will need to be custom fabricated as Tamarack...

So I'm new at this and not sure how best to set up some of the racking for a portion of my layout as shown in the attached graphic in yellow. Note that this is an old 1800s barn with a shingled roof -- there are no "traditional" rafters. Instead there are unevenly-spaced horizontal purlins to...

On more thing... I'm about the take the plunge and purchase a "DIY" Outback 4048a system, which meets my current "critical loads only" requirements nicely. The kit consists of the following: (12) REC Alpha Series 370 Watt PV panels (2) Fortress eFLEX 5.4kWh batteries (1) Outback...

I have little choice— the local inspector will not approve a PV install unless it has complete documentation. Nor will any licensed electrician work on a project that is not to code. In Massachusetts, that means NEC 2020 and UL 3741. So those of you berating the “coastal elites” haven’t a clue —...

In Massachusetts, Rapid Shutdown (UL 3741) is required. Which as you say vastly complicates things. I'll do most of the grunt work myself for this project and hire a certified electrician to wire everything up to code and commission the system. I'll probably keep the combiner in a closet...

Diagram below. The initial plan is to use the PV+Battery primarily as a UPS for critical loads for the time being. However, in the future I can imagine adding additional strings and larger battery to power EVs and possibly a heat pump. The thought I had was to to avoid having to run future...

About to take the plunge on purchasing a "DIY" solar PV system from Northern Arizona Wind & Sun. This is the layout I gave their sales department for my particular situation. Other than a total price I haven't had much feedback from them on specific details. Note that these panels are being...

I am about to order a Midnite Solar MNPV6-250 combiner box with which I plan to combine two PV strings together. To this box I will also add a Midnite MSSPD-300-DC surge protector. Given that there are two breakers inside the box, it seems to me one would want to be able to have easy access the...

I’m in the same boat. Similar requirements and experience with solar installers.