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I am coming to the conclusion that as long as I add panels in parallel, it should be fine. Just need the data to see if it makes economic sense. I pulled a couple of days worth data of the Enphase app. Doubling the panel input produced a 41% increase on November 24th. The micro inverters...

In series, I could exceed the voltage rating. In parallel I believe the inverter will limit the current to the max allowable. In full sun, my current panels produce more than the micro inverter will convert. I am just trying to increase output during the low light days. Mark

On a good summer day I can produce 85kwhs. In the last seven days, my system produced 12, 18, 6, 55, 45, 3, 30, and 7 kwh for a total of 176 kwh. My guess is we would maximize on two days and produce about 316 kwh. I used daily data to extrapolate production over a year, basically doubling...

First a little background on my system. I have a ground based array with 32 Adani 365 watt bifacial panels. Each has its own Enphase IQ7-plus micro inverter. I live in Vermont where in the fall and winter has very few sunny days. During a sunny day, the panels will easily max out the...

I have done the audit and it is a great way to see where your energy goes. I would be interested to hear from someone that has done the audit and then actually measured their system in use over multiple days to see how they compare. The thing it doesn't capture is just how much people can...

It seems we are on similar missions, I'm currently rebuilding a '62 Airstream Ambassador. My plan is make the trailer entirely electric with no propane. I have finished the frame, floor and running gear but have now been bogged down trying to figure out the system I want for power. I need to...

That was a great deal. I think I paid more like $180. I hope you continue to post to this thread as you go through the design process. I found threads like this very valuable as I was designing mine. You must be using some monster conductors. I am also curious about the details. We should...

The guys at CED-Greentech were great to work with. Wow, 52 panels, that is a big array, almost 19kw. How are you guys planning to use all that power? My neighbor has 7.6kw and hasn't paid for power in three years. As a matter of fact he gives the power company about $300 a year in free...

Hi just found your post. I just finished almost exactly the same system. I had a similar situation, heavy clay except with rocks, open field about 200' from the house. I'm in Vermont, so plenty of snow. I went with the Adani 365w bi-facial and Enphase micro inverters. No good reason for...

I just finished installing an 11.7kw ground based, grid tied system in my field. Works great, love watching the meter run backwards. It uses Enphase 7+ micro inverters. The way I understand it, if the grid goes down, the micro inverters shut down. Seems like that would be very frustrating if...

Just wanted to pass along that the array is alive and well and producing power since Tuesday morning. Having the power company stop by was almost a non-event. Nice guy who took about an half an hour to swap out my old meter and add the production meter. I am impressed by the Enphase Envoy...

The only connections to the micro inverters is the Q cable and ground through the structure. The Q cable just has the two legs of the 240v. The bare ground wire attaches to ground lugs on the panel structure. Three of the four breakers are a simple way to combine the outputs of the three sub...

Here is an update on my project. It really has been a lot more work than I had imagined. Yet to do is dress the wires behind the array and add labels to the meter, disconnect switch and combiner. My plan is to call the power company tomorrow and see what happens. Appreciate any and all...

Thanks everyone for this discussion. It has been very enlightening. I find I have to read and reread at least three times to approach comprehension. I am a mechanical engineer by training that has been playing in the digital world for many years, so this shown me how little I really knew...

Somehow I had it in my head that it was powered by 115v even though I had glanced at the install instructions. Good to know can just double up on the same breaker. - Thanks Mark

Newbostonconst, thanks for the link, it is very good. I can see now that I had the 120% rule all wrong. I have a 150a main panel, meaning my overhead is 180a. Subtract 60 amps for solar, I would have to downgrade my main breaker to 120a, probably not going to work. I would love a new bigger...

Sparohok, wondering what you ended up doing and how is it working? I am installing my Envoy now. Couldn't use the IQ combiner box because my array is 200' from my panel and I want to use load monitoring. I too have a packed panel. Was thinking of installing a pig-tail and plugging it in to a...

Hedges, thanks for your answers. The state requires a permit, I got that. Called the town and they require nothing. The power company is key. Hedges and newbostonconst, here is what was provided from the power company. Could you explain a bit more about your answer to 5. Trying to...

So progress continues. All the panels are up. The Enphase micro inverters are mounted and the outputs wired to an outdoor sub panel that I am using as a combiner. We buried 200' of 1 1/2" conduit to my garage and more conduit getting to the production meter and shut off switch. Yet to do...

What are you talking about? These screws are 80" long and screwed into the hardpan. They have been engineered and built by Sunmodo for this exact application. They were installed by a crew that has done this hundreds of times for solar installations all over my area. Yes we get wind and...

Couldn't you put the inverter up with the panels and then run AC to the house at 240v? The system I'm putting in (11.7kw), uses micro inverters and is located 225' from the house. Also depends if you are going to be off grid or grid tied. - Mark

According to the link provided by newbostonconst 8 gauge Cu is suggested for #2 and higher. Works for me. MarkSolar thanks for the explanation. Helps me understand. Thanks guys. You just saved me a couple hundred dollars. - Mark

What I meant by earth wire was ground wire. Does the ground wire have to be the same size as the load wires? I have an inexpensive source for bare 6 gauge copper. Since there will be no current seems it should be fine unless there is a code requirement. - Mark

My sub arrays put out at most 16 amps. Just lucky I guess. The panels are separated by about 1/4”. Thanks for pointing that out, I didn’t know there was a spec. For my panels it is 10.5mm or 0.41”. I’ll make it 1/2”. I appreciate you guys keeping me straight. Regarding grounding, I have a...

Spent some time with the Enphase document "Calculating AC Line Voltage Rise for IQ-Series Micros with Q Cable". Finally feel comfortable with electrical design. Besides current carrying capacity, one must also limit voltage rise to less than 2% to the last inverter in the string. The three...

I ended up borrowing a laser to set the height of the posts and therefore the horizontal rails. The next trick was getting the vertical rails perpendicular to the horizontal rails. After a bunch of trail and error, I ended up using a four foot T-square for rough placement and matching diagonal...

I think the design of the Sunmodo clamps does a good job of capturing the side rails of the panel. Hopefully that won't be a problem. We went with the portrait mode because of the bifacial panels. Our setup is 16 * 2P. If we had gone landscape, we probably could have gone 8 * 4L. That...

I'm very much a DIY guy, but. I think I would leave this one to the professionals. The attachment to the Bobcat was more than a torque head, there is a lot of mechanism to keep everything straight. It takes two guys, one in the Bobcat and the second running the mechanism. The whole time a...

I'm in the middle of building up a ground mount system similar to MarkSolar's. It's a Sunmodo rack with Adani bifacial panels, all purchased from my local CED Greentech in Burlington Vermont. Originally I was going to go the cement route, but I am very happy with the ground screws. A crew...

Thanks for the posts, some things are starting to make sense. Probably should have spent more time on this forum before dropping the cash. Ready-Fire-Aim, it wouldn't be the first time.;) Next question, what do you suggest to use to move the AC power from the array to the garage? It's...

Doing more reading, I think I want to add usage monitoring coils to the Envoy system which will necessitate it living in the garage. I think the easiest way to do this is using the Q Aggregator, basically a junction box, and then a home run. Then communications is not a problem. Thanks for...

Thanks for the reply. It's not too late as I haven't laid the conduit yet. So no problem running a data line along with the power conductors? - Mark

Hello, first time poster here. I am in the early stages of my ground based build. The system will consist of 32 Adani Bifacial 365w panels, Enphase micro converters and Enphase combiner box with IQ envoy. I am working with a local distributer who has limited knowledge of the Enphase units. I...