HighTechLab
AKA Dexter - CTO of Current Connected, LLC
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2019
- Messages
- 1,688
So we built a lab out of shipping containers, https://diysolarforum.com/threads/building-a-lab-out-of-2-shipping-containers.17700/
And now, we are adding solar!
We have some used panels, they were TrinaSolar panels once upon a time, but were sold as noname-brand panels, and we ended up with them. They were $75 each for this batch, however we got some in the past that were $65 each. A total of 52x 250w panels, however, we aren't installing all 52 because a couple of them got messed up.
Anyway, we welded down some unistrut on the container, and are mounting IronRidge racking to the strut using just some regular unistrut nuts and bolts through the "L" brackets. The rails are XR100 rails that we purchased through Solarflexion.com.
Here is our racking material breakdown:
We also had about $500 in Unistrut, nuts and bolts, which we picked up from the local Home Depot.
All of this is paired right now with a Sol-Ark 12k, that is ac coupled to our main off grid system, running another sol-ark! This is something that I have never seen done - Some have AC coupled microinverters with the Sol-ark, but never ac coupled another sol-ark!
The benefit of going this route, is that we don't have to run high-voltage DC lines all the way back to our main electrical room, we can have a second battery bank that can take advantage of "time of use" and feed the main system, and this battery bank can literally be b-grade junk cells that I am just trying to get the remaining 80% life out of, then when they are depeleated, we use our grade A++ system of CALB CA180's, but meanwhile we are saving wear and tear on them.
It's pretty cool and exciting!!!!!
And now, we are adding solar!
We have some used panels, they were TrinaSolar panels once upon a time, but were sold as noname-brand panels, and we ended up with them. They were $75 each for this batch, however we got some in the past that were $65 each. A total of 52x 250w panels, however, we aren't installing all 52 because a couple of them got messed up.
Anyway, we welded down some unistrut on the container, and are mounting IronRidge racking to the strut using just some regular unistrut nuts and bolts through the "L" brackets. The rails are XR100 rails that we purchased through Solarflexion.com.
Here is our racking material breakdown:
We also had about $500 in Unistrut, nuts and bolts, which we picked up from the local Home Depot.
All of this is paired right now with a Sol-Ark 12k, that is ac coupled to our main off grid system, running another sol-ark! This is something that I have never seen done - Some have AC coupled microinverters with the Sol-ark, but never ac coupled another sol-ark!
The benefit of going this route, is that we don't have to run high-voltage DC lines all the way back to our main electrical room, we can have a second battery bank that can take advantage of "time of use" and feed the main system, and this battery bank can literally be b-grade junk cells that I am just trying to get the remaining 80% life out of, then when they are depeleated, we use our grade A++ system of CALB CA180's, but meanwhile we are saving wear and tear on them.
It's pretty cool and exciting!!!!!
