Adding 70kwh. (140kwh total)

[Solar Tech]

24.5 kw of pv and 25kw gen


I just added 9kw of gcl bifacial on the barn and now i just won a 2016 model s 85d at the auction to remove more battery module's from.

I built the cabinet to hold 28 tesla modules

 

[iamrich]

That's a lot of solar Are you just powering the barn or are you feeding other buildings?

 

[Solar Tech]

That's a lot of solar Are you just powering the barn or are you feeding other buildings?

Thanks yes i power my home also im in Fl so we need alot of power

 

[MrM1]

Do you "permit" under the radar? In other words, no permits. How does the system impact your homeowners insurance policy? I am in fl too. I permitted nothing.

 

[MrM1]

Love the Fan on the 4 Midnite CCs BTW. I did something similar on my midnite on a much smaller scale. Single 4" PC Fan 3"s away and placed the CC on a large heat sink

 

[Solar Tech]

Love the Fan on the 4 Midnite CCs BTW. I did something similar on my midnite on a much smaller scale. Single 4" PC Fan 3"s away and placed the CC on a large heat sink

Yeah it gets hot in there lol good idea with the heatsinks

It was permitted back in 2016
Im a solar contractor and my local inspector is really cool.
Im in highlands county which is laid back

 

[MrM1]

Very nice

 

[toms]

Fantastic- thanks for sharing pics, 140kwh would surely minimise generator runtime ?

 

[Solar Tech]

Fantastic- thanks for sharing pics, 140kwh would surely minimise generator runtime ?

Yeah it will lol. I was at about 19% of my power from the GEN over the last 4 yrs. Its only run one time since i added the 9 kw of pv.
Now i hope it never runs it will just be a backup

 

[MrM1]

Are u totally off grid 24/7 or are u grid support (not grid tied) with full readiness for the next hurricane black out. I'm more the latter

 

[Hedges]

I just added 9kw of gcl bifacial on the barn and now i just won a 2016 model s 85d at the auction to remove more battery module's from.
View attachment 43492
I built the cabinet to hold 28 tesla modules

I would suggest locating the batteries in their own bunker (fire pit) so if they do go up, you get to keep everything else.

Future building codes will probably require (non lead-acid) batteries to be a UL listed system (so you'll have a piece of paper to document you did everything correctly in the event it burns.) There is to be an exception for repurposed EV batteries if located 5' or more from the house.
UL listed batteries have been recalled after fires. So I would think it prudent to treat lithium batteries as something that can and will burn, have a plan to minimize the loss.

 

[Solar Tech]

Are u totally off grid 24/7 or are u grid support (not grid tied) with full readiness for the next hurricane black out. I'm more the latter

Im off grid 24-7.

 

[Solar Tech]

I would suggest locating the batteries in their own bunker (fire pit) so if they do go up, you get to keep everything else.

Future building codes will probably require (non lead-acid) batteries to be a UL listed system (so you'll have a piece of paper to document you did everything correctly in the event it burns.) There is to be an exception for repurposed EV batteries if located 5' or more from the house.
UL listed batteries have been recalled after fires. So I would think it prudent to treat lithium batteries as something that can and will burn, have a plan to minimize the loss.

I completely agree with everything you mentioned. The case is 1/8" steel but that could be a big fire.

 

[iamrich]

Yeah yeah, nice big arrays, but let's talk about this setup.

 

[iamrich]

And what kind of drone are you using for the pics? I am guessing by the picture quality, it is a heck of a lot better than my $60 setup

 

[Solar Tech]

Yeah yeah, nice big arrays, but let's talk about this setup.

View attachment 43618

Lol yea thats a random panel hooked to an old m215 Enphase micro Just to see if it still worked.
I have a pile the panels and micros from a system upgrade.

Its a little dji mavic mini or something can't remember the whole name.

 

[Hedges]

I presume the ground mount array is facing South.
As you add more, consider SW and SE. They will make slightly less power due to longer path of light through the air, but they spread output over more hours and reduce peak power. That lets more strings, more watts of PV, fit on a given charger controller, and flattens production for less cycling of battery, more charge remaining late in the day, starts recharging earlier in the morning.

I figure I can over-panel about 50% that way without clipping production.

 

[Solar Tech]

I presume the ground mount array is facing South.
As you add more, consider SW and SE. They will make slightly less power due to longer path of light through the air, but they spread output over more hours and reduce peak power. That lets more strings, more watts of PV, fit on a given charger controller, and flattens production for less cycling of battery, more charge remaining late in the day, starts recharging earlier in the morning.

I figure I can over-panel about 50% that way without clipping production.

Thats why i did an east and west array
In the future i want to do a tracked array ac coupled to do most of the "work"

 

[Hedges]

Likely, active tracking isn't worthwhile.
17 years ago when I put in my first system, panels cost $5/watt. Residential trackers cost as much per additional Wh produced as buying more panels.
Commercial single-axis trackers were popular, probably cost effective.
With PV today between $0.20 and $0.50/watt, I think multiple orientations paralleled onto a charge controller or inverter would be more cost effective than moving parts. You can put in 50% to 100% extra PV to produce same or more power with same $$

By East and West array, do you mean the rooftop ones?
Summer, they probably do OK when sun is overhead.
Winter, they would produce less, especially early and late in the day.
So I thought steeper tilt SW and SE might help fill in parts of the day/year.

My stuff is almost all AC coupled, Sunny Boy GT PV inverters and Sunny Island battery inverters. It works well, with AC coupled power providing 100% to house during the day, except for starting surge from batteries. Because it is grid-backup with net metering, it doesn't have to produce all power used in the winter. But it is big enough it probably can on clear days, using gas rather than electric for heat if grid is down.

 

[Solar Tech]

Yes the roof is low pitch but i need summer time power mainly.
I just "want" a tracker it will be single axis.
Im going to fab/build it myself so it will be relatively cost effective.
Im not sure how much pv i will end up with but i know the cyber truck will need a decent amount and going to switch the burban for something electric in the future too.