EastTexCowboy
Solar Wizard
Long post - sorry! I haven't been hanging around here for awhile but partly that's because I get addicted to this place so I have to back off a little. I have some fun projects I'm just getting started on so I'll post some pictures as it goes along. And more than likely whine and ask for help at one point or another. Okay, maybe not. Hopefully not. But probably.
Two more or less separate projects. The first and major one is to upgrade the two existing MPP 6548 inverters to two EG4 18kpv inverters and add some more batteries. I've ordered the inverters as of today (actually ordered three since the other project gets one) and I ordered a slew of EVE cells from Amy at Docan earlier this week. SS is shipping the inverters along with a pallet of panels (panels mostly for the other project) and I'll be going into Houston next week to pick up the battery cells, cases, etc.
The two inverters will replace the existing, as stated, but I'll also be completely reworking my wiring and cables and installing a metal trough and conduit to clean all that mess up. I'm going to build two 280ah batteries which should give me another 28kwh of battery added to the 60kwh I have now. Current batteries are 12 of the EG4 Lifepower rack mount so I'll be mixing battery types and figuring all that out but I don't think it will be a big problem. I plan on running the inverters parallel at this point, but we'll see. I may be able to get by with one inverter and have the other ready as a spare. Probably not though, because once I get the inverter and battery part done I'm going to upgrade my existing dedicated breaker panel to something larger so I can add a few more circuits.
Along with the upgrade I'll be reconfiguring my panel arrays to four 8s arrays. Right now they are 4s2p due to the voltage limitations on the MPP inverters. I think this may give me a little more production. I know I'm losing a little due to resistance with the 20a voltage on those circuits, I just don't know how much. At some point I may look at adding another array for this system but it depends on how my other project goes.
Second project is I'll be building another shop and this one is going to be solar from the start. It will be a 30' x 40', spray foam insulated, and a mini split for HVAC. This one gets the other 18kpv and another bank of two of the 280ah batteries. This should run the equipment going in the shop since it will not usually be running 8 hours a day or anything like that. The biggest loads will be a metal lathe and milling machine, 240v single phase, and then the other odds and ends tools like band saws, mig welder, plasma cutter etc. I know - I can't run all that at once but I don't see that ever being an issue. It's just me working out there. Just in case, I think I'm going to have the POCO install a separate meter on the new shop and install a manual transfer switch. Then if I get industrious and don't have enough solar power I can switch to grid. I can get about 6kw of panels on the west facing roof. The east facing is going to be shaded some so we'll see if I end up adding some on that side too. I have a full pallet coming, half of which will be in reserve until I see where and if I need them. Not a lot of production but I think it will handle the expected use and loads.
I just had a water well drilled right behind where the new shop is going and a soft start Grundfos pump installed so I'll be running that on the shop solar as well. It will primarily only be used for water for the cattle and gardens so pretty low use. But it does give me a backup water source in the event our community water has problems, which happens fairly often around here. As long as the animals have water we can make do with bottled water or a few other options.
The last piece of this self-inflicted puzzle is something I've been kicking around. I'm thinking about running conduit from the new shop to the garage where the existing solar lives then installing some kind of three way switch so I could send the solar production from the new shop to augment the system for the house in times of need. I'd be interested in hearing if anyone has done anything like this.
I want to give a shout out to @SignatureSolarJames for taking care of me on the inverters and panels. Much appreciated! My place is starting to look like a Signature Solar ad. And Amy at Docan was very easy to work with and gave me great pricing on the cells, cases and accessories for the batteries. Their website is docanpower.com if you don't already know that.
I also appreciate support and advice from @Gavin Stone. I've been discussing this project with him for a while now and he's been a big help. Thanks, amigo!
I'll post some photos and updates to this thread as I go along but don't expect it to happen quickly. I'm working by myself and I'm a little long in the tooth so it's going to take a minute or two.
Two more or less separate projects. The first and major one is to upgrade the two existing MPP 6548 inverters to two EG4 18kpv inverters and add some more batteries. I've ordered the inverters as of today (actually ordered three since the other project gets one) and I ordered a slew of EVE cells from Amy at Docan earlier this week. SS is shipping the inverters along with a pallet of panels (panels mostly for the other project) and I'll be going into Houston next week to pick up the battery cells, cases, etc.
The two inverters will replace the existing, as stated, but I'll also be completely reworking my wiring and cables and installing a metal trough and conduit to clean all that mess up. I'm going to build two 280ah batteries which should give me another 28kwh of battery added to the 60kwh I have now. Current batteries are 12 of the EG4 Lifepower rack mount so I'll be mixing battery types and figuring all that out but I don't think it will be a big problem. I plan on running the inverters parallel at this point, but we'll see. I may be able to get by with one inverter and have the other ready as a spare. Probably not though, because once I get the inverter and battery part done I'm going to upgrade my existing dedicated breaker panel to something larger so I can add a few more circuits.
Along with the upgrade I'll be reconfiguring my panel arrays to four 8s arrays. Right now they are 4s2p due to the voltage limitations on the MPP inverters. I think this may give me a little more production. I know I'm losing a little due to resistance with the 20a voltage on those circuits, I just don't know how much. At some point I may look at adding another array for this system but it depends on how my other project goes.
Second project is I'll be building another shop and this one is going to be solar from the start. It will be a 30' x 40', spray foam insulated, and a mini split for HVAC. This one gets the other 18kpv and another bank of two of the 280ah batteries. This should run the equipment going in the shop since it will not usually be running 8 hours a day or anything like that. The biggest loads will be a metal lathe and milling machine, 240v single phase, and then the other odds and ends tools like band saws, mig welder, plasma cutter etc. I know - I can't run all that at once but I don't see that ever being an issue. It's just me working out there. Just in case, I think I'm going to have the POCO install a separate meter on the new shop and install a manual transfer switch. Then if I get industrious and don't have enough solar power I can switch to grid. I can get about 6kw of panels on the west facing roof. The east facing is going to be shaded some so we'll see if I end up adding some on that side too. I have a full pallet coming, half of which will be in reserve until I see where and if I need them. Not a lot of production but I think it will handle the expected use and loads.
I just had a water well drilled right behind where the new shop is going and a soft start Grundfos pump installed so I'll be running that on the shop solar as well. It will primarily only be used for water for the cattle and gardens so pretty low use. But it does give me a backup water source in the event our community water has problems, which happens fairly often around here. As long as the animals have water we can make do with bottled water or a few other options.
The last piece of this self-inflicted puzzle is something I've been kicking around. I'm thinking about running conduit from the new shop to the garage where the existing solar lives then installing some kind of three way switch so I could send the solar production from the new shop to augment the system for the house in times of need. I'd be interested in hearing if anyone has done anything like this.
I want to give a shout out to @SignatureSolarJames for taking care of me on the inverters and panels. Much appreciated! My place is starting to look like a Signature Solar ad. And Amy at Docan was very easy to work with and gave me great pricing on the cells, cases and accessories for the batteries. Their website is docanpower.com if you don't already know that.
I also appreciate support and advice from @Gavin Stone. I've been discussing this project with him for a while now and he's been a big help. Thanks, amigo!
I'll post some photos and updates to this thread as I go along but don't expect it to happen quickly. I'm working by myself and I'm a little long in the tooth so it's going to take a minute or two.
Following, and he morphed into 
