How frequently does your solar system need attention?

[Skypower]

I am going to buy a turn-key system and have it professionally installed. I already got one Sol-Ark quote from a well known "reputable" vendor but he quoted 10Kw battery storage for a completely off-grid system. I know that isn't prudent, and makes me wonder what else is left off or undersized on the ($22k) quote for a 5Kw system.

Take your time and do it right. Look at Signature Solar, Watts 24/7 and Current Connected websites for pricing and bundles. They have sales and specials all the time. Sig’s got a great one today and will again. Use the free resources to calculate what you actually need(and a reality check). If you contract someone to install, you need to find one that’s done it before and licensed. Educate yourself so you can ask the right questions to weed out the posers. Some installers will want to use equipment that they are familiar with, there MAY be nothing wrong with that. Resent new entries in equipment may have changed the game so again educate…..

 

[S610]

Take your time and do it right. Look at Signature Solar, Watts 24/7 and Current Connected websites for pricing and bundles. They have sales and specials all the time. Sig’s got a great one today and will again.

Yes I will do my due diligence. Right now the top 3 seem to be Sol-Ark, Victron and Schneider as far as reliability goes.

Signature Solar is definitely one I will NOT consider after seeing their CSR replies on this forum. If they treat their customers horribly on a public forum for the whole world to see (promising to resolve problems then not responding for months, or being downright snarky) I sure as heck don't want to find out what they do in private.

When general contractors and sub-contractors are involved screw-ups and delays get expensive real fast.

 

[cs1234]

Yes I will do my due diligence. Right now the top 3 seem to be Sol-Ark, Victron and Schneider as far as reliability goes.

Signature Solar is definitely one I will NOT consider after seeing their CSR replies on this forum. If they treat their customers horribly on a public forum for the whole world to see (promising to resolve problems then not responding for months, or being downright snarky) I sure as heck don't want to find out what they do in private.

You have this forum to use to help demand justice from any of these companies. It's an ace up one's sleeve. Many of the other vendors haven't had CSR's saying bad things on here because they know better than to let their CSR's on here. It's not that they are necessarily better, they just consider forums like this dangerous and / or beneath them.

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

so me: sorry for long post. but I feel that all info is crucial to make informed choice.

900 square foot cabin, very drafty... this year gets new siding, insulation and triple pain glass.
MS 4448 PAE magnum inverter charger one, plus spare. spare is wired in but runs parallel but locked out via breakers so not running.
morning star solar controllers x 4 (two online, two spare once again locked out via breakers)
total array size is 7.2kw with 8 panels (1600 watts) facing west vertically to lengthen out solar production day.
DIY battery pack consisting of 2p16s x two for 40 Kw
4 daly BMS, 2 online 2 spares. (on shelf)
backup 3 phase 10 kw denyo diesal generator

A/C split pack (mitsubishi 12 tatami room size) I am not sure of BTU's as i sized it against space I wanted to dry/cool. It runs 24/7 during the rainy months, and summer
sewage pump runs 24/7
one 260 liter fridge runs 24/7,
one 200 liter freezer runs 24/7
all LED lighting
1600 sqaure foot shop all lighting is 240 volt LED and power tools are mix of 120 and 240 split phase
1600 watt kotatsu (radiant heater) x 2
two forced air keroscene heaters for winter,
hunter ceiling fan
1000 watt microwave
on demand propane hotwater heater.

without dragging up stats from the inverter and the solar controllers I can simply say I have not used the genset over the past 18 months for any reason other than to use my welder, compressor, or automobile lift. the lowest my batteries have seen was about 40% after the panels were snow covered for 4 days. I do not live here 24/7 yet. I am there every weekend though, friday night through sunday night. the A/C does run as above 24/7 from mid May through late September to keep the cabin dry and mold free.

all appliances are the equivalent of energy saving appliances for the US.

figure out what you need, what you can do without and remember saving energy is cheaper than making it.

I look at my energy monitor constantly not because of issue but due to my OCD.
I lost one inverter about 2 years ago due to a lightening strike along with my freezer. I fixed this issue with lightening arrestors from midnight solar. other than that minor tweaking of the system as i slowly gain more confidence in the Lithium batteries. I originally ran AGM's for about 4 years and toasted them due to lack of absorb time... go straight to liFpo4 to avoid this issue.
Daly BMS's wee problematic at first, recent updates to software and the actual BMS's have solved these issues for me, YMMV

I am affiliated with no one sales wise, so other than my system works well for me I can say nothing else.

I advise to not pay someone to do this for you. Why? If you do not understand the system yourself you will have no clue on if they did an actual solid job on the install and equipment selection. at least hand out here long enough to come to grips with the equipment so you can trouble shoot yourself in the future. Maybe pay someone for the actual grunt labor but sit down study and design the system yourself.

 

[Johneb]

I thought the soft starts just made it start easier, but didn't actually save running energy. How much usage drop did you see?

I tried to post my usage graph but it won`t let me. February of this year was 1800kwh. I put the device on and march wa 1100kwh.

 

[Mattb4]

...

Your point on looking at Schneider and Victron is very much appreciated. Just did a quick search and Schneider AOI inverters are half the price of Sol-Ark, given a choice I would rather invest in a spare inverter than a pricey hardened one since I will likely use the spare either way.

What is the term for a solar only inverter? All the Schneider inverters I saw were hybrid and I don't know how to search for non-hybrid.

@Jim H Food storage and protection? Hadn't thought of that, will add a couple of packs of ramen and a can of mace to my list. ; )

Schneider does not make an AIO. They do sell inverter chargers, it is their SW line. Depending on power needs they can be stacked. You have to add in the MPPT SCC (solar charge controller) plus control equipment. Victron is much the same except they do have a few AIO's for the European market. Victron tend to focus on the mobile/marine market but many off gridders also like their Eco system concept with many components designed to work together.

Hybrid often means a grid tie versus the off grid only AIO. Off grid AIO's are not entirely off grid since they use grid in the same manner as a UPS does with preferred power and switch power to alternate source. It can be confusing until you catch onto all the terms and modes of operation of these devices.

 

[Skypower]

so me: sorry for long post. but I feel that all info is crucial to make informed choice.

900 square foot cabin, very drafty... this year gets new siding, insulation and triple pain glass.
MS 4448 PAE magnum inverter charger one, plus spare. spare is wired in but runs parallel but locked out via breakers so not running.
morning star solar controllers x 4 (two online, two spare once again locked out via breakers)
total array size is 7.2kw with 8 panels (1600 watts) facing west vertically to lengthen out solar production day.
DIY battery pack consisting of 2p16s x two for 40 Kw
4 daly BMS, 2 online 2 spares. (on shelf)
backup 3 phase 10 kw denyo diesal generator

A/C split pack (mitsubishi 12 tatami room size) I am not sure of BTU's as i sized it against space I wanted to dry/cool. It runs 24/7 during the rainy months, and summer
sewage pump runs 24/7
one 260 liter fridge runs 24/7,
one 200 liter freezer runs 24/7
all LED lighting
1600 sqaure foot shop all lighting is 240 volt LED and power tools are mix of 120 and 240 split phase
1600 watt kotatsu (radiant heater) x 2
two forced air keroscene heaters for winter,
hunter ceiling fan
1000 watt microwave
on demand propane hotwater heater.

without dragging up stats from the inverter and the solar controllers I can simply say I have not used the genset over the past 18 months for any reason other than to use my welder, compressor, or automobile lift. the lowest my batteries have seen was about 40% after the panels were snow covered for 4 days. I do not live here 24/7 yet. I am there every weekend though, friday night through sunday night. the A/C does run as above 24/7 from mid May through late September to keep the cabin dry and mold free.

all appliances are the equivalent of energy saving appliances for the US.

figure out what you need, what you can do without and remember saving energy is cheaper than making it.

I look at my energy monitor constantly not because of issue but due to my OCD.
I lost one inverter about 2 years ago due to a lightening strike along with my freezer. I fixed this issue with lightening arrestors from midnight solar. other than that minor tweaking of the system as i slowly gain more confidence in the Lithium batteries. I originally ran AGM's for about 4 years and toasted them due to lack of absorb time... go straight to liFpo4 to avoid this issue.
Daly BMS's wee problematic at first, recent updates to software and the actual BMS's have solved these issues for me, YMMV

I am affiliated with no one sales wise, so other than my system works well for me I can say nothing else.

I advise to not pay someone to do this for you. Why? If you do not understand the system yourself you will have no clue on if they did an actual solid job on the install and equipment selection. at least hand out here long enough to come to grips with the equipment so you can trouble shoot yourself in the future. Maybe pay someone for the actual grunt labor but sit down study and design the system yourself.

Sounds like you have most of the awareness already. Perhaps take an electrician’s online course. Call an electrician to double check the AC side before you flip the switch. You could get labor to do what you point at, like dig a ditch from here to there or dig that hole for a ground mount in this X. Don’t rule out some suppliers due to growing pains. I’ve bought from Sig and never had problems working with them. A friend is an installer and loves Schneider because he knows the setup but I hear him complaining that every time he goes to make an adjustment at a clients the system wants to do an update and waste his time and if he contacts the company they want to verify that he’s an authorized installer before he can talk to a human. A lot of whatever you buy or who you buy from will be luck. Sig got overwhelmed with a bad voltronic shipment and nowhere near enough trained staff to put out the fires. I’m really hoping that this new 18k unit will have few easy to fix (remotely ?) bugs. All new units from every brand have bugs.

 

[Daddy Tanuki]

Schneider does not make an AIO. They do sell inverter chargers, it is their SW line. Depending on power needs they can be stacked. You have to add in the MPPT SCC (solar charge controller) plus control equipment. Victron is much the same except they do have a few AIO's for the European market. Victron tend to focus on the mobile/marine market but many off gridders also like their Eco system concept with many components designed to work together.

Hybrid often means a grid tie versus the off grid only AIO. Off grid AIO's are not entirely off grid since they use grid in the same manner as a UPS does with preferred power and switch power to alternate source. It can be confusing until you catch onto all the terms and modes of operation of these devices.

yep I started this journey about 12 years ago with my camper and then graduated to my house. AIO's were not a thing yet. best thing with a distributed system is I can swap out any of the electronics fairly quickly. I have not needd to do that since the aforementioned lightening strike but its nice to know I have the ability to and the spare parts to in an offgrid system. with an AIO you would need at least two and hopefully three identical units. a million ways to skin that particular cat.

 

[Skypower]

Schneider does not make an AIO. They do sell inverter chargers, it is their SW line. Depending on power needs they can be stacked. You have to add in the MPPT SCC (solar charge controller) plus control equipment. Victron is much the same except they do have a few AIO's for the European market. Victron tend to focus on the mobile/marine market but many off gridders also like their Eco system concept with many components designed to work together.

Hybrid often means a grid tie versus the off grid only AIO. Off grid AIO's are not entirely off grid since they use grid in the same manner as a UPS does with preferred power and switch power to alternate source. It can be confusing until you catch onto all the terms and modes of operation of these devices.

I like AIO because it’s cleaner and internally self interactive and you don’t need to tell it to talk to another part. Modular is nice that you just have to replace the parts that went bad or you can just add more modules for that need. Some of those modules are almost as expensive as an AIO. Choice choices.

 

[S610]

Schneider does not make an AIO. They do sell inverter chargers, it is their SW line. Depending on power needs they can be stacked. You have to add in the MPPT SCC (solar charge controller) plus control equipment. Victron is much the same except they do have a few AIO's for the European market. Victron tend to focus on the mobile/marine market but many off gridders also like their Eco system concept with many components designed to work together.

Hybrid often means a grid tie versus the off grid only AIO. Off grid AIO's are not entirely off grid since they use grid in the same manner as a UPS does with preferred power and switch power to alternate source. It can be confusing until you catch onto all the terms and modes of operation of these devices.

Yes. Very confusing. I figured more parts were needed but thought this looked like a hybrid inverter.

5.5kW Schneider Conext XW+ Hybrid Inverter Battery Charger 120/240V

The Conext XW+ 5548-NA hybrid inverter charger (865-5548-01) by Schneider Electric is a 5.5 kW (5500 watt) single-phase and three-phase inverter charger system with grid-tie functionality and dual AC power inputs. Adaptable and scalable, the Schneider Electric Conext XW+ system is the one...

sunwatts.com

 

[Mattb4]

It is. Just needs a MPPT SCC to get power from PV.

An AIO has MPPT, ATS, inverter, charger, and come in off grid and grid tie arrangements in one box. Many have programmable interfaces for setting parameters as well as direct readout of conditions and also many have remote monitoring plus battery communication.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

am going to buy a turn-key system and have it professionally installed (so any liability issues will fall on the vendor/s)

I myself am sorta ‘skilled’ but at 57 years old I’m a bit sick of doing everything myself. I have this attitude about not paying for stuff I can easily do that’s much stronger than my sickofit factor.
But most of the reason I DIY is to make sure it’s done safely and correctly with the ancillary benefits of being able to diagnose and fix any problems myself.

If you pay for an install you won’t have a good handle on repairs, and pay for every bit of service work down the road.

 

[cs1234]

If you pay for an install you won’t have a good handle on repairs, and pay for every bit of service work down the road.

You can just be that guy that stands there and looks over their shoulder the whole time. ?

 

[S610]

You can just be that guy that stands there and looks over their shoulder the whole time. ?

Actually that is the plan! In fact I will probably record the vital bits in case I do have to replace a failed part. The installer won't like it but we can work something out.

This house is being built from the ground up in a tiny Southern town 200 miles from where I live now. I am a retirement aged female with NO construction/electrical experience! The builders already think I'm an odd/eccentric for wanting an off-grid passive cooled house; if I threw in "Oh by the way...I'm going to install part of the solar myself" I would never get a decent GC or electrician to take on the rest of the job!

In fact if they agreed to let someone like me do it they obviously have very poor judgement and I wouldn't trust them to build a quality house.

 

[cs1234]

Nothing wrong with being odd/eccentric. Celebrate your wild self.

 

[SamDeleted]

Nothing wrong with being odd/eccentric. Celebrate your wild self.

Hey don't you go all brokeback mountain on us ...

 

[cs1234]

Hey don't you go all brokeback mountain on us ...

I've never seen the movie, is that a line in it? If so, those are good words to live by.

 

[SamDeleted]

I've never seen the movie, is that a line in it? If so, those are good words to live by.

Haha you got that right , it's always good advice..

 

[timselectric]

I know the helpful members here would also offer input but there will probably be a lot of conflicting advice.

No, there won't.
Yes, there will.
Ok, maybe you're right.

 

[OzSolar]

No, there won't.
Yes, there will.
Ok, maybe you're right.

Yes, maybe, I don't know....