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diy solar

Hybrid ground mount misc questions- pictures included

solarnewbie2024

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Joined
Nov 15, 2024
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3
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United States
Hello all,

I am a beginner (and this is my first post so please be easy on me) in the process of researching and planning my first DIY residential setup. I am looking to do a hybrid setup with a tentative selection of some components as listed below:

-EG4 12kpv hybrid inverter
-Ground mount array ~10-12kw
-Ground mount hardware: Integrarack IR30 with anchorspikes (possibly interested in powerrack ballasted due to portability/simplicity but I know panel selection is limited due to width restrictions)
-Panels: Hyperion 395W Bifacial panels
-Likely grid interconnection with net metering, likely planning to add battery onto the system in the future. I will explain the 'likely' choice of words below.

I will be submitting my information to Greenlancer for system plans/permitting. I live in rural central VA, my utility is REC. My AHJ would be Hanover County, VA.

I am planning (after the research phase and permitting etc) to do the ground mount, solar panel setup, trenching and conduit etc myself and have electrician do the wiring to my panel etc.

I have several photographs attached of my main panel, utility disconnect, aerial photograph with rough outlines of locations. I am wondering if a typical line-side with a breaker into the panel would be ok. I have looked at available breaker slots, the panel rating as it pertains to the 120% rule and general code-compliance/safety. The house is very old, has had work and repairs done by many people before me. I can't seem to find anything that clearly tells me the busbar rating of my panel. The enclosure label says one thing, the label on the interior says another (the interior is likely closer to accurate). Any feedback or helpful observations would be appreciated. Also in case pictures didn't already say, there is a generac installed for backup power.

Should I just submit all of this info (but more detailed of course) to Greenlancer and wait to see what their plan-set/permitting says? Then submit to AHJ, and if corrections are needed then resend to Greenlancer for revisions? Repeat until approval is gained, then proceed from there? I would like to keep any major "surprises to a minimum- i.e "oh looks like you all of a sudden need ______ to make this work (like a main panel upgrade, or something unforseen that would add thousands onto the cost. My hope is that I can complete the project while staying within a budget range of roughly $10-12k. Battery backup may be added in the future. For now, just want to reduce my electric bill/save $ longterm, with option to be energy "independent" later on. I have been looking through the EG4 12kpv wiring diagrams and realize there is much still to research.

I realize I may be asking silly or possibly redundant questions, but I have been researching this project so much that I think I have briefly fried my brain! I welcome your feedback, thoughts, or follow up questions for clarification.

Cheers!





PXL_20241115_231241756.MP.jpgPXL_20241115_231516570.MP.jpgutility disconnect pic.jpgelectrical panel interior label.jpgproject satellite diagram.png
 
Hello all,

I am a beginner (and this is my first post so please be easy on me) in the process of researching and planning my first DIY residential setup. I am looking to do a hybrid setup with a tentative selection of some components as listed below:

-EG4 12kpv hybrid inverter
-Ground mount array ~10-12kw
-Ground mount hardware: Integrarack IR30 with anchorspikes (possibly interested in powerrack ballasted due to portability/simplicity but I know panel selection is limited due to width restrictions)
-Panels: Hyperion 395W Bifacial panels
-Likely grid interconnection with net metering, likely planning to add battery onto the system in the future. I will explain the 'likely' choice of words below.

I will be submitting my information to Greenlancer for system plans/permitting. I live in rural central VA, my utility is REC. My AHJ would be Hanover County, VA.

I am planning (after the research phase and permitting etc) to do the ground mount, solar panel setup, trenching and conduit etc myself and have electrician do the wiring to my panel etc.

I have several photographs attached of my main panel, utility disconnect, aerial photograph with rough outlines of locations. I am wondering if a typical line-side with a breaker into the panel would be ok. I have looked at available breaker slots, the panel rating as it pertains to the 120% rule and general code-compliance/safety. The house is very old, has had work and repairs done by many people before me. I can't seem to find anything that clearly tells me the busbar rating of my panel. The enclosure label says one thing, the label on the interior says another (the interior is likely closer to accurate). Any feedback or helpful observations would be appreciated. Also in case pictures didn't already say, there is a generac installed for backup power.

Should I just submit all of this info (but more detailed of course) to Greenlancer and wait to see what their plan-set/permitting says? Then submit to AHJ, and if corrections are needed then resend to Greenlancer for revisions? Repeat until approval is gained, then proceed from there? I would like to keep any major "surprises to a minimum- i.e "oh looks like you all of a sudden need ______ to make this work (like a main panel upgrade, or something unforseen that would add thousands onto the cost. My hope is that I can complete the project while staying within a budget range of roughly $10-12k. Battery backup may be added in the future. For now, just want to reduce my electric bill/save $ longterm, with option to be energy "independent" later on. I have been looking through the EG4 12kpv wiring diagrams and realize there is much still to research.

I realize I may be asking silly or possibly redundant questions, but I have been researching this project so much that I think I have briefly fried my brain! I welcome your feedback, thoughts, or follow up questions for clarification.

Cheers!





View attachment 256220View attachment 256221View attachment 256222View attachment 256226View attachment 256227
Seems like I have spent hundreds of hours looking at ground mounting systems. The result, I'm going with Sinclair. The only downside with Sinclair is freight costs. Luckily, I am combining two orders (one 24 panel & one 20 panel) into one common delivery which cut the freight in half. Cost is about $.35 per watt plus engineering and freight.
 
Is down south? One issue with both locations is the string won't produce until the sun gets out from behind those trees. I suggest to get an idea you examine the location(s) during early morning (for one location) and mid-afternoon (for the other location) and see how late it takes the sun to get around the trees.
 
Is down south? One issue with both locations is the string won't produce until the sun gets out from behind those trees. I suggest to get an idea you examine the location(s) during early morning (for one location) and mid-afternoon (for the other location) and see how late it takes the sun to get around the trees.
Yes. You are correct as well regarding shading. The area to the right gets sun from morning until afternoon. But its a much steeper slope which may require leveling. The area to the left gets sun from late morning until evening. That area is a bit more level, and would likely be easier to work with.
 
By now you might be well along in your project, but if not-

I DIY'd my ground mount, in hind sight had I known what Sinclair systems cost (WAY less than many others) I would have totally gone that route, if you are over ~25 panels it will probably cost you less than Integra, definitely install quicker. Sinclair didnt want to just build a good ground mount - they were thinking about the owner. They engineer for max flexibility, minimum complexity, minimum price, and fastest installation. They are seasonal tilt adjustable, they offer a "portable" ballast mount option, and once you install the mount you're ready for panels, no expensive rails needed (unlike Ironridge). The Sinclair keeps your panels off the ground and out of the weeds, and can be tilted to shed snow.

I suggest putting in the biggest panel you can get a good price on, N-Type if you can find a unicorn. Word is Bluesunpv might be stocking N-Types in their Cali warehouse. N-Type is ~5 year old tech, you are looking at PERC tech which is ~15 years ago. A bigger panel will come up to production threshold sooner. I used Jinko 620W bifacials (too new to pass inspection), 20x south facing panels produce ~500w 20 minutes before sunrise, 1KW at sunrise, 5KW 1 hour later, 10KW 3 hours after sunrise, peak at 14KW ~noon. Bigger panels also = less nuts and bolts, less ground connections, less work, etc.

You might look at NHX 12kw inverter (12k is the load capacity, not solar capacity like eg4 labels) from Watts247 (he's closer to you) or Midnight MN15-12kw (basically same unit some beefed up components). NHX also has 8-10kw models, but they dont have 200amp by-pass. EG4 is not horrible, but they had some growing pains.

I keep hearing mention of batteries - is this a *rare* off-grid emergency scenario? You would need to rate the feed in breaker for what you would need to service off battery, AHJ typically wont pass this scenario as a load side feed in breaker, unless you have a small critical loads panel that is backed up off-grid.

If it is more like a *frequent* off-grid scenario and you need to run the majority of your circuits, you really need the inverter to be the boss, the meter main would come in to the inverters "grid in" terminal (main breaker between meter/inverter), and inverter AC-Out passes on to your main breaker panel, inverter is then a proper battery backup. Hybrid inverters are different than normal grid-tied, they have an automatic transfer switch inside to satisfy AHJ safety requirements that dont allow your backup to push voltage over the grid when it's down. One thing you should consider in this situation is a manual transfer switch in case you ever need to service the solar system you can by-pass the solar and run on grid. Look at the EG4 wiring diagrams so you know how that works (regardless of which inverter you use).

This scenario is what I did, kind of the reverse of scenario 1 with small critical loads panel, I have a 4 breaker/8circuit meter/main breaker panel combo, nothing is connected there, I used the pass-through lugs on that panel to connect to my inverter:
1736041921654.png


The Midnite Inverter has a critical loads panel built in, it has 3 sets of 240v programmable breakers, and 3 more sets of non-programmable, you could run up to 12x 120v circuits there. The programmable circuits can be switched on/off at certain battery levels (load shedding). These features need to be considered in it's cost as you might think it expensive, but if you end up needing another panel this is valuable.

If you do batteries, dont buy little 5KW units, the tiny cells in there are easily overworked and you will often find toasted 5kw packs on batteryhookup. A ~15kw pack made of LF280K cells can peak amperage at 2x the capacity - but you dont want to size a system based on peak cell ability, with a rated 8000 cycle lifetime ONLY AT 1/2 amperage of the capacity (this is what you size based on). 5KW packs have 90AH cells, so they prefer to be at 45amps current to get advertised lifetime, I peak almost 200 amps on a daily basis, so I have 2x 15KW packs that should hopefully last many years. Is an EV possible in the next decade? I want to be able to easily expand my batteries, EG4 I believe maxes out at 6x 5KW packs, and keep in mind all these packs means more wires ($$), more possible unbalancing, more headache. (try for a bigger pack).
 
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