My +3.2kw portable array system... Solar Trailer

[TOU47]

$44k just to hook up power? That's insane. You must be in a remote location for a Poco to charge you that much.

Yes that is correct...no rural subsidies like there used to be. Regarding remote..yes & no. I'm 25 miles out from Cortez Colorado but most have power. (Their used to be rural subsidies.)The last house on the line, is only 800' up an established road from where they would place it. BTW that $44k was just to get it to the tip of my property...it's then 900' more up to where we are building our home. It's then my responsibility to wire & bury it etc. that 900' but they will inspect before turning it on. More money.

So you can see why I immediately could easily cost justify the investment to go off-grid...no amortization needed. Especially, since I already had panels & planned on net zero solar. I needed inverters anyway. Realistically, the only added cost is storage & maybe an eventual diesel backup generator. (I have a Yamaha clone 2,200w gas inverter generator, a Champion 7,800w dual fuel & an old Mitsubishi 3,500w gas for now.)

Sounds like you have quite a bit of battery backup already, plus you already have all those panels. So I guess you're having a house built then? Pretty cool to be off grid.

Yes, I think pretty solid on storage...for now. It was rough at times this winter only on 12V before I got my solar room insulated, built & running.

Yes, I think it is & will be nice to have no more electric bills. Funny story... this winter someone asked me how I was doing without power for 2-3 days. I asked them what they were talking about? Apparently a semi hit a power pole a few miles from us. I didn't have a clue. ?

A genny would make sense, for redundancy sake.

100%. Living off-grid is ALL about innovation AND having a backup for your backup. As noted, we have some but really want a +12kw diesel backup generator eventually. $$$$

Before I went on this solar trip about a year ago, I considered getting about a 5kW inverter generator, but didn't want to deal with the noise, fuel running out, fumes, etc, so I went with an Ecoflow solar generator instead.

The noise is the biggest deal breaker especially considering I moved away for peace, quiet & privacy. I LOVE the QUIET & reliable power of solar.

I find these Ecoflows & Bluetti's interesting but haven't researched or wanted to invest yet. Sounds like they are prefect for your needs.

I only noticed the hot spots on the panels yesterday as it was cloudy and not much glare on the array. They could've been there longer, but didn't notice. Kinda got me bummed out, I'm worried about my panels getting ruined,

That is so strange.

but maybe it's just a cosmetic thing.

I was wondering the same.

May have to reconsider my ground mount racking.

I have played with single tracking a bit & am a big fan seasonally...monthly if I get ambitious. However I just don't think dual tracking is worth the squeeze. That said, I'm convinced the data both official & petsonal anecdotal is right in that bifacials benefit greatly if the lowest point is above 3'... especially with snow. (White) Which is why, among a few other reasons, why I would never mount them on a roof.

Output doesn't seem to be an issue, but that's hard to determine definitely. I'm still investigating.

If output isn't an issue...maybe don't fix what isn't broken. ?

 

[Subdood]

Yes that is correct...no risk subsidies like there used to be. Regarding remote..yes & no. I'm 25 miles out from Cortez Colorado but most have power. (Their used to be rural subsidies.)The last house on the line, is only 800' up an established road from where they would place it. BTW that $44k was just to get it to the tip of my property...it's then 900' more up to where we are building our home. It's then my responsibility to wire & bury it etc. that 900' but they will inspect before turning it on. More money.

So you can see why I immediately could easily cost justify the investment to go off-grid...no amortization needed. Especially, since I already had panels & planned on net zero solar. I needed inverters anyway. Realistically, the only added cost is storage & maybe an eventual diesel backup generator. (I have a Yamaha clone 2,200w gas inverter generator, a Champion 7,800w dual fuel & an old Mitsubishi 3,500w gas for now.)

Yes, I think pretty solid on storage...for now. It was rough at times this winter only on 12V before I got my solar room insulated, built & running.

Yes, I think it is & will be nice to have no more electric bills. Funny story... this winter someone asked me how I was doing without power for 2-3 days. I asked them what they were talking about? Apparently a semi hit a power pole a few miles from us. I didn't have a clue. ?

100%. Living off-grid is ALL about innovation AND having a backup for your backup. As noted, we have some but really want a +12kw diesel backup generator eventually. $$$$

The noise is the biggest deal breaker especially considering I moved away for peace, quiet & privacy. I LOVE the QUIET & reliable power of solar.

I find these Ecoflows & Bluetti's interesting but haven't researched or wanted to invest yet. Sounds like they are prefect for your needs.

That is so strange.

I was wondering the same.

I have played with single tracking a bit & am a big fan seasonally...monthly if I get ambitious. However I just don't think dual tracking is worth the squeeze. That said, I'm convinced the data both official & petsonal anecdotal is right in that bifacials benefit greatly if the lowest point is above 3'... especially with snow. (White) Which is why, among a few other reasons, why I would never mount them on a roof.

If output isn't an issue...maybe don't fix what isn't broken. ?

Ok, makes sense $$ wise then to just be off grid where you're at. I've been in that part of CO before, specifically the area around Ouray, Silverton, Durango, very nice country. I imagine Cortez isn't quite as high up in the mtns but still rugged.

The Ecoflow is nice, but obviously can't run a lot, we got it just to keep a few lights on, modem, TV etc. The price per watt
(~$1/W) doesn't justify the cost tho. It only weighs about 20lb, so I take it down to the barn and use it to charge up the tractor or mower battery or run a small 12V compressor to air up the mower tires.

Might get a small inverter genny just for backup, but for now batteries are my next expenditure.

So far I'm out about $5k for a 3.6kw array plus the ground mount and a single 6500EX, so price per watt is kinda high actually, but would've cost much more to have it built. Plus I'm a tightwad and like figuring out stuff for myself. I'm an electronic technician, so I know a little about this stuff, but I had to learn a lot before I felt comfortable attempting anything.

Yeah the panels issue may not be a real problem, I'll check the panel voltage and current to see if there's anything odd, but maybe it's not as bad as I think it is.

My panels are on a side slope, so they have a lot of air under them, especially on the east end, where the top of the panel is over 6ft above the ground, so I have good space underneath the array. I didn't plan on it being that high, but to keep it level, it turned out that way.

 

[Hedges]

100%. Living off-grid is ALL about innovation AND having a backup for your backup. As noted, we have some but really want a +12kw diesel backup generator eventually. $$$$

The noise is the biggest deal breaker especially considering I moved away for peace, quiet & privacy. I LOVE the QUIET & reliable power of solar.

I would think smaller diesel or maybe propane generator, sized to deliver enough kWh during daylight with inverter carrying temporarily heavier loads, run off battery at night. Generator no larger than to comfortably deliver max (average?) charge current and average loads. This if inverter can supplement generator power as required.

To be backup for the backup, would have to manage loads if inverter was down and only have generator. But I think 12kW (100A at 120V or 50A at 240V) seems excessive.

 

[TOU47]

I've been in that part of CO before, specifically the area around Ouray, Silverton, Durango, very nice country. I imagine Cortez isn't quite as high up in the mtns but still rugged.

It's kinda deceiving at 6,850' which is higher than Durango but quite a bit less than Silverton & Ouray.

Thx for the info on the Eco. I bought the 2,200 inv/gen mainly for field use of the 4-wheeler etc. because it's lighter & compact. The other 2 are NOT even close.

Plus I'm a tightwad and like figuring out stuff for myself. I'm an electronic technician, so I know a little about this stuff, but I had to learn a lot before I felt comfortable attempting anything.

I'm willing to spend for quality to get what I need but not more than I have to. So far, I think the EG4 stuff is bang for the buck to me. That said ALL electrical is new to me & am learning on the fly.

 

[TOU47]

I would think smaller diesel or maybe propane generator, sized to deliver enough kWh during daylight with inverter carrying temporarily heavier loads, run off battery at night. Generator no larger than to comfortably deliver max (average?) charge current and average loads. This if inverter can supplement generator power as required.

Thank you, agreed...I do have a 7,800W dual fuel for backup for now but my experience with most larger gas & propane gens is while they are less expensive than diesel, they are usually louder can't handle running day in day out like diesels. The diesel is definitely down the road financially for sure & we'll see how it goes next winter.

To be backup for the backup, would have to manage loads if inverter was down and only have generator. But I think 12kW (100A at 120V or 50A at 240V) seems excessive.

It may be but over building isn't usually a bad thing. ?

 

[Subdood]

It's kinda deceiving at 6,850' which is higher than Durango but quite a bit less than Silverton & Ouray.

Thx for the info on the Eco. I bought the 2,200 inv/gen mainly for field use of the 4-wheeler etc. because it's lighter & compact. The other 2 are NOT even close.

I'm willing to spend for quality to get what I need but not more than I have to. So far, I think the EG4 stuff is bang for the buck to me. That said ALL electrical is new to me & am learning on the fly.

The Ecoflow we have (River Pro) cost $650, but that was back in January of last year, I think they sell for $550 now. Of course there's other more powerful models they sell, but like I said not really cheap $/watt, plus they're not something you'd want to use all the time. That's another reason I went with the EG4 6500.

I've switched just about all our 120V loads to it, but of course, it only runs them when we get adequate sun, otherwise it's on grid bypass/assist. Since I switched over stuff, we've generated about 190kWh in about two months on just the array alone. We've been running about 20kwh consumed a day for the last two months. It's already helped with the electric bills.

So are y'all like living in an RV while you get your house built? Do you already have a water source, or have to bring it in for now? I was wondering if if y'all don't get lots of precipitation considering it's kinda a high desert like location too. I imagine it gets plenty hot in the summer.

 

[TOU47]

So are y'all like living in an RV while you get your house built? Do you already have a water source, or have to bring it in for now? I was wondering if if y'all don't get lots of precipitation considering it's kinda a high desert like location too. I imagine it gets plenty hot in the summer.

Yes...a 35' couples style 5th wheel since last August full time. Saved a ton of money doing so... we'll sell it when done. We will be truly breaking ground next week. We are hoping to be functional & dried in by snow fall if all goes well.

Water...that is a long subject...this is Colorado. ? We are putting in a 3,500 gal cisten & will haul from culinary pumping station 4.5 miles away. Probably 50% of the homes in this area haul.

Wells are a joke at up to 850' with a 18-24 month waiting list for the privilege of paying upto $85k with no guarantee on function, sweet/sour, pressure, or how long they will last. I could hook up to culinary water from & to the same point as the power 800' from the end of the line... then again trench it another 900' to our home. But I think they have the same estimator as power as I was quoted $45k for that 800'. At a penny/ gal...I'll haul.

That said, I pay for high pressure irrigation 6 months of the year no matter what for my ranch...tied to the land. I can store about 2 months worth in my cistern. So we're looking into putting a high end filter system on the house & hookung it up. I can fill the cistern 100% in 3 trips. So, half day hauling & dumping 3-4 times a year...no big deal for the serious savings. I'm also digging & covering a 50k-60k gal stock cisten as well that will be filled by my irrigation water.

Regarding summer temps, surprisingly the average highs are in the high 80's... rarely in the 90's. The evenings are in the high 50's to low 60's. (High desert) We're not even adding AC at this point...but I'm also putting 3" of CCSF on walls & roof so we should be good. And of course, humidity is at a minimum. Could be worse... ?

 

[TOU47]

The front panels look lie the would block the panels behind them, unless the sun is directly overhead.

A seasonal correction is in order. You are correct, it definitely does right now part of the day no matter how I adjust them. The sun is just too low in the winter. Still works well but less power on the back for panels. I ended up throwing a four extras temporarily on another $300 trailer with $100 of wood. More than enough power even on most cloudy days.