And here all those years I thought it must be just the ones that left and still came to a cold(er) climate like Minnesota.
I feel superior to them now (well I actually always did) that I’m moving to a warmer climate, finally.
My 44kW vertical and bifacial set in Finland.
- Thread starter shadowmaker
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I feel superior to them now (well I actually always did) that I’m moving to a warmer climate, finally.
I can't stand hot climates - anything above 23C is too much for me. I lived in Texas for some years, I've had enough of that heat. The cold is much easier to deal with, and you can actually get things done without sweating to death. Nothing beats getting snowed in, going for hikes on the frozen sea/lake, the obligatory dip in the ice hole after sauna, and enjoying some hot coffee next to a fireplace while there is a snowstorm raging outside.
houseofancients
Solar Wizard
Well...
Lived in Florida untill mid twenties, too humid but warm.
Netherlands, still wet but also colder at times
I think I should move to the canary islands
Amen. My wife and I were just laughing that while we enjoy summer, we're ready for cooler temps now, and we haven't even seen 90F (32F) for a single day this year, unlike the rest of the US. It's August, and forecast low in a couple of days is 48F (9C) and we're both smiling. One of my best memories of last winter was walking outside the sauna when it was -17F (-8C) with a 20mph (32kph) breeze coming off the lake. Man, that felt great (for about a minute, but that just gave us a good reason to go back into the sauna!).
The only season I don't enjoy is mud season, but that only lasts for about four weeks, and we're heading to the Virgin Islands for part of that.
AlaskanNoob
Solar Enthusiast
- Joined
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- 972
Concur. I'll go with the cooler weather. Our location has never seen 80F, hottest we get is in the 70s. Coldest is maybe -10F. I'll take it.
And digging a root cellar or going underground is a great way to equalize. 55F or so year round is God's climate control.
shadowmaker
Solar Addict
Yesterday I managed to brick one of my batteries while trying to update. Second to last battery went mute and I wasn't able to do anything about it. Chinese seller told to try updating again, but couldn't get any connection to it. I still managed to update the last battery with no problems whatsoever, so I was certain that my BMS has fried. Today I tried many things but lastly connected with another RS485/USB dongle and it worked. Now they are all updated and capable to have actual closed loop communication with Deye inverters. Also balancer wasn't working by default, so needed to turn it on.
It seems today is going to be worst production day so far. It has been raining heavily the whole day with dark clouds and not even a peak of sunshine. Predicting only 20-22kWh today.?
It seems today is going to be worst production day so far. It has been raining heavily the whole day with dark clouds and not even a peak of sunshine. Predicting only 20-22kWh today.?
shadowmaker
Solar Addict
You know what they say about big arrays? Big array, small ........... electric bill.
Connected AC coupling today and it seems to work now. Used two ATSs in manual mode so I can switch back to how it was if needed for some reason.
Maybe now I can finally tidy up the place.
shadowmaker
Solar Addict
August yield was only 4,1MWh, PVWatts predicted 5,1MWh. Raining, raining and raining and it seems to continue. Farmers will love this summer: first it was too dry to get anything to grow and now when you need to harvest the little that came through, you need a boat.
Yeah, it's crazy here right now. Not seen so much rain in one go in a long time...
shadowmaker
Solar Addict
Finally some sunny days. I expected AC coupling to completely bypass Deye when that enegy isn't needed (thus sold to grid), but it seems that when my batts are full Deye can only convert 13,6kW from PV + AC coupling combined. That sucks, but on the other hand it seems that when one Deye has charged its batt full it is somehow able to backfeed the other one still charging via LOAD port (which is closed by ATS at the main panel but still both Deyes are connected to each other through it). Never expected that to happen.
shadowmaker
Solar Addict
Nothing that important to tell as I have been building a gym next to my solar corner. Also insulated the only remaining ~4m2 part of walls (out of ~200m2) with 70mm polyurethane sheets, so winter can come. This old stable building is quite energy efficient now. The building, gym or my "Solar corner" aren't made to be pretty, but they should serve a purpose. This is mainly as I am stingy as hell...
I'll post pics later.3,3MWh in September (3,7MWh predicted by PVWatts). Rain and rain again...
Also it seems one of my super cheap 10kWh rack battery has a bad cell. They are sending a replacement cell for free and I told them to be able to make the change myself. Let's see how that goes...
shadowmaker
Solar Addict
Gym is slowly getting ready. Of course all the equipment were free from a gym that I have been using for at least a decade (for free BTW ) and are technically in great shape although some paddings need a little TLC. Wife can take care of that.
Only needed some floor levelling cement and white paint. Thick plastic mat was also free, so almost nothing but some work needed.
After I get everything ready here, it's time to tidy up my "solar corner" which is located next to the gym. Also I might install my 2kW vertical wind turbine before winter freezes the ground. Even though I'm pretty sure how useless it will be, but ATM it produces absolutely nothing sitting in one of my sheds.
) and are technically in great shape although some paddings need a little TLC. Wife can take care of that.Only needed some floor levelling cement and white paint. Thick plastic mat was also free, so almost nothing but some work needed.
After I get everything ready here, it's time to tidy up my "solar corner" which is located next to the gym. Also I might install my 2kW vertical wind turbine before winter freezes the ground. Even though I'm pretty sure how useless it will be, but ATM it produces absolutely nothing sitting in one of my sheds.
Solarcabin Channel
Solar Addict
Cool! I want to try bifacials on a post mount I designed.
Use white rock under the panels in summer and snow should do the job in winter.
Are you getting respectable watts out of those panels?
Use white rock under the panels in summer and snow should do the job in winter.
Are you getting respectable watts out of those panels?
DougfromdaUP
Solar Enthusiast
Try reading some of the posts in this thread, Shadowmaker has posted lots of numbers.
For example, posts 238,234, and 231
Solarcabin Channel
Solar Addict
Or I could just ask the OP while pushing his post back up top to get attention.
shadowmaker
Solar Addict
I just answered the same question here in another topic:
I already know how big difference snow makes when using bifacials, but haven't really found anything cheap and durable enough to make ground white in summer. White rocks are really expensive here and crushed cement waste isn't that white when it gets wet. I mean, I don't need white surroundings when sun is shining, but I really do when it's shi**y out there.
Few days back we got a mild storm here cutting some trees and raining for the whole day. Daily yield was 3kWh out of 44,1kWp system. That's just sad... On the other hand my array is still standing tall.
Move further north.
shadowmaker
Solar Addict
No need, it has been snowing the whole day...
shadowmaker
Solar Addict
October yield was 2,0MWh, while PVWatts predicted 2,2MWh. Got also a perfect solar day (I think that was my first ever) last week. No snow on the ground at that day (now we have 5cm maybe). Even with perfect day yield was only 160kWh. Days are getting shorter and from now on PVWatts predicts only ~0,5MWh/month for three months, so things are going to really suck production wise.
I'm considering to buy an old diesel generator. I mean 50 years old, but with low operating hours. It's also big and robust with 46kW rating, so kind of an overkill, but it is cheap and I have a warm place for it near my "solar corner". I'm not planning to go off-grid, but at this time of year my batts are almost always empty, so with this one I could get through blackouts. I'm not going to install it until next summer, but I need to get it now as I haven't seen this good deals for a long time. It is also domestic made, so I have a lot of faith in it, maybe too much. At least it doesn't have any plastic parts on it.
I'm considering to buy an old diesel generator. I mean 50 years old, but with low operating hours. It's also big and robust with 46kW rating, so kind of an overkill, but it is cheap and I have a warm place for it near my "solar corner". I'm not planning to go off-grid, but at this time of year my batts are almost always empty, so with this one I could get through blackouts. I'm not going to install it until next summer, but I need to get it now as I haven't seen this good deals for a long time. It is also domestic made, so I have a lot of faith in it, maybe too much. At least it doesn't have any plastic parts on it.
shadowmaker
Solar Addict
Few minutes before sunset. 5cm of snow and dino eggs. Wish we could see sun more often though, only once or with good luck twice in a week this time of year. Usually behind clouds even then. Sad time for solar production.
Looking good! Yeah, the weather isn't very good to do anything right now. At least it was freezing up until last night... now it's just slush everywhere...
But beautiful. Looks much like our neck of the woods here in Maine, US, but you're really north. Hang in there. The sun will return...
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