diy solar

diy solar

Need help buying equipment

John91

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Joined
Mar 12, 2021
Messages
22
I’ll be quick as possible. I’m an idiot I live alone with my pets in a 1300 sqft house in San Diego California. I can build stuff I can put together things I have some tools that part is not the problem it’s the part using your brain that’s the problem for me.
I really don’t use much of my house except for the heater and air conditioner in the summer and tv at night.
All I’m trying to do is reduce my monthly bill and still be able to heat up my house or cool it down. If I could be off the grid that be great but I don’t think I can afford that option. Plus I have no idea how to do the permits and all the other stuff regarding paperwork I tried understand what I read and saw I can’t.
Could you please help me figure out what to buy from wherever and maybe help me understand how to install again I can do the laborious stuff building and putting together stuff no problem but with electrical and technical I’m not good at.
I already bought a Trina 275 W solar panel which is on his way and can’t be canceled because I have to pay for shipping back Which will basically cost the same as the panel. And I have 20ft solar cables and a outlet smart thing which I could send back but it’s not that big of a cost so I’ll keep that if I have to, apparently it shows you your usage.
I would say my budget is 1-3000 max. Would rather it be max of 1400
Thank you for any help I can get. If you have a real plan for me please email it if you could I much appreciate it.
jOhn
ovirt@hushmail.com
 
Best way to go might be grid-tie net metering. That does involve a permit and inspection. Permits for rooftop PV are expedited an fairly economical in California.

I can make a grid-tie system of 3000W peak for about $3000 (but more difficult at that capacity/price point using latest equipment required by code.) That would generate 15kWh/day (compare to your utility bill.) I think it would take 2.5 years to break even compared to paying utility bills.

But one problem with grid tie is the utility company will make you change to a different rate schedule, which could actually cause your bill to increase.

Avoiding permits, one way to go is "zero export", grid-tie PV that reduces PV output to not exceed your household load. Some inverters offer that (with current sensors clamped around wires feeding the house.)

Something else I might do because I'm clever is connect a grid-tie system to the AC wires going to air conditioning compressor. If A/C turns on and runs a long time, the grid-tie system would power it (PV sized to not exceed the load.) That would be my dumb zero-export solution.

Selecting an inverter that supports "zero export" is probably best. But I don't know which model to recommend, especially for a budget version.
 
I’ll be quick as possible. I’m an idiot I live alone with my pets in a 1300 sqft house in San Diego California. I can build stuff I can put together things I have some tools that part is not the problem it’s the part using your brain that’s the problem for me.
I really don’t use much of my house except for the heater and air conditioner in the summer and tv at night.
All I’m trying to do is reduce my monthly bill and still be able to heat up my house or cool it down. If I could be off the grid that be great but I don’t think I can afford that option. Plus I have no idea how to do the permits and all the other stuff regarding paperwork I tried understand what I read and saw I can’t.
Could you please help me figure out what to buy from wherever and maybe help me understand how to install again I can do the laborious stuff building and putting together stuff no problem but with electrical and technical I’m not good at.
I already bought a Trina 275 W solar panel which is on his way and can’t be canceled because I have to pay for shipping back Which will basically cost the same as the panel. And I have 20ft solar cables and a outlet smart thing which I could send back but it’s not that big of a cost so I’ll keep that if I have to, apparently it shows you your usage.
I would say my budget is 1-3000 max. Would rather it be max of 1400
Thank you for any help I can get. If you have a real plan for me please email it if you could I much appreciate it.
jOhn
ovirt@hushmail.com
I really appreciate that info. I actually understood 80% so I’m happy about that. From what I understand though there are two lines coming in amd one inverter with limiter would only “power” the one line. What I wasn’t clear on with regards to that was did I only need two inverters to
Bypass that problem? Let me ask you this...how much would I need to come up with to be off the grid and would that involve permits and inspections? You mentioned 3k still tied to grid would 4 or 5k solve my problems? Keep in mind it’s just me and my pets in this house. I work a lot not from home.
 
Here's a posting with link to a 1000W zero-export inverter (I have no experience with it.)


That would do zero export on a single phase out of two. But I think if both phases could be routed through the current clamp (in opposite directions), if they fit, then it would zero export on the sum of the two phases.
Assuming the clamp produces a voltage by means of current transformer and resistor, I think that connecting two clamps from two phases either in series or in parallel would also sense sum of power on two phases. (Depending on how wired, could multiply the reading, but zero would still be zero so should work.)

If you did a permitted grid-tie system, cost and requirements would be set by your permitting office and utility rules. I don't think it is excessive but for a relatively small system with DIY labor, could be a higher percentage than you want.

If that zero-export inverter for $0.286/W meets the need, and you bought panels for $0.25/watt, then $2000 for 4kW plus $1000 for mounting hardware and wiring, $3000 for a 4kW system could offset up to 20 kWh/day. (Only if you use it when you make it, because it doesn't export.)

You have to review your power bill, and guesstimate how much of your consumption is during the day.
You might shift some loads to daytime by putting them on a timer. Refrigerator? Water heater?
An electric water meant for 240V can be wired 120V so it draws 1/4 the power for 4x as long; maybe that matches production better.
 
Here's a posting with link to a 1000W zero-export inverter (I have no experience with it.)


That would do zero export on a single phase out of two. But I think if both phases could be routed through the current clamp (in opposite directions), if they fit, then it would zero export on the sum of the two phases.
Assuming the clamp produces a voltage by means of current transformer and resistor, I think that connecting two clamps from two phases either in series or in parallel would also sense sum of power on two phases. (Depending on how wired, could multiply the reading, but zero would still be zero so should work.)

If you did a permitted grid-tie system, cost and requirements would be set by your permitting office and utility rules. I don't think it is excessive but for a relatively small system with DIY labor, could be a higher percentage than you want.

If that zero-export inverter for $0.286/W meets the need, and you bought panels for $0.25/watt, then $2000 for 4kW plus $1000 for mounting hardware and wiring, $3000 for a 4kW system could offset up to 20 kWh/day. (Only if you use it when you make it, because it doesn't export.)

You have to review your power bill, and guesstimate how much of your consumption is during the day.
You might shift some loads to daytime by putting them on a timer. Refrigerator? Water heater?
An electric water meant for 240V can be wired 120V so it draws 1/4 the power for 4x as long; maybe that matches production better.
Is there an all in one kit I could buy to help simplify things?
 
Is there an all in one kit I could buy to help simplify things?

Alt Energy Store is one who sells them, and @SolarQueen on this forum works for them and designs DIY systems.


I think @ArthurEld had his Sol Ark system designed by them.
 
What's done is done, but the worst thing to do when buying a solar system is to buy some parts without knowing what you are building. It sounds like you have an older solar panel on the way. That'll make about 1kWh a day. That will not make much of a difference in your power usage, maybe just offset the power your fridge uses. You can get an Enphase microinverter to convert it to 240VAC to connect to your main breaker box. But the cost of permitting, wiring, maybe even hiring an electrician may eat up the $0.25 a day you are saving with the single panel.

Since the panel is already on it's way, perhaps call our sister store, Real Goods, in CA and brainstorm with them about what you can do with it. They can put together a complete package with the rest of the equipment needed.
 
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