diy solar

diy solar

New from south east Texas. Newbie of a newbie So i am here to learn and pay attention.. Planning on putting in a system near in the future.

Sotheos

New Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2021
Messages
8
New from south east Texas. Newbie of a newbie So i am here to learn and pay attention.. Planning on putting in a system near in the future.
 
W h e r e in S E TexaS?

I literally just burned my ETBC/ETBU and Southwood year book less than an hour ago!

Allll that used to be my rompin ground.
 
Since I am new. Thats why I am here to learn. At this moment I was thinking of more of a a backup system for power outages. But I forgot to pput my mask on and caught the 'SOLAR BUG". Now my imagination has gone wild. I have to real it back in and really decide what to do and layout a plan.
 
Welcome! What kind of a system? On your house, boat, van, RV? Off grid, or grid tie?

Since I am new. Thats why I am here to learn. At this moment I was thinking of more of a a backup system for power outages. But I forgot to pput my mask on and caught the 'SOLAR BUG". Now my imagination has gone wild. I have to real it back in and really decide what to do and layout a plan. Off grid. mostly portable. I have seen a few on youtube that have caught my eye.
Already have a Growatt. But I am putting on the brakes.
 
Already have a Growatt. But I am putting on the brakes.
The first thing you need to do is determine how much power you expect to get from your system. There are a couple energy audit links in my signature. Basically figuring how many watt hours you need your system to produce everyday. From there we can work out how much battery you need to store the power and how much solar array you need to recharge the batteries (and power things) each day.

Buying first and then planning can be expensive.
 
So we use about 4.1kw per hour at my house. My plan is not t try and replace all of that. I am more looking to be able to maintain during a outage. I have worked that out to be between 8 - 10 kw at a minimum. I know its not a lot, but thats my starting point. Using excel I have worked out formulas to show panels, batteries and such. I have been looking at inverters, panels and batteries. If i gave specs and such would someone give me some opinions? As I said earlier I have a Growatt and put on the brakes there so maybe with help I can inch along and really learn but fore I do something stupid.
 
So we use about 4.1kw per hour at my house. My plan is not t try and replace all of that. I am more looking to be able to maintain during a outage. I have worked that out to be between 8 - 10 kw at a minimum. I know its not a lot, but thats my starting point. Using excel I have worked out formulas to show panels, batteries and such. I have been looking at inverters, panels and batteries. If i gave specs and such would someone give me some opinions? As I said earlier I have a Growatt and put on the brakes there so maybe with help I can inch along and really learn but fore I do something stupid.

I am assuming the Growatt 24v 3K unit?

2kw of panels (I am running 9x250w), 400ah of usable battery storage (500ah LiFePo, 800ah Lead) will get you close to the 8-10kwh goal. Add a small generator and you can keep that going as long as you have fuel and/or sun.
 
I actually bought a Growatt 48v 3k unit. I am looking at Bigbattery.com for 2 maybe 3 of the 5kwh huskies for storage. However I am also thinking about getting the cells and building the battery as it will be cheaper. I know the Growatt 48v 3k unit says max PV input wattage is 4500KW, So I plan to get as close to that as possible. That is the major parts. getting down to the fuses and shunts, breakers will take me a little more time. I want to get all the major thing then I will be more aware of what the actual amps will be. and Thank ahead of time for taking interest.
 
I would figure out your battery size and power usage first. I am all for over paneling (the more the merrier!) but there is a cost (even if it is very low for used panels). Otherwise you end up in the situation I am in where I have 10kwh of production feeding a 5w LED night light... :p
 
New from south east Texas. Newbie of a newbie So i am here to learn and pay attention.. Planning on putting in a system near in the future.
Sounds like we're in the same boat. Up here in Cass County we get quite regular outages. I have some medical necessities in the house and already have a auto on generator and with the cost of propane, well, I'm exploring all avenues of continued service
 
Back
Top