diy solar

diy solar

New system pros and cons

Which company would you go with for inverter?

  • Lion Energy (USA company)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Schneider Electric

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • EG4

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • SMA

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • SolArk

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    1
  • Poll closed .
You should probably start with an energy audit.
This. Always best to first moderate energy use than to be an 'overconsumer.'

also: the cost of natural gas this past winter drove me to looking for alternatives....heat pumps etc... led me to moving forward on getting as much 'off grid' as possible...still on that journey...building towards it.
 
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I believe Lion used to sell the deye inverter that is now solely sold as sol-ark.

Regarding your hot water issue, get a 80gal heat pump water heater and a marathon storage tank if you need extra capacity.

Or get a small air source hp from Nordic/Arctic or another air to water company and use that. You'll be way way ahead energy wise.
 
Are you trying to take your house off grid entirely or just reduce your electric bill?
Your initial questions and details suggest you are asking an awful lot of solar power to take your house off grid, yes it could be done but it will cost you an absolute fortune even DIY. Also how friendly is your local planning department towards this stuff?
 
What if...
You got another propane tank ? When one empties,switch,start dealing with poor service to fill ?
Oh yeah,forgot,can't you "train" your teenage sons to not only,not take showers at the same time,but also wait a ...? Half hour?,for system to recover.
 
Are you trying to take your house off grid entirely or just reduce your electric bill?
Your initial questions and details suggest you are asking an awful lot of solar power to take your house off grid, yes it could be done but it will cost you an absolute fortune even DIY. Also how friendly is your local planning department towards this stuff?
Thank you for asking. I am not looking at full off grid. My house is older and correcting to bringing it to better its insulation is far more expensive than doing the solar option as prices drop. My area is never friendly to any permits. I have done as much as possible with windows and insulation. I am slab on grade but the slab is 3 inches poured in 1956. It is stable but a huge thermal transfer. Opening the walls to add a foam board would require bringing everything up to code. Much easier to over produce than bring to new code. The Victron has 10,000 kva while lion has more than that so more inverters on buying victron. I am looking at options to get the most for my money and a nice shop for myself.
 
Thank you for asking. I am not looking at full off grid. My house is older and correcting to bringing it to better its insulation is far more expensive than doing the solar option as prices drop. My area is never friendly to any permits. I have done as much as possible with windows and insulation. I am slab on grade but the slab is 3 inches poured in 1956. It is stable but a huge thermal transfer. Opening the walls to add a foam board would require bringing everything up to code. Much easier to over produce than bring to new code. The Victron has 10,000 kva while lion has more than that so more inverters on buying victron. I am looking at options to get the most for my money and a nice shop for myself.
Another method to impr9ve insulation with slab is have the perimeter dug out and foam the outer foot .
 
Another method to impr9ve insulation with slab is have the perimeter dug out and foam the outer foot .
Unfortunately, my home was built on a pad. Although very stable, digging would require certification of the compaction and soil type. I wanted to add 2 inch foam then stucco on the outside. I also wanted to do a perimeter cement walk with foam barrier to prevent exterior temps from penetrating the slab. The new codes because I live in the national forest boundaries require so much that a full rebuild would cost the same. Going excessive solar is 1/3 the cost and if I rebuild can be transferred to new building.
 
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