maheshkk
New Member
Hi experts! I recently joined the forum and since then every day has been so much great learning!
I need advice and help on my setup questions before I make purchases. I live in Fremont, CA and some info sharing before my questions,
1. My house is small 3 bed house with total 1100sqft size. I dont have solar. Doesnt have AC and no duct work in attic (only wall furness)
2. Our electric prices are crazy (thanks to PGE) - 0.66c per kw elec (in summer and 0.44c kw in winter) and ~$2.5 per therm gas. I checked my electric bill, on avg, I only consume 15kw per day (450kw per month).
3. I am getting 4 single head mini split installed this week - total of 36k BTU heat pump system - I dont know how much more I will start consuming after this install
4. I also have tasla model 3 but I 99% of the time charge car at work
I would like to setup new solar DIY system at least possible $$ to cut my electric bill as much as possible at as least. Not worried about setting up solar for charging car at home AND not worried about power cuts. What I have so far,
1. Considering if I can also avoid pulling permits. If I dont, then off-grid (not planning to tie to grid)
2. I have 2 areas for panels (facing 100% south), top of ditched garage (11x21sqft) and install 12x16 sqft pergola with panels as roof IF needed
3. My main panel is 110amp (exterior wall) and 50amp sub-panel (in the garage), I would like to avoid upgrading panel to 200amp if I can
4. Inverter 1x 6000xp eg4 & 1 x EG4-WallMount - 14.5kw battery and hoping >500watt bifacial panels
I have electrician who has recently started installing/setting up solar system - he has agreed to help me install the entire system (including panels) for ~$1000.
What I would like to know,
1. Would installing without city permit on garage or pergola be a bad idea?
2. Instead of off-grid (eg4 6000xp inverter) - would be better to setup hybrid which allows tying to grid in the future if needed?
3. Is 6000w max is good enough? I Dont know exactly what my peak watt usage - not sure how to estimate this
4. Can I setup inverter and battery in the garage - and connect to feed power to main panel & sub-panel to use battery? Would that be enough?
5. Can I setup inverter to use panel generated power directly in day time and charge battery with excess power? And at night setup to use power from battery (upto 80% of the charge) and switch to grid automatically? If I start charging my car, start drier and oven at same time, is inverter smart enough to use grid for all excess power?
6. How many panels do I need to charge my battery assuming we have 5-6hrs of avg sun light? I know just 1 14.3kw battery is not enough but I want to start small and expand later
7. Cost estimate: eg4 inverter + eg4 battery ($4800), 8 x 500w panels ($1600), install accessories ($1000) and installation cost ($1000) - $8500 - What else am I missing?
Thank you for all the advice and answers! Please pardon my misunderstandings or under knowledge in the electric / solar system
I need advice and help on my setup questions before I make purchases. I live in Fremont, CA and some info sharing before my questions,
1. My house is small 3 bed house with total 1100sqft size. I dont have solar. Doesnt have AC and no duct work in attic (only wall furness)
2. Our electric prices are crazy (thanks to PGE) - 0.66c per kw elec (in summer and 0.44c kw in winter) and ~$2.5 per therm gas. I checked my electric bill, on avg, I only consume 15kw per day (450kw per month).
3. I am getting 4 single head mini split installed this week - total of 36k BTU heat pump system - I dont know how much more I will start consuming after this install
4. I also have tasla model 3 but I 99% of the time charge car at work
I would like to setup new solar DIY system at least possible $$ to cut my electric bill as much as possible at as least. Not worried about setting up solar for charging car at home AND not worried about power cuts. What I have so far,
1. Considering if I can also avoid pulling permits. If I dont, then off-grid (not planning to tie to grid)
2. I have 2 areas for panels (facing 100% south), top of ditched garage (11x21sqft) and install 12x16 sqft pergola with panels as roof IF needed
3. My main panel is 110amp (exterior wall) and 50amp sub-panel (in the garage), I would like to avoid upgrading panel to 200amp if I can
4. Inverter 1x 6000xp eg4 & 1 x EG4-WallMount - 14.5kw battery and hoping >500watt bifacial panels
I have electrician who has recently started installing/setting up solar system - he has agreed to help me install the entire system (including panels) for ~$1000.
What I would like to know,
1. Would installing without city permit on garage or pergola be a bad idea?
2. Instead of off-grid (eg4 6000xp inverter) - would be better to setup hybrid which allows tying to grid in the future if needed?
3. Is 6000w max is good enough? I Dont know exactly what my peak watt usage - not sure how to estimate this
4. Can I setup inverter and battery in the garage - and connect to feed power to main panel & sub-panel to use battery? Would that be enough?
5. Can I setup inverter to use panel generated power directly in day time and charge battery with excess power? And at night setup to use power from battery (upto 80% of the charge) and switch to grid automatically? If I start charging my car, start drier and oven at same time, is inverter smart enough to use grid for all excess power?
6. How many panels do I need to charge my battery assuming we have 5-6hrs of avg sun light? I know just 1 14.3kw battery is not enough but I want to start small and expand later
7. Cost estimate: eg4 inverter + eg4 battery ($4800), 8 x 500w panels ($1600), install accessories ($1000) and installation cost ($1000) - $8500 - What else am I missing?
Thank you for all the advice and answers! Please pardon my misunderstandings or under knowledge in the electric / solar system
