rogman16
New Member
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2020
- Messages
- 2
Greetings Solar DIYers!!! First post, please be gentle...
Retired Air Force family living in Navarre, FL with an all-electric house, pool, spa and about 2.8K sq feet. Tend to run the AC at a very comfortable level. Used to have an electric BMW i3, but that lease ended in Sept, and wife wanted a larger SUV, so no EVs at the present time. Have 500 gallon propane tank for spa heater and/or propane generator if one is purchased down the road.
Currently, have 54 panels (and 54 Enphase IQ7+ micro-inverters) attached to our roof for a 16.2kw solar system. When we purchased in Nov 17, I did NOT do the homework I needed to before purchasing, so shame on me. My main driving factors for the system were to 1) eliminate our power bill to the POCO, and 2) provide power during a grid outage. Well, except for maybe a month or two over the last two years, I've had a power bill. Since I didn't do my homework, which would've been fairly easy/quick, I didn't realize until after the system was installed and working that if I lose grid power, the solar system is not going to be "allowed" to supply power to the house.
Hurricane Sally hit a month ago, and although we didn't get the brunt of the storm, we lost grid power for 3+ days (really not that bad for our area). While not that bad, having to start-up our mini-generator (3kw, gas only), and run extension cords all over the place has me in a learn/plan mode for next step.
End GOAL: Work toward having backup capable of running all current circuits. Don't necessarily need to go off-grid, but be able to live fairly comfortable during an extended outage (5-7 days). Don't need to use range, but would like central air, or at a bare min, a couple of mini-splits or window units (don't currently have).
Here's what I've been looking at:
1) At a minimum, I am going to get a generator inlet box, mechanical interlock, breaker for main box, and a cord for the generator. Don't want to have to run extension cords all over the house again. ;-). Short-term fix, and probably only a couple of hundred bucks.
2) Generator--do I get a larger generator? If so, whole home (22-24kw), or 10-12kw portable (no central AC)? Either choice, need to get one capable of dual fuel (gas/propane).
3) Battery backup--boy, done a lot of reading/researching of the last couple of weeks. Probably more confused than I was before I started researching. Would love to start a DIY project, but seems to be pretty pricy. No idea where to start (12v, 24v, 48v), are my micro-inverters compatible or do they go away, can the generator be used to help charge the batteries at night, etc. Too many questions in my brain can't let me focus on what is "actually" needed.
4) Adding more panels--I have the land to add more panels, but it would need to be a DIY project. Need to do a lot more research before I even think about this, but it is on my list of potential projects.
Guess I would like to start with what I would need to be able to utilize the solar energy if the grid goes down. What would be a smart "size" to start a battery backup system, and where could I get some info about all the different pieces I would need to make this work with minimum changes to current solar array?
I've attached pics of my main power distro panels and a few readouts on our solar production.
Thanks much,
Roger V
Retired Air Force family living in Navarre, FL with an all-electric house, pool, spa and about 2.8K sq feet. Tend to run the AC at a very comfortable level. Used to have an electric BMW i3, but that lease ended in Sept, and wife wanted a larger SUV, so no EVs at the present time. Have 500 gallon propane tank for spa heater and/or propane generator if one is purchased down the road.
Currently, have 54 panels (and 54 Enphase IQ7+ micro-inverters) attached to our roof for a 16.2kw solar system. When we purchased in Nov 17, I did NOT do the homework I needed to before purchasing, so shame on me. My main driving factors for the system were to 1) eliminate our power bill to the POCO, and 2) provide power during a grid outage. Well, except for maybe a month or two over the last two years, I've had a power bill. Since I didn't do my homework, which would've been fairly easy/quick, I didn't realize until after the system was installed and working that if I lose grid power, the solar system is not going to be "allowed" to supply power to the house.
Hurricane Sally hit a month ago, and although we didn't get the brunt of the storm, we lost grid power for 3+ days (really not that bad for our area). While not that bad, having to start-up our mini-generator (3kw, gas only), and run extension cords all over the place has me in a learn/plan mode for next step.
End GOAL: Work toward having backup capable of running all current circuits. Don't necessarily need to go off-grid, but be able to live fairly comfortable during an extended outage (5-7 days). Don't need to use range, but would like central air, or at a bare min, a couple of mini-splits or window units (don't currently have).
Here's what I've been looking at:
1) At a minimum, I am going to get a generator inlet box, mechanical interlock, breaker for main box, and a cord for the generator. Don't want to have to run extension cords all over the house again. ;-). Short-term fix, and probably only a couple of hundred bucks.
2) Generator--do I get a larger generator? If so, whole home (22-24kw), or 10-12kw portable (no central AC)? Either choice, need to get one capable of dual fuel (gas/propane).
3) Battery backup--boy, done a lot of reading/researching of the last couple of weeks. Probably more confused than I was before I started researching. Would love to start a DIY project, but seems to be pretty pricy. No idea where to start (12v, 24v, 48v), are my micro-inverters compatible or do they go away, can the generator be used to help charge the batteries at night, etc. Too many questions in my brain can't let me focus on what is "actually" needed.
4) Adding more panels--I have the land to add more panels, but it would need to be a DIY project. Need to do a lot more research before I even think about this, but it is on my list of potential projects.
Guess I would like to start with what I would need to be able to utilize the solar energy if the grid goes down. What would be a smart "size" to start a battery backup system, and where could I get some info about all the different pieces I would need to make this work with minimum changes to current solar array?
I've attached pics of my main power distro panels and a few readouts on our solar production.
Thanks much,
Roger V