thescoutranch
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2022
- Messages
- 25
Hello all,
Being a novice at Solar, I have been reading and searching for info and answers on this site for the last month, thank you all who have asked and answered questions before me. I have learned so much but still have a way to go. I think I have a better idea of some questions to ask now. I have revised my solar plan so many times from where I started.
Background:
Since we have access to 1:1 net metering here, and some plans let you roll you credits forward monthly (but never get cash), my goal is to replace all my electric consumption with this system. We do not have any tier rates. If we have any extended blackouts, we have a 7000W generator in the RV for basic needs.
I will follow up with the data, that I have put together for myself, later, but I have been thru the last 3 years of electric bills, been to PVwatts (fantastic tool) to see the expected power generated for my proposed system. Yes, I know we use a lot of electric, but we have a pool pump, hvac (5 months old), kitchen fridge, beer fridge, chest freezer, garage has a minisplit, Air compressor, tools, etc, our RV stays plugged in for battery maintenance, all lights are led, ceiling fans, wife cannot tolerate heat. House is 2700 sqft. I don't expect electric rates to go down, only up.
I have also been thru the conductor size/voltage loss calculator and the conduit % full calculator - wonderful tools.
Created a 6 page excel spreadsheet to estimate costs for myself.
Currently, I think I like this iteration of my plan, but I have a couple of questions I am not sure about. First, a couple of reasons why I came up with some of the features in this plan. Any comments are welcome.
If I use a circuit breaker panel out at the array location to feed the 350 ft run to the house, would I calculate the wire size using the 3 circuit breaker ratings (ie 3x20, 60 amps), or do I still need to use the Max Output Current values from the inverters (24 x 3, 72 amps)?
Is there anything fundamentally wrong with the layout of my system? I would be using UL listed parts for all components.
Does a “Grid Tied Only” inverter have the auto shutdown feature (when you lose grid power) required for Solar Systems tied to the grid, or is a different piece of hardware required? Am I looking for a specific UL listing for this feature?
So far, I have seen listings and people talk about:
“Off grid” inverters – Cannot connect to grid without some safety measures/hardware, does not need grid power to work, solar and batteries only?
Inverters with “anti-islanding” – not sure what this is
“Hybrid” Inverters – I assume these are to be used with a solar/grid/battery backup?
“Grid Tied Only” inverters – solar and grid only, no batteries?
Am I correct with these descriptions, if not, help me out, please.
Thanks,
Epp
Edited to remove pdf and upload jpg
Being a novice at Solar, I have been reading and searching for info and answers on this site for the last month, thank you all who have asked and answered questions before me. I have learned so much but still have a way to go. I think I have a better idea of some questions to ask now. I have revised my solar plan so many times from where I started.
Background:
Since we have access to 1:1 net metering here, and some plans let you roll you credits forward monthly (but never get cash), my goal is to replace all my electric consumption with this system. We do not have any tier rates. If we have any extended blackouts, we have a 7000W generator in the RV for basic needs.
I will follow up with the data, that I have put together for myself, later, but I have been thru the last 3 years of electric bills, been to PVwatts (fantastic tool) to see the expected power generated for my proposed system. Yes, I know we use a lot of electric, but we have a pool pump, hvac (5 months old), kitchen fridge, beer fridge, chest freezer, garage has a minisplit, Air compressor, tools, etc, our RV stays plugged in for battery maintenance, all lights are led, ceiling fans, wife cannot tolerate heat. House is 2700 sqft. I don't expect electric rates to go down, only up.
I have also been thru the conductor size/voltage loss calculator and the conduit % full calculator - wonderful tools.
Created a 6 page excel spreadsheet to estimate costs for myself.
Currently, I think I like this iteration of my plan, but I have a couple of questions I am not sure about. First, a couple of reasons why I came up with some of the features in this plan. Any comments are welcome.
- I am in Central TX (hot and sunny), and the main panel and meter are on the west side of the house and get some horrible heat in the afternoon; mounting the inverters out at the array would allow them to be mounted underneath on the north side of the array providing them a cooler operating environment due to shade from the panels. Also, we get a constant breeze out there, so some additional cooling.
- Using a 5kW inverter for each series of (9)450 watt panels (~4k best case scenario) doesn’t work the inverter at it’s max rating.
- If an inverter dies, I only lose 1/6 of my power while I wait on parts.
If I use a circuit breaker panel out at the array location to feed the 350 ft run to the house, would I calculate the wire size using the 3 circuit breaker ratings (ie 3x20, 60 amps), or do I still need to use the Max Output Current values from the inverters (24 x 3, 72 amps)?
Is there anything fundamentally wrong with the layout of my system? I would be using UL listed parts for all components.
Does a “Grid Tied Only” inverter have the auto shutdown feature (when you lose grid power) required for Solar Systems tied to the grid, or is a different piece of hardware required? Am I looking for a specific UL listing for this feature?
So far, I have seen listings and people talk about:
“Off grid” inverters – Cannot connect to grid without some safety measures/hardware, does not need grid power to work, solar and batteries only?
Inverters with “anti-islanding” – not sure what this is
“Hybrid” Inverters – I assume these are to be used with a solar/grid/battery backup?
“Grid Tied Only” inverters – solar and grid only, no batteries?
Am I correct with these descriptions, if not, help me out, please.
Thanks,
Epp
Edited to remove pdf and upload jpg
Last edited: