Power Production This Time of Year!

[rogerdw]

There is snow in parts of Australia - even skiing ! {I mean in addition to the kind of skiing on water}

Yes correct, though I've never been in those places (or even flown over) when it was there. It's a big country.

My latest worry is kangaroos. Went outside last night and got a fright when a kangaroo just the other side of the fence took off. They can get right up to the solar panels against the shed and around the back yard, though don't seem to bother them. They do leave plenty of their calling cards though.

 

[Crowz]

The other annoying part of the cold plus the snow is Beth keeps bugging me to turn things off.

Click to play audio.
Grid too high warning message I get

 

[Crowz]

Also had this message waiting on me when I got up this morning.

Click to play audio.
You forgot something....

I have it set to watch the power from the victron panels. If they are producing but the main arrays are not it knows somethings up. So it fusses.

 

[OffGridForGood]

It's a big country.

Yeah - I hear Ya !
I drove out to see my daughter in Calgary one time, I decided I drive a lot, just go one straight run...23 hours of hwy driving, stopped for gas and quick sandwich only. Yeah, that is only 20% of the way across Canada. I have never been East of Montreal either -too damn far!!

 

[BerndL]

Just tested 2x200W panels, and was getting 270W in the afternoon, almost 800Wh over the course of the day. At 48.5°N in January, with peak insolation around 250W/m²!
The bifacial panels weren't even properly set up, just propped up on the ground at ~60°.

Also had this message waiting on me when I got up this morning.

Wow, you have some really impressive home automation. Do you have a thread for it?

 

[Crowz]

Just tested 2x200W panels, and was getting 270W in the afternoon, almost 800Wh over the course of the day. At 48.5°N in January!
The bifacial panels weren't even properly set up, just propped up on the ground at ~60°.


Wow, you have some really impressive home automation. Do you have a thread for it?

Not really. I plan on making some howto's eventually for anyone interested. Once it got over a certain size and trying to run two houses it was kind of a must.

 

[wattmatters]

The pool heater is a solar setup with a big collector on the roof

Ah, got it. Assuming we get to move to the house we want it also has solar thermal pool heating. Down side it is take up a lot of valuable roof real estate - place has no solar PV at all.

We're an hour out of Adelaide in Sth Australia, on the river.

Nice, many years ago (~20?) did quite a few bike rides out that way. Chain on Ponds, Birdwood, Checkers Hill, Lobethal etc

Good sunshine there.

Wow, that's a bummer. You've put a massive amount of work into your system there. Don't tell me you have to start all over again.

Yeah, but the good news is I'll have to start all over again.

There is snow in parts of Australia

Snow in the Adelaide hills is very rare though.

 

[OffGridForGood]

Yeah, but the good news is I'll have to start all over again.

and already have a batch of PV panels in a shed ready to go !

 

[wattmatters]

and already have a batch of PV panels in a shed ready to go !

It's a condition of our home's sale that the off-grid system (PV/batteries/inverter) is decommissioned and comes with me. The 11 kW grid-tied system stays. Unless the buyer is an energy nerd and really wants the off-grid kit for a fair price.

Whether I redeploy them is hard to say. Will be doing an energy audit to start with. That's also tricky because it also has no aircon and we know it will need it.

 

[OffGridForGood]

so many questions,
so many problems to solve,
and wire to measure, cut, strip, crimp, shrink and bolt into position...not sure I would be looking forward to all that again!
{hope you bring us along}

 

[rogerdw]

Assuming we get to move to the house we want it also has solar thermal pool heating. Down side it is take up a lot of valuable roof real estate - place has no solar PV at all.

Bit of a dilemma there. Would be easy for me, I'd vote for no pool. A lot less work and a lot less expense ... but I probably wouldn't win that vote here either.

Nice, many years ago (~20?) did quite a few bike rides out that way. Chain on Ponds, Birdwood, Checkers Hill, Lobethal etc

Good sunshine there.

Those roads certainly attract the biker community and some great scenery ... and all close to Adelaide too.

Yeah, but the good news is I'll have to start all over again.

Sounds like fun and at least you'll know what to do.

Maybe you should try your hand at a Warpverter too and make a big one. 20-30kW? If you have close neighbours you might be able to sell some spare juice and reduce the pay back time.

 

[wattmatters]

Maybe you should try your hand at a Warpverter too and make a big one. 20-30kW?

That's beyond my pay grade!

 

[Zwy]

Roof mounts should be around 4" off the roof itself. I'm not sure how much snow-melting warmth is going to cross that air gap.

Around here if it was 4" the sparrows would build a whole colony under the panels.

 

[Brucey]

Hit the oil filled radiator hard to come in with minimum soc aiming for a new record today

 

[mactech]

At 13F, my two arrays which total 2800w was at 3412w at noon, with the panels @ 90 degrees to keep off the snow

 

[GRMRC]

At 13F, my two arrays which total 2800w was at 3412w at noon, with the panels @ 90 degrees to keep off the snow

View attachment 270276

Panels like it that cold. Humans, not so much.

 

[mactech]

Panels like it that cold. Humans, not so much.

It is going to be -5F for a few nights in a row next week.
Keeping the batteries warm in the solar shed is an ongoing chore. Right now I am burning off excess solar heating the shed and myself.

 

[sunshine_eggo]

*sigh* the former is a possibility. An insulated box would require a complete reconfiguration/rebuild of the battery.

Don't worry... I'll get there eventually...

Until then, I'll play with shit remotely!!!!

Same deal... running the space heater for free in the morning to heat the batteries (got a late start today)... Then I'm getting ~2600W. Let it run for a bit and then turn on the "fireplace" in the 5er...



"Fireplace" ran for 3 hours and boosted temps about 11°F (sun helped too, but peak ambient was 51°F). Propane furnace didn't come on at 40°F until 11pm... which was 4 hours after ambient dropped below freezing. Saved about 1.5 hours of propane.

Collected 11kWh with 2.97kW:


Overnight low was... 5.4°F. Brrr.

 

[MattMan119]

Come one Sun .. save me.. first time in the plus in last 4 days …

 

[MattMan119]

Oh yeah more today then in last week!

 

[Oldphile]

3 weeks into 2025 I've generated diddly squat. Snowed last weekend then super cold, so panels remain snow covered. Green is PV.

 

[OffGridForGood]

It is feast or famine time - clear and cold I get great PV input, but cloudy and snow-covered - nearly zip !!
Oh well, everyday is a bit longer now, and I can see the break-even coming (the time when the loads and PV start to average out again).
Back to planning my 7kW PV expansion !

 

[GRMRC]

3 weeks into 2025 I've generated diddly squat. Snowed last weekend then super cold, so panels remain snow covered. Green is PV.
View attachment 273016

1,075 kWh YTD.

 

[SomethingAppropriate]

Also had this message waiting on me when I got up this morning.

LOL. So that is a message on your phone?
I would have that hooked up to speakers in every room.

Love it.

 

[Crowz]

LOL. So that is a message on your phone?
I would have that hooked up to speakers in every room.

Love it.

It plays over the rooms I have speakers in but I don't have them in all of the room yet. I'm still hunting for something like an alexa device that doesn't go online and works with home assistant.