PatBlack
Genius in Irrelevant Topics
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2019
- Messages
- 49
Hi Solar people, the other side of the spectrum from DIY solar is DIFM solar, Do It For Me. I continue to wonder where along that spectrum I want to be. The grid goes down at least 10 times every year. When it d=goes down it's several hours at least. Rural living is great but the grid has no redundancy here. I am thankful for what power it does provide!
I recently got a US$34,000 quote from a local installer for a grid tie system with batteries that they claim will eliminate the kWh part of my electric bill. But they don't really give me enough information to know what all they would install. They claim a payback period of 14 years. This is all the equipment info they provided in the quote:
Panels 12 x Canadian Solar - CS3K-P-300 (300W) at 180° (S) (Tilt of 30°)
Inverter 1 x Outback Power - Radian GS 8048 (FP Radian)
Outback Mate3s System Display/Communications
Rack 2 x UniRac - SM Tilt-Leg
Mount Type Ground
Outback Integrated Battery Rack
OutBack EnergyCell PLR Series Batteries (Nothing in the quote about battery bank capacity!)
There are currently two separate electric meters on the property that would get combined into one. There are some 100+ foot runs and trenching involved due to site constraints.
Between a grant and the tax credit I would be paying 49% out of pocket.
I get that battery banks can be expensive. The panels and the outback stuff is probably around $10K. So, $24K for a battery bank, a ground mount, installation, permitting, and all the wiring and disconnects? Quotes like this make me wonder what kind of DIY project I could reasonably do on my own.
So what would be a feasible DIY alternative? Can I put in an array myself, get my electrician to put in a critical loads panel, an inverter and battery bank, and a manual transfer switch to take most everything off grid most of the time but not do an official grid-tie system?
I recently got a US$34,000 quote from a local installer for a grid tie system with batteries that they claim will eliminate the kWh part of my electric bill. But they don't really give me enough information to know what all they would install. They claim a payback period of 14 years. This is all the equipment info they provided in the quote:
Panels 12 x Canadian Solar - CS3K-P-300 (300W) at 180° (S) (Tilt of 30°)
Inverter 1 x Outback Power - Radian GS 8048 (FP Radian)
Outback Mate3s System Display/Communications
Rack 2 x UniRac - SM Tilt-Leg
Mount Type Ground
Outback Integrated Battery Rack
OutBack EnergyCell PLR Series Batteries (Nothing in the quote about battery bank capacity!)
There are currently two separate electric meters on the property that would get combined into one. There are some 100+ foot runs and trenching involved due to site constraints.
Between a grant and the tax credit I would be paying 49% out of pocket.
I get that battery banks can be expensive. The panels and the outback stuff is probably around $10K. So, $24K for a battery bank, a ground mount, installation, permitting, and all the wiring and disconnects? Quotes like this make me wonder what kind of DIY project I could reasonably do on my own.
So what would be a feasible DIY alternative? Can I put in an array myself, get my electrician to put in a critical loads panel, an inverter and battery bank, and a manual transfer switch to take most everything off grid most of the time but not do an official grid-tie system?