Spent a week building this array for my off grid house

[Craig]

So I spent the last week building this 2.4Kw ground mount array. Hopefully tomorrow the sun gods will smile and I can test it. I picked up 18 150 watt panels off of Craigslist for 350 bucks. The rack I built cost twice that but I think I am still way ahead at about $.44 per watt installed. Not counting my time.

As you can see I'm in the mountains so I oversized the array to make up for shirt days and shading. Cutting down large trees to make room was not an option.







I am also going to run a ground wire to all the panels.

 

[Viron]

Nice install. For 2.4kW of PV array to be over sized I would say you have pretty much mastered the minimalist approach to consuming electricity, if this is for your off grid residence and not a getaway cabin. If so, congratulations! I would need about 7kW to 8kW to support my lifestyle and I use about 12kW per day or half the typical household's power consumption. Some days I think going back to air conditioning would be nice, but 82F-84F with a fan is tolerable.

 

[JoeHam]

Looking good ?

Can you provide a link to those Tongou breaker specs?

Is that you selling the DIN mount plastic breaker box on eBay??

Thanks

 

[Craig]

Looking good ?

Can you provide a link to those Tongou breaker specs?

Is that you selling the DIN mount plastic breaker box on eBay??

Thanks

Yes. The breakers are there as well I can get you a link when I get home.

 

[Craig]

Nice install. For 2.4kW of PV array to be over sized I would say you have pretty much mastered the minimalist approach to consuming electricity, if this is for your off grid residence and not a getaway cabin. If so, congratulations! I would need about 7kW to 8kW to support my lifestyle and I use about 12kW per day or half the typical household's power consumption. Some days I think going back to air conditioning would be nice, but 82F-84F with a fan is tolerable.

We run everything possible with DC and use gas for heating and cooling. I also have another 1.2kw on the roofs to help out. This is what I have been using. Works fine for all but 3 months if deep winter.

 

[Pacer]

Craig this is awesome! I was wondering what you were up to at the off grid site. Lots of hard work, it looks like!

 

[Daniel sc]

Nice build. Awesome purchase from Craig's list. I'm new to solar started with a windy nation 400 watt kit. Doing mine on a tight budget. You rocked it with the panel purchase. ?????

 

[MichaelK]

Are the vertical unistruts sunk into concrete? I didn't think of that. it looks like the forward, lower vertical unistruts are higher than they should be? Is that so the frames can tilt for seasonal adjustment? Do they cast any shade on the panels in Dec/Jan?

Perhaps one suggestion I could make is to install diagonal support members on the back vertical members. Like you would see on an overhead highway sign. Those could be popped on in a few minutes with an electric drill. That would make the frame far more rigid and wind resistant. This is great design that uses a lot less material than the designs I've come up with previously!

 

[Craig]

Are the vertical unistruts sunk into concrete? I didn't think of that. it looks like the forward, lower vertical unistruts are higher than they should be? Is that so the frames can tilt for seasonal adjustment? Do they cast any shade on the panels in Dec/Jan?

Perhaps one suggestion I could make is to install diagonal support members on the back vertical members. Like you would see on an overhead highway sign. Those could be popped on in a few minutes with an electric drill. That would make the frame far more rigid and wind resistant. This is great design that uses a lot less material than the designs I've come up with previously!

Yes they are in concrete. The vertical struts need to be cut off. I am planning on angular struts on the back. But it is a 3 hour round trip to get supplies. I felt it more necessary to support the back side of the panels so I made trusses with my scraps. They need to be longer as well but I had to make do with what I had.

 

[MichaelK]

Yes, I know. It's a 1.25hour drive up a dirt road to get to my place. I like the back support truss! If you can afford the extra struts, I'd also make some diagonal supports for the angled members that the panels directly attach to. Now you know why I spend so much money on steel!

 

[Craig]

Yes, I know. It's a 1.25hour drive up a dirt road to get to my place. I like the back support truss! If you can afford the extra struts, I'd also make some diagonal supports for the angled members that the panels directly attach to. Now you know why I spend so much money on steel!

Absolutely. I will .Thanks fir the input. The suoerstrut was not as strong as I expected. I already doubled my budget on steel lol.

 

[MichaelK]

You know, with good design, you can build anything out of anything. The very, very first array frame I made years ago was for those cheesy little Harbor Freight panels. I made it out of welded sheet-rock edges.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Dietrich-M...VDbbICh2HOgW9EAQYASABEgKKYfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Patheticly weak stuff, but I put in vertical and diagonal members every 8" or so. Looks very much like an angled highway sign. With all the trusses incorporated into it, it is surprisingly strong, and has stood up to 8 winters now that have toppled 18" oaks. They are still up on the porch roof. I told the neighbor he could have them, in the hope that he'd go up on the roof to retrieve them. They've been disconnected for years now; I've just been too lazy to go up there and pull them down.

BTW, welding the stuff was a pain. Even with my little 120V MIG welder at the lowest setting, it might burn right through the steel because it was so thin.