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diy solar

Starting small. 1 Panel and a micro inverter?

ryantoupal

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Joined
Jul 27, 2022
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We were thinking about dipping our toes in. My idea is to get a 200 watt Renogy panel from Amazon(because of free shipping):

And a micro inverter from Enphase:

I want to do a grid tie in/net metering.

My theory is we can try it out for ~1 year and figure out if/how much we want to scale it up. It seems like the panel efficiency is about the same as the larger panels but I can get the 200 watt ones delivered parcel. Does this make sense to try? How come this micro inverter is so cheep compared to the other IQ7s?
 
Panel won't work. it's a 36 cell.

Inverter indicates compatible with 72 and 84 cell panels.

"Part of the Enphase IQ System, the IQ7PD-84 Microinverter integrates with Enphase IQ Battery, the Enphase IQ Gateway, and the Enphase App monitoring and analysis software."

This implies to me that the device will not work alone and requires a complete "enphase IQ system"
 
I want to do a grid tie in/net metering.
You are looking at a lot of time and expense to grid tie a single panel using a microinverter. The permits, inspections, electrician work and dealing with the utility company are not going to be worth it. The panel and racking and cabling and disconnects and whole bunches of other things also has to be on the Utilities approved list most likely.

Grid tie / net metering is a bit of an ordeal to undertake oneself in most jurisdictions in the United States, which is where I assume you are, since you are ordering from Amazon US.

Build yourself something to power stuff at your house/garage/shed or what not first. A microinverter is not the way to go for that unfortunately.
 
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