diy solar

diy solar

Time to get off the fence, spend $ for off grid in BC

Mike 604

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Joined
May 9, 2021
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We have been building our off grid retirement home for 8 years and now it's time for power.
The home is build is completely out of concrete (too many wild fires and no fire response).
The build has been done by yours truly, two of my employees, wife and my 3 sons mainly on weekends and holidays........
Flat work and roof pour I hired out, I know my limitations.
Exterior walls, interior feature walls, roof and roof overhangs, slabs and suspended slabs all concrete.
Almost all interior framing is reclaimed wood as are all beams. Loft framing is all reclaimed as are the 3x6 t&g floor boards.
Located on an Island in BC, Canada that is off grid, and is boat access only.
We are now almost fully insulated,walls will be R32, R62 roof slab R24 with no thermal bridging.
Used all triple glazed glass which was all wet glazed.

So far the home performs well, during the summer heat dome in BC the indoor temp never went over 24C =75F while outdoor was 122 F for over a week. Winter indoor hasn't gone below 10C = 50C.

Need to get power now into our house. Please help me decide.
Have been reading and reading for over the last 9 months and have decided on 48V and want it to be as reliable as possible.

The inverters for the 48 volt system that I'm leaning to are
1. SMA 6048 x 2 $ 8000 CDN
2. Victron Quatro 5000 x 2 $ 6000 CDN
3. Sigineer 15kw. $ 4100 CDN plus import duty.

The batteries that I'm interested in are the EV Tesla S. This allows for easy expansion. Would like to end up with 40kw.
BMS would use the EVTV is probably the one to get.

We have installed a Scotty microhydro station, and last year purchased 32 x 320w panels that will be part ground mound and
partly on our seacan. The PV panels aren't installed yet. The pic below is sort of what I want to do to mount them.
We do have a mini PV set up of 8 x 75w that has kept or fridge running for the last 10 years.

Lots of work ahead but need to get things ordered as the supply chain issues makes deliveries take for ever.
A few pics of our build.
Thanks for reading.
 

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Tesla batts may be good for EV but not really so much for Solar Systems, the Voltage Curve is not "normal". Will and many others have covered that. Really, honestly LFP (LiFePO4) for Lithium Based is the way to go...

Victron & SMA = Tier-1 Product but Sigineer is Tier-3 Value ! Massive difference in features, functions, efficiency, support & service. Opposite ends of the spectrum. You've gone to all this trouble to build such a home, I sure as heck would not consider Value Grade Gear. I would consider Victron & Growatt.

So tell us, do you want 120VAC or 240VAC ?
How much power have you estimated to be your Daily Consumption in kWh ?
How many days of Non-Generation Storage do you want ?
- most folks go 3 days, I have 10 days worth, 7 Days of LFP (30kWh) and 3 Days of Heavy Lead (11kWh useable) {Algonquin Park Region hehe)
How many Amps do you want to deliver @ what voltage to the home ? An A-Typical house being 240VAC/200A Service Panel up here.
Is EV Charging a consideration? If So, a 240VAC/30-50A Circuit to Garage can handle that easily, even at a later date, just wire to a Box.
How much Solar Array space do you have ?
Mounting possibilities (Roof, Ground Mount, Adjustable (manual) or Tracker $$ ???)

Once we know how much Battery & Storage you will have, then to work out what it will take to charge that Battery Bank and how to Invert it to AC providing for your needs "comfortably - meaning no equipment stress).

48V/200AH/10.24kWh is a Fairly Typical LFP (LiFePO4) "Battery Pack" used in prebuilts, rack/server mount type Batteries.
This consists of 16X 200AH LFP Cells. 1X 16S-BMS, 1X-200A Fuse/Breaker

Tesla Pack: 24V Modules (from an Model-S) = 230AH X2 in Series for 48V/230AH approximately $3000USD (for the pair) IF Available & Trustable. Then still need wires, fuses & BMS (that's tricky too and $$)

You can DIY LFP Packs (Pst our ports are not as bad as the States) and there are also Canadian Suppliers (Imported products) of both Domestic Battery Packs (Made in Canada content full commercial) Remember we have a few Battery Companies of our own and we also have LFP Makers here... Rolls Surette, Voltium are two Domestic Companies, and then there is CanBat and a couple of other Importers.

EXAMPLE:
48V/304AH/15.5kWh
1pcs EVE 304AH LiFePO4 (LFP) 3.2V Cells Battery (Fully Matched&Batched)--Genuine Grade
1 - 199 Pieces CA$177.45 ea, 16pcs = $2839.20 CAD+S&H
1 - 16S SmartBMS with BlueTooth, RS485/CanBus $200CAD +/- a bit
1 = 200A Fuse or Breaker $35
--- 202AH Matched Cells = CA$138.59 ea (48V/202AH/10.34kWh)
--- 280AH Matched Cells = CA$165.79 ea (48V/280AH/14.33kWh)
Source for above cells (Known Good Reputable Vendor) Amy Wan @ https://szluyuan.en.alibaba.com/productlist.html?
Requires a Chat/Messenger session for proper quote, Guesstimator is not very good.

OR Check this out: https://volthium.com/en/product/battery-rackmount-51-2v-10-24kw-ess/
Peruse this as well: https://www.solacity.com/product-category/batteries/lithium-ion/
Have a look here at MANY Commercial solutions as well (Reviews with long list) https://www.cleanenergyreviews.info/battery-storage-comparison-chart
Another interesting eye opener: https://www.solarshoppingmall.com/48V-Batteries_c_40.html

Hope it helps Good Luck
 
Tesla batts may be good for EV but not really so much for Solar Systems, the Voltage Curve is not "normal". Will and many others have covered that. Really, honestly LFP (LiFePO4) for Lithium Based is the way to go...

Victron & SMA = Tier-1 Product but Sigineer is Tier-3 Value ! Massive difference in features, functions, efficiency, support & service. Opposite ends of the spectrum. You've gone to all this trouble to build such a home, I sure as heck would not consider Value Grade Gear. I would consider Victron & Growatt.

So tell us, do you want 120VAC or 240VAC ?
How much power have you estimated to be your Daily Consumption in kWh ?
How many days of Non-Generation Storage do you want ?
- most folks go 3 days, I have 10 days worth, 7 Days of LFP (30kWh) and 3 Days of Heavy Lead (11kWh useable) {Algonquin Park Region hehe)
How many Amps do you want to deliver @ what voltage to the home ? An A-Typical house being 240VAC/200A Service Panel up here.
Is EV Charging a consideration? If So, a 240VAC/30-50A Circuit to Garage can handle that easily, even at a later date, just wire to a Box.
How much Solar Array space do you have ?
Mounting possibilities (Roof, Ground Mount, Adjustable (manual) or Tracker $$ ???)

Once we know how much Battery & Storage you will have, then to work out what it will take to charge that Battery Bank and how to Invert it to AC providing for your needs "comfortably - meaning no equipment stress).

48V/200AH/10.24kWh is a Fairly Typical LFP (LiFePO4) "Battery Pack" used in prebuilts, rack/server mount type Batteries.
This consists of 16X 200AH LFP Cells. 1X 16S-BMS, 1X-200A Fuse/Breaker

Tesla Pack: 24V Modules (from an Model-S) = 230AH X2 in Series for 48V/230AH approximately $3000USD (for the pair) IF Available & Trustable. Then still need wires, fuses & BMS (that's tricky too and $$)

You can DIY LFP Packs (Pst our ports are not as bad as the States) and there are also Canadian Suppliers (Imported products) of both Domestic Battery Packs (Made in Canada content full commercial) Remember we have a few Battery Companies of our own and we also have LFP Makers here... Rolls Surette, Voltium are two Domestic Companies, and then there is CanBat and a couple of other Importers.

EXAMPLE:
48V/304AH/15.5kWh
1pcs EVE 304AH LiFePO4 (LFP) 3.2V Cells Battery (Fully Matched&Batched)--Genuine Grade
1 - 199 Pieces CA$177.45 ea, 16pcs = $2839.20 CAD+S&H
1 - 16S SmartBMS with BlueTooth, RS485/CanBus $200CAD +/- a bit
1 = 200A Fuse or Breaker $35
--- 202AH Matched Cells = CA$138.59 ea (48V/202AH/10.34kWh)
--- 280AH Matched Cells = CA$165.79 ea (48V/280AH/14.33kWh)
Source for above cells (Known Good Reputable Vendor) Amy Wan @ https://szluyuan.en.alibaba.com/productlist.html?
Requires a Chat/Messenger session for proper quote, Guesstimator is not very good.

OR Check this out: https://volthium.com/en/product/battery-rackmount-51-2v-10-24kw-ess/
Peruse this as well: https://www.solacity.com/product-category/batteries/lithium-ion/
Have a look here at MANY Commercial solutions as well (Reviews with long list) https://www.cleanenergyreviews.info/battery-storage-comparison-chart
Another interesting eye opener: https://www.solarshoppingmall.com/48V-Batteries_c_40.html

Hope it helps Good Luck
Thank you for the reply and links Steve.

For the home we will want 120 and 240V.
When we did our energy audit we came up with just around 12kw. I'm sure that in real life it won't be that high but better safe than sorry.
For the days of autonomy would like 3-4 days.
The electrical panel will be a 125 amp panel.
We really have no place to go on the Island, no stores services nothing. Plus the roads are always in rough condition. Only 4x4 work on the Island. So no EV.
We have 5 acres of property. So lots of room for PV . The PV will be installed similar to the pic that I have attached.
The micro hydro station can provide up to 48kw a day, this is for 6 to 7 months of the year. We have had a lot of rain here , lots of areas have been flooded and roads/highways bridges washed out in BC.

I will look into the batteries that you have provided links to. Thanks for that.
Want system to be effective and worry free .
 
I like the PV rack trusses, and container bolted to slab.

Lithium batteries can't charge below 0 degrees C, and charge at reduced rate near that temperature. Plan to keep them warmed.

If you never have to cycle batteries much, AGM could be good for 10 years, premium FLA for 20 years. Sounds like hydro will keep them charged most of the time, and solar making extra power in the summer day.

Lithium seems the way to go of the bank will cycle 80% every night, could last 10 maybe 15 years. If sized for 3 days without sun but rarely cycled deep, just 15% most nights, then lead-acid can give long calendar life. Cost per kWh of life may be similar for either retail. Lead-acid could be cheaper if you never use all the cycles lithium offers. Repurposed batteries like you're considering or DIY LiFePO4 could be cheaper than lead-acid upfront.

I like SMA and AC coupling. If hydro is DC coupled, either use battery shunt or a Midnight Classic with data interface. Can also use older model Sunny Boy with Windy/Hydro Boy charge MPPT profile
 
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