Forza458
New Member
I purchased a house with a circa 2008 PV system that includes a Xantrex XW6048, 2 MPPT 60-150 charge controllers, an AGS and a SCP. This was supplied by about 4.3kW of Kyocera solar panels (3 strings of 7 panels each, I believe) and also included 1 string of Full River DC400-6 AGM batteries (415AH @ 20 Hour Rate).
The system was functioning adequately until a massive hail storm destroyed my roof. As part of the roof replacement process, they took down my solar panels and the system was basically just a big circuit breaker. I have decided not to put the panels back on the roof (opting instead for a ground mount) and instead update/upgrade the whole system.
After some consideration, I'd like to utilize a Sol-Ark 15K to gain the "whole house" backup capability. I would like to make sure that I'm able to reconnect my existing generator to the Sol-Ark. I'm still trying to figure out how much battery backup I want/need, but looking at a series of utility bills (with no solar input), I think that I'm OK with 16kWh.
I would like to increase the capacity of my PV up to 10 kW as this is the limit Xcel Energy in CO seems to allow without additional fees and engineering. Can the old solar panels I have be upcycled to be used in conjunction with new panels through the Sol Ark 15? Or does it make more sense to just by 10 kW of new PV panels?
I'd like suggestions about what other pieces may be needed/useful. A quick look at the Sol Ark installation guide, it seems that it is ready receive PV and generator inputs without additional modules. I'm also a little bit of a monitoring geek and would love to be able to use my existing Home Assistant system to monitor (and hopefully control) the Sol Ark.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Both general concepts as well as specific nitty-gritty product recommendations are equally welcomed.
The system was functioning adequately until a massive hail storm destroyed my roof. As part of the roof replacement process, they took down my solar panels and the system was basically just a big circuit breaker. I have decided not to put the panels back on the roof (opting instead for a ground mount) and instead update/upgrade the whole system.
After some consideration, I'd like to utilize a Sol-Ark 15K to gain the "whole house" backup capability. I would like to make sure that I'm able to reconnect my existing generator to the Sol-Ark. I'm still trying to figure out how much battery backup I want/need, but looking at a series of utility bills (with no solar input), I think that I'm OK with 16kWh.
I would like to increase the capacity of my PV up to 10 kW as this is the limit Xcel Energy in CO seems to allow without additional fees and engineering. Can the old solar panels I have be upcycled to be used in conjunction with new panels through the Sol Ark 15? Or does it make more sense to just by 10 kW of new PV panels?
I'd like suggestions about what other pieces may be needed/useful. A quick look at the Sol Ark installation guide, it seems that it is ready receive PV and generator inputs without additional modules. I'm also a little bit of a monitoring geek and would love to be able to use my existing Home Assistant system to monitor (and hopefully control) the Sol Ark.
Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Both general concepts as well as specific nitty-gritty product recommendations are equally welcomed.
