What's the best solar-related item you bought in 2023?

[SeaGal]

A light-hearted thread for Christmas time...

As the title says... what's the best thing / what do you love the most that you bought this year. Either directly solar or a solar related tool, component etc...

I'll kick it off to say I love my new Raspberry Pi 5... amazingly powerful yet so small and power efficient. Lucky to get one as they're very limited supply over here. It will be put to good use for to handle some inverter RS485 comms in due course - once this old dog has learnt some new tricks, that is ?‍?

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

Another 36 solar panels, 410W, for 99 Euro each.

 

[Tomthumb62]

Victron Smartsolar 100/30 MPPT charge controller.

Love this thing. It works great, no headaches. Needed it when I needed it, but wish I could’ve waited 3 months saved a nice chunk of money, now that Victron has lowered the price by 37%.

It replaces a Renogy Rover 30A MPPT, which gave me many headaches. And Renogy customer service gave me even more headaches. Customer service at InvertersRus (where I’ve bought my Victron stuff) has been excellent.

If I were to buy the Victron MPPT today, it would be cheaper than the Renogy. Go figure. The Renogy requires the $39 Bluetooth dongle to properly program it, the Victron comes natively with Bluetooth (no dongle required so cleaner install). Programming the Victron is super easy and intuitive.

 

[Danke]

Almost everything I bought is cheaper now…

 

[42OhmsPA]

My SRNE ASF 10Kw.
It allowed me to take the rest of the house off the grid.
Next up would be the Envision cells and a pallet of 370W panels for ~0.19/w delivered to allow me to stay off the grid longer.

 

[Tomthumb62]

Almost everything I bought is cheaper now…

Yep! I bought my first Lifepo4 battery in April 2023 and my new Victron MPPT in September 2023.

I paid $730 + $192 for those. $922 total.

Were I to buy TODAY, the price would be $590 + $128 (Victron Smartsolar 100/30). $718 total. That's a 22% price drop!

 

[SeaGal]

So by 2026 we'll be paid to use them

 

[Will Prowse]

Expensive, but oh so nice:

 

[Crowz]

Well my entire system that runs my house was bought this year so that kind of coverings everything

Sungold TP6048 powering the house - Works flawless and forget its out there. Perfection.

Orange pi and solar assistant - Daily entertainment watching how much I'm saving.

Lifepo4 batteries weize and chins - Turned battery ownership into a pleasant experience for the first time after years of lead acid.

Panels, panels and more panels and mounts and brackets.

Test equipment, breakers, cables, and who knows what else accessory wise - To many things to think of something that stands out.

Final thing is more something I "found" than bought and to me I have enjoyed it more than all of the things I listed above....

diysolarforum - Ive gotten more enjoyment talking about the solar stuff on here than the actual solar stuff I bought to be honest

 

[myles]

Four JK 200A BMS to upgrade from chargery for my four banks of 280ah eve cells. Now the cells sit in their happy zone all the time! One came defective but they replaced it. Shout out for 18650 battery store for supplying.

 

[SeaGal]

Final thing is more something I "found" than bought and to me I have enjoyed it more than all of the things I listed above....
diysolarforum - Ive gotten more enjoyment talking about the solar stuff on here than the actual solar stuff I bought to be honest

That should have been the ultimate answer but... your profile says Joined "Dec 24, 2022", so technically you were 8 days too early to win

But, yes, such a great forum!

 

[featherlite]

My Raspberry Pi 4 B running as a Cerbo GX. Except I have spent waaaay too many hours fumbling around figuring it out and how to add more stuff to it. I hate Terminal commands!

 

[wildbillpdx]

Well my entire system that runs my house was bought this year so that kind of coverings everything

I, too, bought my entire system this year...forced to due to circumstances beyond my control. Insurance company forced us to replace roof. Old PV system on roof, too expensive to remove and re-install so new system on roof. Reused the old panels along with a new EG4 6000ex, and three EG4 LifePower4 batteries for a new, solar "generator." The new roof system and the EG4 have reduced our power utilization from the grid substantially.

Just need more batteries and panels.

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

Just need more batteries and panels.

You will always need more batteries and panels

 

[Danke]

Just need more batteries and panels.

You will always need more batteries and panels

Both of you need to move further south. Or start a 12 step program.

 

[42OhmsPA]

My first answer should have been paying for internet access so I can access the best forum in the world.

Thanks @Crowz for letting me steal your answer ?

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

Both of you need to move further south.

Too many people there, too little nature. There are 1.3 million people living in and around Helsinki. I want to stay far away from there. Once you hit Germany, it only gets worse... Nein Danke

Or start a 12 step program.

We did!
Step 1: buy more panels and batteries

 

[Skypower]

Four JK 200A BMS to upgrade from chargery for my four banks of 280ah eve cells. Now the cells sit in their happy zone all the time! One came defective but they replaced it. Shout out for 18650 battery store for supplying.

I’ll have to second that about the JK’s.
Got mine through Ceel (Eel battery) on Amazon.

 

[Kenny_]

Hard to say since I put my entire system in place. I guess the thing I'm most pleased with are the 6 Renogy 550W panels. They are working great!

 

[millsan1]

All of it, 2023 is my first time installing or having solar.

I am very fond of my 18kpv, and Lifepower4 batteries.

Have lost power several times, as is the norm, and life goes on, uninterrupted.

Even with crappy December solar production, I'm running 4+ days before I need to charge from grid