Installing my Solar Panels.

[pkveazey]

Oh, Hell no!!! I went out and decided to screw my 4 solar panels to the south facing part of my back deck. Wow, I did a great job of getting them all level and at the same height and about 1/8" apart. Then I went under the deck to connect them all together in parallel. Oops..... The last one on the end didn't have long enough cables to pluig into the rest oif them. I went on Amazon and found Renogy cables and ordered two 6 foot cables as extentions. They'll be here next week according to Amazon. Its a good thing I did it when I did because my friend up the road said he was going to come by and help me install the system. That would have been embarasing to screw them in place and set the sun angles and then not be able to hook it all up. I still haven't decided just how or where I'm going to put the Charge contoller, Batteries, and 220 Volt AC Inverter. I'm pretty sure it'll be under the deck but I've got to keep that stuff out of the weather. My solar system is for emergency use only. I don't expect us to have rolling blackouts in my area because there is a Nuclear power plant 35 miles East of me and a solar farm just 4 miles South of me. I think that mine will come in handy when there is no gas for my generator and for times when Limbs fall on our power lines and temporarily knock out our power.

[JohnyMac]

Great job! 

Would you share the stats for each component of the system, e.g. wattage of pallets, controller, batteries, etc.

[Sir John Honeybucket]

Interestingly, solar electric for the house is on our list also.  I have a medium sized system (12v @ 130 A/H ) on my workshop that serves as an emergency recharging system & etc.  However my Wife and I had been discussing a system for the house, after the most recent loss of electrical power during a severe thunderstorm.  This outtage was only a few hours, but i made it clear that leaving the house to go to the workshop for electrical power/ recharging &etc. was a pain and possibly unsafe.  The decision is to move the shop system into the house and also as a second and LARGER systen, I plan to design a system to add solar recharging to our little electric 'golf' cart . It being a 48 volt DC system, can easily provide a LOT of power through a high grade invertor if required and to provide very local transportation even during a power outtage. The cart batteries are all new as of two months ago.


- Sir John Honeybucket

[pkveazey]

OK, Johnny wants me to share the Stats on my Solar system.
First, it's a small emergency power system and not a whole house total off grid system.
It is composed of four 100 watt, 12V Renogy panels. In bright sunlight, I measured about 20 volts from each panel and about 5 amps of current.
That will be connected to a 20 amp 12 volt Charge controller and that will be connected to three 12 volt, 100 amphour Battleborn Lithium Batteries and that will be connected to a 5,000 watt 220 volt inverter that will be plugged into my 220 volt clothes dryer socket to backfeed the house panel. Before connecting the inverter, I have to turn off the main breaker so I don't feed power out to the whole neighborhood.
I will have to use energy management and be careful about what I turn on and what I turn off. The 5000 watt hot water heater will definitly be turned off. I will be able to use the Heat pump/Air Conditioner on a limited basis because it pulls 2,500 watts. I will not be able to use the heat pump part because there are 2 helper coils that can draw 50 amps and that would overwhelm the power supply system. If I don't use the Hot water heater, the Heat Pump, or the Electric Cook stove, It should run everything else in the House for more than 12 hours. During the day, in bright sunlight, I should be able to get a full charge on all 3 Batteries. If push comes to shove and I don't get a full charge, I plan to use Jumper cables and charge the system from one of my vehicles by running the engine for about an hour to top off the batteries. I have about $3,500 spent in what I have. If I went full blown whole House Off Grid, I probably would have had to spend about $12,000 to $15,000 because my house is total electric. Believe it or not, my electric bill averaged $120 a month last year. When I replaced the old Heat Pump and Hot Water Heater, the bill dropped so low that the power company sent someone out to see if was doing something to cheat the system.

[pkveazey]

Well, I got got a wild hair up my butt and decided to not wait for my friend to come by and help me mount the solar panels. Hmmmm.... It only took about 10 minutes to screw them in place and leave enough slack to swing them out to about 37 degrees. I decided to not connect the Charge controller, Batteries, and 220 volt inverter until I need to use it. I just can't bare the thought of leaving all that stuff out in the weather until I need it. I can hook it all up now in about 1 hour. I think when the time comes to use it, I'll put the charge controller, Batteries, and Inverter in separate plastic boxes under the deck to keep them out of the weather. I have no idea where I got a piece of angle iron that was the perfect length you fit under the solar panels but it worked poerfect. I swung the panels out to what I think is the best sun angle and supported the bottom with a 4X4 salt treated post. I may have to do a little extra suppoort of the $X4 just incase I have a srong wind issue but for now its perfect. With gas being what it is, I might find that there isn't any for the generator and I may be forced to fall back on my weaker solar system. At lest I'll have power to light my house and electronics and I'll be able to help my MAG members charge up whatever crap they need charged. All of my HT's are BaoFengs and so are all my MAG members. The other day I went through some of the gear and found that I have so many extra BaoFeng batteries that I just gave up and stopped counting them. Even thought I live in the western end of our local power system and don't expect Rolling Blackouts, I have to also recognize that the Solar and Nuclear power plants in my area also feed the Cheasapeake, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Hampton Roads, Newport News and Williamsburg areas and those areas are extremely high polulation zones. As long as I can get Gas for my generator, I plan to use it until it quits or I can't get gas. That solar system is going to be my last resort.

[JohnyMac]

 

My neighbor now wants to put a solar system in similar to mine. I think many are seeing the writing on the wall.

[Nemo]

Get 6 miles of this.  For curves in the path.

Nemo

https://www.globalindustrial.com/p/uf-b-underground-feeder-cable-8-2-awg

[Nemo]

I just can't bare the thought of leaving all that stuff out in the weather until I need it. I can hook it all up now in about 1 hour. I think when the time comes to use it, I'll put the charge controller, Batteries, and Inverter in separate plastic boxes under the deck to keep them out of the weather.

Hook it up.  Test it.  Several times.  Then unhook and keep the parts secure.

You DO NOT want your first time turning it on being the time you need it.

Nemo