Solar gen - first test

[gll]

The only thing about solar is that you need to calculate what the lowest amount is that you can possibly get by with and check to see what the lowest amount of production would be on a rainy day.

There's a HUGE difference between production on very cloudy days compared to mostly sunny days as you can see from my examples of recent days on my system:

Very sunny day with little clouds:

View attachment 388358

Very cloudy day with rain:
View attachment 388359

I know you've said, how many kw is your system rated for again?

 

[easy rider]

The stand was an existing windmill tank stand... the windmill tower and tank long gone when I bought the place, and a submersible installed by a previous owner in '76, lasted until '06 when I had to replace it and the iron pipe with a new submersible and pvc pipe..., and I put the tank up on the stand... The platform was built years earlier for a 1000 gal tank, but I chickened out and only put up 500 gal.

I've always wished I'd built the platform big enough to have a walkway and rail around and maybe even a roof, lol!

The lower tank, solar panels, and solar direct submersible pump were added 3 years ago.

The biggest problem with that well is it's low production; it only yields about 100 gal/day. Pumping that doesn't use much power, and leaves enough to charge my 48v golf cart and power a 10 gal water heater solar direct as needed or desired. Probably could power many other things, if I really needed to. I currently have 5x Everstart 29DC marine batteries in the well house charged my an Outback Power FlexMax 60a charge controller that allow the submersible to be run on low sun days.

Most all my solar stuff being 48v, I have several different size 48v - 110vac inverters, separate from my house system.

My goal is to have water, hot water, and refrigeration regardless of what happens...

Yeah, if power goes out, especially at this time of year, my main concern is refrigeration. While creature comforts are a bonus, I don't want to have to replace everything in the refrigerator and freezer.

 

[MountainGirl]

I know you've said, how many kw is your system rated for again?

That's what I was wondering..along with the voltage.
Hell, he'd have to isolate some of the panels just to switch over even to a 48v back-up system.
I ran a 24v on the mountain; but that was back when inverter prices were ludicrous (unlike now, when they're just insane)

 

[no2gates]

I would never do a solar roof mount... certainly not a big one!

This is only on one side of the house. 44 panels.

 

[MountainGirl]

Yeah, if power goes out, especially at this time of year, my main concern is refrigeration. While creature comforts are a bonus, I don't want to have to replace everything in the refrigerator and freezer.

Your Anker should handle it just fine (mine would, and yours is bigger) - as long as you can recharge it each day.

 

[no2gates]

Yeah, if power goes out, especially at this time of year, my main concern is refrigeration. While creature comforts are a bonus, I don't want to have to replace everything in the refrigerator and freezer.

My grid power just went out about 45 minutes ago. Only noticed a momentary blip in my office light. It was only off for 15 minutes, but the solar output easily handled it with no draw on the backup battery since it was during the peak output of the day.

 

[no2gates]

I know you've said, how many kw is your system rated for again?

16.5 kw output on the panels.

 

[MountainGirl]

My grid power just went out about 45 minutes ago. Only noticed a momentary blip in my office light. It was only off for 15 minutes, but the solar output easily handled it with no draw on the backup battery since it was during the peak output of the day.

That answers my question in #80, thanks!

 

[easy rider]

My grid power just went out about 45 minutes ago. Only noticed a momentary blip in my office light. It was only off for 15 minutes, but the solar output easily handled it with no draw on the backup battery since it was during the peak output of the day.

Yeah, but I don't have the elaborate set-up that you have.

Mainly I had the idea to run my fuel generator during the day and solar generator at night for extended power outages. The solar generator is very quiet, easier to sleep and less power needed. Not to mention the fact that if things get real bad, I'm not announcing that I have a generator at night when people get more brazen to try to steal things.

 

[no2gates]

Thanks much for showing that.
With your set-up, do you have the ability to um...bypass - so you can still use your panels when the grid is down? (And if you don't want to answer publicly, kindly disregard the question. )

Yes, there's a main switch that will take the system completely off-grid.
The majority of solar systems will not function at all off-grid, and they don't tell you that when they are trying to sell it to you. It needs the grid incoming 60hz frequency to sync up to, and when the grid it out, the panels are useless.
I only found this out when I wondered why 2 neighbors had no power back in Feb '21 when the power was out for 5 days here. Since I wanted a system with battery backup, our inverter system will work with no grid.

 

[no2gates]

Yeah, but I don't have the elaborate set-up that you have.

Mainly I had the idea to run my fuel generator during the day and solar generator at night for extended power outages. The solar generator is very quiet, easier to sleep and less power needed. Not to mention the fact that if things get real bad, I'm not announcing that I have a generator at night when people get more brazen to try to steal things.

The lack of noise for a SHTF scenario is a HUGE plus. Noise from a normal generator is advertising "hey I've got power, come and get it", unless you live on a decent sized lot and nobody can hear it.

 

[no2gates]

That's what I was wondering..along with the voltage.
Hell, he'd have to isolate some of the panels just to switch over even to a 48v back-up system.
I ran a 24v on the mountain; but that was back when inverter prices were ludicrous (unlike now, when they're just insane)

My system is a "whole-house" system that generates 220v with the inverter to power everything in the house.

 

[MountainGirl]

16.5 kw output on the panels.

The pics on your post #75 shows an output of under 4 kw during the sunny peak hour... am I reading that wrong? What am I missing?

Edit: Never mind. gll showed me.

 

[MountainGirl]

Yes, there's a main switch that will take the system completely off-grid.
The majority of solar systems will not function at all off-grid, and they don't tell you that when they are trying to sell it to you. It needs the grid incoming 60hz frequency to sync up to, and when the grid it out, the panels are useless.
I only found this out when I wondered why 2 neighbors had no power back in Feb '21 when the power was out for 5 days here. Since I wanted a system with battery backup, our inverter system will work with no grid.

Good. Many fall for it; I was pretty sure you hadn't.

What's your battery set up like, and its capacity in Amp hours? Boy I sure appreciate your sharing this info. I'm moving closer to wanting a big system and learning what works down here (and what's new, for that matter) really helps. Thanks so much...

 

[gll]

The pics on your post #75 shows an output of under 4 kw during the sunny peak hour... am I reading that wrong? What am I missing?

Each column is 15 minutes, the way I see that..., so about 12 or 14kwh from his 16.5kw system

 

[MountainGirl]

Each column is 15 minutes, the way I see that..., so about 12 or 14kwh from his 16.5kw system

Aw hell. Yep. That's what I missed. Thanks!

 

[easy rider]

For those interested in getting started for in house or RV solar power, I found this video very easy to follow for the basic set-ups:

 

[no2gates]

Good. Many fall for it; I was pretty sure you hadn't.

What's your battery set up like, and its capacity in Amp hours? Boy I sure appreciate your sharing this info. I'm moving closer to wanting a big system and learning what works down here (and what's new, for that matter) really helps. Thanks so much...

My battery backup is a Tesla Powerwall 2 that is rated at 13.5kWh

 

[MountainGirl]

For those interested in getting started for in house or RV solar power, I found this video very easy to follow for the basic set-ups:

That's a really good vid for folks who have no idea about all this.
Thanks for posting it

 

[MountainGirl]

Ok - looks like we may be doing this...so.. back to the hail concern.

Those of you who have had solar panels that have been hit by hail and come out unscathed - What brand are they? I trust your real life experience way more than manufacturers' claims. Thanks so much.