Recent content by speculant

I came here to say this. OP is blaming Signature Solar when they need to hold their installer accountable for doing a horrible job. I'm surprised Signature Solar is even honoring the warranty after OP posted proof of how the products were mounted (outdoor with no protection). The inverter and...

Ok great. I already sized the pair going to the MPPT for 9 panels, as I had purchased 10 panels originally and was planning on doing 3S3P from the get-go with one panel as a spare. I just didn't check the size of my yard and the ground mounts before hand. So I'll go ahead and set up the 3 north...

I am planning on fusing all three strings separately. When you say "it's ok if 2 come on one pair of wires and the third on another pair", are you referring to fuses or the leads to the single MPPT? Since I already ran the single pair of cables to my MPPT, all nine panels would be going to the...

I have six panels facing south in 2S3P. I have three more identical panels but I only have room to put them north facing. I would like to expand to 3S3P, however I already ran the two cables to my MPPT and I don't have it in the budget to run another two cables at this point, so I can't use a...

I have the 5500 BTU model and I love it for my living room. It’s the perfect size to supplement my home HVAC with my solar panels. I’ve been looking to see if I can find a dual hose portable AC that uses the same inverter technology but I can’t seem to find one I’m going to keep looking.

That may be the end result, to get a 1500-2000W inverter with a remote switch that would only be turned on when the appliances are used. For resistive loads like a cooktop, coffee maker, electric kettle, I wouldn't need a pure sine wave inverter, so any inexpensive modified sine wave inverter...

From my limited research, DC-powered portable AC units exit such as the Ecoflow Wave and Zero Breeze but both are over $1000. I'm not sure if cheaper options exist that are DC powered. Unfortunately a window unit or mini-split wouldn't be feasible as it would be too large for the van. So since...

I am hoping to design/price out a system for my mother-in-law with only one or two 500W (if they will fit, less W if space is limited) on top of the van, so I would like to save every W possible. This means removing the inverter from the equation as it would be mostly running electronics that...

What I did, is call around to local businesses that seemed like they would get stuff shipped in on pallets and asked if they had any pallets they were looking to get rid of. Paint shops, HVAC shops, Electrical shops, etc are good places to check. Big box stores like Home Depot or Lowes are not...

Inspired by this video: I received some 235W panels for very cheap from a coworker who purchased a pallet of them from SanTan (had extras he needed to get rid of) and I wanted to mount them for as little cost as possible just to get something up and going. I was able to get (basically)...

I did this same thing recently (I also live in the south), and I used a Midea U-shape window AC unit which is much more efficient than older window units because not only does it significantly reduce the window gap that you have to insulate, but it also has a variable speed compressor which has...

I just want to say thank you again for the help! I ran the conduit, got the rest of the equipment installed, and today was the first day I’m making power! It was cloudy out but I still pulled 1.16kWh from the six panels. I don’t have a smart shunt yet but I think I’ll just wait on that as I...

Thank you for the great advice. I may or may not go with Midnite products in specific due to the cost but that is definitely pointing me in the right direction. I will either mount the PV disconnect/breakers at the last panel's mount closest to the house or on the exterior of the house depending...

Ok that is great info. Is there any reason the solar fuse has to be on the outside of the house or is it fine to have it on the inside? I have seen some DIY video guides that show how to install junction boxes on each end through a wall with a threaded pipe so I think I can manage that just...

Complete beginner here but I have done some limited research and I want to make sure I don't make any huge mistakes. I'm trying to keep this project budget-friendly so I have sourced everything used and I have managed to keep it under $1000 so far. The primary goal of the project is to provide...