Hello everyone.
I have no formal experience of solar installations. I did all the electrical wiring at home, so I feel very comfortable learning, reading, asking questions, and applying what I learn. I am in the process of adding solar power to our home and decided to do it as part of a family project starting this year.
I wanted to run the following set up that I am planning on getting for our home in Easton PA, and I am hoping for your valuable feedback and expertise on this subject matter.
As of April 22, 2024, this is the usage we have:
Average daily use (KWH) last year 64, this year 51
Last 12 months use (KWH) 16,592
Average monthly use (KWH) 1,383
I am told it is recommended to have a 12 KW solar array for a 100% usage offset. I will be using a battery bank of Battle Born batteries, 12V, 100Ah. I am planning to start with 4 batteries in series and eventually bring it up to 16 batteries total.
I will start deploying (4) 200-watt solar panels connected in series with the goal of deploying additional (24) 400+ watts solar panels. I purchase the first 4 Solar panels as follows:
(4) JJN Bifacial 200 watt, 12v, 10bb monocrystalline solar panels.
The remaining solar panels will be 400+ watts, yet to be determined which would be better for this project. I am researching the possibility of getting panels from international vendors which appear to offer a substantial difference in pricing as compared to local purchases. Not sure is a good idea but have heard of folks going this route to stretch those hard-earned dollars.
Looking to add the following equipment to the setup:
(1) Victron MPPT RS 450V DC 100 amp 48-Volt Tr Solar charger controller.
(1) Victron Quattro 5000VA 48-Volt inverter.
(1) Victron energy lynx distributor
(1) Victron energy GX touch 50 display screen for Cerbo GX
(1) Victron energy Cerbo GX for system monitoring and control
Plus, some additional features yet to be determined to protect the system, such as emergency shutoff, surge protectors, AC load center, and any other suggestions you might have for me, etc.
I am not sure how all this will be wired to the current electrical panel (already checking some videos on this), to make sure that solar is used first and that the grid is used as secondary. It seems to all depend on the type of inverter I use.
All solar power related equipment will be housed in a back shed which I will be conditioning to make sure that cold nights are not an issue. The shed is 25-30Ft away from the main home where the main electrical box is located. I run electrical Sch. 40 PVC conduits and added two cable runs of type NM-B (rated 600-Volt) 12/2 Romex wiring with ground. I think I made a mistake here since I believe I would need higher-grade wiring to connect the solar to the main electrical box.
In all, I am looking to set a system that will allow me to grow it, should I need to do so in the future. I am not dropping the grid but keeping it as a backup to the solar solution.
I am new to this forum and started going through some of the discussions already posted.
Your feedback is welcome.
Thank you.
I have no formal experience of solar installations. I did all the electrical wiring at home, so I feel very comfortable learning, reading, asking questions, and applying what I learn. I am in the process of adding solar power to our home and decided to do it as part of a family project starting this year.
I wanted to run the following set up that I am planning on getting for our home in Easton PA, and I am hoping for your valuable feedback and expertise on this subject matter.
As of April 22, 2024, this is the usage we have:
Average daily use (KWH) last year 64, this year 51
Last 12 months use (KWH) 16,592
Average monthly use (KWH) 1,383
I am told it is recommended to have a 12 KW solar array for a 100% usage offset. I will be using a battery bank of Battle Born batteries, 12V, 100Ah. I am planning to start with 4 batteries in series and eventually bring it up to 16 batteries total.
I will start deploying (4) 200-watt solar panels connected in series with the goal of deploying additional (24) 400+ watts solar panels. I purchase the first 4 Solar panels as follows:
(4) JJN Bifacial 200 watt, 12v, 10bb monocrystalline solar panels.
The remaining solar panels will be 400+ watts, yet to be determined which would be better for this project. I am researching the possibility of getting panels from international vendors which appear to offer a substantial difference in pricing as compared to local purchases. Not sure is a good idea but have heard of folks going this route to stretch those hard-earned dollars.
Looking to add the following equipment to the setup:
(1) Victron MPPT RS 450V DC 100 amp 48-Volt Tr Solar charger controller.
(1) Victron Quattro 5000VA 48-Volt inverter.
(1) Victron energy lynx distributor
(1) Victron energy GX touch 50 display screen for Cerbo GX
(1) Victron energy Cerbo GX for system monitoring and control
Plus, some additional features yet to be determined to protect the system, such as emergency shutoff, surge protectors, AC load center, and any other suggestions you might have for me, etc.
I am not sure how all this will be wired to the current electrical panel (already checking some videos on this), to make sure that solar is used first and that the grid is used as secondary. It seems to all depend on the type of inverter I use.
All solar power related equipment will be housed in a back shed which I will be conditioning to make sure that cold nights are not an issue. The shed is 25-30Ft away from the main home where the main electrical box is located. I run electrical Sch. 40 PVC conduits and added two cable runs of type NM-B (rated 600-Volt) 12/2 Romex wiring with ground. I think I made a mistake here since I believe I would need higher-grade wiring to connect the solar to the main electrical box.
In all, I am looking to set a system that will allow me to grow it, should I need to do so in the future. I am not dropping the grid but keeping it as a backup to the solar solution.
I am new to this forum and started going through some of the discussions already posted.
Your feedback is welcome.
Thank you.
