diy solar

diy solar

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    Is there a market for used Sol-Ark 15k???

    I would keep it. There's no guarantee "EMP hardened" will do anything. It's a good marketing gimmick though. If an EMP goes off and it fails, who are you going to call...assuming you could place a call? It would be cheaper to get a backup unit like a 6000XP and put it in a faraday box or...
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    My Signature Solar Experience (not good)

    As others have said, that Growatt should not be outdoors.
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    Very large off-grid planning considerations - timing

    That lower basement room would make a great wine room or fallout shelter.
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    Simple battery backup for house

    I went through this exercise, but in the reverse. My Honda couldn't start my 4 ton HVAC even with an EasyStart installed. My first option was to purchase an inverter portable AC. That worked fine for a bit and it's nice to have the option to cool a single area during an outage without spending a...
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    Exhaust for whole house genset

    Yeah...there are many benefits to having battery as your primary backup source. It's quiet, and it also converts all of the generator output to stored energy to be used later. With just a generator, you're wasting fuel during periods of low loads, though some can run at lower RPMs to make them...
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    Exhaust for whole house genset

    I had the same issue with a heavy generator and a big hill. My "solution" was to install a battery backup in the basement and only use the generator for recharging. The last two outages we had lasted 8 hours and 6 hours, and the battery backup didn't even go down to 60%. We recharged it after...
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    How should I price Batteries previously purchased five months ago?

    Just buy a new one and take the federal tax credit. Most BMS software keeps track of the number of cycles on the battery, but you'd need a laptop to connect and check it. The owner could also send a screenshot of this to you before you arrange anything. I wouldn't offer more than $700 for it...
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    Exhaust for whole house genset

    I don't see any benefit but I'm no expert. Exhaust from a generator is much less than an idling car, especially running on natural gas. Outdoors, it will simply blend with the air and dissipate. I've seen enclosures for keeping the sound down and most of those have exhaust fans to keep the...
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    Growatt 6kw offgrid

    I set my Growatt to run off voltage instead of BMS communications after running into issues with battery sag during high inrush loads. Kept getting errors. That said, my setup is for emergency backup only and I don't have solar panels so it is rarely in use.
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    Growatt 6kw offgrid

    The main switch is flipped down (on) not up (power saver) right? Also, check settings 12 and 13 to make sure they are correct. Set 13 to 100% to ensure it runs on battery when fully charged, especially if you have no other inputs.
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    Growatt 6kw offgrid

    Make sure the switches on the bottom of the Growatt are turned on. You don't need AC input to run the Growatt, just the battery is needed for testing. If your battery is providing voltage and the Growatt is set to use battery power, you should be seeing AC at the output. Setting 01 should be set...
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    thoughts on a tiny house on our property

    I agree with the other poster. Get two 6000XP. This gives you much more available power and also builds in redundancy in case one craps out.
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    Growatt Inverter available

    Check for loose connections, especially near the input terminals.
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    18 month DIY project finally done: 39kW inverter power off grid system

    Check out NEC section 110.26. This permit checklist from PA includes a check for clearances around all equipment: https://www.ckcog.com/wp-content/uploads/Photovoltaic-PV-System-Checklist-2022.pdf
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    18 month DIY project finally done: 39kW inverter power off grid system

    Does code allow a battery rack to block an inverter? I know there is something regarding the ground space near an electrical panel but not sure about inverters.
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