New to Solar

[Gregorypscott]

I started out watching every Solar guru on YouTube and of course it wasn’t long before I knew that Will Prowse was the guy to follow. Not that the others weren’t, but there is something about his style and charecter that make a person trust what he says and his enthusiasm to help others is off the chart.
My problem is that I have oversatuated my brain watching over 100 Will Prowse videos. He is a Genius and tries his best to explain things in laymen terms, but my mind is starting to feel like mash potatoes trying to figure out what’s best for me. So please don’t beat me up to bad with what seems to be simple to a lot of folks. I am not an electrician nor do I have much experiance outside of wiring 12g and 14g wire at home.
I want to put a system together Off-Grid to run sections of my home. My plan is to put a sub panel next to my home (grid) fuse panel (the sub panel is “stand alone” and not wired to the house breaker box). I’d like to slowly take the electrical wires from a 15-20 amp breaker from my homes breaker box and plug it into a 15-20 amp fuse in the Sub panel. Now the sub panel will be wired to an inverter with solar panels and LifePO4 24v or 48v batteries.
Since I want to start small and don’t want to get lost with all the parts involved in building a system from scratch that I’m thinking the EG4 6000 all in one should be the way to go.
I’m thinking I’d start out with maybe 6x 200w solar panels and 2x 200ah 48 volt LifeP04 batteries.
As time goes on, I’d like to slowly keep removing wires from my home fuse panel (Grid) and hook them to the sub panel. As I start using more power than the system allows, I’d add more batteries and Solar Panels.
Is this system (EG4 6000xp) a good starting all in one system to start with and expand as I can afford? Or am I going to regret this and wished I’d have bought something bigger like the Sol Ark 12k? I don’t believe I am going to try going completely off grid but I would like to eventually have all lights, electrical outlets including the refrigerator and 1 1/2 hp pool pump on solar someday.
I’d like to make sure I get a system that is certified just in case I decide to tie in with the grid later.
Any advice on a great system that I can start with under $6000 but can keep expanding.

 

[KITROBASKIN]

Welcome!
Such an interesting project you have there. Hopefully some proven experience will take a look and offer suggestions. At some point after you have a better grasp of your big picture, you will chunk your queries into simpler bites for the experienced members to chew…

Meanwhile, perhaps you will consider doing a thoughtful energy audit, looking into any future plausible options. This should give you a clearer picture of how big to go with your initial system.

Hopefully you will decide early on whether you will choose components with a history of reliability (and hopefully low stress/time consumption) or taking a chance on buying cheaper but with the possibility of much time spent trying to figure out all the interactions, then problem solving, plus the very real expense of having to call the vendor to get things working correctly.

Perhaps study up on the basics of household wiring, and working slowly (literally).

Your idea of building “certified”grid tie capability definitely adds an additional dimension of complexity and expense. Fortunately you sound like you have time to research, then balance your wants and needs with reality.

Don’t forget to have fun! This solar stuff is stimulating in a good way. Success is sweet, and can save you serious money down the road.

 

[Rednecktek]

Blurb time!

Well, I'll start the default answer to these questions and we can work from there. Here's you To-Do list:

1: Power audit! This will give you some important information on how big your inverter needs to be as well as how much battery capacity you'll need. There is a link in the FAQ section (I think, or someone here will post it shortly) so fill in the blanks and see what it comes up with. You'll probably need some sort of Kill-A-Watt to get accurate measurements. Are you going to be running a 12v system? 24v system? 48v system? What are the specs on your solar panels? VoC? Vmp? Being as this is a new build, throw together a wish list of what you want and estimate on the high side.

1a: Where do you live? Speccing out a system for Scotland is a LOT different numbers than Arizona due to the amount of light you actually get. Someone here can post the link to the PVwatts.com or JCR Solar Uber-Sun-Hours calculator sites to help figure out how much you'll have to work with. That will be a box in the Power Audit form.

2: Parts list: You don't need a make & model list, just a parts list to start from for reference. You'll need an inverter, a MPPT charge controller, fuses, shunt, buck converter, batteries, wire, etc. Once you have a basic list it can be fine tuned to make & models after that. If you're looking at the All-In-Ones check for correct voltage outputs (120v or 240v Split Phase for North America, 220v Single Phase for European type areas) and make sure it has enough capacity for a little bit of growth and fudge factor.

3: Budget!: Steak is great but doesn't mean anything if your wallet says hamburger. Figure out what you're able to spend now vs what you'll have to cheap out on now and upgrade later.

4: Tape measure! Figure out where you're going to stick all the stuff you'll need. A dozen 3000AH batteries sounds great until you're sleeping on the floor because there's no room left for a bed. Is there a compartment that can house all this stuff? Will the server rack batteries fit? Are you going to have to make space? Physics can be pretty unforgiving.

5: Pencil out what you think you need and throw it at us so we can tell you what you've missed (because we ALL miss stuff the first go-round ) and help figure out which parts and pieces you're going to want to get.

Well that's the thing about solar systems, there is no 1-Size-Fits-All answer. Your system will need to be designed to fit YOUR needs. When you design and built the system, it's not going to be the perfect system for me, or Will or 12vInstall or anyone else, but it Will be the right system for You and that's the goal.

As for where to get started, let me throw my standard blurb in here to help point you in the right direction. There's going to be a lot of math and research involved, but that's going to be a LOT cheaper than just buying parts off of someone's list and finding out that it doesn't do what you need.

Don't panic on the Power Audit, you'll actually be doing that a few times. When you do the first pass put in ALL the Things that you might want. AirCon? Sure. Jacuzzi? Why not. MargaritaMaster-9000? Go for it.

The second pass will be the "I Absolutely Need This To Survive" list that isn't going to have much on there.

The third pass will be the "This is what is realistic" audit that you'll use to design the rest of the system.

The Power Audit is going to tell you 3 primary things: 1: How big does your inverter need to be to power your loads? 2: How much battery bank do you need to last $N number of days with krappy weather? and 3: How much solar panel will I need to install to refill those batteries in a 4 hour day (the average usable sun hours rule-of-thumb).

Once you know what you Want and what you Need and what your budget can Afford there will be somewhere in that Venn diagram where those three things meet.

After that, THEN you can start looking at parts.

Yes, it's a long drawn out process, but it's worth it in the end. Not every house has the exact same floorplan, not every vehicle is the same make & model, and not every solar system is designed the same.

 

[Gregorypscott]

Blurb time!

Well, I'll start the default answer to these questions and we can work from there. Here's you To-Do list:

1: Power audit! This will give you some important information on how big your inverter needs to be as well as how much battery capacity you'll need. There is a link in the FAQ section (I think, or someone here will post it shortly) so fill in the blanks and see what it comes up with. You'll probably need some sort of Kill-A-Watt to get accurate measurements. Are you going to be running a 12v system? 24v system? 48v system? What are the specs on your solar panels? VoC? Vmp? Being as this is a new build, throw together a wish list of what you want and estimate on the high side.

1a: Where do you live? Speccing out a system for Scotland is a LOT different numbers than Arizona due to the amount of light you actually get. Someone here can post the link to the PVwatts.com or JCR Solar Uber-Sun-Hours calculator sites to help figure out how much you'll have to work with. That will be a box in the Power Audit form.

2: Parts list: You don't need a make & model list, just a parts list to start from for reference. You'll need an inverter, a MPPT charge controller, fuses, shunt, buck converter, batteries, wire, etc. Once you have a basic list it can be fine tuned to make & models after that. If you're looking at the All-In-Ones check for correct voltage outputs (120v or 240v Split Phase for North America, 220v Single Phase for European type areas) and make sure it has enough capacity for a little bit of growth and fudge factor.

3: Budget!: Steak is great but doesn't mean anything if your wallet says hamburger. Figure out what you're able to spend now vs what you'll have to cheap out on now and upgrade later.

4: Tape measure! Figure out where you're going to stick all the stuff you'll need. A dozen 3000AH batteries sounds great until you're sleeping on the floor because there's no room left for a bed. Is there a compartment that can house all this stuff? Will the server rack batteries fit? Are you going to have to make space? Physics can be pretty unforgiving.

5: Pencil out what you think you need and throw it at us so we can tell you what you've missed (because we ALL miss stuff the first go-round ) and help figure out which parts and pieces you're going to want to get.

Well that's the thing about solar systems, there is no 1-Size-Fits-All answer. Your system will need to be designed to fit YOUR needs. When you design and built the system, it's not going to be the perfect system for me, or Will or 12vInstall or anyone else, but it Will be the right system for You and that's the goal.

As for where to get started, let me throw my standard blurb in here to help point you in the right direction. There's going to be a lot of math and research involved, but that's going to be a LOT cheaper than just buying parts off of someone's list and finding out that it doesn't do what you need.

Don't panic on the Power Audit, you'll actually be doing that a few times. When you do the first pass put in ALL the Things that you might want. AirCon? Sure. Jacuzzi? Why not. MargaritaMaster-9000? Go for it.

The second pass will be the "I Absolutely Need This To Survive" list that isn't going to have much on there.

The third pass will be the "This is what is realistic" audit that you'll use to design the rest of the system.

The Power Audit is going to tell you 3 primary things: 1: How big does your inverter need to be to power your loads? 2: How much battery bank do you need to last $N number of days with krappy weather? and 3: How much solar panel will I need to install to refill those batteries in a 4 hour day (the average usable sun hours rule-of-thumb).

Once you know what you Want and what you Need and what your budget can Afford there will be somewhere in that Venn diagram where those three things meet.

After that, THEN you can start looking at parts.

Yes, it's a long drawn out process, but it's worth it in the end. Not every house has the exact same floorplan, not every vehicle is the same make & model, and not every solar system is designed the same.

Dang, thank you for the detailed explanation. I will print this out and follow your system for analyzing my needs. Thank you again.

 

[bristolmrd]

I started out watching every Solar guru on YouTube and of course it wasn’t long before I knew that Will Prowse was the guy to follow. Not that the others weren’t, but there is something about his style and charecter that make a person trust what he says and his enthusiasm to help others is off the chart.
My problem is that I have oversatuated my brain watching over 100 Will Prowse videos. He is a Genius and tries his best to explain things in laymen terms, but my mind is starting to feel like mash potatoes trying to figure out what’s best for me. So please don’t beat me up to bad with what seems to be simple to a lot of folks. I am not an electrician nor do I have much experiance outside of wiring 12g and 14g wire at home.
I want to put a system together Off-Grid to run sections of my home. My plan is to put a sub panel next to my home (grid) fuse panel (the sub panel is “stand alone” and not wired to the house breaker box). I’d like to slowly take the electrical wires from a 15-20 amp breaker from my homes breaker box and plug it into a 15-20 amp fuse in the Sub panel. Now the sub panel will be wired to an inverter with solar panels and LifePO4 24v or 48v batteries.
Since I want to start small and don’t want to get lost with all the parts involved in building a system from scratch that I’m thinking the EG4 6000 all in one should be the way to go.
I’m thinking I’d start out with maybe 6x 200w solar panels and 2x 200ah 48 volt LifeP04 batteries.
As time goes on, I’d like to slowly keep removing wires from my home fuse panel (Grid) and hook them to the sub panel. As I start using more power than the system allows, I’d add more batteries and Solar Panels.
Is this system (EG4 6000xp) a good starting all in one system to start with and expand as I can afford? Or am I going to regret this and wished I’d have bought something bigger like the Sol Ark 12k? I don’t believe I am going to try going completely off grid but I would like to eventually have all lights, electrical outlets including the refrigerator and 1 1/2 hp pool pump on solar someday.
I’d like to make sure I get a system that is certified just in case I decide to tie in with the grid later.
Any advice on a great system that I can start with under $6000 but can keep expanding.

Definitely agree , not necessarily will but others where I confused myself even more . At 80 doesn’t seem hard to do anymore . I did order his solar book ( will prose )so hopefullyclear lest some of the cobwebs .