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Solar panels on your home

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by RunninRaven, May 13, 2019.

  1. RunninRaven

    RunninRaven Contributing Member
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    I totally forgot about this thread. My wife and I did some research on the company we signed up with and found some red flags that made us very nervous. When we tried to call the sales dude to ask him questions, he pretty much blew us off. That made us very nervous so we called them and cancelled the contract. We still want to do solar at some point in the future, but that situation has made us a little hesitant, so we'll probably take care of some other home repair needs and then get back to the solar stuff.
     
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  2. Haymitch

    Haymitch Custom Title
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    Glad you looked into it! Just from your story, it had some red flags. I wanted to yell "RUN AWAY!!" but I didn't know enough facts so I just posted this:

     
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  3. cheke64

    cheke64 Member

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    you did the right thing. What red flags did you see?
     
  4. RunninRaven

    RunninRaven Contributing Member
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    We tried to do some research on the company and had difficulty finding anything. It seemed like they had either changed names several times or had splintered off. We found a few negative reviews online (can't remember the specific complaints but it was similar to some of the things we were worried about). The final nail was that we couldn't get anyone (including the sales guy who signed us up) to respond to us or answer the questions those flags were raising.
     
  5. REEKO_HTOWN

    REEKO_HTOWN I'm Rich Biiiiaaatch!

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    I just can't hope on the solar train until the market and tariffs stabilize. Honestly if you are into anything tech related and can wait another year to make a purchase just wait. Covid and this cold war with China are just a bad recipe to buy right now.
     
  6. K LoLo

    K LoLo Member

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    Most of what I have read has been similar to this.
     
  7. VanityHalfBlack

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    I have bad credit so I bought weed instead. I was high as the solar system and then some.
     
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  8. lpbman

    lpbman Member

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    55kw/h is what I'm making on a good day. Real world, rain, clouds etc... I made somewhere between 1000-1100kwh last month.

    Now that many a/c units are running this time of year and the days are long, most of that power is getting used before going back to the grid. I figure 2/3 is being used by us, 1/3 going back to the grid, on average. If every day was a clear sunny day, that'd be ~$130 per month in savings. Around $80-90 realistically.
     
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  9. cheke64

    cheke64 Member

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    what are you using?
     
  10. lpbman

    lpbman Member

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    It's kind of a hobby that's grown over time, so I've got a mixed bag of things working for me. Started small and all that.

    I have 12 250w panels on an adjustable, ground mounted array that is powered by AP Systems microinverters. I have 6000w of assorted panels on a 5000w growatt string inverter mounted on a barn with steel struts at a fixed angle. I also have another 900 watts of panels that won't work with the string inverter on 3 Enecsys microinverters. Most of the panels were bought used, some much better than others... (like the three 300w panels that throw my string inverter into a fault mode)

    So, helpful for cutting the electric bill... embarrassingly useless in the last year when we were without power for 6+ weeks because of hurricanes and other storms. Next step is an all-in-one hybrid inverter and batteries so I am insulated from the *very frequent* blips in power, outages and a vast reduction in gas usage if I have to go another long stretch without power. I'd love to go big enough to not need a generator in an emergency, and the payback would be less than 4 years, but It can't wait for me to save up the cash. I have elderly relatives that can't go without power.
    More hodge-podge on the way.
     
  11. DaDakota

    DaDakota If you want to know, just ask!

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    Oh man you are my hero, I am at ground zero - and am buying some used panels to tinker with and get started.....

    How much do you think your system cost you overall? Also, there are some great deals on Lithium Ion Batteries from MRI machines, they use em for a year and then have to replace them but the guy I follow on YouTube bought some and tested them and they were fully chargable....and at a fraction of the price....he built a power wall with them.

    DD
     
  12. lpbman

    lpbman Member

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    Hard to say how much because I've just bought things piecemeal over a long period of time.



    I can say that to build a similar setup like mine today would cost around $1700 for 8800w of panel (40 used), $1600 for a pair of string inverters. I found I spent about $10 per panel to mount them on the barn, a bit more for a ground mount with lumber and concrete. Cost of wire for the panels isn't bad, they mostly connect to each other... but then you've got to get that power to the grid, direct burial wire and conduit for coming out of the ground for the ground array... $300? Maybe more... I put down bigger wire than I needed to in the ground because I don't wanna dig twice. Then like $300 for things like shutoff switches, labels, and I had to pay $100-150 for an inspection... YMMV on inspections and permits. I didn't spend too much on tools- a few surprises like a pick axe when I found asphalt between the ground array and the breaker box and I am still tempted to buy a stupid $60 special socket for working with unistrut/superstrut... but I have been working on new curse words instead of spending the money thus far.

    If I could start from scratch I would start with a hybrid inverter first. Even if it was too small for my ultimate goals I'd either get one that you can run in multiples to get the power I want, or just relegate it to running a split wall air conditioner or something. I've seen battery prices on Ali Express approaching $100/kwh... but I dunno how bad you get hosed on tarrifs and duties and broker fees or whatevs.

    Sidenote, when choosing a string/hybrid inverter, one with a transformer will be far less sensitive to go into fault with used panels. Also be careful with the chinese inverters as the USA uses split phase 240 while most of the world uses single phase 240.

    Sidenote sidenote, If you have an electric hot water heater, one could replace the lower heating element with an element ohm matched to solar panels. You then get a direct current thermostat set at 160 or so degrees and a thermostatic mixing valve. Add 1.5-2 kw of solar panels, and suddenly your 50 gallon tank gives you 70 gallons of hot water for free*. If no sun, you still get hot water from the top, grid tied heating element, you just double the recovery time after a shower or bath. Total cost around $700, ROI ~18 months depending on usage and what you're paying per kw. You could probably make a direct solar heater with pex and plexiglass for less... but this isn't going to boil or freeze on your roof, no pumps etc.

    *Assumes sunny day, 6 hrs of direct sun, 60 degree inlet temps and 120 degree exit.
     
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