Small Off Grid Solar System ... I'm Taking the Solar Plunge

Well regarded board member McGiever tackled my entire solar panel install project (inside and out) and he did a fantastic job for which I will be forever indebted and grateful to him.

Here are a couple pictures of his fine work.

Which structure does the wifey let you live in?

Can I move in with the other?

davidmcbeth3 wrote:Which structure does the wifey let you live in?

Can I move in with the other?

Yes you may. You can move in with my chickens.

lsayre wrote:

davidmcbeth3 wrote:Which structure does the wifey let you live in?

Can I move in with the other?

Yes you may. You can move in with my chickens.

UPGRADE ! Now with cats. Thanks.

Looks nice. Good job McGiever! :punk:

On its first full day of operation with round the clock loads applied (our upstairs refrigerator/freezer and our downstairs deep freezer) the solar system made 4.30 KWH of electricity. This on an intermittently cloudy day that began with thunderstorms.

So THAT'S who stole my Erector Set!

Nice job. What size inverter are you using to supply both of those loads? You have about 500 watts worth of panels there?

Larry has a 1500 watt inverter with 4x260 watt on the panels.

I will mention that it was a pleasure to have been of service to both Larry and his wife Karla for this project, they both were extraordinary hosts during the whole installation...Karla prepared some great meals and much of it was from her own garden.

lsayre wrote:On its first full day of operation with round the clock loads applied (our upstairs refrigerator/freezer and our downstairs deep freezer) the solar system made 4.30 KWH of electricity. This on an intermittently cloudy day that began with thunderstorms.

How much would it have cost you from the electric company? Doz 4.3 KWH ?

I got a call from a marketing company (I think we all have) - they claimed that their system produces electricity in the dark (nite-time). It appears as if the UV radiation goes through the entire Earth and somehow get reflected someway onto their panels at nite. ROFL .. marketers

Calculate also how much fuel would be used, if you could get enough fuel, to run a gas or diesel generator for a week long grid power failure. Generator option not an option or has some unexpected kind of issue so then may need to add in the cost of all the spoiled food from your fridge and deep freeze.

With readily available componets now days The Solar Movement is spreading with rapid growth among certain Amish communities countywide.

McGiever wrote:Larry has a 1500 watt inverter with 4x260 watt on the panels.

I have a Xantrex 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter feeding two chest freezers, one of which I converted to a refrigerator. On occasion, if the compressor is in the 'wrong' position at startup, it will draw enough current to trip the inverter. I'm feeding the inverter directly from six golf cart batteries with 1/0 wire so there is minimal voltage drop. I'm curious to see if Larry will see the same occasional drops in the future. The rig is in the garage so I can't hear the shutdown alarm.
I went with pure sine wave not for the freezers, of course, but to feed more delicate stuff when the power grid goes down.

Those 4 kwh's would cost about $0.75 here in Ga in the summer but $0.40 in the winter.

Did you use a MPPT control as I did?

Is your 2000 watt inverter "surge rated" at the typical 2X normal max running watts? (4000 watts surge in your case)

Curious as to the in-rush current causing this tripping. As you say, 1/0 wire is never going to be any issue.
What's the DC voltage? Are the 6X6 volt batteries all in series? If so, this can possibly be a "bottleneck" for peak amps.
Larry has his 4X6 volt batteries in series but they are physically huge in size with equally huge lead plates inside, but only has #3 wire size jumpers throughout.

How did you make a chest freezer be a fridge? Did you just make/allow a higher temp setpoint on it?

I have a 1500 W (non-sine) converter for emergencies.... a 2000 W one is on the edge for a pair of freezers, as tjnamtiw has discovered. If they both want to cycle at the same time, forget about it.

When I use it on a high-wattage starting device, like a frig, I disconnect everything else and then turn it on.
A frig is a "5" in Green Acres electrical units. .

McGiever wrote:Calculate also how much fuel would be used, if you could get enough fuel, to run a gas or diesel generator for a week long grid power failure. Generator option not an option or has some unexpected kind of issue so then may need to add in the cost of all the spoiled food from your fridge and deep freeze.

With readily available componets now days The Solar Movement is spreading with rapid growth among certain Amish communities countywide.

I use my inverter and hybrid car as a generator; and have used it for a constant 2 week time period. Used 3 gallons of gas.

Running frig and lights and fans for the most part. Of course, in the sweltering summertime. Nize.

Everyone else without your car will have to do it another way.
But thanks for stopping by to say so.