anyone on solar?

raggie33

*the raggedier*
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Aug 11, 2003
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im converting slowly but surely i keep buying the wrong thing. ont thing i bought was a solar generater but i made the mistake of buying one that has no hook ups its just a add on to a existing gen. whats the most cost efective way to go solar?i have the sun here my few panels do ok but need to store that power
 

idleprocess

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decamped
I have a tentative offer from a group buy discount the city was running - two days left to put up a small refundable deposit and receive a firm offer. Tentative cash price is $2.55/watt for a grid-tie system. But there are so many questions about the financials that I've been suggested to pose to...
  • Salespeople, or
  • Enthusiasts whose demeanor towards the matter is ... bobblehead-like
... thus I don't know that I'm going to get reliable answers. My concern is that there's going to be two electrical meters (a new supply meter to supplement the existing consumption meter), some lingering power sale/purchase agreement with a third party for the net metering, or both.

EDIT: Local grid operator installs a second "DG" (Distributed Generation) infeed meter, which is for sure the gateway to bullsh_t fees and other accounting shenanigans that will wreck the finances.
 
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orbital

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+

Check with your HOA to see if you even can. Even smaller setups may not be allowed.
My neighbors sister lives in Minnesota and her HOA won't allow solar panels or even have a garden.

If you can have some,, a few larger panels for a clean setup is all you'll want - maybe an ECOFLOW Delta type storage.
Power your big new 4K etc..♾️
 

PhotonWrangler

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Oct 19, 2003
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In a handbasket
im converting slowly but surely i keep buying the wrong thing. ont thing i bought was a solar generater but i made the mistake of buying one that has no hook ups its just a add on to a existing gen. whats the most cost efective way to go solar?i have the sun here my few panels do ok but need to store that power
I can see a use case for solar for helping to keep a vehicle charged. The payback timeframe for a full-home solar installation though is in the neighborhood of 5-7 years, and that's with good quality PV cells and a climate that gets lots of sun.
 

raggie33

*the raggedier*
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Aug 11, 2003
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i think ya figires may be wrong pw things have came down plus im doing my own install
 

orbital

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i think ya figires may be wrong pw things have came down plus im doing my own install
+

>>> What kind of solar setup are you looking to do?

There is the roof setup connected to your breaker box/grid and/or batteries.
or
a smaller, very manual setup with LFP batteries or an all-in-one unit with inverter built in.

I have the manual setup*, it's like a chore/hobby at the same time & I can store a fair bit of juice.

__________

* because of all my trees,, I have my panels on mostly a hillside
 

raggie33

*the raggedier*
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Aug 11, 2003
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mine is a bit oh a hybrid just as a emergency and to reduce power from power company using cheap marine batterys from walmart there like 100 amp hours if i recall for 97 bucks
 

orbital

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mine is a bit oh a hybrid just as a emergency and to reduce power from power company using cheap marine batterys from walmart there like 100 amp hours if i recall for 97 bucks
+

Alright, what are those marine batteries connected to.

~ what are your panels,, size/wattage, are they in series or parallel
~ do you have solar controller/charger
~ inverter
~ cabling & connectors

trying to help you raggie.:)
 

raggie33

*the raggedier*
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Aug 11, 2003
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i have 4 100 watt panels from home depot coming if i recall got me 370 for all 4 there renogys. also got 8 25 watt harber freight panels they do very well in when there is some shade not sure how they do it. i have controllers panels connect to them then they connect to the batteys the batts are in i give up trying to spell google truly has the worst spell earth. there set up 2 12 volt batts and combined there 12 volts the p word
 

orbital

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Use your mulitmeter ALOT,, Check voltage & polarity obsessively.

have fun
 
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