DIY grid-tie solar in the city: Full installation | start to finish | 4kW | Solar car port

[@alistairlambert3275]

Love the video boots. I fitted 5 panels on my outhouse roof and woodsheds. I was pleased to see how you mounted panels vertically (on a beam) as I used the same method. The way you built the car port shows your attention to detail e.g. woodwork. You're a real inspriation, love your channel.

[@migueldsouza9695]

Loved watching this build, and the patience you show with your young lad. My dad is very resourceful, and by necessity did (and at 93 still does) most things around the house. Hanging around with him from an early age (no TV, and social anxiety meaning I was not good with other kids) meant I learned skills that will be beneficial for the rest of my life.

[@bootsowen]

I was the opposite in dad terms so I had to figure it out. But we get there. He likes work so far!

[@mikegb1969]

Carpet cover plates work in between panels and shaped too. nice to see u boots spoke on andys channel.

[@bootsowen]

That’s a good idea!

[@WiSeNhEiMeR-1369]

HOWdy Boots, Thanks for the Walk-Thru COOP ...

[@bootsowen]

Cheers

[@NickSeee]

You sir are a bit of a legend I think - fantastic ethos in terms of sourcing things so economically whilst giving them a second life and your workmanship and problem solving are a joy to watch. Just in the research phase of fitting panels on a steep roof which I'm not looking forward to I must admit, and then intending to cable up and bring in someone for checking and certification. Your excellent video is yet more inspiration willing me up that ladder :)

[@bootsowen]

I do my best. Why do you need certification? The feed in tariff is gone so there is no money to be made, maybe so you can get a few pence per kWh from your energy supplier, but I imagine there is a cost benefit analysis to be done there. If you are thinking of doing it on a roof, even single storey a scaffold will make it far easier. Have a look at my solar playlist, I show some other installations that I have done.

[@edc1569]

Power-on sequence, make all connections and secure them, then AC isolator to ON, DC isolator to ON. Power down sequence, AC isolate to OFF, DC isolator to OFF. Do not switch the DC isolator when the system is operating. I'd also caution anyone using pound/dollar store multimeters on the DC string, if you screw up and probe on the milliamps setting the arc is going to blow the meter to pieces in your hand.

[@ATomRileyA]

Really enjoyed watching your video, am thinking of doing something similar in the future so always good to see how others have done their setups.

[@bootsowen]

You should!

[@benthebossjackson4388]

Love it ! you do some great work there! that reclaimed wood was amazing! your a smart man!

[@bootsowen]

Thanks Ben, I do what I can. It's amazing what you find when you keep your eyes open and ask.

[@Maker238DeLoach]

Beautiful set up sir. I’m a little jealous myself. Wonderful work! Make On Brother

[@bootsowen]

Thanks 238! How's that sawstop table going for ya?

[@TheInfoworks]

Owen, I see the Boss was organising you, great you finished off that ripping cut with a hand saw. The strong smelling timber: I think this is old growth and probably from America as Manchester is the right side of the country for shipping last century. Good to see the finished array working and of course 25 degrees is good for ambient light in the winter. Cheers

[@bootsowen]

You might be right about the timber, I hadn't thought of America as a source for the timber, Quite amazing that those centre rings could be from 17XX and have travelled around the world before carrying a burden for 100+ years! Wonderful! I took your advice on 25 degrees, when there is no sun but good light and cloud the panels kick out anything up to about 500w, so there seems to be good refraction of light through the clouds. I had a few points in the video that I didn't make fully: If the panels are putting out 1.6kW when the sun is at such a low angle, I imagine it will be far better from March onwards as the sun gets up into the sky. Any idea what the birds were, I mentioned geese, but I'm not sure?

[@TheInfoworks]

Owen, I'm sure they were geese, we get plenty of them flying over here, most of the time lower than in this video. The last home life has a brief video clip of them, cheers

[@benceszeitz1157]

Hi mate, great work You did there. May I ask the question what screws you used to keep the panels in place.. I can't seem to find big head ones like you used. Thanks Ben (UK)

[@bootsowen]

The ones with the big plastic washers are from wickes for polycarbonate roofing. Any other ones probably came from toolstation. I have used a screw with a big washer on it and then drill a hole in a milk bottle lid as a plastic insulating washer.

[@t4yjt]

really good diy build ! i like the flashing between panels ! . and good use of fixings to hold them in place.!

[@bootsowen]

Ultimately the flashing didn’t work and I ended up putting box profile beneath

[@leehartley1667]

Nice job

[@bootsowen]

Thanks!

[@fill1305]

Nice build indeed, very similar to my shed which uses panels over the felt to protect it from the harsh weather while making electricity. Have you considered adding a solar diverter, there are commercial ones out there and also DIY kits. Would love to see a DIY version being setup perhaps with an Arduino or Raspberry pi type board.

[@cleversolarpower]

Clean installation 👍

[@johnsnowdon2939]

What specific documents did you need to submit to get building control approval? I'm thinking of doing something similar - perhaps 8-10 x 240w panels (used) and something like a 2kw inverter (plug-in type, no mains wiring) ... I'm guessing something like £1200-1500 in total. Did you have to do plans or loading calculations for your garage roof? Would a plug-in inverter need electrical inspection? I don't plan on feeding back to the grid (auto load sensing inverter). This is also in north east England.

[@bootsowen]

Some people love rules, some countries have different rules. You need to follow the IEE wiring regs in the UK, and if you want to sell the power to the grid you will need some kind of cert. rules are very important. You could just go for it and see what happens with a plug installation. as for load calcs, it all depends on the shed, a solar panel weighs about 20 kg, I weigh 70 kg, if I would walk on the roof (point load) I would be happy to put 3 or 4 panels on it ( uniformly distributed load) It's your house and your call. Sounds like you're making work for yourself!

[@tommyhanlon8012]

Quite impressive Mr.B. Well done.

[@bootsowen]

Thanks Tommy.

[@paulcoates208]

Hello from Kildare, what is the strip you’re putting between the panels? Looking to make a solar pergola for the back garden to try boost my system and this looks like it might come in handy

[@bootsowen]

I used flashing tape. But it doesn’t work. For a solar pergola with no sheeting beneath it you’d be better having a network of gutters. I ended up removing all the panels and putting box profile beneath

[@KieranOLeary]

Great job. Thanks for the walk-through. Where were you able to find the solar panels for that price? I've been looking on gumtree but haven't seen anything comparable price wise, most at minimum £100 on there. I guess i'm wondering the same about the timber as well?

[@bootsowen]

I found the timber on building sites locally. As the guys who are doing roofs for any demolition timber. There is a set of 14-16 3.6 kw panels and an inverter in Inverness or Aberdeen on gumtree at the moment £500. They come up from time to time. I was looking for about 4 months until I got some an hour away. It’s hit and miss. Some places seem to always have them for sale, they get them used from solar farms. Or ask a roofer who installs them. They know where they are being upgraded. Or ask an installer if they have some damaged ones. Broken glass ones can still be working but are more likely to fail. This is the advice I was given and it seems useless until you get some. But you will. Keep asking everyone and scour eBay and gumtree. Full sets of used panels near me have certainly become more expensive in the last 6 months.

[@KieranOLeary]

Thanks for the advice, it's much appreciated.

[@gwen0437]

No way u could have completed that install without the young supervisor just as well he was around 😅😅.

[@bootsowen]

We all need some guidance

[@rrr92462]

Loved all the hand woodworking. Did you have to get a permit for this or inspection?

[@bootsowen]

You sound like you are in USA, rules are different depending on where you are, so such advice about permission or permits are somewhat redundant on a platform like yt.

[@djdrunkenmonkey2]

your a VERY clever man !

[@bootsowen]

Thanks Buddy!

[@greececarspottingandtech]

@@bootsowen I really like the video and you very smart 🤩

[@richardburke583]

Hi, I'm just buying my first house and looking forward to getting stuck into the projects. How did you go about getting your system certified? Or more importantly how did you keep the insurance company happy? Having only played with solar installations on boats and campervans I'm super worried about all of the extra rules that come with houses.

[@bootsowen]

It depends on where you are. follow local rules. Don't be afraid to play, just play safely. A qualified electrician can sign stuff off.

[@martinshaw1988]

Absolutely love this, I'm thinking of doing something very similar myself. I've a couple of questions if you don't mind? - Where did you learn how to wire it into the consumer unit? I'm finding details to do that scarce. - I'm guessing your installation isn't MCS certified as you DIY'd it, so presumably you aren't earning anything for what you export. But are you being charged? Some sources seem to indicate that you would be bit it's hard getting that sort of information from energy suppliers.

[@bootsowen]

No worries. You learn about electrical stuff by studying it. The iee wiring regs are the standard in the U.K. and Ireland is similar. You don’t say where you are so the USA and other countries are completely different. In the U.K. you can do the work yourself if it is inspected by building control or if you are competent i.e.an electrician. Mine would be compliant with MCS, it wasn’t completely finished in the video, and you can get a used system mcs accredited by an mcs installer. The trick with these things is to know the rules. Work to the rules and have someone who is qualified check it. I didn’t register the installation because there is no feed in tariff so there is no point anymore. Have a look at Andy Reynolds wind and solar book. It is a good start. I spent about 8 years learning about electricals and I still know very little. So take time. A good start is to buy a small 1or 2kw grid tie inverter and panels to about half the rating of the inverter. Just put a plug on the inverter and plug it in. I have shown this in my testing inverters videos. Finally: don’t take advice from some guy on the internet even if he has terrific hair. Electricity is very dangerous and one zap of the wrong kind. Dc or ac could give you half a day out with the undertaker.

[@1theonlychampion]

​@@bootsowenyou've just filled in so many knowledge gaps that I've had for ages!!! Thanks man your videos are super insightful.

[@matt4436]

What?! You managed to connect it to the old meter that means rhat import export ratio is 1:1 ?

[@bootsowen]

I don’t understand what you mean. There is no export facility on my meter. It only counts up or stays still when exporting.

[@jirianderle6564]

Super video ..thanks. What type of adhesive tape did you use to seal against water?

[@bootsowen]

I used bituminous flashing tape, but it didn't work, it leaked through the sealant on the panels, I wasn't expecting that. In the end I took all of the panels off and laid box profile steel roofing sheets, then put the panels back on.

[@jirianderle6564]

@@bootsowen Thanks for info.Yes, I have the same problem, I'm thinking of how to make a roof using only PV panels. I'm looking for a solution.

[@chriskwakernaat2328]

did you measure amps between a load?

[@bootsowen]

I’m not sure I understand what you mean?

[@chriskwakernaat2328]

@@bootsowen amp meter goes between the + and like a lamp.. it looked like you measured directly on the solarpanel output kzbin.info/www/bejne/rmOxfYyvmd2VpZY

[@bootsowen]

If you use the correct setting and cable port on your multimeter you don’t need to do this.

[@TomTheXboxSeriesX]

More energy to smash more WMA’s!

[@bootsowen]

I was thinking I could do an overclocked DC direct hotwire smash!

[@TomTheXboxSeriesX]

@@bootsowen ooooh that would be interesting

[@samusvi2693]

how come there are no videos about how much people are saving after 10yrs since solar has been around over 20yrs?

[@bootsowen]

I have only had these installed since November. Today on May 2022 I have saved about £43 (185kWh used at home) on electric since then and about £65 has escaped into the grid (279kwh). Total generation 464kWh so far. I paid £500 or £600 for the whole system and have only installed about 2.5/3.6 kw of the panels. If I could use all the power payback would be 2 or 3 years. As it stands it will be 5ish. But if energy prices go up payback will be faster. I guess if you buy them new then it will take longer.

[@bootsowen]

I should have mentioned. My system is about 10 years old.

[@abdelkaderelbachir3817]

Thumbnails are really not your thing that smile though you look on crack but anyhow that was a great video I sure did enjoy watching

[@bootsowen]

Glad you enjoyed, have you got solar panels, I'd say you get a bit more sun that we do!

[@abdelkaderelbachir3817]

@@bootsowen I live in an apartment even if I want to I can't

[@jackspratt4343]

Notice you didnt do this in Ireland and you are Irish.

[@bootsowen]

You might be the fella who would eat no fat?

[@jackspratt4343]

@@bootsowen Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuup

[@jackspratt4343]

I had on off grid system in Ireland using generators etc. and gypsies pulled the door off with a vehicle and a steel chain and stole all my equipment. The door frame was pulled out by its bolts and the door was never seen again.

[@bootsowen]

That’s tough. I am quite lucky where I am that it is very busy. On the other hand I might like a bit of quiet. Solar doesn’t seem to be something that is worth stealing but vandalism would ruin it. People might think the inverters are worth money but I have bought a few recently for £25 each. It’s the hassle factor if someone wrecks your stuff. I wonder if there is an irony in putting something behind a steel door. In that it makes it more worth stealing.

[@jackspratt4343]

@@bootsowen Yes. That's what the Gards said about my 'fortifications'.It draws them in. . Although I do believe also, that the thieves AND vandals ( everything gets smashed ) have the backing of the local community as I bought in among an established country community where families had owned half a field each for hundreds of years. They are determined to make me pack up and leave.