DIY Solar Roof Mount for Beginners

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@lklmmedia4715 2 ай бұрын

Like the Vid (down in Australia here...) - where there have been some more recent Strict controls added for Self Installation...Basically - Quite hard to do it yourself now without contravining several new laws... Anyway that aside... Just a couple of comments...Actually one in particular. The Twin & Earth is NOT rated for External use, if you insist on using it, make sure to put it in Appropriate Weather rated conduit to put it in, otherwise it will suffer UV degredation, Animals will chew on it, and Moss & Lichen ensymzes (as well as animal faeces) can chew through it as well...Preferably use PVC conduit, which is typicaly Cheap as Chips, but where you should also 100% seal it at both ends to restrict any Moisture ingress, as moisture getting in will create a Dielectric effect, and the use of Twin and Earth doesn't help that, as there are air gaps in it, unlike the Sheethed DC cable, It's why the preference Actually is to use individual DC cables appropriate for the run which are seperated.

@ourkilkennyhomestead2006 2 ай бұрын

@@lklmmedia4715 thanks for the tip. Getting around to fitting conduit everywhere bit by bit. Glad you enjoyed the vid 👍

@guyteigh3375 2 ай бұрын

Just be a little wary if you reckon DC is a lot safer. It *can* be safer "like for like", but although it might take 75mA with DC before you are unable to let go, a typical installation like you have just set up, will probably be around 240v (20 panels @ 12v) and around 15A. If your hands are dry and you touch it with a finger, it will indeed "give you a little dart". If your hands are damp, it can be a different story. If you use larger panels which are more typically 35v - 40v with a 10A current rating, a string of 20 panels can be around 800v DC (the London Underground uses about + / - 600VDC and manages to kill pretty effectively if people play with the rails.) Not trying to be a smart arse (honest), but once you go above about 50V even with DC, I'd treat it with SOME caution. Once you are much above 100V, I'd start to treat it as you would mains (better to err on the right side). Once you are up around 300-400V, then not a bad idea to treat it as you would working on live three-phase. DC is not as hazardous to the heart BUT if you are in series with a few hundred volts DC at several AMPS, you will be burning your insides with a few thousand watts of heat. The heart might keep going but you will be burning away nerves, arteries and so on with terrifying efficiency. If you are bored, get a piece of raw meat (chicken breast ?) and see what happens if you give it a good solid connection (crocodile clip on each side) and then connect clips to a large solar array. It's a scary but fun way to cook food VERY quickly. (Hot dog sausages can explode, proper sausages cook completely in 10 - 20 seconds :) ) Really useful info though on fastening the clips. In England roof tiles are pretty common, but ours tend to have ridges and as I am pretty much useless when it comes to working with fragile stuff, I am hoping the metal bracket might fit into one of the "ridges". Grinding out a channel for me I think will mean lots of spare tiles will be needed :) Love the idea of being totally off grid - but alas with just a little terraced house, there isn't enough roof space to go much above about 2KW - though a few panels on the shed roof and workshop roof with little tiny micro-inverters are helpful. Once you are using 48vDC, it can be worth noting that 60v - 90v > 48v MPPT battery chargers can be found on ebay for about £30 - and with around 100A rating. This can mean that if you add an extra set of panels elsewhere (garden mount for example), and you just have a series parallel setup that keeps the voltage to between around 60v and 90v, then this can be used to ALSO charge the batteries. Inverter doesn't know about it - it just sees batteries with plenty of extra power in. Final comment, a DC isolator is not a bad plan, but they are not the same switch design as the cheaper AC isolators. If you have an AC connection and break it, the arc is usually pretty tiny - a millimetre or two is enough of a gap to work as a switch. With DC, you can get AWESOME plasma streams from just a couple of hundred volts - as in well over a centimeter if you break the connection while it is on load. So the DC isolators are dearer than the AC ones - but they have a MUCH bigger gap and usually a method of physically sticking an insulator between the contacts to quench the plasma.

@ourkilkennyhomestead2006 2 ай бұрын

@@guyteigh3375it was a general reference, both are dangerous. Yes dc will arc worse than ac and there's loads of vids on yt showing this. The difference is that dc is looking for a complete circuit back to its negative which is almost always an insulated return, ie. isn't earthed through the physical ground. Whereas with ac both live and neutral will shock you as they always have a completed circuit to ground potentially through you. Here's a link that explains it better. Scroll down a little to "jeep hammers" comment. diysolarforum.com/threads/why-do-dc-systems-not-make-use-of-grounding-to-the-same-extent-as-with-ac.5152/

@ourkilkennyhomestead2006 2 ай бұрын

@@guyteigh3375 thanks for the comment, if you see any of my later vids you'll see that we equipped dc circuit breakers instead of isolators as the isolators switches have been seen to fail. Worth saying that I'm not overly convinced that the circuit breakers are any better either but at least they have that additional safety aspect. We also switched up to an 11kw all in one inverter which is a beast of a thing although it does have a high idle consumption. Will have more updates coming soon as we save up to add more to the system.

@mannymota3442 6 ай бұрын

Another enjoyable video. Being from the US , I was trying to figure out what you were saying when you mentioned possibly getting shocked - something like dart off?

@ourkilkennyhomestead2006 6 ай бұрын

Hahaha, it's an Irish expression. To get a dart off something is to get a minor shock.

@MrPadraigmccarthy 7 ай бұрын

Can I ask is that €140 per panel... Nice job on the install... it looks very tidy. Don't you mean DC more dangerous than AC. A little DART of DC will bloody kill you or burn the he'll of you. I think your going over kill on the 10sq on the roof. 4sq or 6sq is enough.. your leaving yourself very vulnerable at your junction box now.. them mc4 connectors are standard practice for a reason.. I'm not afraid of much in this world... but I'm terrified of DC.

@ourkilkennyhomestead2006 7 ай бұрын

Hi Pádraig, yes the price at the time of recording was 140 per panel however it fluctuates up and down regularly. They were 115 each when we bought them which is why I suggested folks to have a look at the link, so that they could get them at a good price too. It's interesting to hear your perspective on dc electricity. As a mechanic of over 20yrs I can honestly say that dc is much safer than A/C. Working on a/c makes me nervous, working on dc I'd be very comfortable. For example, 12/24/48v dc you can handle with your bare hands fairly safely. Wouldn't be doing that with a/c, even at those low voltages. Great to hear another perspective on things. Thanks for the tip, hope all is well.

@MrPadraigmccarthy 7 ай бұрын

@ourkilkennyhomestead2006 that's extremely expensive mate.. The going rate for domestic/commercial 435w panels at the minute are less than €100. Jinko n type or trina bifacal are around that price.. if you know the correct people to speak to that is... Also pylontech are a good entry level battery.. check out dyness there another battery similar to pylontech.. You can get them in 2.4kw modules, I find the BX5100 model is better and the value is far better. Personally I haven't had any close calls with DC. but few installers I know have had.. hearing stories and then when I'm working around DC myself (which is daily) I'm extremely cautious.. "Different strokes for different fokes I guess"

@ourkilkennyhomestead2006 7 ай бұрын

@@MrPadraigmccarthy interesting. For those of us who don't know the correct people to speak to, what we shared in the vid was the best we could find for good quality panels with a 25yr life span. Different strokes for different folks all the way. The pylon techs are great but still too pricey for many people. The great news is that prices are dropping fast so hopefully they'll be within everyone's budget in the near future. Trust me on the dc though, much safer to work on as half the sine wave is gone compared to the full sine wave of ac.

@MrPadraigmccarthy 7 ай бұрын

@ourkilkennyhomestead2006 your fully correct. Well my back round is... I'm a stock manager for irelands second largest solar PV company. I have been in solar for 5+ years.. I started off with Irelands largest PV company. I started at the bottom working my way up.. I can cover all areas of solar from installs to trouble shooting etc etc. If your in need of anything just drop me a message.. Your issue with DC is it will arc and can melt or cause fires.. AC will just trip the mcb or rcbo. Dc can't do that. So it's vital that all connections at DC are 100% crimped and tighted correctly.. I look forward to seeing your next video update..

@ourkilkennyhomestead2006 7 ай бұрын

@@MrPadraigmccarthy Fantastic, fair play! I might just do that, we're always looking for better prices, better gear and Irish suppliers of course to keep it local. Can I ask if the company retails to the public or is it trade only? If you like you could email me the name and I'll surely check them out. Cheers 👍