Full-Home solar battery backup with Sol-ark 15k and Pytes batteries. 4.7kW solar system.

Installing 12pcs JA-Solar 395W panels on the metal stone-coated roof.
Full home battery backup with Sol-Ark 15k inverter and Pytes 10.24kWh batteries.
Sol-Ark 15k: shrsl.com/4d4pn
Sol-Ark busbars: shrsl.com/4d4pu
Pytes batteries: shrsl.com/4d4q0
Grid-tie / offgrid systems installation.
Feel free to contact me if you need:
- complete professional installation of PV solar system (with/without storage)
- permit package for your DIY project + PV labels and placards
Bay Area, CA
[e-mail]
www.mysolareng.com

[@pytesenergy]

Thank you for your positive feedback. Our Pytes team has received the feedback and has now forwarded the issue with the outdoor cabinet to the R&D team. We believe that the issues raised by everyone will be resolved soon. Thank you again for your correction;☺

[@SolarEngineering]

Really glad that you hear feedback from customers. Thank you.

[@pytesenergy]

let's work hard together for powering a bettter life@@SolarEngineering 🤝

[@brisca3301]

Your install is so nice and clean. Superb equipment.

[@SolarEngineering]

appreciate your feedback

[@atsimas]

You know he's a real pro by using what he has available at the time to deburr a pipe.

[@drod6424]

Amazing quality work. Great job. Also, thank you for taking extra time to film and edit to share with us.

[@awbean5254]

GREAT JOB! We enjoy your detailed and informative Sol-Ark videos! We agree PYTES should implement something like a French cleat support all the top weight especially for seismic locations!

[@SolarEngineering]

thanks, appreciate your feedback.

[@simplyidiotic1]

Super enjoyed it. I’m planning to DIY my system that is similar to this. I’ll have a professional electrician do all the connections, but still I’m interested in learning all the connections (the most confusing part for me).

[@SolarEngineering]

really glad it was helpful!

[@mc2mc277]

Nice clean install work! Got any solar friends in Central TN who do similar quality work?

[@simonpaine2347]

I added feet to the bottom of the support bracket for the batteries. I had zero confidence that the support would hold up the weight in the long term. It's a really strange design and I totally agree that the supplied bolts would not work.

[@kesleicarvalho4062]

Interessante. A norma aqui no Brasil é obrigatório instalar os inversores e baterias de back UP abrigados do sol e chuva. Nunca em áreas externas como nesse vídeo.

[@Sanwizard1]

Nice Job! I agree with you on the outdoor batter cabinet. Very poor design. Cannot expand either.

[@SolarEngineering]

thanks, agree.

[@atsimas]

Please make a longer video like 45 min in more detail about what you do. Also, please elaborate as I have seen many of the items you use, only here. Like the hall sensor, you explain. Or the shunt you put in the panels. Or how you incorporated the pipes you cut into the holes you made.

[@SolarEngineering]

will do next time.

[@andrewyang1446]

Thanks for the video. The Solark 15k EMP-hardened? Thinking of getting the same inverter but I am not sure if I should get EMP Shield on top of Solark 15k which they say is EMP-hardened. Thanks!

[@SolarEngineering]

it's regular Sol-Ark 15k, not emp

[@ssoffshore5111]

Great work, and I love that you showed how everything was done!!! 😎 And agreed, that battery cabinet/mount is a poor design. It looks like the 15K was massive overkill for this ~5kW system. Awesome inverter, but pricey for a 5kW system. I'm assuming this inverter was selected for potential future expansion?

[@SolarEngineering]

It was easier to do a full-home backup, rather than do a new critical load panel. Plus we are on the edge for PV array size for the 100A service, if customer wants to add a few more kWs, then the service needs to be upgraded from 100A to 200A, and it's going to cost more than the inverter.

[@ssoffshore5111]

@@SolarEngineering Roger that! It's a great inverter for sure! The only downside I see using it would be the higher idle consumption compared to a smaller properly sized inverter, but at 90W (I believe), it's not terrible either.

[@ssoffshore5111]

BTW, it would be great if you could also show a line drawing for your installations as well so the viewer can more easily see what you're doing. Great video though!

[@SolarEngineering]

ok, will include electrical line diagram next time. My next installation is Luxpower 12k, by specs/price it looks like Sol-Ark killer, will see it soon.

[@johnpanunto183]

Nice job, I have enjoyed your videos as I'm planning for my own system. Question: You provide full house backup but what happens if the inverter fails one day? Should you not have a transfer switch for this possible event?

[@SolarEngineering]

If inverter fails then the wires have to be rewired in wire way. Some customers want to have the ability to switch between grid and backup (without rewiring), then 2 AC disconnects have to be installed (single throw + double throw). I'll do an install like this soon.

[@Noah-qt3rq]

You can put on an interlock with a redundant grid feed to the panel, treating the SolArk like a constant generator. If it fails, switch back to grid to perform repairs. I did that for my Victron system.

[@besearchingforwisdom6267]

Nice work, but I agree with you on the battery cabinet should be stabilized with upper brackets, does code prevent it?

[@SolarEngineering]

no code is okay with top mounts, it's just how Pytes decided to do it. I did reach out to them and they didn't see any issues with design...

[@simonpaine2347]

It's a strange design. I think that the idea is that you can clean underneath the unit, but I welded 2" square legs on the side and the cabinets now sit nicely on the floor. No real need to bolt them to the wall, because with over 100kg sitting there, it's impossible to move it!

[@davidorcutt9246]

Great video. Thank you for showing the details!! Agreed, that battery support is not ideal Was this install done under NEC? If so, did your inspector have issues with SE conductors and feeders in the same raceway? 230.7

[@taxibob23]

Why not show us the system working ?

[@RJ-cc1fz]

If that’s the main panel why are the neutrals and grounds separated?

[@SolarEngineering]

Technically AC disconnect is the new main, so it's bonded there.

[@8894larry]

Cannot mix service entrance cables & load cables in the same raceway! NEC 230.7

[@robertplas3947]

Did you install Sol-Ark battery toroids?

[@SolarEngineering]

yeah, at 9:11 you can see them. Sol-Ark has 2 in package.

[@lamartravis1]

Why can't you attach the battery box to the wall in the area where you ran your 1-1/4 flex back to the main panel. This would take some of the weight off of the bottom bracket. I agree that the bottom bracket sucks and is a bad design.

[@SolarEngineering]

I was thinking of adding it, because was planning to attach base to the framing. But after attaching it to the concrete foundation, it's not going to fall, so left as it is.

[@johnnywalker5635]

First thing that came to my mine is. A thief or mischief kids can easy turn off all power to the home. Or vandalize. Or steal all components. I cant recommend an outside install.

[@Madsci-zy8wm]

US Customs records for Ningbo Deye Inverter Technology, a supplier based in China. shows 266 container sized shipments to Portable Solar Llc Dba Sol-ark Llc in Allen, Texas. I thought Sol-Ark has been claiming for years that their inverters are made in the U.S.A. Have they been lying to us all this time?

[@SolarEngineering]

When I originally installed 12k for myself I thought it was a US-made inverter and then found out it was a white labeled Deye inverter. The story about Sol-Ark on their website was confusing, making people think it was a product developed in the USA. I checked the site and can't find it anymore...

[@Madsci-zy8wm]

I checked their website yesterday and there still exists a page that states as a heading "american made" even the file name for the page is american-made. If you search Google for the term "sol-ark american made" the page comes up at the top of the results. Don't get me wrong, many Chinese companies do manufacture good products, but I like the idea that an American company would misrepresent where their products are manufactured to gain sales and trust from their American customers. I feel that this deceptive sort of business practice should be illegal. Actually. I think it is.@@SolarEngineering

[@stoneoriole]

torque?

[@SolarEngineering]

yes

[@bradspaugh9827]

The battery is awfully small