How To Size A Solar System For Your House! Examples and Calculations

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Assists in calculating losses and number of panels: pvwatts.nrel.gov/
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[@jeremyjedynak]

We knew that we were subscribed to the right channel when Instapot was included among the electrical loads for the sizing calculation.

[@jim4utube]

Great job! If you are off grid, you absolutely need a backup generator to recharge the battery bank. Unless you own a rocket company and make electric vehicles and batteries, it's tough to buy enough batteries for a week of cloudy weather.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Thanks. I have a generator to charge the batts for backup. I will also keep acquiring batteries as my budget allows.

[@MarkJones-sk6vk]

Would be nice if you had a running total of solar costs. ​@@CountryLivingExperience

[@jimoray3]

You have become an an inclusive expert on Solar. Kudos for you! Your ability to articulate technology and how it applies to you and us is by far one of the top 3 on the net. Thank you for your content and you delivering it

[@CountryLivingExperience]

That’s very kind of you to say. Thank you.

[@texling93]

With 9 - 400w panels and 1 EG4 6000XP inverter I can still get 800w to 1200w on a full sky cloudy day. It is still able to put in 7kw to 10kw a day into my EG4 Powerpro battery. Just because it is a full cloudy day doesn't mean you don't get any solar power. I am just using as small off grid setup and surprised how well it is working out.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Exactly. Those are great numbers for sure. What is your load draw during those same cloudy times?

[@texling93]

@@CountryLivingExperience I am only running 12000 btu ac and a few appliances. I'm just getting started. I need to get more things hooked up because battery gets full and I don't get to use some of the solar power. Wanting to get water heater hooked up to it so I can utilize all the solar power I can make. Now I'm only using 7k average

[@paulbuoniconti5275]

Are those 9 running into one input on your 6000xp or did you split them up to both inputs? I have 6 400w panels going to one and wonder what the safe max should be. - Thanks

[@texling93]

@@paulbuoniconti5275 Yes running into one input.

[@DStein-jn9ls]

Thank you for the information…especially for the links!

[@CountryLivingExperience]

You’re welcome

[@krslavin]

In the Pacific NW we average about 10x less KWh per day in December vs July. Various alternatives can deal with this. a) for off-grid, install enough solar panels (and batteries for bad days) to deal with Winter, with gross overabundance of power for the rest of the year. b) for off-grid, find another source in Winter, such as water or wind. c) If you have grid, solar, and a good net-metering deal, then you don't need so many batteries other than for outages. Can you lock in the deal? d) if you have grid and can use time-of-day rates, then use batteries to bridge your usage from low cost to high cost periods. e) if you have grid and solar, but a poor tariff exchange rate, get more batteries and avoid the grid unless you have to use it (e.g. in Winter).

[@AustinMaddox]

Always fun to realize a KZbin channel I've been watching for a while is actually in my neck of the woods. I'm in Whitehouse, TX ✌️I have an EG4 18kpv. Thanks for the good content, neighbor.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Very cool. Thanks for watching neighbor.

[@Jophiel50]

Your videos are simply the best; real life examples with the numbers included equals blissful receipt of the information for me…so many blessings for you and your family!!!!!♾️💎💫

[@CountryLivingExperience]

So glad the info is helpful. Have a blessed day.

[@wilshawlynnstevens2980]

Very helpful! We started with two 5.1kwh server rack batteries and I can already tell that we will need to buy a few more. Hopefully by the end of this year.

[@bobmonztr]

Wow proper online calculators, amazing. Thanks. I came up with my own last year, every 100 watts used over 24hrs, 4.8kw battery and 1200w solar. 48 hours on a charge. Based on my winter of 5 productive hour days. Winter is all that matters to me, for areas with 10 hours sun all year long easily cut the battery and solar by half. Some #'s over 24 hours, Fridge freezer (120w)2.4 kw, 350-watt heater 8.6kw, 1500w heater 36kw, cpu and tv 2.4kw, bathroom fan .7 kw, led lights .07 to .73lw depending on bright level, air con over 12 hours 6.4 kw. I use 12 to 14kw a day. Since I saw 100 plus days with only 25 hrs of sun past winter I have to add 3300 watts, this may eliminate the generator forever. But I will still have 2 generators jic.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

You're welcome. Backup genny's are great. I have one as well.

[@zsedcify]

For newbies looking at your ground-mount arrays, it is hard to tell one panel (half-cell design is confusing) from the other and their orientation. On one of your videos, you might point out the small array is 4 panels lying side-by-side in portrait mode, and the bigger array is 20 panels lying 4 across and 5 high in landscape mode, for a total of 24 panels.

[@dc4931]

Thank you for this honest assessment! 🤘

[@CountryLivingExperience]

You’re welcome

[@vinnyareid]

I live in Jamaica and I use 12v heating elements in the water heater so i recommend either 12v or 24v elements instead of 220v volts. Just get a charge controller and a panel dedicated to the elements. Problem solved

[@pedrofeliciano5571]

Thank you.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

You're welcome

[@rawknbearbell7032]

Good info man

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Thanks

[@codyschwoch5451]

Another thing I would like to say is if you’re going to do solar learn as much as you can and as well as if you’re going to go off grid and you have solar power or wind power, I would recommend if you’re like me and solar and power get a generator so that if you don’t get any wind for certain amount of days or solar for certain amount of days make sure that you have it wired so that you can plug your generator to your system and charge your system batteries as well as use the voltage that the generator is using

[@baja3571]

Thanks for the video. Always enjoy your content. I'm currently in the process of installing 2 PowerPro indoor batteries and a 6000xp. You stated in the video each MPPT takes up to 500 VOC. In reading the manual it says 480 VOC. Keep up the great content.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Thanks. Yes, I misspoke on the input voc. I still was thinking about the old 6500’s.

[@codyschwoch5451]

It’s good to see somebody else using the new electrical fire suppression system and if no one knows what I’m talking about that is that red ball on the first inverter that is a fire suppression system so when there is an electrical fire when the solar panel wires get too hot or whateveryou throw that little red ball that looks like a Christmas ornament at the spot and white powder and a little bit of liquid everywhere

[@CountryLivingExperience]

I like having backup safety systems

[@sspyder181]

I have parallel mppt setup on my 6000xps .... its great I have 3 strings at 13.2a 380voc in parallel running down a 8 awg feed to a solar breaker then I split the feed into two even 10awg leads to the mppts on the inverter. One Big parallel string brings in 8kwh per hour. Awesome if you don't need two independent strings.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Cool

[@codyschwoch5451]

And for those that use more than 28 kilowatt an hour then you’re just like me, but I will tell you a secret I use roughly about 80 kW a day when we get snow because I use space heaters and pellet stoves and mini splits to run my house in the winter time when we have 36 inches of snow and I can guarantee you if you go the route he does or go the road I do have my house halfway on solar panels so that I can heat my house and cool my house free of charge this year we are full solar and wind and completely off grid

[@TKO67]

Subscribed

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Awesome. Welcome

[@kenastl]

I live in San Antonio, Texas and 8 months of the year I use about 30 kwh/day and 4 months in the summer it jumps to 70 kwh/day due to 2 central HVACs. It would be much cheaper just to cover the non-A/C electricity usage than trying to cover it all. Lots of things to consider for sure.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Yea, that is a challenge. Everyone's home and situation is very different.

[@codyschwoch5451]

Another thing you need to look for is if you are setting up solar panels, you need to make sure your solar panels are single face not dual facing because if you’re using dual facing, those are more for when you don’t get very much direct sunlight and it’s just sunlight that bounces off the snow or whatever in theback solar panel picks up the covers

[@codyschwoch5451]

Stupid spellcheck leftovers

[@bobmonztr]

I have 465 watt bi facial, I have seen 569 watts vertical mounted. Adding 6x 550 watt bi facial panels this year 169 usd each. Outperform mono in sun or clouds.

[@chrishellemaitland5775]

How about if you have a small 800sf home, gas cooking stove, one mini split, 3 ceiling fans all LED lights throughout and on demand water heater? I'm still on municipal water but looking at digging a well and going solar with a wind turbine for additional power.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

That would be easy. Run the calcs and you will find out it won't take that many.

[@willbass2869]

Much appreciate the info using real world current draws on "average appliances". The on-screen graphic of appliance tally also helpful. Helpful group of comments to double check the arithmetic. Question: your statements about watts needed to reheat an emptied tank heater was a bit of a shock....i think full on solar hot water really isn't money saver if bringing temp up to 130°F/ 54°C household use from well water temp 65°F(?) but what do you think of *pre-heating* well water from 65°F to 95°F on solar hot water coil then dumping into wster heater for final temp of 130°F ?? Thanks (really like the channel)

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Thanks Will. There are a lot of options for heating that water. I am stuck with this one for now…..and it is certainly the most inefficient. I have a heat pump water heater on standby waiting for install so that should reduce the load by at least 66%.

[@willbass2869]

@@CountryLivingExperience 66% Wow! Please, definitely make a video on that installation.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Will do

[@DanWipper]

While I like ground mounting panels you could gain quite a bit of efficiency with a roof mount set up. A large portion of your electric use in cooling, CONSIDER YOUR IN TX, your roof has great aliment, a ranch has easy low access, no show to clean. less line loss,,. A panel system could put most of you home in the shade, extended past the house 6'-8 would put your south wall in the shade and offer shade for a long porch/deck. Done right it would also look cleaner then scattered arrays. Add a long bar/bench and posts for support and you would have a built in walkway to stand on for access. Prior air the extended roof and porch on the south side were there to shade the outside walls of the house. Make sure there's good air flow between your roof and panels and you will cut cooling requirements be a lot, the house would by a lot cooler even if there's a total loss of power.

[@DanWipper]

I've been looking for a back up system in case the grid goes down, one I could store and set up quickly to power critical loads, fridge, freezer, shallow/low HP 220 well pump and the gas heater's blower. Use natural gas for heating, water, cloths dryier, cooking up north by Chicago gas is a lot cheaper to use. My normal use is low 300kw winter to 600 in the summer with the air on. The new 6000 looks like a great idea and would likely power the well or other larger loads if not running at the same time. One 6000xp, 10 kwh of battery and a dozen large panels might work pretty good as a back up plan for about 5000.00.

[@Mgamerz]

One thing I've wondered about the 6000xp is how it can do both 120 and 240. But it doesn't do them both at the same time right? You either get a 240V output or a 120V output to a sub panel?

[@CountryLivingExperience]

It can do them at the same time. It is split phase.

[@dr3406]

💕💗💕🙏🙏🙏 Have a beautiful and blessed day, in The Name of the Lord Jesus Christ!!!

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Thank you

[@hockeylover86]

How do you have your arrays wired for these two units?

[@CountryLivingExperience]

8 series on one string, 4 series on second string, 6s 2p on last string.

[@TheUweRoss]

Did you perhaps neglect to count your well pump when calculating peak loads? That's pretty substantial, especially the starting current.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

No. I am on a rural community water system. I do have a well for irrigation that is run by a separate system at my barn.

[@breeda9196]

Curious how much property tax is increased in relation to adding solar panels?

[@CountryLivingExperience]

None. I lowered my taxes

[@nasanction]

I'm looking for conformation that I have chosen the right solar arrangement for my eg4 6000xp setup. 24 Solar Panels are 430w, 87v, 6amps. I came up with 4 arrays 3s2p into 2 6000xp's and I have 4 eg4 LL batteries to start with. I believe the max amperage input is 14 amps? Any help in making sure I don't blow something up would be appreciated!

[@CountryLivingExperience]

17amps i believe for the 6000xp's. So are you running 4 separate strings into the XP's? One array = one string to each of the mppts (4 total for both inverters)? If so, each string would be 12A, 261v, and 2580 watts. That should be fine.

[@nasanction]

@@CountryLivingExperience Thanks for your help! I'm starting setup this week.

[@Rock_Nemo]

Correction on your statement, the 6000XP can only take 480 VOC input, not 500V

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Yes, correct. I misspoke. I still had the 6500ex on my mind

[@Digidoc316]

How do solar tracking arrays compare to ground mounts? Thinking two trackers carrying 4 400W panels (3.2kW) each with full sky exposure could extend production to 6-7 hours in my area; lowering my production ratio.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

It would lower it. They are expensive though. You’ll have to weigh the cost

[@Digidoc316]

@CountryLivingExperience Eco-worthy has a tracker with anemometer for under $600 and, with some cheap upgrades, could last quite a while.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

I think $600 for a mount for 2-400w panels is steep. I don't think you'll fit much more than that on a tracker.

[@Digidoc316]

@CountryLivingExperience Perhaps I didn't express it properly. Each tracker carries 4-400 watt panels and 1 12 volt panel to recharge the tracker battery. 4x400=1.6kWx2= 3.2kW in trackers alone. I still have 2 of the aluminum ground mounts I can put another 8 panels on.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

@@Digidoc316 Ah, I understand now. Thanks for the clarification. Honestly I don't know the numbers. Meaning how much more solar gain and generation would you get from those panels on the tracker vs. stationary. I have not looked into them so I do not know if the gain is worth it.

[@grahamjohnson4702]

The problem with all these you tube sites is that you all want us to calculate our usage which is something we are not easily able to do because we are not technical to the electrics concerned what we understand is what we get when we turn on the cooker etc. so can you tell me how much I would need to run my aircon of grid with 2 air con units one for day time and one for night time in the bed room

[@CountryLivingExperience]

So you are annoyed by my video but want me to help you? I am self taught and took the time to learn calculations and terminology. Do the same.

[@grahamjohnson4702]

@@CountryLivingExperience Who said I was annoyed I just explained my situation which nobody seems to realise that a lot of us just want the information and not be guided through channels we dot fully understand. It's like at school we had to be taught algebra before we could understand it and I haven't been taught electrical calculations, so I can't do it. If that's your stance then so be it, but you are not being helpful, by saying you had to learn it so should we or in this case me.

[@jimmy4518]

just a heads up, the math is off the whole time. total @2:11 is 11500, not 9000

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Ooops, correct. Still works out with the inverters though.

[@jimmy4518]

@@CountryLivingExperience yes, still within operating limits, just a heads up before considering adding more loads

[@stephenrussell2013]

I have the answer: It is the same as how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie-pop... 3

[@CountryLivingExperience]

Correct

[@peterd1973]

The addition of your wattage is 11,500, not 9,000.

[@CountryLivingExperience]

oops, correct. Will still work with the inverters though.

[@electromechanicalstuff2602]

Simple answer. If u live anywhere that gets cloudy days for more than 3 days in a row you will never have enough batteries and panels unless you have an unlimited budget