I had to limit the output power of the new solar system. First impression after a few days...

[@MrRickvanwinkle]

Great video Andy , I have been experiencing the excitement of producing x2 what I originally set out to and it is such a great buzz , and I'm not producing anywhere near where you are but I'm off grid an enjoying it . I love watching you videos and you never fail to put a smile on my face mate. Great stuff

[@zodiacfml]

what a dream!🤩🤩 I can't think of anything useful to utilize the excess electricity, maybe run dehumidifiers or airconditioners 24/7 so that things/tools remain dry, minimize any growth

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

The house is not connected yet, but all the load is inside the house. Working on it...

[@junkerzn7312]

Oh, one quick additional note... now that the whole system is up, check component heating during peak production (and also with your charge controllers unlimited and charging at max rate). Everything. The conduits, wires, junctions, battery terminals, charge controllers, inverters... everything. Point an IR temperature gun at everything. Always a good safety precaution to do a check like this at least twice a year.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Coming soon, just need to get a day being at home with full sun out.

[@mwolrich]

no such thing as too much power. you need some “dummy loads”. I would suggest some large electric hot water heaters.. divert power from battery charging to the hot water heaters, once the batteries are full. you can basiclly have “free” hot water for use in your house. you can also install an electric pool heater, and have a heated pool for free as well 👏

[@getblowd407]

This.

[@nach335]

Yes there is such a thing. It goes to waste unless you sell it back to the power company. You can only use so much hot water and can only store so much. Waste of money and resources.

[@tiloalo]

He could simply run his house and the water heater/heating system/AC from solar. But honestly not sure anyone needs 50kwh per day

[@jimmurphy5355]

@@nach335 yes, it is technically a waste - but also a rational choice. We are getting close to mid summer peak solar south of the equator. 6 months from now the daily production will be only about 1/3rd as much. Until there is some economical way to store massive amounts of energy for six months, it makes sense to over-provision panels.

[@awo1fman]

@@nach335 Absolutely wrong. Never having to worry about having enough power, regardless of the weather or other conditions, is the WHOLE POINT! Most solar systems are DELIBERATELY massively undersized because they want you to still be dependent on the grid. The installation companies have their hands tied by regulations that are written by power company lobbyists. The only reason Andy can get this done is because he's putting it where the grid was never connected. Otherwise the only way to do it is DIY, which is again illegal in many places because of corporate influence. If you don't have enough storage for at least 2 full days of normal use with no power saving behavior with zero power production and enough solar to completely fill your storage from zero to 100% then you're doing it wrong and being massively ripped off.

[@jws3925]

HAA! You made it up! Solar Panel Alignment Test. Thanks for wearing the shirt and giving me a BIG hint! Always a pleasure, Andy. Your new panel system kicks butt! Ah, this solar stuff is like an addiction. We start small and it is quite nice so we decide to go a bit larger. So, we order more cells............and more cells. Then we realize we don't have enough power from our panels to support our larger battery. So, we purchase more panels and all the "goodies" to go with them. And then we realize we need more battery capacity. And the beat goes on.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

You've got it, John. It's all about the S.P.A.T., right? 😋

[@jws3925]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia Right!

[@gerhardlang2682]

Hi, incredible, from Germany I only can look with astonishment to this amount of solar capacity. I wish all the best, like your videos very much.

[@launacorp]

In the DVCC Setup you can set a maximum current to the Battery banks (going through the smartshunt). So you can easiely limit the current without touching the mppt´s settings.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yes, but this would require the BMS talking to each other as well. So there is more to it. I will test this out with the Seplos batteries first and learn. Not heard that this would work with the smart shunt too before... interesting

[@camielkotte]

Iam so happy you didn't cut trees but adjusted to your environment. Let's amp!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yep, that was all part of the experiment to show it's possible. Let's wait until winter though, if it is still enough...

[@michaelcoghlan9124]

Well done, thanks for all this detail. Very much appreciated, all the best. M

[@koborkutya7338]

It was a refreshing experience to see, congrats to your system :) One comment for the top performance: if you are off-grid or at least moving in that direction you should not dimension your system to the nice sunny days, you should have it overpaneled big time so you have enough coulombs even on a worse day. If that is done right, you will always be overpowered on sunny days. This is not a problem, this is the nature of a well dimensioned off-grid solar system.

[@catch22frubert]

Wow Andy! Congratulations 👏 on everything working so well, and pumping out so much energy that now you need more loads and battery 3.0! Its incredible to watch. Very awesome!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thank you, Yeah, it is a very powerful system now. Lot's of energy and I need to develop some ideas of what to do with it all...

[@catch22frubert]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia I think you can come up with some good ideas for the energy. Do you have anything inside the house, like a freezer or hot water heater that can be powered from outside? Pool heater for the winter maybe? Just some ideas. I'm sure you have already thought of these things.

[@SkypowerwithKarl]

Well, now you’ll need to install a walkway on your roof because I’m sure your going to wear the coating off lol! Congratulations Andy! 🎉👍🫡🍻

[@romeowhiskey1146]

As long as WALKWAY doesn't CAST a SHADOW on anything!

[@evil17]

@@romeowhiskey1146I reckon if he had a walkway that shaded a whole set of panels he would still have more than enough power at the end of the day.

[@XcrGaming-1]

And an electric escalator to get up there and use some of the extra power....

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yes, all of that, hahaha. I spend a lot of time on the roof and can't believe the output with all the shading!

[@glencooke494]

Great job Andy, now what to do with all the extra power. As you spend so much time in the Off Grid Garage sweating your butt of producing awesome and very helpful videos maybe an aircon in there and a bigger S.P.A.T. fridge would be a start. Maybe put a shout out in your next video on ideas how to use the extra power. I see you have a quite a few already but there has got to be some really smart ones out there somewhere.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

That is a great idea, Glen. I'll ask the community for some ideas. We are a bit limited at the moment because most of the load is still inside the house.

[@hummmingbear]

Tons of power, must feel really great. Congrats Andy!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

It does feel great. Battery is full at 10am now...

[@francisdoll1253]

This is crazy ! So much power, i think you need more batterys Andy or more consumers.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Just more load. More batteries won't help.

[@580guru]

Congrats Andy! Great job. Time to add a 10 person hot tub😀

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Hahaha, seems you want to come 😂

[@580guru]

@@OffGridGarageAustraliaCertified globe trotter here! Love to visit your side of the globe soon and visit you too!

[@thingswithlloyd4581]

This makes me happy... you've reached an impressive outcome. You might need to look at heating your pool, or leaving AC on to burn some power... I'm new to solar and recently wired up my off grid system (48v Growatt ES 5000 with 6000Wp and a 12v Rover with 750Wp of 12v) but I'm discovering that I need to over-panel to combat poor location of the panels.

[@SwissLord]

Congrats Andy, if I remember back to the time when you like to power the gate system with solar. Time to change the channel and t-shirts name to Off-grid house,parcel, region.... (smile)

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thank you. The gate project is still on my list and we have to replace these nasty AGM batteries with some fine lithium... Yeah, the house... that is still a bit of a problem. Working on it.

[@junkerzn7312]

I'm envious :-). So awesome to see numbers like that from a system. Such a huge evolution compared to when the channel started! Now I really want to cover my roof with panels instead of just the attached garage(!). And maybe put together an EG4 battery rack or two or three. Ok, your next project... double battery capacity, take your home completely off-grid :-). Hell, even with your current system you probably only need a 1-2kW feed from the grid to ensure 100% 24x7 365-day uptime. -Matt

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

The problem in my case is the high feed-in tariff for the house solar. This needs to be separated first and stay connected to the grid. All the rest can be connected to the garage. The challenge: limited cabling between the two buildings. The sparky is working on a solution.

[@concernedcitizen8481]

Great job. Love your videos. I can see your channel blowing up one day. Great job.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks a lot.

[@Annon89]

It sounds like you’ve done what we all strive toward. You have plenty of night time capacity and surplus of daytime production. Good job.

[@AveRage_Joe]

Wow Andy.....Just WOW! AMAZING!!!!

[@XcrGaming-1]

He needs Battery 4.Ooooooohhhh!!!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

I need Load 2.0 now. The vehicle's battery is not enough any more. I could fully charge the Tesla twice a day now...

[@XcrGaming-1]

Lol....another Tesla 2.Oooooohhhhh!!!

[@waynegnarlie1]

Wow, such a neat and tidy installation!

[@wayne8113]

Thanks Andy

[@ThaVoodoo1]

What a great setup Andy, the system should make good power on rainy days.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yes, still waiting for a rainy cloudy day since the installation. That will be interesting to see...

[@SkypowerwithKarl]

Hey Andy, remember to only wash the panels in the early morning or late afternoon. Use ambient temperature soapy water bucket and SOFT scrubber/squeegee dry or captured rainwater rinse. Tap water, water spots are to be avoided. No spray nozzle or pressure washer because the glass/frame seal can be damaged. A powerful leaf blower for regular maintenance is best but also, not on hot panels. Again, great installation Andy!

[@camielkotte]

I was told to never wash the panels on the first years because you scrub off the self cleaning layer?! It was a guy installing and selling panels of 5 brands. Little confused here by your comment.

[@SkypowerwithKarl]

@@camielkotte You may be right about about soap (or what kind) mild for sure, but you have to check with the manufacturer. I live in an area that has lots of sticky leaves and dust. The panels have a 15 degree tilt. Most of the time I blast it with a leaf blower but that gets only 75% per treatment. After a few months the accumulation is too much. So I can wait till winter for it to self clean or do with only half the power till then. Even tho I have “half cells”, I can’t believe how a few dozen medium sized leaves can destroy energy. I envy those that have steep panels and little local contaminations. There are after market “ceramic” coatings for solar panels but I’m not interested at this point. Andy may not need to clean his because he’s going so much power anyway.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

There is no self-cleaning layer on solar panels. It's the solar glass itself which has a bit of self cleaning capability but there is no coating or layer which wears off. Otherwise companies would advertise that. I use a sponge and a bucket to clean them. Well, the old ones at least. Not that I could ever see an increase in production but it is more for my OCD 😂

[@camielkotte]

@@SkypowerwithKarl thx. That totally makes sense now to me. Learning every day here.

[@claudiuminciu]

Great job Andy. Now you have a serios system. I'm on your tail with my system, but i still have a bit of work to do, and my system is with MppSolar inverter, not Victron. But i'm almost there.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

It is a lot of work. I was kind of relieved when they installed all the solar for me. It would have taken me forever...

[@claudiuminciu]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia i know, but i will do it. Thanks and good luck

[@janoserdelyi9879]

ha! i love the harddrive magnets holding up the sign. i use those magnets for all sorts of things!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

My whole garage is being hold together with these magnets 😂

[@wideawaketotruth5301]

Wow, gee Andy. I thought you were going to put some serious power on your system? LOL, yeah right. You're top of the line, all the way! Rock on Andy, good job! Cheer's (One of the things I really like about you Andy. Is you do not cut down trees)!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thank you. Yeah, the power problem seems to be fixed. For now. Let's wait for wintertime though...

[@wideawaketotruth5301]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia no waiting for winter time in Fort Worth Texas. We here, are living it as I speak!

[@upnorthandpersonal]

I still remember having a discussion with you in the comments where you stated seeing 100A from the charge controller would be insane and not common :)

[@USA-GreedyMenOfNoIntegrity]

370 A today from mine.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

I know, right. 100A seemed HUUUGE. Now that like 8am everyday...

[@upnorthandpersonal]

@@USA-GreedyMenOfNoIntegrity I'm generating 0.5kWh/day at this time of the year from a 10kW array :)

[@hoiggy123]

Uuuuulaaaalllalaaaaaahhhh! Things are going nuts down under! That much Power!!! Nice to see your system as it comes to the limits, I’m more than curious to see what’s next, don’t waste no NRG!!

[@dirk_p]

Yes, me too. I think a Lot of us share the habit to look as often as possible on the App and Check how Many amps and Watts are produced👍

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

It's so addicting!

[@danfitzpatrick4112]

WOW, THIS is the video I have been anticipating. Congrats my friend and be proud of what you have built! Totally awesome, and Cheers for that! Now the rewards for your labor. By the way... you were right... I heard that comment about cutting trees! hahaha.. 👍 I am also looking forward to the discussions coming up about being off or on grid. Love to compare my thoughts with others about this as well. (JK BMS's on all three banks after testing is completed)? Curious..

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks Dan. Yeah, it's an incredible and powerful system now. I won't go with the JK-BMS though for some specific reason which I will discuss in some future videos. They are a bit restricted when used in such larger systems.

[@FutureSystem738]

Awesome Andy. I’m envious of course 😂. I’ll have to drive to your place each day to charge my car LOL :-)

[@kswis]

Too much solar? Honestly can't think of even thinking about having that issue. Def means your doing big things brotha. Happy for you Andy

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Wintertime is when we have to measure and judge again. This will be the moment of truth for the design.

[@kswis]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia it is definitely winter here in the west ish states. Haven't seen more than 40 amps for a little over a month lol glad the heats gone but with it went the amperage! Your new panels will shine all winter I have no doubt

[@ToddDesiato]

Dude! Thank you. You are a beast at making videos rapidly. I'm so slow. I love building my solar, but I don't love editing videos.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

The don't do it. If editing is not your thing, don't bother with it. Do what you like and build awesome solar systems!

[@MarkPrince1317]

Very good adding more panels on roof to reduce heat ☕☕ Best regards from Philippines 🇵🇭 Andy

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

It's a lot cooler in the garage. I'll add some more insulation panels in the very top of the roof where there are no panels outside.

[@edwardvanhazendonk]

Wow, big reward for all work which went into this, nice power into your batteries! Maybe time to hookup your house as well. And only let your house solar panels deliver back to the grid for a nice profit! Well done Andy!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yes, that's what the sparky is looking into at the moment. It will be an interesting project if we can do that...

[@davidmills2266]

Hey Andy WOW!!!!. Maybe you can fit some industrial fans to your roof to blow the leaves off the panels, just to burn a bit of power!!!!😂

[@romeowhiskey1146]

80 varieties of Eucalyptus in OZ...all with OILYleaves. Faulty panel might ignite? Like the FAN idea...

[@thk4711]

You might want to have a look at DVCC. This will allow you to limit the charge current globally so there is no need to limit an individual charge controller.

[@vickipps6821]

Thank I am yseing a Sunsynk 5kw inverter it has 2 MPPT charge controllers built in

[@EpicHardware]

is nice to know that even with clouds you will have all the power you need. Thanks for inspiring us

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yes, it will be enough. Had on cloudy morning and still over 4kW of production. Plenty of energy.

[@EpicHardware]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia opps, I saw i had a "not" witch din't make sense, I corrected it now 😁

[@HellTriX]

Amazing. I need more panels. my production has dropped far too much for our winter season.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

We're now at the end of Spring and have plenty of sun. From February onwards, the production will go back again, so that will be the interesting time. Summer is easy.

[@Jack-le7vk]

I would look at setting up DVCC Andy, that way you can limit the 250a dynamically, but still allow each controller to utilise their maximum performance if there is

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

That would require the different BMSes to communicate with each other. I'm looking into this with the battery 2.0 first and see how this all works using the Seplos BMSes and batteries. Once I know more about it, I'll go and upgrade the production system as well.

[@STRUTZKOFF]

@@OffGridGarageAustraliado you need the bus to do anything ? The dvcc should just limit the charge controllers to set value of for example 250 amps.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

@@STRUTZKOFF I turned it on now and it works, kinda... there is a catch though with unmetered DC loads. It's not optimal, but it helps to limit the overall charge current.

[@taulli1]

Ahhhh, fantastic. Worth the wait.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Absolutely! I'm pumped!

[@mdunbar04]

Wow Wow Wow. I would be the same way monitoring constantly. 🤣🤣 Very impressive now I want to upgrade my system

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

I basically live in the VRM now and constantly monitor the weather and solar output. Very interesting to see and learn from all that!

[@diysolaradventures7894]

I'm so happy for you Andy I just got my second battery Bank hooked into my solar I'm too happy 🙂👍🏾

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Great! Keep going...

[@diysolaradventures7894]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia I'mma try lol

[@benoittheminerandgamer]

This is amazing, that mean you need more Battery!!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Why?

[@adamkuklych6672]

Another thing to consider is a bigger battery may also mean you might be tempted to use more power at night than you would normally. All up a fantastic video, it's really good seeing such a powerful setup in action. The Victron gear is amazing too, I use it and am very happy with it. I'll be getting a Cerbo GX in the coming days myself to do all the monitoring like yours.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Once the bigger battery is full, I'm with the same problem again. 44kWh seems to be a good size for now. I just need more load to use this capacity so the solar can recharge it the next day again and does nto turn off that quickly.

[@jimhanty8149]

That is one cool system… I wish I had one this powerful.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thank you, yeah, it is very powerful now. But I need that capacity for the other seasons when we have more shading on the roof again.

[@sjdtmv]

Just a note on my 15kw grid setup I can produce during summer over 100KWh in a day, and I am a little further south, so your system has potential.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

I probably won't reach that as my roofs are facing East and West and I have a bit of shading in the morning and afternoon. Not ideal conditions but still far more energy than I need atm.

[@defjamsgreen]

Well ! !! too much power is better then not enough batteries. Now you can just add more batteries to match the power coming in from the PV modules . May the solar be with you .😊

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

More batteries won't help, Cedric. Once they are full, we are in the same situation again. What I need now is more load!

[@1971motard]

Amazing installation, like a lot your videos and learned already lot's of things about configurations of the systems. Think with your current production you reached the next level, start producing hydrogen for the winter😀. Living in south of Germany and our klimate would require a huge amount of panles to be offgrid in the 3 winter months. Enjoy Australia for that!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thank you. Our Winter will be the season to see the true result of the new system. Summer is easy.

[@martinmooren9536]

The VRM already showed this morning you produced 52kWh with solar yesterday. Really nice! 😎 My solar controllers also show a maximum pv power thats around 20% higher than the panels are rated. So more power than calculated could be possible.

[@stefanvanzyl9090]

panels are rated at STC, which is 1000w/m^2 at 25'C cell temperature, many places on earth have higher insolation than that at some times of the day, especially in the middle of summer!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

We usually have around 1300W/m2 but cannot compete with 25°C at this same time. The panels will be more like 50° when the sun is out. Still cloud corners can reflect parts of the sunlight back and increase production for a moment. 20% more output is possible for a short amount of time.

[@SoutheastOhioSolarHaven]

I always say... Its good to have more power than you need. Because of Cloudy days. But I Love the system man. Great setup ! Now you can come and do mine. lol

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

We had only 1 cloudy day so far and the system was still delivering over 4kW and was able to recharge the battery that day. Incredible. But we're in summertime and have enough light. Different story from February onwards. That will be interesting.

[@OnHoldAt50]

Love a numbers man. Let me know if you every want to reduce your output. I can help take some of those off your hands (jkjk). But really, thanks OP for taking the energy (play on words not intended) to produce this informative video.

[@geroldgoerke5729]

Nice. Glückwunsch!

[@OrganicPower-Australia]

Nice work! This is the point we are at now with our 15kva multiplus with around 22kw of array. FREE AC all day! You have built some great arrays 👍🏻 worth every drop of sweat. 😎 @OrganicPower-Australia

[@rodneyeuzebe9495]

Wow. It’s amazing.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

I think the same every day watching these numbers.

[@klassichd10]

Very well done! Now it is time for a load management system. You need a home automation. Luxusproblem 🙂

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yes, I certainly do need such a system. Extension cables from the garage to the house are not good for a marriage...

[@Sprengi86]

How hot are your charge controllers when they pump their rated amps all day? I installed 12V PC-Fans (driven with only 5V) above my charge controllers to help with the convection through their heat-sinks. While i'm sure Victron spec'd them to be passively cooled, i'm not really a fan of seeing electronic equipment baking at ~45°C+ all day long. (I glued LM335 Temp Sensors to my charge controllers and feed them to the TEMP-Inputs in the Cerbo, switching one of the relays to power the fans over 35°C)

[@evil17]

Andy will see higher ambient temps than 35C through Summer here, and west of here can get 45C+ in the shade.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

They will throttle when hotter than 40°C and can run on max load 24/7. If the sun shines that long.

[@davidpatrick1813]

So much fun ... really nice.

[@evil17]

Excellent results, I love it! So the tilted panels are running hotter, my guess is it totally due to the colour as the tilted carport panels appear to be darker (Blackish), while the west roof panels? Are a bluer colour. I wonder if you laid one panel flat if its temp would increase any due to less ventilation? Also, despite ur very good reasoning against having a 2nd battery, my thoughts why a second battery would/could be useful are as a quick charge backup for the Tesla, so you can fully recharge at any time if need be. As far as burning More of the excess energy, I can only suggest to get a Dyno and put the tesla on it. Great job. Cheers

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

The tilted panels have a lighter colour than the shingled panels which are just black. I think it is because I measured the black panels at the bottom where cool air stream under the panels and the tilted panels, I measured at the top where the hotter air comes out in between.

[@kaipvinselstromer8298]

toller Kanal.hab mir grad eine Amperetime 24V 200AH gekauft.

[@agusm20856]

You are in Australia, it’s summer now. I am just wondering how much you are making on the winter time.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

It's still spring down here but yeah, from April next year, we will see the true potential of the system.

[@ValRigoli]

Andy I mentioned once before that I thought that you are likely have a large over supply of energy with the new panels. So are you considering moving as many house loads as you can across to the shed system, so that the house solar system can throw all it's generation into the grid and get you some of the 0.49 cents a kWh back into your pocket. It seems such a shame that you could be 'losing' some of that great shed power ATM. I know I would be beside myself if I was generating so much power that I had to throttle it back, sort of like spilling SPATs on the ground lol🤣

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yeah, I was expecting a huge power surplus in summertime. Next year, we will seem how much power we will still get from the system. From April on, production usually goes down substantially.

[@w3bb0y]

@andy what is the DC power load that shows in the victron overview? I couldn't figure it out as it fluctuated so much. At first I thought it was maybe the Pi and some dc-dc chargers on desk but when it went over 2kw I assumed that was wrong.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Basically everything which does not go through the inverter directly. It can be up to 4kW of DC power which is most likely the Xija Inverter running loads inside the house via extension cables.

[@Peter195267]

Run a few extension cords to the house Andy and use the excess power that way. Just a thought....

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

That's what I do at the moment, plugging in dishwasher and washing machine, kettle, toaster, microwave... Not sure how much longer my marriage will last though 😂

[@amilww]

Awesome power! We too experience the same with our off-grid system; the batteries are full around 2pm in fairly sunny days. We're using all-in-one inverters, so the solar energy can directly power the load requirements even batteries are not charging. Andy, is there any special reasons for you to use separate charge-controllers and inverters (specially when you were with less-powered panels)?

[@abhishekkushwaha2455]

yes, what is the reason behind this setup andy?

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Mostly redundancy. If one controller goes down, I still have three running. If one inverter goes down, I still have another one. With the shading, I have a lot of parallel strings of panels instead of long series connections. I cannot use an inverter with built-in MPPT therefor.

[@gannas42]

Wow! Just wow... that is a crazy amount of power. I know the grid doesn't pay much for export but seems a shame if you can't use it all otherwise. Very interested to see your upcoming videos on this. 🙂

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

We have to stay off-grid with the system until the contract runs out for the feed-in solar on the house. A lot of restrictions when connected to the gris while off-grid I can just go nuts...

[@gannas42]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia I have heard you refer to this before, I think. We'll just have to see what other ways you can put that power to use. You are right that more storage doesn't really solve it... when that fills up you end up the same spot. Maybe put an electric car charger out at the end of the drive with a credit card reader so you can put yourself on the commercial charger maps? 😅

[@antoni_sk]

not bad Andy, not bad... my maximum from my 4,4kWp panels (max. 285Wp panels) was this autumn 160A... in 24V battery system with capacity 17kWh

[@Mr.Engineer.]

Why not connect ti to the grid and sell the excess energy? Do you have net metering in Australia?

[@cowboymcq6711]

😳😳👀❕❕❕That’s a serious system you’ve got going on now. WOW I JUST ADDED 4 panels to my system for a total of 3kw Really helps out on those clouding days in. The northeast USA ✌🏼✌🏼✌🏼🇺🇸❗️❕❗️❕❗️ One question Andy why are you charging at such high amperage 70AMPS❗️❗️❗️😳⁉️⁉️⁉️

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Every panel counts! 70A was when I turned off all the load and had the maximum charge into the batteries. Testing the system... 😉

[@daughydoc]

Congratz Andy

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thank you.

[@TrevorFraserAU]

I suggest you feel the temperature of the battery cables when you are charging at the maximum current you can. I suspect they would be getting a bit warm but would love to know for sure what is happening there.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Coming soon, just need to be at home when we have full power coming in.

[@georgebaker8974]

I've watched this since day one 😎

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Hey, great, thank you!

[@BeezyKing99]

with your excess power, feed your house with off-grid dedicated circuits, so you can use your power in the house where needed when you want to avoid paying hydro use.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yeah, its' complicated... kzbin.info/www/bejne/goKti4ijjKmoedU

[@BeezyKing99]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia fair enough, just thought I’d share a way to use excess power from your solar system.

[@vickipps6821]

Thank Andy so you have 14.240kw of panels what was your configeration

[@vickipps6821]

Thanks I am using a Sunsynk 5kw inverter it has 2 X MPPT charge controllers built in if I remember correctly 6kw each

[@happysnapper3676]

Hi Andy , love your videos. I have a 400 ah battery bank (4x 100ah) wired in parallel each BMS has a max charge of 50a , is this 50a for the whole bank or so 4x 50a?

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yes, 50A is for each individual bank, so 200A all in total charging current from your solar.

[@martehoudesheldt5885]

now it's time for bigger main breaker and more batteries for storage on cloudy days or when the weather knocks the mains out for a week.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

I think the breaker is fine for the shelf. More batteries need to be installed elsewhere. But they won't really help. I need more load!

[@regnerusb]

Yes a new video!

[@burnzy56469]

Hi Andy could you please make a Diagram of your solar panels for your website are thay wired 2 in series and than parallel. So much power I'm Excited for you. I wonder how your going to use all the power I know you don't like to waste free energy lol

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yep, that's how they are wired, 2 in series and 5 strings in parallel. I made a video a while back about the system and how it is cabled. Not much has changed, just more panels.

[@griffinsBuilds]

im thinking those panels are running hotter due to their tilt angle in relation to the sun, if they are on a more direct angle with the sun they will absorb more heat.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yeah, hm... I know what you mean. None of my panels are ever in that very ideal SPAT position. And if so, only for a very short moment...

[@Dutch_off_grid_homesteading]

Heya, put some copper pipes at the back to cool the panels and us the water ( in these copper pipes ) to heat some water in a receptacle and you have your out site shower lol.

[@diysolaradventures7894]

Andy how many watts are the panels on the car port again ? I'm about to find me some like yours or close to it.

[@energieundhobby]

What about bit mining in Australia... probably not worth it anymore..?

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

I started looking into it and the asic are already $2-4k to invest. I'm totally unsure about the return time for that. I thought about a $300 pool heater maybe... just to get us started...

[@markwitkop7022]

Side thought. Here we have a product called"RainX" it repels water off windshields. I wonder how it would do on solar panels?

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

We have this too down here. I think it won't make any difference. I have cleaned solar panels as long as I have them and never could see an increase in production afterwards. I still do it from time to time for my own sanity 😉

[@evil17]

I do like the idea/logic behind using RainX on panels, but I have to agree with ‘Old Mate’, that cleaning panels, unless they are really dirty/shitty whatever, probly doesn’t yield any/much extra energy, but it may make you feel better for doing it. On the flip side, I did mine several months back because I noticed they were growing a bit of a mouldy type mildew we get around the Hervey Bay Area. I did a quick pressure clean after about 16 months of the installation. I was thinking of giving them an occasional (1-2 yearly)wash over with a bit of Chlorine/bleach maybe to try and counteract this moulding effect, but RainX or possibly tyre shine may work to help stop buildup of this type.

[@lennieadi]

Flaming heck. That's fantastic Andy. Tonnes of energy. Can I get all that including batteries for 25k usd?

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Not sure if you can, probably not for $25k... Maybe $35k I would guess...

[@lennieadi]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia ok wow. Thanks for getting back. Now I know how much to save up. Keep bringing us the amazing content buddy.👊🏾🇬🇧🇯🇲

[@paulhardie9450]

It’s like a Jackson Pollock painting all that shading Andy and ya still producing power in the am 😊 that sure is nothing to S.P.A.T about 🤪🤪

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

I could spend all day on the roof and watch the shade moving across the panels... checking the app and smile. 🍺

[@andrewradford3953]

I've always wondered if a panel that is shorted would be slightly hotter than one pushing out ~200W per square metre. Though the infra red wavelength isn't converted into electrons, only photons from the visible spectrum.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Well, do the test and let us know...

[@andrewradford3953]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia OK, but I have a second silly test after a two bit davinci video. Will a vertical EW panel produce more power. I'll bet 6 uncalibrated spats that both claims are wrong. Maybe 2, as 4 have been prepared for calibration earlier..

[@ajoker1718]

Gratulation zu dieser Anlage. Tolle Reise mit dir und deiner Garage in den Letzten Monaten bzw. Jahren! Was kommt jetzt, wie wirst die überschüssige Energie verarbeiten? Wasserstoff produzieren und nach Deutschland liefern gg? LG aus Wien. Alex

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Hi Alex, thanks for your comment. Still thinking of what to do with the excess energy. Some Crypto miners or a pool heater maybe...

[@ajoker1718]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia Guten MORGEN! Mining genau, jetzt erst recht BTC oder was kannst jetzt noch schürfen das es auch in 3 Jahren noch gibt?? Lg

[@odoohub5010]

do you have optimizer installed for each of the panel?

[@markwitkop7022]

I wasn't really thinking about the "Cleaning" as being the point. RainX Repels water. When I use it on the car, even when it rains , I can still see out the window without wipers. Because the rain beads up and rolls off. Which begs the question, Since the dirt on a panel comes from the rain, if the rain beads up, and rolls off before it can evaporate from the glass, maybe they would only need to be cleaned 1x a year. I don't have a solar system, so I can't check that out.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks Mark. I know RainX and it's a great product. I would assume it will not work on solar panels as well because of the missing wind and the relatively flat angle of the panels. Most of the dirt is coming from dust, not the actual rain. But it accumulates at the lowest point of the panels. I have cleaned panels for years without seeing any increase in production afterwards.

[@awesomusmaximus3766]

Awesome crazy power

[@evil17]

Id like to suggest maybe a Cool high powered battery Buggy project, with maybe a fast charging trailer/transporter towing affair behind the Tesla for a bit of weekend fun, but then we probably wouldn’t get so many great vids each week, would we? Nice!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Nah, can't be away for too long, the videos are waiting. I can fill the Tesla twice a day now, it's crazy.

[@dobrzpe]

holy moly - YOU'RE RIGHT!! i've been a little concerned with the cascading-battery-BMS shutdown-overcurrent thing for a while now on my system... and yea! i *NEVER* thought that when the system goes into absorb/float it is in a constant voltage state and will only push the amps required. NOT the full amps of all controllers going to the max. so, at least, this alleviates any concern i have of this going on during absorb/float. thanks! it's still a *possibility* to have a battery/bms shut down during bulk and then divide the amps among the remaining batteries... but the chances of a battery/bms going offline during bulk is... well, a very low probability. wow. im ASTOUNDED at my incompetence! LMAO!

[@asderven]

The wattage and amps going through mono half perc will be higher than the other ones. I am guessing the efficiency will be higher by 1-3% on the mono perc panels. That will create more heat, which might be the temperature difference of the two. You could divide the temperature by the amps being sent out by each panel, that might be a better metric?

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Very hard to measure. Both types of panels have around 21,3% efficiency. I also measured the tilted panels at the top and the shingled panels at the bottom where cooler air comes in, so that could be the difference already.

[@asderven]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia ah, if they have similar efficiency, than yes, much harder to measure. My panels are 330w and around 17% efficiency, the ones install now are at 550w or 650w around 21.7% (if claims are real). So glad you got a proper setup. Now you can get another electric car because that is a battery 😁.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

@@asderven Yes, we consider this. But I really want to see how it goes in winter...

[@awesomedee5421]

It looks like the tilted panels are a different brand than the west roof. So is that a possible the different brands absorb diff temps? I still think the angled ones should have been cooler. maybe if you measure at the bottom of the angled panel the reading might be different than the top as the hot air is raising to the top of the panels? as well as measuring from the top of the west roof as there is a slight angle on the roof causing air flow. just some thoughts

[@junkerzn7312]

Oh, I thought of one more thing. Since its a battery system and the batteries might be 100% full, the solar panels could potential overheat in full sun when the batteries are full and the charge controllers aren't pulling any power from the panels. That can reduce the life of the panels. I've never had to deal with this sort of situation myself because I'm grid-tied so the system always accepts all solar power. I don't know a whole lot about potential solutions. Shunting power into additional equipment (heating the pool, for example), or running a resistive heater, or even constructing a sand battery for overnight heating. Etc. Something to deal with excess power when the batteries are full, though, would be a great project.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

That cannot happen. It's not like with hot water solar when the pump does not work and the water overheats inside. It's the opposite with PV solar. No power means now power lose in the panels and therefore cooler panels. I'm in discussion with the sparky to get the house connected without harming the high feed-in tariff for the house solar. It's a bit tricky.

[@junkerzn7312]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia Hmm. I guess its only 20%, but the armchair physicist in me starts whispering "conservation of energy". If the energy hitting the panel isn't being taken away as electric power, where is it going? Either way we are only talking 20% though so perhaps it isn't that big a deal.

[@richardsandwell2285]

Sounds like you need dump loads, sand heat batterries and water heaters. And no YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH POWER! lol give it away to the neighbours, your set up is awesome, I love it. Mine is much smaller I am on a tight budget, I have just reached 1.3Kw of panels, but I am fitting more and more and windchargers about 1300 Amp hours of batteries now. We all have a social & moral obligation to destroy centralized energy production, together we can break the cycle of abuse/exploitation and the monopoly of the energy giants.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Great, Richard. That's the way to go and how I started as well. With 3 panels on the roof was my first set up.

[@petergravy6893]

Not sure of your setup. It looks like you have 4 separate charge controllers and 3 batteries? I see shade is a bit of a problem for you. I have 1 off grid inverter which has 2 charge controllers built in and I have 2 lots of balanced arrays, which are paralleled (4 arrays). This allows me to have the 4 arrays all feeding into the one charge controller which limits the overall charge current to the batteries, and ensures my selected charge current is not exceeded into the batteries, which helps extend the batteries life.