Off-Grid Home Solar Tour

[@Ulbre]

I was so impressed when you said this video will include a full tour of our solar system......and thought wow, it's only a six and a half minute video.....and you delivered........other channels waffle on for 30 minutes about their 2 panel system....well done good sir.

[@otterc.9337]

Really an impressive set-up. BONUS: I love the PVC tower for the Meshtastic node!

[@luckyrustic]

Wonderful video! I went with a solar company with my setup and wish I had waited and did something like yours. I really believe that we shouldn't be so dependent on power companies and tying into the grid with our systems. Thanks for sharing and looking forward to more!

[@andrievbastichy8551]

saw the thumbnail.. and immediately said GIMMIE!

[@mainelyhobbies]

Wish I had space for a ground array, but my property is sorrounded by large trees and even if I cut them all, the neighbors trees would still shade it.

Same here but it is mostly my trees, I have to trim and top several to up the Summertime output because shading is becoming an issue again when the tree's leaf out..

[@MrButuz]

Great work your doing it all spot on. I've been experimenting with all of this too it's so satisfying creating your own power. Over here you can get those small immersion heaters in 12/24/48v a 48v one would be good with two ofthe big house 450w 40-50v panels in paralell. Mind you we better be careful don't want to boil the chicken water do we!!! :D one thing I have learned is don't do lots and lots of disparate systems here and there - you get much better value for money and efficiency putting all of the money into one big massive expandable system and powering everything you need off 120/240v. For me I've gone from all the experiments to putting it all into a victron/pylontech 240v system that I can just keep expanding and expanding. went from 6kwh to 16kwh and now 26kwh and will keep adding every year

I would love to setup a ground array that I could adjust the angle and the direction.. Have thought about a two stack of six for twelve panels centered on a round metal post with a wheel on each end that would turn to track the Sun but I would have to cut down several large trees that are 50+years old. I have 24 panels, 12 face ENE and SSW on the roof of my garage and may experiment with a reflector to see if I can get some extra light on the NNE faceting panels in the afternoon.. Something I could pull up between 2 poles like a banner on non windy days..

[@jsauerii]

The first set would never stand much wind, I am in KS and had thought of something similar but even with 4x4s top and bottom I worry.

[@user-jm7jk6xu2r]

Would love to see your plans for the ground mount.

[@SmithOffGrid]

I'll put together a dedicated video on our ground mount. Stay tuned!

[@user-jm7jk6xu2r]

@@SmithOffGrid Thx!!

[@JoAnna-ff9sv]

Can you make plans to purchase or not to purchase versus a video?

[@SmithOffGrid]

@JoAnna-ff9sv Yeah I could do that as well!

[@JoAnna-ff9sv]

Excellent! Thank you!

[@secreteman205]

Good panels them I've got 22 500w 😊

[@UTSARoadgunner]

Can you please share the hardware used with the strut channel array?

[@SmithOffGrid]

It was actually pretty tricky to find hardware that worked with strut channel since the clamps all seem to come in metric sizing. But this is the best I found (though with some small modifications to make it work) -- amzn.to/3WIWDk5 The nut that comes with the end clamps isn't wide enough to span the gap and grab onto the strut channel so I added a 5/16 x 1-1/4 in fender washer directly on top of the nut. The washer bends when tightened and prevents the nut from slipping through. It has worked perfectly and hasn't loosened at all. You can see it briefly in the video when I show the side angle of the chicken run array. For the mid clamps, I enlarged the hole on the clamp with a 3/8 in drill bit so that I could use a 3/8 in x 2 in bolt and a standard 3/8 in strut channel nut. I used the strut nuts with the blue plastic guides to keep them in place during assembly and they have worked well.

[@UTSARoadgunner]

@ Thanks!

[@markstrout3198]

What size panel and element in the chicken water. I am looking to do something similar.

[@honeybadger6127]

any issues with the wind knocking down the array that is held up with PVC pipe?

[@SmithOffGrid]

I didn't mention in the video but each PVC stand is staked down with large concrete stakes. You can kinda see them in the video. I haven't seen any movement at all surprisingly!

[@butchgreene]

How much is your power bill without solar?

[@honeybadger6127]

how tall is the PVC meshtastic tower?

[@SmithOffGrid]

From ground to the top of the antenna is a bit over 21 ft. I want do a dedicated video showing the tower in depth!

[@jasonbroom7147]

Sub'd! You connected three series strings without using a combiner box? I was always told that's not a good idea, but you're going into different charge controllers, in the 18KPV? I really like both of your solar panel mount designs! You have an 11kw primary array, with a 30Kwh battery. That seems like overkill, to me. Did you build it that large so that you are still largely off-grid, even during the winter? Do you have a major surplus, at times, during the summer?

[@markstephan636]

is there a file for the antenna tower space?

[@SmithOffGrid]

I'm still working on the design but I want to do a dedicated video on the tower and hope to have something I can share at that point

[@bobmonztr]

A box made out of sturdy foam board for the chicken water, slide over the top with cut outs. If you get snow load just glue some 1" posts on the inside corners. I have 11.6kw now, 20kw to eliminate the gen, maybe this year.

[@SmithOffGrid]

Oh yeah insulation for the chicken water is one of the things I’ve been thinking about. I’ll have to try that! We’re in the same boat, I want a few more panels to help us make it through the hardest couple weeks of winter. Rest of the year we’re totally fine but in Dec we had to run the generator a few times.

[@bobmonztr]

@SmithOffGrid last year was 105days 20 hours of sun,this year is 20 days and 100 hours of sun. Lots of fire coming, expand the fire breaks

[@stacyhackney6100]

Excellent.

[@josephshantimba8124]

Very inspiring

[@BSwizards]

Do you use much grid power? We are close to retirement and we are planning on moving back to the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. I would like to live off solar/battery power as much as possible. Considering Grid/Flex boss setup and a couple of mini splits for heating and cooling. Is 30kw possible for that?

[@SmithOffGrid]

No grid usage, we produce all the power we need! We do have to be conscious of our power usage though during the winter months, especially when we have cloudy/stormy weather for multiple days in a row. Our generator helps us get through the hardest days. We've only had to use it a handful of times though. 95% of the year we're generating power in excess. We started with 25kWh of battery capacity but the buffer was just a little too small for our usage so we added an extra 5kWh battery. 30kWh has served us really well and I think it's a good number to shoot for when starting out! But the system size you need depends a ton on your electrical loads. We replaced a natural gas water heat with a heat pump water heater a month or so ago and the extra draw (avg 5kWh per day) has made a big difference and our battery bank is feeling a bit small again.

[@ManxMariner]

Does the wind never blow there?

[@SmithOffGrid]

It’s actually a pretty windy area! I thought we might need to anchor down our big array further but it’s been solid. Just flexes a little with the big gusts. We set the posts with four 80lbs bags of concrete in each hole and each hole was probably 4ft deep. I didn’t mention in the video but each PVC stand for the temporary array is anchored down with long concrete stakes. You can kinda see them in the video. They haven’t budged either but it helps that wind normally blows in line with that array and not against the back face.

[@ManxMariner]

@ thanks for the explanation. That big array, I would still question . Thanks for the video! Nice setup.

[@BlazApps]

Do you have any links to solar panels you use or suggest using for things like this?

[@skunkbudzrus]

Signature solar or portable sun has great deals on panels down to .22¢a watt.

[@BrotherPeon]

Spencer! This is awesome! Did you design and install it all yourself? I have been thinking about getting a DIY kit from wholesalesolar with some enphase microinverters and potentially some enphase batteries but working on finishing my basement first.

[@SmithOffGrid]

Tony! Yeah I designed it and did the install myself, I don't regret it at all. Solar is seriously awesome. I got all our equipment from Signature Solar, I don't know much about wholesalesolar though. AC coupled systems in general I'm less familiar with but I know that's the go-to for traditional solar companies doing grid-tied systems. Going DC coupled has worked well for us and it's a bit more common for DIY systems. I'd love to hear more about what you have in mind and the goals you have for it!

[@SolarTechFL]

I wouldn't DIY an enphase battery system you have to become certified through their program which takes a while and you also need a solar or electrical license to even take the course on top of that their equipment is overpriced and sucks especially for off-grid. you will be much happier with an EG4 or a solark. FYI I've installed at least 10 separate enPhase battery backup systems Eight of those systems had a battery failure within the first year for no apparent reason. they are also plagued with wireless communication issues. I also live off grid on 45 Kw of solar 140 kilowatt hour battery. I use Outback equipment Along with an AC coupled 10 KW solar Edge inverter

[@justOffgrid-ph7uo]

Think about Bifacial solar panels for your next project ✔️... Looks really nice

[@roland349]

Great video me like

[@Madsci-zy8wm]

Nice solar array, but a bad choice for an inverter. High-frequency, transformerless inverters like the 18kpv offer a much shorter life expectancy and a far poorer surge capacity, and can damage your appliances when their MOSFETs fail. The primary reason for this is that the engineers that designed this low-cost inverter made the decision to strip out the most important component in any inverter, the output transformer. They did this for the sole purpose of reducing the shipping costs from China to other countries. The problem with removing the output transformer is that this inverter does not provide any galvanic isolation between its DC boost stage and its AC output, which makes it dangerous for use in residential applications. A much better choice for an inverter would have been to install a low-frequency, transformer-based inverter. Low-frequency, iron core, transformer-based inverter chargers offer a far longer life expectancy and a much higher surge capacity than low-cost, lightweight, high-frequency, transformerless inverters, and are a far safer choice for powering your home's appliances. That's why all US-made inverter manufacturers only use high-reliability, low, frequency, transformer-based inverter technology.

[@newguy6935]

Could you name some manufacturers with high-quality inverters?

[@animes.GS.]

Turn on automatic subtitles so you can get more people from different languages ​​and this won't get in the way at all, it will just help you more. Hugs from Brazil.

[@SmithOffGrid]

Hello! 👋 I believe automatic subtitles are enabled on my channel. I just checked the video and I'm able to see auto-translated subtitles in the viewer settings under "subtitles" > "auto-translate" Maybe there was a delay in the translation with it being a new video when you first saw it? Let me know if you still can't see them and I can check if there's anything else I can do!

[@JonOffgrid]

👌😎👍

[@arnoldreiter435]

what have you spent on this project? i dont understand why no one who shows their systems on you tube will give the most basic info on cost....which is a hard reality that real people have to deal with.

[@Braiff12]

About 50 200 watt panels for 10kw total = about $2500-$10,000 shop around, many different options and efficiencies. 30kwh lifepo4 battery capacity $2000 to $10,000, again, many options shop around. Controllers, minimum $1000-$5000. Inverters likely at least $1000. So if you really look around you can probably get something like this for around $6500. On the upper end with the most expensive components $30,000

[@2hotscottpro]

36 foot camper 4200 pv,8x525 biracial 15 inch over roof,6k inverter,three 60 amp charge controllers ,9k btu mini split.48v 230ah,12v 300ah=$10k😊

[@Braiff12]

@@arnoldreiter435 I've got a 2.4 KW system I spent about $3,000 on put it up on the roof of my 22 ft RV

[@Braiff12]

@@arnoldreiter435 but you know I wasn't relying on a single KZbin video to tell me how to do it it took me a good two or three months of research before I figured out how it works and what all the cost would be

[@Braiff12]

I installed a 2.4 kilowatt system on the top of my RV for about $3000

[@williamjones9662]

$$$$