Solar MISTAKES! DIY Start here! | Texas Prepper Projects

[@SarahStuff-p5u]

The trick is to make sure you panel enough to run all the loads all day as well as refill battery over the night use.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Yes

[@carlthetruthwilliams9447]

All good advice. Thank you.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Glad to help!

[@SnowyOwlPrepper]

Pro tip. Don’t video record with too much space above a person’s head.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Thanks

[@davidtaylor6772]

Photographer/Videographer here: Use the 2/3 rule. Keep your subject’s head in the top 2/3 of the frame. I learned this rule later in life than I should have.

[@brianwood256]

Great video! Your 10:1 ratio makes it simple to guesstimate good pairings of batteries & inverters. Only buying lithium batteries, sine wave inverters and mppt charge controllers really keeps folks from throwing money at short term solutions.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Thanks!

[@nathanevilsizor7622]

Great video! Very important things to remember. I think a few people also need to remember that everyone’s use case for a solar system or solar generator is going to be a bit different from the next guy. This will affect the decision on a solar system vs a solar generator.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Agreed!

[@ronsalvo440]

Thanks for this video, makes me feel better about my emergency power build. My 1000w inverter came with 6awg wires that I'm changing to 4awg to be safe. I currently have 2 100ah batteries in parallel and 2 100w solar panels also in parallel. I plan to add 2 more 100ah batteries as I can afford to. I only have a 30amp controller so I can add 1 more 100w solar panel. If I was going to do this again I would have bought a 2000w inverter and 60amp controller for more flexibility

[@texasprepperprojects]

Tough call but i think I'd would improve the solar and charger before adding more batteries

[@acuratltypes6694]

Hi there from Mid Michigan. I run a 12v system with 1200w of solar and 400ah of lithium batteries, and a 1000w pure sine wave inverter. I have 3 separate mppt charge controllers for my panels. My build originally was with the 100w harbor freight kit with there 750w modified sine wave inverter and a 100ah/50ah usable AGM battery, just for learning experience. It was a fun project and helped me understand the basics of solar. That was 5 years ago. Now I have a system that has been running 24/7 for the last 2 years. Huge difference on what we can run between summer and winter. We roughly produced 1200w a day in the winter and 5000w a day in the summer. Understanding how many watts your going to use overnight and how much solar you need to produce is a must. We are looking to expand with another 1200w in solar panels and another 200ah in batteries. And a 2000w inverter for running other loads around the house. Yes, there is a lot that goes into understanding how this all works, but it's not that bad. I have done a lot of research to have a robust and equalized system for my area. 300w to 400w of solar per 100ah of battery is sufficient here.

[@seymourpro6097]

ALL depends on the purpose of the system. If you want to support life through a minor power failure go small, you'll get 2 LED lights and a laptop til dawn. If you need to support electric hob and fridge and freezer plus computers etc the power need is very different. Remember that a dull winter day will allow you about 5% of your panel's rated solar harvest, Use the battery to power the house overnight then maybe a generator to fill the batteries when everyone has woken up. What supports some twinkly lights in the evening probably will not support family life for a week of power outage. One woman in France had the system installed but no panels due to planning delay, she got through a day power cut by running a generator all day to charge the batteries that kept her overnight.

[@texasprepperprojects]

yup

[@JamesBond-zd5jx]

Starting from zero: buy a small inverter dual fuel generator. Second, buy a solar charged power station 2kw minimum with minimum 400 watts solar panels. You can charge the batteries with the generator when solar isn’t working well. Third, educate yourself on building a solar backup system. Add to your solar panels and battery banks as knowledge and finances allow. You will eventually advance to a 48 volt system with several thousand kw hours of battery storage with multiple thousand watts of solar panels running an inverter that can output 8-12 thousand watts.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Not bad!

[@Familyadventure369]

Always awesome my friend

[@texasprepperprojects]

Thanks!!

[@user-MikeSJO]

All good advice. I recently built a DIY unit that matches most of your recommendations except I went with 700W inverter to save $ This set up runs my big freezer for 24 hours. Unfortinately it's been cloudy for two days so the solar energy has been very poor. Need to have a back up to the back up if power is down for more than 1 day.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Nice work!

[@thetoolmat8632]

I have decided to go with a 24V system in our trailer…. We presently have (3) New 12.8V 100AH batteries…I see how to get (2) batteries in series for 24V but what about (3) ? ….. I can add another new one for four, but if we can get away easily with 3 that would be great… would it cause a problem with 3, such as uneven output and wear and tear…..

[@texasprepperprojects]

No, you need an even number to get to 24. So, pick up another battery. You'll do 2 in series and then parallel the pairs

[@jamesdean7756]

You can’t even make a cup of coffee with 1000 W inverter

[@texasprepperprojects]

This is true but why would you use electricity for heating water anyway when a butane stove is $20

[@jamesdean7756]

@@texasprepperprojects I guess cuz inverter is easy free and fast. 30 seconds of ac.

[@seadoogti9288]

Question. The Solar generators seem to be a decent idea for a few days without power. I own 2 myself. BUT lets say there is an extended power down situation due to cyber, solar flare, EMP or whatever else. Perhaps 3-6 months or more. Would a person be better off, instead of having one or two solar generators, having just some good 100w solar panels, voltage regulators and some small, car sized power invertors? Then he/she would have the ability to scavenge dozens of car batteries and charge them instead. If the grid is down people won't be driving after the first week due to gasoline shortages and batteries in cars, boats, mowers, tractors, motorcycles etc would be abundant. The ability to charge car batteries around the clock and even set up arrays of car batteries would be very adaptive to the situation. In other words how many car batteries would be equal to say a Jackery 1000 solar generator with a lithium battery? I would love to see a video on that.

[@texasprepperprojects]

The only time I would touch car batteries was in a true end of the world situation. Car batteries are NOT DESIGNED for this type of use and do NOT HAVE very big capacity. How many car batteries does it take to make up a Jackery 1000? About 10. If you're really worried about an 'extended outage' then just make sure you have the RIGHT match of solar panels (200 watts) to battery capacity (100 amp hours) and then multiply that over and over again. I have 3 or 4, independent systems that all match this ratio that i've built and assembled over the last few years as sales and money frees up

[@seadoogti9288]

I understand that during an extended power outage of many months you cannot really hope to power a house or even some of the appliances. As soon as the gas generators run dry a solar generator backup wouldn't get a household far and that would not be my intention anyway. But there are many smaller needs that could be met such as well pumps, radio communication, charging of electronics, running power tools, lights for the chickens etc. Seems like having many sources of power around the homestead would be easier than just one or two solar generators "in a true end of the world situation" as you put it. Thanks for reply.

[@texasprepperprojects]

@@seadoogti9288 I don't disagree. I have several 'smaller' units, as opposed to a power wall, so I can spread them around the house. Again, I'm not an end of world guy, but to answer your question, my personal plan would be to rip apart roadside solar speed trap signs and take their panels and use those to power batteries. But, I wouldn't 'stockpile' parts to do so. I also agree about solar vs gas, which is why I'm a big fan of solar

[@seadoogti9288]

@@texasprepperprojects I think the end of the world as we know is much closer than people think. Appreciate your info.

[@texasprepperprojects]

welcome@@seadoogti9288

[@steher]

Solar panels are garbage but thats all we have. 23% at their best is crap. I hope that a more efficient panel is developed soon.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Thanks for the comment. Have you seen bi facial panels?

[@jimg5669]

There's someone who doesn't remember when panels were $3 or $4 a watt with ~13% efficiency. 😆

[@georgegould667]

Thanks good information

[@texasprepperprojects]

Thanks!

[@Electronzap]

Good tips.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Glad you think so!

[@JLang-bn3hs]

Amen!

[@texasprepperprojects]

Thanks!

[@viridian839]

Great info

[@texasprepperprojects]

Glad it was helpful!

[@2011italianoboy]

Great information. I live in the northwast. If solar panels are not a good operation, what do you suggest? Other than more solar panels. I thought just recharge with my home. However, in some cases, if I can't do that, would wind generators be a good option?

[@texasprepperprojects]

your best shot then is to get a premade system like an ecoflow with rapid charging, then get a propane generator. Use the generator to recharge the battery in an hour or so, then shut it off to save gas. This is what my brother is doing. Wind is very, very complicated and hard to be consistent with.

[@2011italianoboy]

@texasprepperprojects ok, thanks for the reply and the link to Amazon. The ecoflow is on sale and definitely the way to go.

[@texasprepperprojects]

Spend the money and get the delta 2 that is 2048wh.

[@lanesteele240]

I like to be able to repair my stuff

[@texasprepperprojects]

Same here

[@fearlesscreator1961]

Great video! I would suggest however, that the camera framing for you should be more of you. Use the 2/3rd vertical position and it will be lmore effective than a talking head - literally. :)

[@texasprepperprojects]

Ok thanks!

[@sandrarice5575]

I want to do some backup solar . I really need a serious plan. I'm not good with electrical projects. I'm in East Texas, so we have sun. I have gas generators but would like solar backup. We have 3 freezers and 1 refrigerator. I would like a starter system that can have battery add ons and solar panels added as we can afford to expand. Do you have a recommendation for starting?

[@texasprepperprojects]

Ecoflow delta pro

[@sandrarice5575]

I will look into this. I thought about putting a system together. Will chat with them. Thank you

[@texasprepperprojects]

welcome@@sandrarice5575

[@IFKY]

Honestly this video could have been 5 seconds where you just point them to Will Prowse's channel. Also based off of my experience, instead of purposing this video as lessons/mistakes to avoid and then basically launch right into "here start with a 1,000W inverter" etc., I would have led with "most people don't know or underestimate their power needs--and they should figure that out before buying an inverter or anything else".. and also help them to understand what an "emergency situation" consists of.. for example I imagine for most people this involves keeping the lights on--and maybe the fridge/freezer running--but here's how much power these typically need (give them some averages) and help them understand how much power this actually takes b/c surprise, it can be a lot. My two cents but hey I'm just some rando on the internet..

[@texasprepperprojects]

Wil is too busy making big videos now. The purpose of this video was based on watching hundreds of other videos of people making systems that made no sense. I.e....putting a 3,000 watt inverter on a 20 amp battery with 18 awg wire. I also have other videos with step by step build instructions and why. Thanks for the comment

[@maverick3276]

I agree with you on everything you said however I wouldn't consider anything under 3500 watt if you need to run a well pump, furnace, fridge and freezer. I started with a bluetti ac200p which is 2000 watts with a 1000 watt solar array and it was fine for the fridge, freezer and lights for less than a day but it really isn't sufficient as a home backup for any long power outage.

[@texasprepperprojects]

The reason why I said 1000w/1500w is because that is the minimum you need to kick on most fridge and freezers on their own. Also at the end I pointed out that 1-1.5kw is the most you can run on a 100ah battery before the BMS trips. If you run 3500w, I hope you have a BIG battery.

[@WiSeNhEiMeR-1369]

what does a "solar generator" actually GENERATE ??? ... hummm kinda' a big BATTERY ...

[@texasprepperprojects]

A 'solar generator' generates electricity. Yes the name is silly and I hate it too, but that's what the industry calls it

[@ferdm9646]

FYI you can never compare between two! both has its pros and cons. DIY cost more but have benefits if you can maintain well. for some people readymade product is more safer and cheaper. you are just bluffing here not showing the actual thing hope you will do that next time. Show your magic!

[@texasprepperprojects]

Under 2kw, buy it. It's not worth the trouble to build. But, for a BIG system, you can save a ton of money. check out my other videos for builds

[@ferdm9646]

@@texasprepperprojects yes my friend that's what I'm saying. For bigger systems you should have a back channel to expand it . Solar power is never enough , you can never finish building it.

[@texasprepperprojects]

@@ferdm9646 stay tuned for a new BIG build coming soon

[@josevega5598]

500w-1500w inverter plus batteries is good emergency power for light , tv , video games it’s more then enough. It will depend on your needs . Also a small heater 500w space heater is good size for emergency’s, just need to move to one room . This vid is also a little missed leading . Just do your homework ask more than one creator/video about diy or buy , and everything will depend on your power needs or for emergencies.

[@texasprepperprojects]

How is it misleading? Why would you use a 500w space heater on a 1000wh battery?

[@baneverything5580]

A 500w space heater can only run from my huge 12v 300ah LiFeP04 battery for about 6 hours and that`s pushing it unless you want to drain your battery completely dead which is terrible to do if you value it and want it to last. My emergency backup plans for heat if a winter storm hits Louisiana are gas generator/heater, outdoor fire, electric blanket, ways to make warm drinks, warm clothes, and a 200w space heater to attempt to warm batteries in a very large cooler before charging if needed. Charging batteries in extreme cold (lithium ones) can seriously damage them. Running them dead isn`t on my list of things to do either. PS: If you`re using an inverter to run AC lights in emergencies, and watching TV, and playing video games...well....that probably explains everything.

[@jimg5669]

Solar is moderately well matched for electric AC, with the new efficient mini-split units, and getting better... when you really need and want it, is when the sun is at it's worst/best. But for that reason, solar will always be a poor match for electric heating. When you need it most, recharging those depleted batts the next day will likely be a challenge. :(

[@baneverything5580]

@@jimg5669 Last June a storm hit during a heat emergency at 3am. I connected my panels/solar charging at dawn to be able to continue to run my small 400w window AC from my big battery. Just when I got great sun...enough to add some charge plus keep up with power used big clouds rolled in. I was still able to run my AC from 3am until 6pm the next evening though and switched to small fans to get rest.