SOLAR POWER: The Ultimate Beginner's Guide / How To

Solar Power System Explained in 12 Minutes! On grid, off grid... inverters, panels and everything in between. #solar #green #diy
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00:00 #1: Solar Panels
01:22 #2: Inverters
03:08 Series vs Parallel
05:20 Non-DIY Options
06:42 #3: Switches & Safety
07:33 How Much Power Do You Need?
08:25 #4: Batteries
09:32 #5: Wiring & Connectors

[@DamBevers]

It takes talent to make such a concise, comprehensive, and understandable introduction to a technical topic. I wish every explainer video on YT was as great as this one. Thank you!

[@andymccabe872]

I am an electrician that has never done any solar work. This video is a great start. Well done!! Thank you!

[@BaawBee]

The best beginner guide I've ever seen by far. Absolutely loved the bit about series vs parallel!!! Never knew about this.

[@LRN2DIY]

That’s so kind of you! Thanks and I’m glad the series vs parallel made sense.

[@olawlor]

Great summary! One thing to keep in mind with landscape wiring (at 9:54) is the voltage rating of the wire: panels run in parallel might be a manageable 40V open circuit, but panels stacked in series can reach eye-popping voltages, even to where the 600V rating of ordinary AC electrical wire isn't enough. The dedicated PV wire often uses thicker insulation to allow 1000V or higher operation without breaking down, as well as sunlight resistant outer coatings.

[@user-hh6ex9md4w]

Thank you for sharing your insights on landscape wiring and the voltage rating of the wire. It's crucial to consider these factors when setting up a solar power system. Speaking of power solutions, have you heard about the Segway Portable PowerStation Cube Series? It's a versatile power station with a massive capacity of up to 5kWh, allowing you to power your devices and appliances for extended periods. It also offers fast recharging and comprehensive protection features. Check it out if you're looking for a reliable power source for your outdoor adventures!

[@aaronsmith593]

Read Kindle books on off grid, rv solar and basic electrical books will guide you in what you need to get started.

[@Sjrick]

To make it easier for me to understand, i go by what my current box has. Breakers. Each breaker is from 15 to 20 amps. So volts and watts are confusing to me.

[@bmiller1958]

Thank you. This helps me understand better.

[@PianoImprov.rjgc1991]

Your cable management is amazing

[@jhoodfysh]

Thank you Nils, I was curious how that all worked.

[@LRN2DIY]

Thanks for watching, John!

[@leepennington11]

Thanks for the video - Very informative - Noticed that you mention Tesla on several of your vids, but have you checked out GAF's new solar shingles? They install same as regular asphalt shingles. Simply nailed down.

[@fakefakerton5044]

This is awesome. Thanks for the detailed video.

[@kurchak]

Parallel has an A in it (amps), series does not. Boom, done.

[@scottsoward]

Great video, and tons of info. This is one I'll need to review a few times!

[@LRN2DIY]

Thanks, brother. You know that Ian is the real genius here - that guy has never ending knowledge on all this. Thanks for watching.

[@jeanguerrero2877]

Thank you I learn a lot 🔥

[@raz5773]

Lol the Suave got me Great video thanks!

[@TheRealTristanBell]

Great explainer!

[@PavelMetodiev]

Great and very useful video!

[@mdderrek9280]

Your Videos are awesome!!

[@imolazhp11]

Great intro to solar video. One note, not all electric companies use or offer bidirectional meters. Be sure you find this out BEFORE installing and figure it in to your payback schedule if you are concerned about payback. For example, we sell all of the power we generate at $0.09/kWh, but we buy all of the power we use at $0.1126/kWh, making payback abysmal.

[@LRN2DIY]

Great point! I've been doing math on all of ours to see where we're at and it's not bad but you're absolutely right that you should check before building out a system.

[@ronsbeerreviewstools4361]

Very good post on solar power.

[@davidngulube5944]

I have just discovered that becoming a solar power electrician is very much easy

[@GavinStoneDIY]

Good explanation of some of the basics. I did consider purchasing some of those salt silicate batteries at one point. But I went with the lifpo batteries instead. I do have some of those combiner boxes and inverters from Watts247 though. Looks like we shopped at the same store. I would recommend investing in some of their fuses though. Ian has 150-200 amp switches that are really high quality. I’ve seen multiple tests on the cheaper types and they don’t trip when they are supposed to. That can make for a scary situation.

[@LRN2DIY]

Great points, Gavin. Yeah - I saw his video on those cheaper fuses not working. When I get something a bit more permanent going I'll be using the better fuses. The ones I have were an "I need some fuses right now - better hop on Amazon" purchase :) Pretty scary that they even bother selling products that don't perform their one and only job.

[@GavinStoneDIY]

@@LRN2DIY I have a similar fuse. But I’ll be ordering a 200 amp from watts soon hopefully. I agree about the fuses Amazon sells. It could legitimately cause a fire in the wrong situation. But I suppose everything is a buyer beware situation with electrical parts.

[@clivepalmer7679]

I wish I had read this two years ago, I know now there are many sub contractors who will instal the panels and go from there. I had a "specialist" firm about a year ago to do the whole job and had to call them back many times. First of all the system was blowing the RCD out on the house board, Then when that was sorted, the ap would report a serious fault. That happened a number of times. The installer did return to sort out the problem, but it would happen often at the first week in the month. I was then advised to have a radio contact from the system to the house, but that wouldn't work and so I was advised to have it hard wired; also a failure. I received a bill for four hundred pounds for the last "solution". I hesitate to say it, but the system is working OK at the moment, but that was a tedious year We had a fifty panel system installed on a large public building about the same time and now the roof is leaking, seems to be under one of the panels.

[@Wereallfd]

So the way you explained the order of operations at the end makes it sound like the order is panels to safety box, to inverter, to batteries, but the inverter should come after your batteries (to convert the dc into ac) , as well as a charge controller likely being the second step.

[@profuse007]

Can you do video on cost benefit analysis on DIY vs pro install? I love to see the beak even point to see savings

[@LRN2DIY]

I do have some info on that since I've been running tons of calculations on my power bills lately. I'll have to see what I can come up with. Thanks for watching!

[@Koh_Scoot]

Great video. One thing i don't quite understand, is when solar modules are in a string setup, why are the panels only as productive as the least productive panel? What is the reasoning/cause behind this?

[@johnbartz1907]

The power is all flowing into the same system, say you have 5 panels in a row and 100 is moving through them, all are at 100 but one system is only able to process 85, that 85 then moves down the line instead of 100, like blocking a part of a stream, the water coming through that blocked area is not at capacity.

[@jackhume1525]

But how do you know how many watts or amps you need? trying to power an outbuilding not a whole house. So I'm not sure how to figure out what is needed.

[@eldenjr]

Nils, thanks for the great video. Unfortunately the Tesla systems don’t service my area. My wife and checked into getting a solar system for our home but after the math I just couldn’t see it being affordable. The system would have put us at 89% electric independent according to their numbers but the system with a battery backup was almost 60k! Minus 18k in Federal tax credits, the 42k left was going to financed and in the end we wouldn’t see any real saving for 10 years. Maybe I was looking into a wrong dealer, but the system was made by a company that I know so I wasn’t worried about that, it was the cost of installing it that pushed us to saying no. If the US Government wants folks to go greener, then the tax credits should last longer in years or be a greater lump sum. Any advice if we should look into it from a different view would be helpful. Maybe I just didn’t see the numbers clearly. But usually that’s not the case.

[@diegopatino6902]

If you live in Texas, there are programs for free installation. And solar should just be a bill swap, you shouldn’t be paying for 2 separate bills, let me know if you are still interested in solar, I could help you out.

[@toffguy3297]

SET UP SOLAR POWER YOURSELF.

[@RA-rf4nz]

Is it possible to run a single 24v solar panel to a 120v inverter without a battery? I want to run a single 110v AC pond air pump only while the sun is shinning enough light to power it.

[@LRN2DIY]

Sorry I didn't see this until now! The short answer is yes - you can absolutely do that. Just be sure to shop for an inverter that doesn't require a battery to run. Many require the battery so that they're not constantly starting up and shutting down depending on the sun vs shade and that's worth considering for your pond air pump too - what if it's a partly cloudy day... So some level of battery backup, even a very small battery, would be advisable but is not required in some cases.

[@thistledewoutdoors3331]

Let's us know how you did with that .. I have a new 50'x30' pond that needs a pump - the scum is starting to grow !!!

[@blusensation2350]

but tesla only does roof installs

[@LARGERTHANLIFE21]

This feels like hooking up a car stereo system

[@austinmclamb9162]

EMT could use some work lol

[@embededfabrication4482]

How to just use the DC power?

[@tumelomoloi9934]

You can't power a house with DC power only. Your entire house is run by AC

[@nasdcong4502]

For a city person who knows nothing about wiring , And needs to power a fridge and lights in a rented apartment in case of a blackout i found this video not helpful. If i can't figure out HOW to make things go then I won't buy solar panels etc.

[@johnbartz1907]

If you weren't able to figure that out from this video, call a professional because everything you said you needed was in this video.

[@bravozero6]

Some people need a professional😂

[@UltimateSolarCleaningService]

Remember to clean your solar panels every 3-6 months!

[@carolinaskineticproperties]

Your battery link is broken

[@Living_Water274]

Last time I checked Americans owned their property their towns don't. So who cares what your town thinks?

[@chejvasquez5202]

Suave ___ suavemente