Solar yield with shaded solar panels on my garage. Worth it or stupid?

Why do I keep installing solar panels in the shade on my garage roof? Viewers asking me this question all the time,. so here is an explanation.
We're on the search for the perfect solar installation location. Summer, winter, shading, this all makes it difficult to harvest energy from the sun in a consistent way. Many people, like me, are looking for opportunities to install more solar panels, especially for winter time. Some circumstances just cannot be changed and we have to live with it or finding ways around it to gain more energy.
We're having a look on how much energy I have produced with this system in the last year. Is it worth it or foolish expectations to gain a decent outcome form such a system??
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[@upnorthandpersonal]

I'm surrounded by trees here too. It would cost me nothing to cut them down, yet I just accept that I have to deal with shading. Work with your environment, not against it...

[@t3chb0y67]

Cut them down, believe me

[@t3chb0y67]

@Fritz Donnerschlag schreib auf deutsch

[@camielkotte]

Actually, it would be arguable to replace most of the heavy consumers for more energy friendly ones or even leave them out instead of cutting trees. Most of people think backwards... No judgement here....

[@camielkotte]

@@t3chb0y67 a "believe" is a very bad adviser. History can tell. You probably have a practical insight. Please enlighten us.

[@keyem4504]

Cutting down trees for solar is completely unacceptable. Thank you for your resistance.👍 We all have to make the most out of what we have. I just installed nearly 12kWp of solar on my North roof. Living in the northern hemisphere this seems to be stupid, but for me it's a statement. I also used all other usable parts of my roofs and even put some panels into the garden. I therefore would love to see how you go for the installation on the water tank.

[@pritambissonauth2181]

What about pruning the tree branches?

[@keyem4504]

@@pritambissonauth2181 In 40m height with a cost of several thousand Dollars? Probably not worth it.

[@evil17]

@Ray Johnson while ur theory is mostly right, evaporation from concrete tanks is generally fairly minimal generally and it helps keep the water inside cooler and healthier, also being half buried would help with evap & cooling too.

[@aldozilli1293]

North facing panels is a waste of money tbh.

[@keyem4504]

@@aldozilli1293 That depends on why and in which context you install them. I'm happy to have mine, even if they might never pay back their cost.

[@edwardvanhazendonk]

One big plus is, covering your tank lowers the temperature of the tank, with water that's better. You are right to cover areas where solar isn't interfering with nature, trees are needed a lot more down under.

[@FutureSystem738]

Great stuff Andy 👍 We have neighbours who hate trees, and there is just no way I chop down any trees unless absolutely necessary! (Eg: We had a very big gum tree which was becoming very dangerous, and sadly had to go, which was heartbreaking.) I love the trees, and love the birds and other wildlife that they encourage!

[@mbukowski9077]

I agree...leave the trees!! The air temperature drops considerably under my mango and oak trees. As in many areas, I have to occasionally maintain them to hold up to mother nature but it's definitely worth it. Here in South Florida, too many builders and homeowners clear cut their properties to reduce maintenance costs, risk, or simply out of convenience. They fail to understand the importance of green spaces. I was fortunate to have a year-round sun-exposed location to build my solar pergola. I have ten 365w panels and have generated over 1.7Mwh since mid-February.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Great, thank you for sharing. That's absolutely correct, trees belong here and removing them for convenience is missing the point. And you're now going into summer over there so production will only rise for you. Fantastic.

[@petertrebing6875]

Hi Andy, I really appreciate your respect for the trees and nature! Your mindset to make out the best of what is there is very inspiring. Thanks a lot!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks Peter. Great to see others do appreciate such decisions as well!

[@MeineEnergiewende]

You are welcome Andy @17:17 Thx for the nice video again. Jens :)

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Ah, I wasn't sure if you see it... Nice. Thanks for your inspiring video, too!

[@wideawaketotruth5301]

By the way you have a beautiful property. I would not cut down one plant or tree. I believe that would deviate from the overall objective of living 💚💚💚 green literally!!! Brilliant, would be an understatement! I'M WITH YOU DO NOT CUT DOWN TREES!!! That said you may consider putting tilt actuators on many of your panels. (Aware of storms and wind speed of course) My understanding is that can potentially increase your power capture exponentially! For example, if I understand you correctly on the north side if you tilt actuate the south side panels on the opposite side of the same roof from the bottom of the panel to push it up to where it can capture the Sun more efficiently. That should enhance your power input to an unanticipated amount!!! CHEERS!! Rick from Fort Worth Texas.

[@camielkotte]

The cost of cutting a tree is probably more expensive than adding panels, economy wise and co2 wise

[@ambientfish1369]

Hi Andy, my 5.3 kWp array, 3.7 kW hybrid and 19.2 kW (400Ah) battery has averaged 4 MWh per year since install in October 2018 in west central Scotland. Irnically today (4th June) I had the best 1 day production of 33 kWh since install. My set up is a pro install as it was almost impossible to access the UK Gov feed in tariff on a DIY install, been following your great work for about 16 months and i've gained great insight into how my system actually works from your vids, thanks, keep the vids coming, stay charged and stay healthy bud.

[@innocentusangira789]

33kWh.... Congratulations. I wish I could sweat my resources this way. Storage is my issue. I have been producing pretty much around 16kwh per day with 5kwp array and similar storage capacity but completely off grid. The feed in tarrif is a killer....

[@jackmidland6561]

Hi Andy my name is Jack I live in Key Largo Florida USA I have a project I’ve been working on for the last six years I convert a 40 foot sailboat From diesel to electric .I’m using lithium iron phosphate batteries ,Victron Mppt charger controllers 2400 w of Solar panels for the 48v sys and 900w for the 12v sys And I just wanted to say how helpful your KZbin channel has be i’m really Grateful keep up the good work

[@kevinroberts781]

I'm typing this before I watch the video just because I love solar. More solar panels are always better. Shade or no shade. Hook them up correctly and the benefits will be clear

[@pteepan2708]

I love the idea of over the water tank

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

It's a pretty dead and unused spot anyway, so why not...

[@junkerzn7312]

With enphase (or other) per-solar-panel micro-inverters, you can make partial shading work decently well. With a string inverter, you might be leaving a lot of power on the roof under those circumstances. Its probably worth getting some micro-inverters and doing some tests. -Matt

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Got them already here, Matt. It's a bit of a challenge as we're off-grid and I can only add a certain amount of power to the micro grid.

[@warrenburchard8661]

Hi hope you are well it's Warren from pacificblu solar just checking in when the next video is coming out your channel is so informative and a pleasure to watch keep it up. Best channel out there thank you for all your hard work.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks a lot, Warren. I'm working on it right now. give me another day 😉

[@lennieadi]

Great video as usual Andy. Keep em coming👊🏾

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks Lennie!

[@donniebrown9562]

We have a lot of pine trees in our backyard and the solar we just keep adding on so it will bring in more solar have a nice day Andy

[@jasonmann5019]

Great video Andy and thank you for sharing. Best wishes to you. Jason from Melbourne Victoria.

[@ffs5310]

+1 for keeping the trees! 💚

[@1943L]

My garage is also sometimes shaded a little, your video has inspired me to measure up and see what I can do. Thanks.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thank you John. You can only compensate with more solar if you don't have other locations you can use.

[@des2610]

Oh, I was thinking this man was living in solar energy paradise....Restricted sun for all those panels, kind of like filling a pool with drinking straws, if you have enough straws you can do it easy....I still love your vids though, very informative. thanks!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

It's just in winter time. June is really the worst month now. The day are getting longer again from the 21. and we will see a quick recovery from these darker months.

[@timdixon1166]

I am cutting the trees!! Before everyone starts crying 'sacrilege' one of the trees is a neighbor's overhanging my roof and causes me constant issues with gutters so it is getting trimmed back to their boundary. This tree also overshadows two of my systems in winter so I expect an increase in performance. The other tree is on my property and overhangs the third system on the shed in winter so is getting cut back to reduce it's height somewhat...its branches are damaging one corner of the shed which is an added incentive!. As we are nearing the winter solstice, now is a good time to assess the amount of shading and cut accordingly. My system is a bit like yours Andy. I have one 1.5K old install that came with the house (west face). I have a 3K system on the shed roof (east-west) comprising all secondhand equipment. I also have a 1.5K install as a flat patio roof! It has just been connected to an off grid control system with about 11 KWh of high quality batteries (also acquired slightly used and at almost no cost...good friends!). To help the off-grid system I am about to angle the panels to optimise winter output. I have spare 1.5K inverters and one north facing roof on the granny flat here that is unused so it may be next! I am also contemplating a carport in the driveway built from solar panels so will be on the lookout for some bargains. I have just been jolted out of complacency with the forecast of massive price increases in electricity and my worst time is winter so time for action...

[@jackoneil3933]

Outstanding perspective Andy, Much appreciated. I compared your usage figures to my home consumption and the consumption a friend with a similar solar system in the Northwest of the U.S. at exactly 45degrees North Latitude and nearly identical climate and solar potential as as Germany. A friend with a similar sized home to yours with no shading and bit over 10kw peak system, half fixed on a solar garage and the other half on 2-axis solar tracking pedestals, is able to produce up to 500kw (1/2MW) per month, for about 3 months in summer (1.5mw) and about 3MW over the other 9 months. He says the 5kw panels on the solar trackers produce 2 to three times the energy as the same 5kw fixed panels even on overcast days. My friend also charges a Nissan Leaf for about 40 miles, (65km) per day of driving. For about 4 months a year he's able to produce all his home, air conditioning and driving needs. The rest of the year about 1/2 to 1/4 of his needs, mostly for heating using a water assisted heat pump/ac unit that pulls water from a creek, and a second air to air heat pump and A/C unit. His utility costs over winter average about $30 to $150 USD per month for him and his wife at about $0.22 per Kwh. Natural gas derived commercial power. Basically, he's recovering about $1,000 per year over grid power power costs and invested about $30,000 USD in his solar system. Seems the economics of Sunny 'mild?' Australia using using a more cost effective DIY system and used panels is better than better than dark, cold and rainy Oregon. By contrast, my personal situation with no solar, in a small condo 1/3 the size of my friend's home, with no EV charging, where I use electric water heating and a heat pump for in-home heating, almost no AC use, Inductive cook top, heating only heat two rooms, and conserving as much as I can, my monthly power cost runs about $250 USD per month at $0.30 per KWH, (average renewable energy rate), or About 10 MWH PER YEAR!. So in NW America, one person being uncomfortably cold in winter, uncomfortably hot is summer using 3 times more energy than a German family of 3?? Says something for the absurdly high energy inefficiency of American homes, and makes for me makes the case for somehow moving back to Sunny Hot Australia. Finally, If I were able to install your system at my Condo or small home, I'd likely produce half the energy you do, and save only about $500 USD per year and (20%) of my energy usage, so looking at conservation and alternative sources of heat and cooling for most Americans (And south Australians?) might be the larger part of sustainable energy solution, and something worth exploring at the Off Grid Garage? Thanks again Andy for driving home inconvenient realities.

[@JayDee25895]

As always, thumbs up and Thank You!

[@MrSqueegey]

You are very welcome Mr.Andy.this channel has taught me a lot about solar

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks a lot!

[@luispendragon6551]

To me this is the heart of renewable mindset, rehuse valid panels, microgenetation everywhere, keeping life alive... Thank you for sharing.

[@luisdemoraisecastrosimaole380]

I have an appartment, my total possible array is 4 X 180w paus 4 X 100w... the best day, till now, gave me 2 5kw.... 2 computers, 3 monitores, hifi system and a little freezer... ;)

[@mikedurham4448]

smiles .. u r killing it ... if we all do our bit.. whatever it may .. we move the world !.. cheers for going it

[@rv10flyer84]

Most people don't know how to manage their forests, so we end up with a bunch of densely populated dead trees due to disease and pests. Also many homes grow mold, moldew, moss and get damaged from blown down trees or fires. My tall trees are cleared back 100' from the house and 200' east, west and south from our south facing array.

[@paulcurtis5496]

Taj-Ma-Haul (20'(6.1m) Toy Hauler Conversion) has 5 panels on its roof each rated for 530watts, total array is 2.65kWatts and so far this year I've made 1.2mWatts! it is crazy like you said how much power being made from Solar. I plan on adding 2 awnings to shade Taj-Ma-Haul made with the same 5x530kWatt panels for an eventual 7.95kWatt array!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Once you started, you want more and more... You see the potential.

[@MrRossi1805]

You are absolutely right! Plenty of panels for winter time!

[@wayne8113]

Thanks Andy

[@DutchAussieProductions]

Thanks for the video, Andy. We have a 2.2 kW solar panel system with a GroWatt Inverter. For the last few months, our converter has shown output of 3.5 kW at noon on a sunny day. I am thinking of replacing the device. We are facing N-E with the panels here in Mount Barker, SA. I am very interested in micro-inverters because my mate is installing an extensive system on his new garage and large house. He will be using micro-inverters with a three-phase setup. Thanks again for all your testing. It is very much appreciated. Have a nice day.

[@taulli1]

I have a palm tree on one side, and a chimney on the other. The production drops during certain hours, but the time of year also changes, reducing or increasing those effects. More panels, keep the trees, keep the chimney.

[@panospapadimitriou3498]

first year for me.. collecting parts and rewiring second life pvs for my first roof array!!! hope luck remains and finish it until europes winter!!!. . . slow and steady!!!!

[@johnnycagiva737]

Solarzellen auf dem Wassertank finde ich eine sehr gute Idee 👍 Da freue ich mich schon auf die Videos ❤️

[@praveenjain6025]

Go green sir,,hats off to you, to reducing carbon footprint,water tank installation is bestfor panel and also install small mppt charge controller and boostt voltage at high level to reduce losses and conversion accordingly or use enphase inverter., thanks for explaining ideas.

[@GabrieleBertaina]

Andy, there is also space on top of the swimming pool, in case the sun shade need repairs.... you could convert to a solar shade, many universities has var park shades made of solar panels and under they put car chargers....

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yeah, the space would be nice but the structure is not made for such a load. I would need a stronger roof and posts...

[@grahamcustard7716]

Very significant test results! So no need to fret about shade and even about pointing the panels directly at the sun. We live in sunny Florida, but we get many days that are cloudy and, if we went solar, I was wondering where to put panels and how to orient them, but your results give me much hope. I want to keep our trees, and I refuse to cut them down for the sake of panels. I must remember to steer solar salesmen to your channel next time they express disapproval at my tree shadow and try to oversell me on too many panels all over my roof :-)

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks Graham. I find it makes it really interesting to find these precious sunny spots on my property. All these 'problems' need a solution and I like to find the answer to it...

[@krg038]

amen to leave the trees alone. In Southern California I find the heat on the panel cuts down production more than shading. Definitely an overcast day (we get what's called a coastal marine layer) is great for production. My afternoon production goes back up when my neighbors trees shade my panels. Cutting down trees is why we are in the mess we are with climate.

[@russkubes]

I appreciate your strength to not cut the trees. Too often we destroy nature for convenience. It's refreshing to stop and take it in and appreciate nature.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Absolutely. Removing them for solar panels contradicts the purpose of being sustainable.

[@123mjolie]

Andy hope you are feeling better!!!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yes, getting better, thank you. And working on the next video 😃

[@SkypowerwithKarl]

Andy, I feel your pain and dilemma exactly. I’ve been walking around and watching where the sun is at different times of day and year. Taking pictures, notes and sketches. Start thinking about smaller elevated ground arrays, splitting up strings with more charge controllers. That way if you get shade on one part you don’t loose output the whole thing. My main power is from one long ground mounted array of ten 440 watt panels made of unistrut. Occasional long diagonal cross braces in several directions is mandatory for stiffness. Bury grey pvc conduit to safely put wires out of the way and put in outdoor disconnect boxes. Hint; where the wires aren’t exposed to the elements use Thhn #10 wire (or your equivalent) it’s cheaper than solar wires and it pulls easily in conduit. Remember to pull a #12 ground while you’re at it. Don’t go over a total of 180 degrees in elbows without installing an access body. Go to the next size up in conduit. It’s so-much-easier to pull wire. It’s very easy to pull four #10s and one #12 in a 3/4” pvc conduit. Yeah, I can’t cut or trim anymore trees. I’m boxed in and maxed out on solar within reason here too…..until I move.

[@wilcostienezen9403]

I have put 40 panels around the house. E,S and west. This will give me around 10MWh over the year with a SE10. The house is completly electric. Heating and the cars also. I am only thinking about the battery system. It is in the Netherlands. For now I am producing more then we use.

[@harrymuurling2742]

The first thing i did was looking for winter time in Indonesia. I found out that i had to put 15 panels 240 watts in the front with trees around but still producing every day at least 6 kw, in the back i have from 9 until 18.00 no shading so i put also 12 panels, no more space 🤣 Even in wintertime now i have enough energie for complete off grid. I use around 8 kw a day so even in the cloudiest day i still produce enough, money i don't care about, to be independent is priceless. We have so much power outs and i had enough about it. i bought a 35 kw lifepo4 battery system so i am not worried any more, i did not want to cut any tree because it keeps it cooler and protect me from heavy wind. You learned me so much thanks. It works now 6 month and now i am re-evaluate my flows, lessons learned is so important and still learn every day from you. Thanks

[@chrisroyle4813]

We moved in to a house with an existing 2.02kWp FIT installation in the UK. The neighbouring property had a large Silverbirch tree which shaded our panels and house. The neighbour took it down last winter as it was rotten/diseased. We used to opportunity to move our array slightly higher and move a panel from the low row to upper row. We fitted a more modern inverter and added Tigo optimisers and monitoring too. The Tigo optimisers have highlighted which panels are underperforming. I think that a couple might have been damaged by sunspots from the tree. It's still early days, but I think we're looking at achieving +60% this year - the house is warmer too in the winter, saving on gas usage. As we're on 2011 FIT our generation is worth 62.4p / kWh. In terms of the lost tree, it's a loss to wildlife - but it was diseased and too large for the garden it was in. Gardens and houses in the UK are a lot closer together. It shed lots of leaves and pods which meant lots of trips up a ladder to clear gutters. We are in the process of buying an additional garden plot so will plant some more trees on that. Going back to the original installation. This cost a massive £14.5K in 2011 - the elderly couple imho were taken advantage of - they only lived with the panels for 4 years ! The original installer could have split the panels over other sections of the roof and mitigated the impact of shading. They went for the fastest most compromised install at the highest achievable profit. Point being is that someone who does not have a reasonable understanding will be relying on and trusting the installer. I'm planning on DIY'ing a supplementary E/W 3.6kWp array this year and possibly DIY'ing a battery too. There should be space for another 2kWp worth of South facing panels too.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks a lot for sharing, Chris. That is a great story, I really enjoyed reading it. 62p/kWh is insanely high, wow. I thought mine is great but yours is far better...

[@Useitorloseit1]

Andy, Build bigger pool cover then the old canvas you have now. Could build it twice as large BiFacial Solar panels. They would still let some light through while shading and keeping clean your pool area. Use Butyl tape, seal between that panels, never leak.

[@mikedurham4448]

summer generation via east / west rooflines ... my thesis is that prefer morning angles for the panelsover afternoon generation .. no matter what, the morning temperatures are lower for many hours of peak angular sun... this temperature gradient means that the same reverse for afternoon will have much higher ambient temps... therefore LESS generation .. all depends and governed by max C input ... so no need to be silly .. just maximise to point of best input flow for that period .. hopefully i have put across my idea of delta power differentiation between morning collection and afternoon collection .. excellent as always Andy ... cheers

[@davidrknowles9792]

I'm lucky, we have all our trees east of the block and all roofs are north facing. Current 4.5kw peak produces 20kwh each day, enough to cover our normal household energy usage. We got another 8kw going up soon and a upgrade from 5kw inverter to 11kw to cover future energy expansion. All currently done for under 10k diy

[@davidrknowles9792]

Actually just looked atm and it's more like 14-16kwh currently in NE Qld. 20kwh batter fluctuates from 100% to 60% overnight due too a few servers, networking/switching, lights, workstations, Playstation, two freezers, fridge, water pump, kitchen white goods. So it gets a good working, but even on a cloudy/rainy day the solar creates enough to just power the baseline during the day and draw battery overnight, we can last about 2.5 days off grid with bad weather. Upgrading to around 44kwh battery soon, so should extend that close to a week plus additional solar panels will give more charging on bad days.

[@vickipps6821]

Thank you

[@HeinzMeulke]

I look forward to seeing you experiment with optimisers and other equipment to solve the shading issues. During winter my solar also suffers as there are several large trees that block the sunlight especially since the angle of the sun is much lower, most of these trees I have little to no control over. I am thinking about mounting structures to get the optimal angle for winter and also wonder if an optimiser would be the better option as I have maybe 1 panel at any given time with shading. I have reduced my strings to 5s (used to be 7s) and have already noticed better output. Some people simply say you need more panels. I agree with you Solar is not about having the perfect roof with the perfect sunshine. Trees not only absorb CO2 but also removes the carbon and deposits it in the wood, the perfect carbon capture machine.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks Heinz. Exactly why I run only 3 panels in series. It makes a huge difference to keep the strings as short as possible.

[@michaelchownyk5255]

I have an off grid solar system and I’ve discovered something amazing. I have seven subarrays and one of them is a eight 325 W solar panels on its own separate charge controller (2.66kWp) and by accident I discovered A way to get considerably more out of the solar array since it’s very shaded. I built a polyethylene hoop house over top of the solar array because I didn’t have anywhere else to build it. I made this structure so that I could repair my roof in the rain. The structure is 16‘ x 15‘ in area and it’s about 4 feet above my solar panels and it’s been there for about a year now because I’ve realized it has doubled the production due to the poor location of the solar panels. So it basically simulates a bright overcast day even if the sun is not shining on the solar panels. A very important discovery indeed. I should email you a picture of it and then you would realize what I’ve done.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yes, perfect. I never thought a roof over such panels could be a solution but thanks a lot for sharing. Makes perfectly sense.

[@excillisbank2611]

Très belle présentation de ta production ANDY's, merci.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Merci, mon ami!

[@rv10flyer84]

Most people don't know how to manage their forests, so we end up with a bunch of dense dead trees due to disease and pests. Also many homes grow mold, moldew, get damaged from blown down trees or fires.

[@jmaus2k]

Ok, so you don't want to cut down the trees....but have you thought about transplanting them? LOL. You can do a ballasted system on the concrete area. Super easy to install with just some blocks(no attachments) to hold down the racking.

[@mikedurham4448]

and i also agree that suntracking, shading the water tank is SIGNIFICANT power to area ^2 .. 2 birds one stone ... smiles ... and ... fully agree about the shade lines .. i still have most trees of all the 1/2 acre blocks here in alfs pinch road .. in my localised group before going to far up the mountain ...lol .. management is the key while keeping our beautiful natural environment in tack as possible ... my magpie is singing me a sweet song as i type .. sun is up and ground is draining .. not much better than this !

[@nullpointer782]

I really like the concrete water tank location. I think you should put a winter-angled ground mount there. Problems solved!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yeah, something like this would help a lot and the space is perfect for that.

[@rikdehaas6398]

Would be very interesting seeing you test the ac solar production on the ac out of the multiplus. I am planning to do something similar. Looking forward to it.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Me too. There will be some very interesting projects coming up to increase solar production for my system.

[@camielkotte]

I am on the northern hemisphere and just installed two 395Watts panels on the south....BUT there isa majestic oak standing in the south. My offgrid cabin park does not allow me to go cut trees. I don't want to. We also do not put panels on poles to get maximum sun. Only panels flat on the roof at 35 degree angel. I will put 2 more panels on the shed though. That will be east-west orientation. So i am going to use 2 solar chargers with each 2 panels in parallel. And live happy offgrid live in the weekends Enjoying Trees and bushes and birds and whatever. Trees were there before humans and probably will be after us also... Respect.

[@ronny7380]

Hi. Super Video. Also jetzt versteh ich im Dezember sagtest du sunny hot Australien. Da war aber Winter in germany. Naja wenn wann nach denkt. Also feiert ihr Weihnachten om Sommer. Super. LG aus Bayern.

[@CollinBaillie]

Yes, Christmas is in mid-summer. 45 degrees C, barbecue food, long days and late nights filled with cold drinks. Prefect holiday conditions.

[@ohary1]

thats awesome, thank you

[@tiloalo]

For panel array with partial shadow, the optimizer or micro-inverter will really make sense. But second hand is really hard to find. In the summer the battery will be between 99 and 100% all the time ^^

[@KeithvanDijk]

More panels = more power, that's never a bad thing. With the SFK batteries going online next week I'll also be adding another 6 panels to the system. Ground mounted, no shading but I haven't seen the sun in 5 weeks. last full charge was 384 hrs ago, I might have to run a 2000 km cable to your place and tap into that Qld sunshine.

[@garys-half-baked-offgrid-dream]

Hi Andy, Yesterday summer finally arrived in style in Scotland. I have a string of 8x250w of my second hand panels with no shading at the bottom of my garden, I wired 60+ meters of 6mm 3 core arctic cable into the grid tie inverter with a plug on the end running up to an outside plug socket at my Mum's house, the string is facing WSW to get afternoon/evening sun, Mums grid tied roof is SSE, this has been helping with filling in gaps in production throughout the day, In peek full sun the garden string freaks out with grid over voltage at 262V and cuts out, unless I plug the car charger into the same plug socket at the house to soak it all up. 15Kw yesterday my best yet!!! not bad for £595 used kit in Scotland facing the wrong way 🌞⚡😁. In diffused light my ghetto hack works fantastic and still gives enough of a boost that I can do our laundry and use the tumble dryer on low on an overcast but bright day. Our energy supplier has put the price up to £0.28p per kWh unit price their monthly bill has gone up to £144per month with some EV charges(not a daily driver). This is due to rise again soon, very very frightening!!!! So every little grid tied hack will make a huge difference. I have been keeping a diary with pencil and paper since April, peak is of no concern to me I am sizing up for dull winter days. Wind turbine mast construction is my next priority whilst saving up for battery cells that are not tiny grade D and bloated like my 💩. I totally agree 💯, fill every roof and available space shaded or not and save the second hand kit from land fill, every little helps. Starting to become a sad obsession. Running up and down in all weather's with my note book, plugging things in and out, watching inverters and the export light on the house electric meter trying to keep it lit. It is not insanity because I do the same thing and get different results. I need a new hobby or a naughty girlfriend 😂😂😂. Cheers Andy, peace and love.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Great story, Gary. Thanks a lot! I do the same with my extension cables and depending on sun, battery SOC and need, I plug in dishwasher, washing machine or even the freezer for half a day to make the most out of it. I use these electric switches from SONOFF now (search for S26R2). So I can control these auxiliary loads form my phone, even while I'm at work. Do you get any energy in winter at all over there?

[@garys-half-baked-offgrid-dream]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia Summer is over, it lasted 3 days lol back to wind and rain. I will check those plugs switches out cheers Andy. They still work fine, cold clear days they pump out respectable numbers but generation drops of significantly in winter as the days are so short and the weather can be so bad for weeks on end, hopefully I will have my turbine up running by this winter. Thanks for you inspiration Andy you sparked all this and now the energy crisis in the UK has kicked me arse into gear. I am glad I started collecting equipment in-between lockdowns during the pandemic every little is helping, I couldn't of done this with out you! Honestly thank you very much!

[@davidrogers5343]

you can put solar rays by the pool with those panels and a pool warmer water panel and pump.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

We usually don't want to heat the pool even further 😉 But yeah, we could...

[@paulg1802]

Makes me happy to be on equator.. worst multiplier is 1.8 of peak ratings for some days in June and July and goes up to 6 for other months...

[@JayDee25895]

I'm jonesing and in need of my Off-Grid Garage fix....

[@bjornemmy]

As you mentioned yourself, the cooling effect of the trees outways the energy benefits, you would need the kw's to cool your garage/house. The indirect solar took me by supprice aswell in the beginnen. We have some pretty high trees behind our property that are blocking the low winter sun to the point that you can clearly see a dip in the daily chart. Our roof is 13 meters wide with a 45 degrees pitch 30 PV panels and 2 vaillant thermal panels for Hot water production. Those take up space for 6 PV panels but in winter that is the only way we can save on our gas bill.

[@mikedurham4448]

research edge affect ... cheers

[@andrewradford3953]

You could build a structure over you pool and add a few extra kW. With a DC pool pump it would do two things stand alone. Even simpler incorporating it into your Victron 5000VA microgrid with several micro inverters.

[@chrisroyle4813]

A structure over the pool making use of hybrid panels (PV & pool water to cool these as well as heat the pool) should generate an impressive yield.

[@1981dasimpson]

if one put a round track on the water tank you could maybe have the panels track the sun

[@bjornemmy]

That would be next lvl!

[@PAUL-ci9fc]

Hi Andy love your channel I'm building a off grid shed I have just bought 16 320ah cells and thinking about doing a KZbin channel about my build I'm in England on the East Coast I'm going to be using all victrom just looking for some advise on my 48v battery build keep up the good work looking forward to your next video I'm hooked on your channel 😀

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks Paul. Should be fairly straight forward to build a 16s 48V battery system. Good luck with your channel, it's a lot of work 😉

[@alexsimmons1803]

Last 12 months PV output: 14.7 MWh on-grid 1.6 MWh off-grid Off-grid production curtailed due to lack of load. It is capable of generating double its current output. I'll be adding more storage soon which will enable me to shift more loads to the off-grid system. I will likely add more solar PV to the off-grid system in time but it won't be unsecured like Andy has against the fence, nor a ground array. More like the roof mount system on Andy's garage. Just need to decide which part of the roof. The cabling is the bit I hate most.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Oh, wow, that is a lot of power. How much solar have you got on these systems?

[@alexsimmons1803]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia My grid-tied system is 11 kW, my off-grid system is 2.22 kW. The off-grid array is of course on my garage roof :) I am hoping to increase my off-grid system to ~5 kW and that can pretty much run the general household loads, except for the big stuff like ducted AC and ovens/stoves which I will leave on grid connection only.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

@@alexsimmons1803 If you have enough space on your roof, go for it. You never can have enough solar.

[@alexsimmons1803]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia After some renos I should have space for 10 large panels facing NE, so another ~3.7 kW for the off-grid system gets me to ~5 kW. At the moment there's a big brick chimney in the way. Looking to cover ~10-15 kWh/day. On the SW roof I could fit another 40 panels but that's not so good for Winter and would be too much! PS - Get well soon!

[@dig1035]

Thumbs up and subscribed!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Welcome aboard! 😂

[@bildad1234]

This is a Great video. What are you willing to sacrifice for more electricity?

[@laurynasmerkelis2370]

Hi Andy, your ramblings, just sprung an idea for testing. What about setting up a string of panels with some sort of cooling? Air or water, DYI options are not that complicated and then test the performance, especially that you have historical data to compare to.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

It's very tricky of doing this in a dry country if using water. I've raised the panels on the garage already but 100mm which allows better cooling in summer but I think it is far easier to just install more panels to compensate.

[@markparish9072]

Hi ya Andy. Look after yourself, stay charged. Get yourself fit n well.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Back on deck! 💪

[@pyawallah7080]

leave the trees alone is a good plan, working with nature is always best, currently looking for some 24v panels to put on my car port, I find myself looking for any flat area to add a few more, interesting channel.

[@lisathomas8498]

Andy, the shade over the pool always appears to have sunshine on it. It would make sense to run the pool pump from the water on the sunlight over the pool area.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yeah, the space is tempting but the structure is not made for holding panels. A new complete roof and beams would be necessary.

[@davidpenfold]

I've been planting trees like crazy, especially chestnuts and walnuts. But you could get a tree surgeon in to pollard a couple of the trees that create the most shade.

[@davidpenfold]

But that concrete tank looks promising!

[@evil17]

Stick to ur guns Andy, trees r cool! I was thinking that ur tank would make a nice little rotunda or citadel, couple of steps, a handrail/balustrade, table, chairs & a Solar Roof, nice place for a morning tea in the garden. Cheers

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

No more building projects on the property! We have all that already and it just ads to more maintenance. I don't have time for that😉

[@Mazlem]

I'd like to install a solar pergola behind the house and my challenge there will be opposite yours - I need to find out exactly how the septic is arranged before installing any poles for a solar array.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Oh, yeah, find this pipe first! You don't want to drill into it 😂

[@IXISSV]

What about......what about...... putting the garage on 30metre stilts! That way, it will close to the top of the trees, so you'll have less shading! 😎🥳 Orrrrrrr, building your garage in to a 6 storey garage! 😎😁 Just call me a genius 😉👏 All the best from the UK ❤️

[@mikedurham4448]

love out of the box solutions

[@MrButuz]

I think just buy lots more approx 250 watt panels that the solar farms sell on as they upgrade to 400w panels that are the same physical size, over here in the uk you can get them cheap and you have a lot of roof space and ground space so just fill it all with used panels. I can see an easy 10-15kw based on the space you have - as sad shaded panels are betting than no panels, particularly if you don't want to cut down your trees.

[@keithcress1335]

I think you should put each panel on a small autonomous cart. Have them all act as a swarm that stay within a reasonable cable distance of their electrically adjacent panel neighbors. They would move about all day seeking the maximum solar intercept. Essentially an MPPT system that works to optimize the solar gain. I'd be like a flock of ducks slowly shifting about.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

That could actually work for a 12V system where one panel alone is enough to charge the battery. As soon as you have strings of two or more, it gets complicated... Or, we can use micro inverters for each panel 😃

[@keithcress1335]

Thinking about it more.. I'd use one panel on one independent cart. Put a single LiPo battery on it large enough to absorb a days solar from one panel. Put an appropriate charge controller on to do that task. Put an Arduino or something similar to control the cart getting it to capture the maximum energy during the day. At sundown the controller steers the cart to a "dis"charging port that accepts the energy from the the cart's battery for use charging your main batteries. SolBots!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

@@keithcress1335 wow, that's sounds like a great idea. It's probably the autonomous driving which is the biggest challenge here. The software for it...

[@joshg1244]

Put solar on top of your pool pump! Hook up with micro grid or do small 12v system for lighting around the pool!

[@davef.2811]

Are you from Berlin? Kudos on keeping the trees intact.

[@martdaymo]

Heay Andy, maybe a dual axis solar tracker array should be your next project for consideration?😇 must be a open space on your property somewhere.

[@551moley]

The perfect solution is a very long extension lead, my victron graph is exactly opposite to yours here in the UK..feast or famine!

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Yeah, it is crazy to see these curves, right, It would be a perfect situation if we could sen energy from the south to the north and vice versa.

[@centerrightproudamerican5727]

You mentioned optimizers and micro-inverters. This hints at what I was going to mention: More MPPT controllers. With variable shading on the array, having more MPPT controllers will squeeze out more power. The extreme of this would be an MPPT controller per panel but that can get expensive and the wiring would be insane. Optimizers and micro-inverters do the same thing with simpler wiring.... but they have their own issues as well.

[@BischesseHunting]

Sbms0 did this but it is not for 48v

[@ronwest7930]

It does depend on your circumstances. It's very dry where I live and trees are great fuel for fires. They also fall down sometimes. Childhood memories of a wind storm and seeing my neighbor's large tree laying on the crushed roof of his new Porshe 911 when I left for school still haunt me. Andy, have you done a video about the setup you have for monitoring your production? I've seen it mentioned in passing many times but wonder if it's doable for the average person. My FM-60 mentions keeping data onboard, I think for a year at a time. but I'm not sure about accessing it. I've also read about data loggers. I would like to keep track of wind/solar output. to see if my wind turbine is worth it and see if my setup is enough.

[@mikedurham4448]

a crushed porche 911 would haunt me forever also ! sob sob

[@waynescheepers145]

My house is L shaped, bulk of the L is north and south facing so naturally I've stacked the north facing roof with panels ( south Africa so we also in Southern hemisphere) I have a few panels on the garage facing west for winter later afternoon and summer from 1 pm onwards. In winter from 12pm my neighbor has a tree that blocks out half the panels and renders my house the equivalent of the Antarctica as the house only get 2 hours of sunshine in it. Without heaters the coldest I've measured in the house is 8c early morning, with air con heater(running from solar, gas heaters and electric blankets we get the house to around 18 Because of 1x 30m tall tree , I only make about 12kwh before the hot water system kicks in Summer on the other hand the panels produce 44kwh per day on good conditions. (sunrise is 5 30 am (+2 timezone) sunset is 7pm 5.6 kw of panels. I still want more 😅 as you know the average of the solar panels is usually 1/4 less then the total rated power.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thanks for sharing, Wayne. Good stuff. Pretty similar situation to mine. I'm not even making 12kWh/day. That'll be almost half a week for me. I also need more panels!

[@waynescheepers145]

@@OffGridGarageAustralia yeah I saw yours, say average 3kwh your side. I'd say build a steel roof over your pool and fill it with panels. I only have 16x 380w and I want 4 more, Sadly the second hand market here for panels is about 15% cheaper then new panels so almost pointless to buy 2nd hand. Otherwise I'd do what you did and buy a good sum of used panels. Another 10 or so

[@solarindependentutilitysystems]

Suggest solar pathfinder!

[@Dutch_off_grid_homesteading]

Heya. yes I live in the city so bilding every were so need more pnels to make up to and in the winter I only produce 1/5 of my everice

[@onthelake9554]

Doing great for the amount of used low watt powered panels you have , even in the shade . :>)

[@sergeyblinov4957]

Mr. Andy, how about to use a roof structure over pool for placing a lightweight flexible solar panels? (A lightweight solar panels, where solar cells are mounted on a flexible PVC base - PVC film).

[@chrisloving6647]

Got them cheap. Put up all of them. I decided to get 45 dollar panels and put up 10k watts so in the winter I can still fully charge the batteries.

[@trevortrevortsr2]

Andy imagine a 1 or 2 axis tracking system in your water tank : ) alli express make the trackers and sell actuators

[@dansobeck1656]

Andy , It looks like you could replace your sun shade over the pool with panels as well, maybe ??

[@blackswansystem]

I would build a lightweight pergola type structure over the tank and install 450w bi-facial panels as the “roof” of the structure. Then paint the tank light colour. Six panels would generate ~2700 w / hour

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Thin aluminum sheets on the tank would be great for maximum reflection.

[@L1vR-1948]

👍 Thanks :-) 🌞⚡

[@jadu79]

another suggestion on where to put panels is over your pool as the roof there looks to be a few years so why not build a roof with panels there with two strings one to the east and one to the west or if it would just go all the way north then it looks to be good sky there. It also depends on how many panels you can find and it would require some steel to build but then you do not have to count on snow that weighs 200-250kg / m2 like some others and guess that the trees around you also protect well against strong winds. Then angling the panels towards the fence more correctly and filling it up completely there can be something to think about.

[@jamieclarke321]

Im sure this has been asked 100 times but why cant that one tree that blocks the roof in winter just have the top trimmed off of it? Lol my question got answered at the end