DIY Solar Setup and Lessons I Learned
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- Опубліковано 5 сер 2024
- This is a retrospective look at my solar setup over the last few years. The is most photos and a walk through of how I started learning about solar all the way through to my current system. I started with a simple off grid solar setup comprising of an inverter, solar charge controller and 12 volt car battery.
This then developed further with an auto transfer switch, Epever solar charge controller, Victron Shunt and 1500watt inverter. I integrated the solar setup into Home Assistant so I could monitor my energy production and power usage.
The video finishes off with a round up of where I am now and my grid tied Solis S6 inverter with 3.2kw solar array, including vertical wall mounted solar panels.
I hope this of use to you and helps with your own solar setup.
I learned everything I know from videos and articles so this is my way of giving back by sharing my own journey.
00:00 Introduction
00:39 Why I started
00:55 Finding cheap components
01:46 Off-grid garage
02:46 Home assistant integration
03:34 Grid tied
05:05 The storm!
06:52 Taking your time
07:43 Where we are now
09:08 Summing up & future projects
#solar #diyprojects #diysolar #homeassistant #solarpanel - Навчання та стиль
I'd love to see more solar home assistant videos
I am planning to do a run through of my home assistant setup along with the sensors and switches. I’m not sure when though as it’s all about the outdoor kitchen and brick oven at the moment. Hopefully next month.
Amazing, thanks for sharing
👍
I really appreciate this honest videos, we don't get better at anything without making some mistakes along the way. I've been fascinated with solar for years and while I know it's issues and ROI, I still want to give it a go. I'm planning an extension to an office building I built a few years ago and I'm hoping to use a mono pitch roof at close to the optimum angle, but actually use the panels as the roof finish. tricky thing is that the length of the panel determines how far out it projects. Good work though, you 👍
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it. It’s a great time for buying panels, I’ve never seen them so cheap at the moment. I’m tempted to buy a few and store them in the shed for future use. Good luck with your project, I wonder if you could use bi-facials like a roof light, that would be nice.
@@DeveloperDIY You're very welcome. Yes I've seen panel prices come down slightly, though as usual, I have to priorities spending money, like most! Good point about bi-facials, I don't think they would work in my situation, but I like your thinking 👍 To start with I'll have around 3 x 2m x 1m panels - one might be some tree shade at times, so I might need to arrange them in a way that the shaded one doesn't drag the others down. I've heard some pro installs have panels with their own inverters, I'm betting they're crazy money? If it's working nicely, I have space for 2 more of a similar size within relative proximity to the other 3 (around 2m).
Really though, perhaps I should start small like you, it would certainly work better for my budget and give me the same understanding as you if I tried a simpler route.
Finally, just a thought about securely mounting on a flat roof without penetrating the felt. May be you could get some 50-70mm square hollow steel lengths, get an upright that's bolted a few courses above the flat roof/wall intersection. Then a horizontal length that goes over the flat roof but doesn't touch it, then a vertical member that goes down to the ground in front of the extension, bolted into a concrete pad. 2 of those space right, might allow for bracing between and make it quite sturdy. Happy to illustrate with Sketchup if helps...might just be a stupid idea! Thing is, some modern roofs have insulation directly under and may not even have OSB that would at least give some fixing to.
@@bikerchrisukk That’s a good idea for the frame. I suspect it might not pass the wife test though, plus I do like the ability to experiment and change configuration. I think a subframe bolted to the house wall might work too.
@@DeveloperDIY Ah, with all the panels and frames, I was unsure if it would pass the wife test. I think certainly having a section bolted 2-3 times to house, then a horizontal bit on the roof might be OK. could put rubber feet on end nearest the flat roof eaves, then 2 diagnonal members to act as a brace, then normal sections for attaching panels to, after the upright bit is done to get the angle right.
great to watch different journeys from 12v to 48 ^^
My brain hurt a bit hearing about those panels falling off the roof - the hidden damage will most likely be micro-cracking across the panels :(
Good advice regarding taking your time - i'd say to anyone starting out, pretend your first 12v system is actually 240v and take note of how many times you electrocuted yourself shorting this/accidentally touching that....will build good habits as you move up the ranks.
Thanks, I’m now googling micro cracking. 🫣
I have been toying with the idea of water cooling solar panels in summer because they overheat and not run as well, and using the heat to heat water.
Sounds like a good project, let me know how you get on. I’ve heard that bi facials work very well if you mount them vertically, mainly due to more efficient heat loss.
I’ve been looking at ways of setting up a cylinder outside with a DC element to use excess solar to heat water, I really dislike exporting solar.
@@DeveloperDIY Wait on those bi-facials ones there has been an issue on a local solar farm of them just cracking.
Thank you Simon for sharing your experiences with DIY solar setups. I'd love to do the same one day when time and finances permit - goodness knows when either will be available!. But I do have one question about hooking up to the mains / and home insurance. When I started my investigations the door was firmly shut in my face because I wasn't MSC qualified and my home insurance would be void if there were ever a claim. How have you dealt withis or is it even an issue. Keep up the good work and make some more videos! - Paul
I’d always advise that you get a qualified electrician to check over your work and help implement any improvements or things that don’t meet regulations. This is far cheaper than paying for a full install. In the UK I do think the mood is changing in favour of people doing their own solar installs. I believe Octopus energy had relaxed their requirements for an export guarantee so they don’t always need as MSC certification. Good luck, with your install. Just start small, I bet you have something you could run off grid in a simple low volt setup.
@@DeveloperDIY yes - I think I need a simple set up just to get the hang of a DIY set up. Thank you for your videaos
I would love to hear more about the esp integrations you did with home assistant, are you still running that or does the solis show that information? I'm also looking into Batmon w/ HA to look up bluetooth data for batteries, but I'm not sure if it works with shunts.
I’m still waiting to find a new inverter so the Shunt and Epever integrations are not working at the moment. The Epever was courtesy of Colin Hickey so nothing for me to add there. I was going to do a video on the shunt esphome script as it needs re soldering anyway but I’ve been distracted with all things pizza oven the last few months. I don’t know anything about Batmon, but I’ll take a look and see if there is anything I can add.
I could do a run through of my whole Home Assistant setup. I don’t know if that’s of interest to people.
@DeveloperDIY Really good video. It’s always good to see how other people have set up their solar. I’m just in the middle of my diy setup. We have a long rear garden so decided to set 10 panels horizontal along the east facing fence and another 4 facing west and south. Hoping to capture lots of morning sun to charge the battery and power the house in the day then get the evening sun to cover tea time loads. How did you get on with the G98 form. I’ve got an electrician coming to connect my inverter and battery to the mains but the form to the DNO seems like a faff.
The G98 is a work in progress, my end goal is to have kitchen roof and south facing garage connected to the Solis 3.6 and grid tied so the G98 will cover that configuration and then setup 10 more panels off grid to test the setup then move those to grid tied which will take me above the G98 and into the next tier. I still have 2 more vertical wall panels to install so the setup is not complete yet.
Let me know how you get on with it.
You need to start making your own batteries next.
Oh, I’d love to build my own batteries. I keep looking but it’s a big investment of money. This month we generated more electricity than we used, if I had batteries to store it. I will try but probably a project for next year.
@@DeveloperDIY I made my own lead carbon batteries. Made the first test with lead and lead mixed with red oxide powder. But then I just recycled single use AA batteries using the carbon rod in place of red lead. Recycled, free and made it better.
@@Theoverthinker81 wow, that’s some serious chemistry then. I thought you meant some lifepo4s with a bms. You’re actually making the cells. That’s awesome. Let me know if you figure out how to make some of those sodium ion batteries.
Can you please elaborate the efficency of mppt charge controller as compared to PWM controller
The cheap pwm charge controller I used was around 75% efficient and the Epever MPPT is around 98% efficient so you are getting upwards of 25% more. Probably at least 20% better. If you can afford it then Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) is far better.
Interesting , are you able to sign off the electrical installation yourself and have you , or do you know even if you are obliged to tell your house insurers ?
I’m not qualified to give legal advice. I’d always recommend that you get a qualified electrician in to check over your work as there will always be recommendations, improvements and regulations that need addressing. Each country will be different so an electrician will know what you need. You should also notify your insurance as it is a notable change to your house. Solar can be a significant investment that you would want to ensure is included in your building cover. Again, I’m not qualified to give advice, my videos just cover my experience and learning. If you attempt to do something similar then you should research the requirements in your own location. I always seek the relevant help to ensure safety. Plus it’s nice to have someone look over your work and point out improvements.
Thanks for sharing, it was great to see your journey with solar, I hope you don't mind if I ask a few questions.
I already have a professionally installed 3.6kW system that is doing fine but I want to upgrade and improve.
I spent the last three years converting a car to leccy so it is great to be able to charge it from the sun however I plan to get a MG5 soon so the solar I have will not be enough to charge it too. I also have lots of spare EV batteries so was thinking of using cheap EV tariff to charge the batteries and the cars at night then run the house off the batteries during the day probably with more solar installed separately as I do not want to mess with the professionally installed system.
Do you know of a solar inverter that would be suitable for DIY installation that could charge the batteries at night and run the house during the day? It would be great if it could export to the grid in the evening if it has been sunny and the batteries are still full.
Wow, converting a car to electric must have been a great project. It sounds like you are way ahead of me in your solar journey. Electric car is on my list for the future.
I believe most hybrid inverters will do what you want and can be setup with rules for exporting and charging etc. there are hundreds of different makes and models to choose from so I’m unable to recommend anything in particular. All I can offer is my preference in brands. I do like Epever, Solis and Fox ESS. Epever do some cheap hybrid inverters. Solis seem very reliable and Fox also have a nice range. Sorry I can’t be of more help. Try Will Prowse, he has lots of great reviews for products.
@@DeveloperDIY@DeveloperDIY thanks, converting the car was the best thing I've ever done and is still ongoing. I posted a video series abut it.
As for solar I'm only starting out and know almost nothing so trying to get my head around the various options.
I can pick up some new 420W JA panels for £160 locally so might do that first then see what happens.
Check out City Plumbing, 425w panels are £70. Or HDMSolar, they are as low as £58. It’s a great time to buy panels. I did consider buying some and storing them.
@@DeveloperDIYI'll do that thanks.
I’ll check out your video too.
You would have had an inverter with a much longer life expectancy and a much higher surge capacity to power your home's inductive loads if you had installed a low frequency, transformer based inverter instead of that low cost, low surge high frequency, transformerless inverter.
I totally agree, the cheap inverters were great to get going but both low voltage inverters I’ve had have both failed within one to two years so I agree, it’s worth spending a little more if you can, it will save you money in the long run. I’m still on the lookout for a good 3kw inverter for the off grid setup.
Why not the victron multiplus? 😊
@@skullpoly1967 if I could afford Victron I probably wouldn’t need solar panels 😁. I believe they are great quality though.
Maybe one day I’ll find a broken one that I can repair 🤞
@@skullpoly1967 Victron low frequency inverters are great inverters. Even Victron's high frequency units are better than the Chinese designed inverters because they use much higher quality quality components in their builds.