DIY Solar Powered Firewood Rack From Recycled Materials Part 1: ua-cam.com/video/27RRDqZcV3Ah/v-deo.htmlttps://ua-cam.com/video/27RRDqZcV3A/v-deo.html Click here for the inverter circuit diagrams, and project details on my website: projectswithdave.com/diy-off-grid-home-solar-system/ Solar Clearout- Affiliate Link: solarclearout.com/?ref=PWD Click here to see the real time monitor: projectswithdave.com/daves-off-grid-monitor/ See more projects and get my FREE Solar Financial Calculator on my website ProjectsWithDave.com: projectswithdave.com/ Vertical Bifacial Solar Panel Winter Test Result: ua-cam.com/video/5AVO1IyfA9M/v-deo.html
I know this video is a few months old however i do not see a link for the panel ground clip and end ground lug. That’s a real clean way to ground all the panels if you are not doing it at the super struts.😊
By connecting the ground into the house you both created a ground loop and increased the risk of your system. Your panels should be grounded at the panels directly into the ground from the combiner box. And then your internal system should also be separately grounded with no connection between the two. There’s lots of tests online for lightening and this minimizes damage while also being code and eliminating ground loop issues.
Bravo. I've been studying and learning solar for a while now. Have yet to take the plunge. But I thought your video was fantastic. I love every aspect you covered. Literally every aspect. Including your consumption and your weather pattern and choices you could be making if you were off grid. I love your style and I love your commitment. I hope others can find your work and appreciate it like i have.
Dave, you’ll be caught up with me soon. 47,000 W PV. I can barely run my 80 gal hot water heater and lights right now as dark as it is. I’m using a wood burner to heat with up until these last few warm days when the heat pumps aren’t running. If it gets cold again, I’ll light the wood burner up. As soon as the sun comes out though, I can recharge my battery in about a day and a half.I’m at 70% or so.
Winter is a challenge when you live in a location that gets more than a week of cloudy days in a row, it gets hard to sustain the loads with just solar.
An Arduino or Raspberry Pi and a strong servo motor, you could automate your panels kinda like the ISS to where it follows the optimal sun track automatically.
Add some LDRs and now you can say which servo motor goes where, and resets back to a predetermined starting position for next day. If the day is so overcast that those don't function well, revert to a pre-defined position schedule. Although more useful for smaller free standing panel setups.
@@andrewwylie9259 with the new AI scripts and visual censors, you can use a PI to literally run your entire day to day operation. Like you said you can move single servo's to specific angles. It's gonna be a crazy future.
Nicely done! Not bad for December. Even down here in the sunshine state (Florida) this December was extra cloudy as well. Man that hole puncher makes it look like it came directly from the factory with those holes al ready in place. Your gonna love that toy!
When I ran 00 gauge wire inside 2" plastic pipe about 3' underground, I would Pull the Wire through each 20 foot section. I laid the wire on the ground and pulled each 20' section of plastic pipe around the wire. Yes best to use 20' plastic pipe joints With bells on One End. No couplers needed
OK here is an interesting thing I heard last week bifacial panels placed vertically as in totally vertical.. Then place them east west so that you get morning full sun and afternoon full sun.. hear that they produce more due to the reduced heating of the panels placed where they get much much hotter. Would love to see you put up an array like this and figure out just how much more efficient they are than the typical tilted array
I'm on it. I installed a small vertical array and started taking data right before the winter solstice and will collect data through the summer solstice to compare back to back with my 30deg mounted bifacial panels. If you are talking about the video on Undecided with Matt Ferrell, he didn't do his own testing, he is just citing results from other sources. He mostly focused on voltage differences due to temperature variation, but didn't really show any back to back performance comparison. So far my results show up to double the output in snowy conditions and somewhere around 64% of the output on a regular sunny day. I plan to show some "first look" results soon. Stay tuned!
@@ProjectsWithDave that is why I asked I saw the same video.. thought it interesting that they kept saying e/w placement.. well is that facing south or are the plane of the panels facing east and west.. This would make more sense to me as they would get full sun all but at noon, on one side of the panel or the other.
Don't forget the steeper angles also help to shed snow, my 40*ish array self cleans ~90% of the time, my 30ish degree array needs help ~80% of the time
@@ProjectsWithDaveI've never had to manually remove snow having steeper winter angles. Snow remains on all my neighbor's fixed roof panels for several days after storms. Snow on panels = 0 watts.
They make specific ferrules that are for putting two wires together that have two individual holes that the wires go into and then when you crimp them everything works
Right. I haven't tried those. I have a love/hate relationship with ferrules. I would like to find a tool that crimps them tighter than the one I have currently.
mmmmm, not an electrician , did you address the grounding issue in comet below? I do appreciate your laugh and your like of tools, also your in depth explanation. not to forget the coolness factor of your own energy
Dave would you be up to entertaining an eco worthy solar tracker vs a fixed mount array. I've been thinking about four trackers with three 400 watt panels per (4.8kw). They advertise a 40% increase because of tracking and I'd like to see a proper comparison and you're definitely in depth TIA.
For analysis it might bei interesting. For real world use the panels are so cheap compared to the complexity of a tracker (moving parts) that if you have the space it's actually much cheaper and easier to simply oversize the system.
USAF taught me two important things about working with electricity: 1. Remove all jewelry! That wedding ring makes a real fine conductor. One hand for the work, one hand behind your back to prevent a path to the heart in case something is "hot" in the box.
They make a feral design for two wires. The plastic skirt at the bottom looks a little different than the ones you have be sure to thread the wires all the way through the feral when you crimp it and then cut them off flush when you’re dealing with breakers. 16:48
would be nice to see how much extra with mods you can get out of bifacials on cloudy days. only seen one yt channel with a shiny wall behind seem to work well but could be improved👍👍🌞🌞🌞
I'm working on some bifacial results with vertical panels. You can see the impact of snow on bifacial panels in this video: ua-cam.com/video/YZWeCUzu0yQ/v-deo.html
I'm more of a fan of Earth grounding about 25 yards from the panels and not connecting to the house Earth ground..Man you've got every gizmo under the sun...Nice job..
@@ssoffshore5111why is it a bad idea ?? Just curious….. and if it’s not grounded and let’s say lightning hit the panels what’s the worst that can happen???? I ask because I had a friend who added a back yard shed and grounded it to the main house yet somehow it caught fire
It would really help if you had a diagram of your electrical system. That way when you say you're connecting one thing to another we could follow it in another windows tab. Not yet having installed my solar system its really hard to follow along sometimes what is connecting to what and how its related to the entire system. Perhaps put a link here to a detailed diagram so I can re-watch this video and follow along how things are connected and related to everything else.
You can use DC Disconnect switches at the array. You need to confirm code requirements in your area. My first array passed inspection without even a disconnect. I just installed a junction box, which I later upgraded slightly with better connectors. You can see the upgrade here: ua-cam.com/video/uS8cqppAy7s/v-deo.html
Dave, I have watched all your videos and I think you might be the person I am looking for for a bit of advise if that is possible. How do I get in touch with you? Thanks.
Thanks for your support! You can contact me through my website, but If you are looking for system advice, unfortunately, I don't have the capacity for supporting individual requests. Website contact link: projectswithdave.com/about/
It was mostly made from free recycled materials like the power pole cross timbers, or significantly discounted dents and bents components like the solar panels. Unfortunately, I didn't do a detailed cost breakdown for this one.
You can see the cost breakdown for my main array here: ua-cam.com/video/PNTO83FvaL4/v-deo.html You can see the cost breakdown for a battery backup system here: projectswithdave.com/battery-backup-for-home-diy/
Off grid with an electric car would be a challenge. Cars consume a lot of power, but you can always supplement with some solar to reduce your electric bill.
You obviously did not consult a structural engineer when you designed this thing. You failed to consider wind loading. A good stiff wind and your solar array will wind up on your neighbors property.
@ProjectsWithDave Dave, I don't know what to do and BazenGreen almost sold me a 51.2v 230ah 11.7KWh system for my 35kwh a day house. Well March was the only high usage. Can you PLEASE help me with some guidance for my first big step into my off the grid purchase. Ive missed all the discounts now & if I have to get a bigger system then i might only be able to get the batteries & inverter. My budget WAS $2K for this first purchase. Any solid help is GREATLY appreciated. Being in Japan is not easy trying to figure all this out either. 🙏🏻
I don't know what the solar regulations are in Japan, but if you want to save money, start with a grid-tie system. Then you won't need batteries which are very expensive.
DIY Solar Powered Firewood Rack From Recycled Materials Part 1: ua-cam.com/video/27RRDqZcV3Ah/v-deo.htmlttps://ua-cam.com/video/27RRDqZcV3A/v-deo.html
Click here for the inverter circuit diagrams, and project details on my website: projectswithdave.com/diy-off-grid-home-solar-system/
Solar Clearout- Affiliate Link: solarclearout.com/?ref=PWD
Click here to see the real time monitor: projectswithdave.com/daves-off-grid-monitor/
See more projects and get my FREE Solar Financial Calculator on my website ProjectsWithDave.com: projectswithdave.com/
Vertical Bifacial Solar Panel Winter Test Result: ua-cam.com/video/5AVO1IyfA9M/v-deo.html
I know this video is a few months old however i do not see a link for the panel ground clip and end ground lug. That’s a real clean way to ground all the panels if you are not doing it at the super struts.😊
Even the wire end striping tool, i know many on Amazon however would be nice to know what you use.
By connecting the ground into the house you both created a ground loop and increased the risk of your system. Your panels should be grounded at the panels directly into the ground from the combiner box.
And then your internal system should also be separately grounded with no connection between the two.
There’s lots of tests online for lightening and this minimizes damage while also being code and eliminating ground loop issues.
Bravo. I've been studying and learning solar for a while now. Have yet to take the plunge. But I thought your video was fantastic. I love every aspect you covered. Literally every aspect. Including your consumption and your weather pattern and choices you could be making if you were off grid. I love your style and I love your commitment. I hope others can find your work and appreciate it like i have.
Awesome, thank you!
Dave, you’ll be caught up with me soon. 47,000 W PV. I can barely run my 80 gal hot water heater and lights right now as dark as it is. I’m using a wood burner to heat with up until these last few warm days when the heat pumps aren’t running. If it gets cold again, I’ll light the wood burner up. As soon as the sun comes out though, I can recharge my battery in about a day and a half.I’m at 70% or so.
Winter is a challenge when you live in a location that gets more than a week of cloudy days in a row, it gets hard to sustain the loads with just solar.
I ended up running wood burner three weeks and 10 kW Gen 4 hrs. Not bad.
Impressed @@USA-GreedyMenOfNoIntegrity
Dave, great details for the DYI'er and I really love how you share your real-world testing and results!
Thank you for sharing the great content!
Thank you!
Incredibly detailed and high quality. Thank you so much for sharing this information, thank for educating people!
Glad it was helpful!
An Arduino or Raspberry Pi and a strong servo motor, you could automate your panels kinda like the ISS to where it follows the optimal sun track automatically.
Add some LDRs and now you can say which servo motor goes where, and resets back to a predetermined starting position for next day. If the day is so overcast that those don't function well, revert to a pre-defined position schedule. Although more useful for smaller free standing panel setups.
@@andrewwylie9259 with the new AI scripts and visual censors, you can use a PI to literally run your entire day to day operation. Like you said you can move single servo's to specific angles. It's gonna be a crazy future.
Nicely done! Not bad for December. Even down here in the sunshine state (Florida) this December was extra cloudy as well. Man that hole puncher makes it look like it came directly from the factory with those holes al ready in place. Your gonna love that toy!
Thanks! I do find myself looking for things to punch holes in now. 😂
When I ran 00 gauge wire inside 2" plastic pipe about 3' underground, I would Pull the Wire through each 20 foot section. I laid the wire on the ground and pulled each 20' section of plastic pipe around the wire.
Yes best to use 20' plastic pipe joints
With bells on One End.
No couplers needed
It would be a good idea to add a lightning arrestor at the solar array. You’d be surprised how many solar systems are damaged by lightning.
I installed a lightning surge protector at the array.
Nice clean electrical install Dave. I especially like that you use ferrules on the wires, and add the drip loops and such.
Thanks 👍
OK here is an interesting thing I heard last week bifacial panels placed vertically as in totally vertical.. Then place them east west so that you get morning full sun and afternoon full sun.. hear that they produce more due to the reduced heating of the panels placed where they get much much hotter. Would love to see you put up an array like this and figure out just how much more efficient they are than the typical tilted array
I'm on it. I installed a small vertical array and started taking data right before the winter solstice and will collect data through the summer solstice to compare back to back with my 30deg mounted bifacial panels. If you are talking about the video on Undecided with Matt Ferrell, he didn't do his own testing, he is just citing results from other sources. He mostly focused on voltage differences due to temperature variation, but didn't really show any back to back performance comparison. So far my results show up to double the output in snowy conditions and somewhere around 64% of the output on a regular sunny day. I plan to show some "first look" results soon. Stay tuned!
@@ProjectsWithDave that is why I asked I saw the same video.. thought it interesting that they kept saying e/w placement.. well is that facing south or are the plane of the panels facing east and west.. This would make more sense to me as they would get full sun all but at noon, on one side of the panel or the other.
Typically the fence row runs North South so as you said there is a dip in power at noon.
Another good video full of information. Cheers
Thanks 👍
European style breakers allow to stick two wires in one terminal (Usually sum of those should not exceed 16² mm).
Don't forget the steeper angles also help to shed snow, my 40*ish array self cleans ~90% of the time, my 30ish degree array needs help ~80% of the time
I've noticed that with mine as well. The 40deg sheds much quicker than the 30deg array.
@@ProjectsWithDaveI've never had to manually remove snow having steeper winter angles. Snow remains on all my neighbor's fixed roof panels for several days after storms. Snow on panels = 0 watts.
Another reason for the loop is you can easily use a clamp meter for diagnosis
They make specific ferrules that are for putting two wires together that have two individual holes that the wires go into and then when you crimp them everything works
Right. I haven't tried those. I have a love/hate relationship with ferrules. I would like to find a tool that crimps them tighter than the one I have currently.
ok, the wife is the winner of this one. lol
She's always the winner in my book, but I'll let her know someone else thinks so. : )
"I'm not lubricating your wires" LOL
mmmmm, not an electrician , did you address the grounding issue in comet below? I do appreciate your laugh and your like of tools, also your in depth explanation. not to forget the coolness factor of your own energy
where can we buy the DynoBond stainless steel flexible solar ground clips?
Dave would you be up to entertaining an eco worthy solar tracker vs a fixed mount array. I've been thinking about four trackers with three 400 watt panels per (4.8kw). They advertise a 40% increase because of tracking and I'd like to see a proper comparison and you're definitely in depth TIA.
I've considered getting one just to run the analysis, but it hasn't fit in my schedule yet.
For analysis it might bei interesting. For real world use the panels are so cheap compared to the complexity of a tracker (moving parts) that if you have the space it's actually much cheaper and easier to simply oversize the system.
USAF taught me two important things about working with electricity: 1. Remove all jewelry! That wedding ring makes a real fine conductor. One hand for the work, one hand behind your back to prevent a path to the heart in case something is "hot" in the box.
Thanks for the reminder. I sometimes forget to remove my ring. I need to get a non conduction ring so I don't have to remember to remove it.
They make a feral design for two wires. The plastic skirt at the bottom looks a little different than the ones you have be sure to thread the wires all the way through the feral when you crimp it and then cut them off flush when you’re dealing with breakers. 16:48
Yea, I've seen those. I'm still not a big fan of joining them that way but maybe ok if you pay attention.
would be nice to see how much extra with mods you can get out of bifacials on cloudy days. only seen one yt channel with a shiny wall behind seem to work well but could be improved👍👍🌞🌞🌞
I'm working on some bifacial results with vertical panels. You can see the impact of snow on bifacial panels in this video: ua-cam.com/video/YZWeCUzu0yQ/v-deo.html
Such great content! ❤
Thank you!
Great video Dave!
Thanks!
ماشاءاللہ ڈیر خہ زبردست
I'm more of a fan of Earth grounding about 25 yards from the panels and not connecting to the house Earth ground..Man you've got every gizmo under the sun...Nice job..
If you investigate it further, you'll find that's a bad idea and why. ;)
@@ssoffshore5111 I understand the arguments completely, I've pulled 10's of thousands of miles of wire..LOL
@@ssoffshore5111why is it a bad idea ?? Just curious….. and if it’s not grounded and let’s say lightning hit the panels what’s the worst that can happen???? I ask because I had a friend who added a back yard shed and grounded it to the main house yet somehow it caught fire
Very nice setup! Not sure where your located but in the states its against the NEC to parallel any wire smaller then a #1. Otherwise very nice work!
Thanks for the feedback. Does that #1 limit apply to DC?
@@ProjectsWithDave I believe it applies to any wiring. I worded it incorrectly, only conductors 1/0 and larger are allowed to be paralleled.
@@creatureofthewoodlandsCould u provide the exact 2021? NEC ___# reference?
Very nice neat quality install. Thanks
It would really help if you had a diagram of your electrical system. That way when you say you're connecting one thing to another we could follow it in another windows tab. Not yet having installed my solar system its really hard to follow along sometimes what is connecting to what and how its related to the entire system. Perhaps put a link here to a detailed diagram so I can re-watch this video and follow along how things are connected and related to everything else.
Thanks for the suggestion. I do include wiring diagrams as often as possible but I don't have the time to do it for every video.
Not sure if you have seen the ferrules made for two wires. For sure Altech makes them, likely others too.
I have seen them. Thanks for the comment, I didn't mention that option in the video.
Excellent !
Punch the larger holes with the 1/2 punch than come back and pinch the correct size. 7:16
Yea thanks for the tip, I figured that out after the first round... : )
Can you use a disconnect switch instead of a combiner box for two strands
You can use DC Disconnect switches at the array. You need to confirm code requirements in your area. My first array passed inspection without even a disconnect. I just installed a junction box, which I later upgraded slightly with better connectors. You can see the upgrade here: ua-cam.com/video/uS8cqppAy7s/v-deo.html
Dave, I have watched all your videos and I think you might be the person I am looking for for a bit of advise if that is possible. How do I get in touch with you? Thanks.
Thanks for your support! You can contact me through my website, but If you are looking for system advice, unfortunately, I don't have the capacity for supporting individual requests. Website contact link: projectswithdave.com/about/
I am thinking about doing a very similar project although I am using warehouse shelving any thoughts on that
Make sure you have it secured to the ground. Panels create a very large wind sail.
lol the apprentice always gets the grease! Stand your ground lol 13:41
Sure, I'll try that next time....
Hi, how can I find those ajustable jacks how are they called? Thanks
They are made by Sinclair Solar, but they haven't started selling them retail yet.
hey dave just wondering you can setup someones diy projects in georgia ? since you have experience and knowledge ?
Sorry, I would love to help everyone but, unfortunately, I can barely keep up with my own projects.
I understand but was wondering if you have kind of business where you can charge and setup someone’s system
Could you explain again like i'm 5yrs old?
27% improvement / 559 watts - is the complexity and labor less valuable than having two more panels?
I think in most situations just adding panels makes the most sense.
How much for the solar array
It was mostly made from free recycled materials like the power pole cross timbers, or significantly discounted dents and bents components like the solar panels. Unfortunately, I didn't do a detailed cost breakdown for this one.
@@ProjectsWithDave in my case that detail is important considering the gauging from canadian suppliers
You can see the cost breakdown for my main array here: ua-cam.com/video/PNTO83FvaL4/v-deo.html
You can see the cost breakdown for a battery backup system here: projectswithdave.com/battery-backup-for-home-diy/
Yea! Just like that lol 14:52
I catch on eventually...
8 panels in series gives you ,,, 200.96 ?? volts
It depends on the panel specks, the solar irradiance and the temperature.
Promo sm 😊
My house consuming over 2 thousands kilowatts month with model y in garage. Looks like solar is not for us . 😂
Off grid with an electric car would be a challenge. Cars consume a lot of power, but you can always supplement with some solar to reduce your electric bill.
Phev maybe more appropriate for next car.
You obviously did not consult a structural engineer when you designed this thing. You failed to consider wind loading. A good stiff wind and your solar array will wind up on your neighbors property.
It’s survived 60mph gusts so far.
Was good until the graphs came out and then became extremely boring. Just give us the figures. I don't need to see them graphed.....
Thanks for the feedback, that would save me a lot of time. Generating graphs for a visual picture of the numbers takes a lot of extra time.
I personally enjoyed you geeking out the numbers. But to each his own 21:30
@ProjectsWithDave
Dave, I don't know what to do and BazenGreen almost sold me a 51.2v 230ah 11.7KWh system for my 35kwh a day house. Well March was the only high usage. Can you PLEASE help me with some guidance for my first big step into my off the grid purchase. Ive missed all the discounts now & if I have to get a bigger system then i might only be able to get the batteries & inverter. My budget WAS $2K for this first purchase.
Any solid help is GREATLY appreciated. Being in Japan is not easy trying to figure all this out either. 🙏🏻
I don't know what the solar regulations are in Japan, but if you want to save money, start with a grid-tie system. Then you won't need batteries which are very expensive.
Ahhh, good idea. 👍🏻