Thought it might be worth mentioning. The best way to weather proof the end of your cables is exactly what you are doing but with the addition of some injected 2 part epoxy resin under the heat shrink before applying heat. It's how we do it on solid streamer cables for use in the North sea.
The angles of the panels do make a massive difference. I have 14 panels fixed on my roof, and even on a sunny day, winter sun produces MUCH less power than in summer. A very informative video and a great install.
This is due to the amount of atmosphere (tiny dust clouds etc) the sun shines through at low angles eg 20 degrees Vs from above. Hard to get sunburnt in winter. This is more the factor for winter drop than the angle
The best install video you have done! Loads of info and some great tips. I would love to see some of the experiments for irradiance as i have found many of the installs i have done the clients are very knowledgeable and this would be a great talking point, amongst other thing...great job guys
I guess, being on the ground, there is more impact to wildlife, to drainage, to aesthetics. Some people would complain about having a grassy field changed to solar panels. There are a lot of things to consider...... I agree, planning permission should be easier, but I can sort of see why it may be more complex for a ground array, especially of this size
@@EsotericArctosdo people ever really think when they type. Let me see; fossil fuel is bad and must be replaced by renewable but solar panels are also bad. Great. Let's just stand in the fields hug and sing kumbaya to stay warm 🤡
@@deadliaski I was playing a bit of devils advocate really. I actually agree planning is over zealous and should be easier, on many counts. Some people are still climate change deniers too. You never know who will go what way....
An observation on the buried cables, Regulation 522.8.10 of BS 7671:2018+A2:2022 requires the location of buried cables to be marked by cable covers or a suitable marker tape. As you know, Cable covers or marker tape is laid above the buried duct or cables to provide an early warning that electric cables are present. For installations where the ground preparation does not meet highway constructional standards, IET Guidance Note 1: Selection & Erection recommends a minimum depth of 500 mm to protect the cable from damage from ground movement and frost heave. A summary of the various requirements and recommendations surrounding cable depth is provided in Appendix E to the IET Code of Practice for Grid-connected Solar Photovoltaic Systems. On a personal level, I would never install any cables in the ground without a duct, if there are any problems with a cable, its easy to pull in a replacement. For me, its 1) How I was taught and 2) what I consider a professional installation - that is not knocking you and the guys Jordon, you do fantastic jobs, its just what I would do.
Just curious, are you able to pull a replacement cable in a 200meter duct, with these curves in it..? I doubt it. If it breaks, measure the resistance, dig up the cable and repair it.
@@gubbernl If you pull cables into ducts then you should always pull in and leave a spare drawstring in the duct, that way, if you need to replace a cable, you can pull on in, as well as another drawstring. Its not rocket science.
Moling seems a completely unnecessary expense and over the top. Farmers plough whole fields and turn them into pasture by sowing grass seed. Can't think that a 30cm wide trench would cause any noticeable damage in such a large area if repaired after. Customers !
@@ashergilmour3120 the problem allegedly with these sponsored and subsidised videos is that they use products and practices which you would not normally be bothered with unless someone gives you them for free by way of a sponsored video and probably greatly reduced price on Doncaster EV cable. Allegedly no one really in their right mind would install like this if they were not getting free stuff and/or discounted stuff. Nice future maintenance income stream for someone. You will notice he was clever enough to have someone else install the cable in this way so any problems not his. It's now more of a channel for entertainment purposes, which is fine, probably should be highlighted more.
to be honest, that's the same in every country. In the Netherlands we face massive issues as well. Our grid operators have just announced a scheme to add (not replace, ADD!!) 50.000 transformers, which of course greatly upset all the NIMBYs who are now complaining how their parking and their views are gonna be destroyed. But of course these are the same people that can afford to drive Teslas, have massive solar and heat-pump setups, and leach off all the subsidies to insulate their houses... And that's only on the medium voltage side. Our high voltage transmission grid is facing even bigger issues, with planning for a single switching yard taking up to 10 years to complete. Everybody wants to use electricity, but nobody wants to see massive poles and wires ...
@@112Haribo northern europe will have 30% more cuts outs on the grid if we dont solve the storage probem within 10 years with the grid prices we see on the grid i only see more or less off grid as a long term option i make bitcoins i drive a EV, have massive solar and heat-pump setups, and i dont leach off all the subsidies to insulate or heat anything.. i do my thing and they do their things, i dont expect anyone to pay for me but if i did i would need paperwork that cost most of what i save, i would need to get my house a energy classication to get anything. i would pay pretty much the same i would get
Two of us in our 3 bedroom, 3 floor house both work from home full time use about 5kwh of electric a day. I know they have an EV but usig 80kwh a day is mind blowing!
Agree with you about the light intensities. I've just had a modest system installed (October) and noticed significant changes in production. I have been checking light levels daily with a simple LUX meter - not calibrated, so effectively only 'qualitative'; but it tells a story. Just try this on one of your sites. Take the meter and measure LUX at varying angles between vertical, and horizontal towards the sun from dawn till dusk. It will tell its own story!
Never saw Directional Boring done like that. Here in the States Ours are a powered rig that push a steerable tip that can travel several feet underground to go under obstacles and has a transponder that a person can track it along it's path to tell the operator to go up, down, left, right. and depending on Soil type, It can push to several hundred feet. it can have a Core bit installed to go through rock or a Foundation wall..
Was having a chat with one of my customers who is involved with commercial solar, they have been looking into different grasses and they reflective properties. They have found good gains in output with by-facing panels with the right grasses.
If they didn't want a trench, what about pulling in the cables with a pipe layer/ripper on a tractor? I could pull those cables in in under 5 minutes, just need a hole in the ground to start with to lower the ripper into and feed the cable through, then drive at walking pace to the end point....or I could pull in a 50mm PVC pipe to use as conduit. At the end of the job, simple drive a wheel along the rip line to pack everything down and in a few weeks you'd never know the ground had been disrupted.
There is a lot about this video that I like, but the in video ads are a challenge for me, in particular the the Hilti ones. While I'm a big fan of Hilti tools, in all reality while they are pretty good, they are pretty highly priced compared to others, probably due toi their advertising budget?
Fascinating watch, although I cannot concieve how they are using 88kWh a day! It looks a big property for sure, so is there a lot of electrical heating? If so, with that much money, have they looked at heat pump? Ground source potential? Looking forward to the video on the DC bidirectional EV charger, this with V2H will be my dream setup
It’s interesting to stand back from this install beautifully done and just look at the end result from a distance. I have a 19 kw ground mounted bi facial system in a fabulous solar area. Clear skies all round, great irradiance etc. ground mount, bi facial Panels are now cheap, 70 euros each. Now on a cloudy day, I get a fraction of production this time of year, 2.9 kw today, sunny day 30-40 this time of year. So even with 3 times more generation to 54 kw still would only get a fraction and not even be remotely be grid independent. Now on a sunny day, don’t know what to do with all the power. But for 3 months of the year minimum, not grid independent. I have 4 holiday units on the site. So I reckon break even is 5-6 years and I sell my production at full price to people staying on site. My install has two inverters, 20 kWh batteries and I installed it myself so no labour cost. For any end user looking at this system, fine if it’s a project and you are happy to spend money just to have it, but the maths on this system which must have cost three to four times mine, are just not that appealing. If as in other countries there becomes a charge on selling excess back to the grid then its head scratching time. There is no way with optimisers, vermin, sheep etc that there will be no maintenance on these systems for 30-40 years. It’s a great video, really well explained, however the reality for us in the Northern Hemisphere huge arrays for 4 months of the year are largely idle,. Wind would be extremely interesting for me as I am ideally placed, but even allowing for spend just to have it, I cannot get the maths on that to work at all, just hassle with maintenance. If anyone has got wind to work with the solar in any meaningful way be interested.
I was actually thinking of some sort of reflective material to help with bounce back.. I certainly would like to know about how the generation go's with this setup. As my mind was thinking on automating the moving of the panels to. Then I am one for making things more easy on myself if it was me.
48:55 GPT-4 is a language model, for talking to, it doesn't do maths - don't assume details in fields that you're not an expert in. They may well be using some other kind of model from OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, but it definitely isn't a GPT model.
Great video, not sure why you didnt install pipe ducting through the field so cable runs can be easily changed if there are issues down the line! @ArtisanElectricains: Regarding your question on putting white gravel or a mirror underneath bi-facial panels to increase the production of the panels rear side, I was going to ask that question for a planned installation on my house as I will have a SW- NE array with the NE being significantly bigger! If the installers were to paint the NE roof tiles white (under the panels only), or place a shiny tinfoil esk material on the tiles to increase light reflection and their bi-facial production, I'd love to see if its worth it for a tiny amount of spray paint/ backing cover! If you can do a project trial like this, I would be very interested to know the results! If you want to try it on my roof.....im not in your price bracket, but 18panels total with 14 going on the NE roof is the plan! Really enjoyed this video!
I've got a roof mounted system, these bifacial panels are interesting. Perhaps when the existing panels are replaced and the roof would probably be due a refit too, I'll get some reflective tiles and have bifacial panels fitted! lol The only thing missing from this video was footage of the system running in the daylight, it would have been interesting to see the difference in generation if you swivelled the panels as the solaredge monitoring is near-realtime enough to tell. But I guess we need some sun for that, which has been lacking of late! ;)
Why didn't you do the DNO application and get the approval before the start install? You mentioned there was some time and back and forth going on finalizing the design.
I would love to see what the angle of the panel will make a difference on efficiency, also can we not automate it? would love to see a solution for this (auto angle follow the sun)
DC traveling long distance you will see Voltage drop. In the US we can do it both ways but typically depending on local code, we would of mounted the Solar Edge Inverter at the Array with a DC Disconnect. Then the cable run to the Barn is A/C and less susceptible to Voltage loss, plus you can ro use smaller gauge cables for the run... Just curious why you choose to do DC rather than AC run? Great Video as always, Thank you Those Jinko Black on Black Bifacial Mods look absolutely amazing!!
The voltage drop is not so much of a problem when the voltage is higher and the current is lower, e.g. 20 panel string = ~720V and 12A. To transfer the same power at 240V, the current is 36A. Since the voltage drop is dependent on the current, the problem is greater at a lower voltage.
@@faraway5828 I am a huge fan of Microinverters. Micros on this install would have remedied the shading issues but it would have been a wau more labor intensive install because of 1 micro per module. I believe they used 1 optimizer per 2 mods. Also remember they had to throttle and modify the backfeed to the grid, with the Microinverters it would definitely increase the backfeed compared to the Solar Edge Inverter. It is easier to PV shed or throttle DC than AC...
@ not a lot more effort to have one micro per panel - but emphases can support 2 panels per inverter, and also have grid export limiting, so no compromise, but there would be higher current at 240Ac. Always swings, always roundabouts
30:08 in Australia you need to equipotential all rails that have DC on them with the same size earth to the inverter. You can use string fusing and reduce the earth to the array to 6mm2
It seems obvious to me to motorise the tilting mechanism to automatically optimise the efficiency of the panels. Ideally you’d actually want movement east west but that would be very expensive.
Right. If you have enough real estate, then tracking PV panels just don't make any financial sense. Just buy more fixed panels. The tracking mechanisms are very expensive compared to the cost of PV panels. Part of that expense is sunk into the movable frame, low friction bearings, linear actuators, controller modules and stored energy power supplies. Moving parts tend to be common failure points. E-W trackers have to be highly reliable, and that criticality forces the robustness (and price) of every component higher. E-W trackers are much more expensive than seasonal trackers. But even seasonal trackers are more expensive installations than fixed position or manually adjusted frames. *_As you can see in this video, the two ends of each adjustable frame are individually clamped into position._* This prevents the frames from twisting out of alignment. Each twisting cycle can contribute to metal fatigue and eventual cracking. So manual adjustments are only made in mild wind conditions or else a pair of strong cooperating laborers is required. The existing frames would need to be constructed even more stiff and robust (expensive) in order to be clamped at only a single point. You have to weigh the cost of much stiffer frames vs the cost of two actuators operating in lockstep. E-W trackers need to cycle about ±90° daily. Such moving frames need well lubricated weatherproof bearings and good symmetry. The client frames are already built to this standard, which certainly made them more expensive. To me it seems hard to justify the cost, even if this reduced installation labor. Actuator motors must overcome viscosity, friction, and imbalances of weight and wind forces upon the PV panels. Even during high winds, the actuators must prevent torsional forces upon the frames. Otherwise the frames will crack due to fatigue failure. Multiple actuators are needed - probably exactly two for this frame design. The actuators need to prevent twisting forces on the frames, and a pair could work from each end in lockstep. However this requires a joint controller to assure that each pair stays in lockstep and shuts them down if they cannot. Each controller needs to monitor motor currents to evaluate which side of the panel is leading or lagging the other side. The vagaries of imperfect geometry means that the absolute position of the actuator pairs is not always enough. Otherwise the two ends of each frame must be kept aligned through strong stiff anti-torsion tubes, or with a connecting linkage that somehow minimizes torsion upon the moving frame. High winds will tend to cause strong rapid vibrations at resonance, so that is part of the strength, stiffness, and damping requirements of moving assemblies. A positioning signal needs to reach each subordinate controller. A boss controller transmits the position signal and the subordinate controllers follow the signal. The boss controller may turn the array closer towards horizontal in overcast conditions, may position the panels vertical to shed snow, and turn to the eastern horizon directly after sunset, but otherwise track the Sun closely. In turn, each subordinate controller needs to compare the linear actuator feedback signal to the control signal and apply power to the motor to minimize the error. The subordinate controllers also need to report error vs compliance logs back to the boss controller.
A cable plough might have been an acceptable way to lay underground cable. Part the soil and immediately return it to its original position (neglecting the additional volume of cable and aerated soil)
Great video! It definitely would be interesting to see the benefits of the Cornish Rocker and the seasonal pitches against a static pitch…. What brand are the bifacial panels? Cheers
I'm currently working with solaradge optimizer a lot is South Africa and the best way not to connect it wrong is to firstly connect just the optmizers alone then you connect to the models afterwards. I assume you guys are using frog leap-frog method which is great in saving pv cables usage
great build, I am going to be installing sigenergy in the new year so good to see this video. I am finding all of the wiring, connections, fusing and circuit breaking of many individual components in the victron systems I build are very time consuming. Personally I don't see the point of being grid tied, too much hassle, red tape and in my opinion off grid is the entire point of building your own power supply. I have lived off grid for 11 years with no issues and have built at least 50 off grid systems for many happy customers. Get away from the system, that's the point.
I noticed a Tractor in the background of one of the shots. Is is a farm? If they do get 88kw that would make a lot of sense, as the energy would mostly be needed during the Spring and Autumn, rather than winter. Even if none of it goes back to the grid, would save an absolute fortune on electricity costs. Cleaning them would be a doddle if they get dirty for one person with a squidgy and a bucket every few months, no need to climb on roofs, The land wouldn't be doing anything else Although other people have allowed sheep between panels. (Although not cows, they would destroy it) TBH, it seems like a no-brainer if you can front the up-front costs.
29:29 I can say that your cable ties (zip ties) will NOT last 25 years, those should be stainless ties, or the cabling in rigid conduit to keep them neat. Split loom tubing for all that cabling would help to protect them and help keep the UV off if you aren't going to do rigid. Here in Texas I use it on network and coax, anything that is exterior in the sun and elements. With temps getting to 45C in the summers and the harsh sunlight here, anything exposed will fall apart from UV and heat. "UV stabilized" cable ties last a few years in the sun and elements here. No way will the hundreds of cable ties last for 25 years there even as well. I am surprised that the frame work with the set-screw doesn't have a pin latching system, those wouldn't seem to hold up well to the amount of wind we get and would act as a sail, and with that many sq feet of surface area two little set screws aren't going to hold it firm during a wind storm. Excellent job to Jordan and the whole Artisan team. 🤠
You have dropped a mega clanger with direct burial of swa DC unearthed. Unless you noted the devation on your certification. All direct buried SWA regardless of voltage system MUST be earthed. At the very least tied to a polarity in the strings. Huge non compliance as with moling that cable will see creepage and landslip. A scary approach to safety and lack of knowledge imho. Should be in a 750N duct regardless IF the cable is left as mechanical protection only rather than earthed protection. I would be interested to know the design decision here.
Definitely interested in seeing the benefits of changing the angle of the panels. Any advise re how best to approach a requirement to secure biodiversity reports for a ground based system? Great series of videos. Many thanks.
The semi-transparent PV panels are getting a good reputation. The micro climate under them is stable and conducive to undergrowth lifeforms. But exactly how do you define "ground-based"?
Well done! Awesome installation. The insulation test can be done with 500 or 1000volts though. SolarEdge mentions that in their documentation. Cant wait to install these Sigenergy batterys myself! Great job guys!
Nice team nice work and nice video . Optimisers in an open space , waste of money . Personally I prefer victron n fronius :) I like the adjustable angle on ground mount frame . Does uk not require g10 protection panels to stop export when over limit ?
Fantastic job team, with that system though, I would give the power company the flick and go off grid altogether. I easily survive on 10kWp solar and 35kWh battery and charge an EV. 🤠😎
I don't know much about the UK specific rules but wouldn't it be better to apply for those paperwork upfront the install? This would have highlighted the 50kw export issue before you bought all the gear for the installation.
Regarding earthing the dc cable armour. In some systems the battery negative is earthed to the main earth terminal (Victron recommend this for one). Is your battery earth referenced? If it is, does the charger inverter electrically separate the battery negative from the PV negative?There is also the issue of lightning protection to consider. Would the SWA armour be better earthed to protect the dc rails from induced voltage spikes?
It would be great for the customer if some how you could fit motors on the solar mounting system with software that would automatically move the panels to the correct angles for the time of year
I would probably raise the panels if there was a high probability of hail in the weather forecast. But then the top edges would need to be a little reinfroced.
Really interesting, as a non electrician I would comment that most cable ties will not last 25 years, unless your using something new of course. Sheep will eat virtually Anything 😳😳👍. Hope you go back after a while and see how it all performs.
Yes please, we would like to know how much difference moving the panels makes. We're having a Cornish Rocker system installed and we're wondering whether we can be arsed to adjust it every time we get the email. (We don't live where the system is so would usually have to get someone else to adjust it for us.)
Vertical tilt angle gives a power reduction of cosine(angle_error), so facing the sun at noon each day is ideal. The ideal average angle is your lattitude. The earth's axis is tilted by about 23 degrees, so in the worst case cos(23) = 0.92 at the solstices, so an 8% difference peak. Average would be about 5% loss when averaged over the whole year. So tilting panels help, but buying more panels may be a cheaper and stronger option. However, being able to lay the panels flat in high winds may be helpful. Interestingly, on dull days, you may get the most power when facing straight up.
The metal guard of the DC cables should be earthed at the point of the DC surge protection, if put in place. Otherwise, it is only a mechanical projection. Maybe?
With SolarEdge this isn’t an issue as it balances the voltage and current to avoid losses even on long string length like this - we can have up to 600m on 6mm cable
With all the money spent on that I'm surprised you didn't motorise the angle of the panels 🙂.Of course, you could then make use of the Date\Time from t'internet and automated it all. Poor man will have to get his wellies wet 🙂.
Do they not have directional boring out there? Setup one unit and bore conduit in for hundreds of feet. No reason for multiple holes or inspection ports.
Hey Jordan what about earthing the framework of the array? Does this not come under an extraneous conductive part? Won’t come under basic protection like a roof mounted system as it is not out of reach?
@@artisanelectrics this is something I have been looking through as I have a ground mount 7.4kw system to install in a few weeks. I have spoken with technical from NICEIC and the inverter manufacturer Fronius where the issue of parasitic capacitance can become a risk. My system that I am looking at is going onto a TNC-S system so we looked at IET Guidance 5.13.6 which states that for ground mount solar frames on a TNC-S that the frame should be connected to a earth electrode and also to the main earth terminal - Would be great to hear your opinion Jordan, great install I think the sigenergy system is a game changer!
"It's easy to get the wires the wrong way round".... on 2 or 3 out of 4 strings ? That's just sh... work. I would never get away with so many mistakes, but fair do's for showing them
Big invest. I wonder why there are wood enclosures. Especially where are cable junctions for high current DC cables. It is easier to work with wood than metal ones but…
Funny hearing that DC systems should not have an earth connection. Here in the Netherlands the code requires us to earth all solar systems to the AC isolator which is in turn connected to the consumer unit. All mounting frames have to be bonded together and ran back inside with the DC- cable and connected to the house's earthing system.
FYI boy's The auto focus and stabization was maing my eyes hurt on full screen not sure if the camera settings need to be set up better for a walking/moving shot.
OOOOOhhhhh you absolute animal ! After what you did in that 2 seconds at 47:43 I could never let you near anything! really denying the home owner of his rights!!! I'd be showing you another use for the mole lol
Curious to think 80grand to deal with an export would that not be better used to make the array bigger with more storage and you simply dont need a DNO supply at all.
Thanks! As I explained in the video the cable lengths were too long to use hybrid inverters, with SolarEdge you can go up to 600m cable length with 6mm DC
Such a system would also be able to automatically track the sun throughout the year, rather than having the owner remember to adjust the angle 8 times per year.
It only takes minutes to adjust the panels and most people would only do it in spring and autumn. If you were going to have a tracker you'd put the array north south and track the sun from east to west. Panels are so cheap now you might as well just put more out and avoid the complexity and reliability of having moving parts.
Daily horizon-to-horizon tracking makes sense if you have severe limits on solar panel quantities (little real estate), but trackers are so expensive today compared to the panel cost... For example, it surely makes sense to track the sun in space, on the Moon, and on Mars. There is little to no wind, no storm damage, and trackers can shake off dust. The frames and tracking hardware would be very flimsy in comparison to what is required on Earth to resist storms.
On the subject of solar size and DNO permission, can you tell me if there's a maximum size for domestic solar? I had 8.9 KWp installed a couple of years ago and was told by my installer that this was the largest I could install because the DNO wouldn't allow more. But I'm not sure this is/was the case. Reason I ask is because on top of the 23 panels on my roof I think I could get another 11 or so (and probably about 35 on the other side but that's not pointing in the right direction) and was wondering if it would be allowed. I'd probably have to get a second inverter, splitting those 34 panels roughly in half. Any ideas?
I think the DNO is concerned about the inverter power output passing through the local transformer and the rectified power consumption charging your batteries from the same transformer, *_not the PV collectors or battery capacity you could use for BEV charging._*
That's a good question because there is always a risk, and it's quite a high risk that someone will use an isolator to break the current. I'm making a small solar PV direct to immersion heater setup. I bought a good old-fashioned high current breaker to isolate it if necessary. The thing is made mostly of metal and ceramic, so minimum fire risk.
The whole solar edge optimiser seems totally pointless. Why do they need optimising? They're not shaded by trees. Just extra to go wrong and extra money!
A home DC charger is fucking cool plus having it bi-directional to allow the car to run the house is awesome. Wonder how long the car could run the house for under normal house consumption and obviously depending on the car you’re plugging in
It doesn't work with nearly any vehicle. Right now the Sigenergy UK site only lists a few Nio vehicles and they operate as PointGuard Energy in North America and they have zero vehicles compatible. It's nice that it can do 25kw bi-directional charging, but that's only if you are using solar, battery, and AC grid at the same time to push to the vehicle. It can't do that if the solar is low, at night for instance, or don't for a very long time if you have a smaller battery in the stacks for very long since it will drain the battery very quickly.
how exactly iis using armored cable preventing sheep chewing on it? i mean yeah it propably wouldn´t chew through it but the cable will still be damaged, i probably would have used some conduit around it or semthiing siimilar
If you know sheep, it's not so much the chewing (yes some will always experiment) you have to worry about, it is the rubbing against the uprights and anything attached to them. Any chewing damage will more likely be down to squirrels and rats/mice. I'm surprised that with all that power available, the client doesn't fence them off and run a robotic mower in the area under the panels.
Me by zajimalo to kódování. K čemu to auto potrebuje? Vzdyt si meri volty a pravděpodobně i pokles voltu ori zátěži. To řekne daleko víc, než nějaká zadaná kapacita, ktera se bude od skutecnosti stejne lišit. Navic se baterie nabíjí podle napětí a ne podle kapacity. Tak na co tam to kodovani je
Great video Can you not just go off grid totally and not export anything? Would that be possible seems like the grid is not ready for all this solar energy and electric vehicles what are they going to do when we all charging cars and using electric heating do you think the uk is ready for solar and battery systems? Just interested what people think
We are years from being ready for any serious uptake of EVs and batteries. The grid just isn't up to the job because of how it was designed. Dno do regularly turn down every chargers because the cable capacity to the properties just isn't up to the job. So if the capacity isn't there for import then it's not there for export. We really need to start chucking billions upon billions at it.
The issues with the G99 just highlight that DNO's have long been under investing in the infrastructure and now aren't in a position to transition to an all electric future.
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Thought it might be worth mentioning. The best way to weather proof the end of your cables is exactly what you are doing but with the addition of some injected 2 part epoxy resin under the heat shrink before applying heat. It's how we do it on solid streamer cables for use in the North sea.
Great tip!
Are you working on offshore wind in the north Sea? That's amazing
@@artisanelectricsadhesive lined heat shrink break out boots are also very good.
The angles of the panels do make a massive difference. I have 14 panels fixed on my roof, and even on a sunny day, winter sun produces MUCH less power than in summer. A very informative video and a great install.
Thanks for sharing
This is due to the amount of atmosphere (tiny dust clouds etc) the sun shines through at low angles eg 20 degrees Vs from above. Hard to get sunburnt in winter. This is more the factor for winter drop than the angle
Great work by the Artisan Electrics team! The attention to detail and expertise in every project are truly impressive. Keep up the excellent work!❤
Thank you very much!
The best install video you have done! Loads of info and some great tips.
I would love to see some of the experiments for irradiance as i have found many of the installs i have done the clients are very knowledgeable and this would be a great talking point, amongst other thing...great job guys
The planning permission for ground mount is insane! They're low. They're all black. They need to make that easier for land owners!
I guess, being on the ground, there is more impact to wildlife, to drainage, to aesthetics. Some people would complain about having a grassy field changed to solar panels.
There are a lot of things to consider...... I agree, planning permission should be easier, but I can sort of see why it may be more complex for a ground array, especially of this size
@@EsotericArctosdo people ever really think when they type. Let me see; fossil fuel is bad and must be replaced by renewable but solar panels are also bad. Great. Let's just stand in the fields hug and sing kumbaya to stay warm 🤡
@@deadliaski I was playing a bit of devils advocate really. I actually agree planning is over zealous and should be easier, on many counts. Some people are still climate change deniers too.
You never know who will go what way....
@@deadliaski
Fossil fuels aren't bad.
They need to stop destroying farmland with this BS.
An observation on the buried cables, Regulation 522.8.10 of BS 7671:2018+A2:2022 requires the location of buried cables to be marked by cable covers or a suitable marker tape. As you know, Cable covers or marker tape is laid above the buried duct or cables to provide an early warning that electric cables are present. For installations where the ground preparation does not meet highway constructional standards, IET Guidance Note 1: Selection & Erection recommends a minimum depth of 500 mm to protect the cable from damage from ground movement and frost heave. A summary of the various requirements and recommendations surrounding cable depth is provided in Appendix E to the IET Code of Practice for Grid-connected Solar Photovoltaic Systems.
On a personal level, I would never install any cables in the ground without a duct, if there are any problems with a cable, its easy to pull in a replacement. For me, its 1) How I was taught and 2) what I consider a professional installation - that is not knocking you and the guys Jordon, you do fantastic jobs, its just what I would do.
Just curious, are you able to pull a replacement cable in a 200meter duct, with these curves in it..? I doubt it.
If it breaks, measure the resistance, dig up the cable and repair it.
@@gubbernl If you pull cables into ducts then you should always pull in and leave a spare drawstring in the duct, that way, if you need to replace a cable, you can pull on in, as well as another drawstring. Its not rocket science.
Well done, Jordan and team. An epic installation. Cheers
Thanks Jim!
Moling seems a completely unnecessary expense and over the top. Farmers plough whole fields and turn them into pasture by sowing grass seed. Can't think that a 30cm wide trench would cause any noticeable damage in such a large area if repaired after. Customers !
Wholly agree. And don't understand why conduit and regular solar not used. If there is a cable issue no way to pull new cables.
Some people have more money than sense 😅
@@ashergilmour3120 the problem allegedly with these sponsored and subsidised videos is that they use products and practices which you would not normally be bothered with unless someone gives you them for free by way of a sponsored video and probably greatly reduced price on Doncaster EV cable.
Allegedly no one really in their right mind would install like this if they were not getting free stuff and/or discounted stuff. Nice future maintenance income stream for someone. You will notice he was clever enough to have someone else install the cable in this way so any problems not his.
It's now more of a channel for entertainment purposes, which is fine, probably should be highlighted more.
Non the less it was the choice for the client. When it's your turn, please dig a trench
@@brianoneill350Totally agree, I always put armoured cable in ducting to allow future expansion & repair....
Seems a lot of trouble to not dig up the grass! After two years on our system (400 feet to the house), I can't see where the trench was anymore.
You really start to question this country's wish to achieve net zero, because the networks preparedness is woefully lacking.
Sad but true
Net zero help from the DNOs and the GOV…
to be honest, that's the same in every country. In the Netherlands we face massive issues as well. Our grid operators have just announced a scheme to add (not replace, ADD!!) 50.000 transformers, which of course greatly upset all the NIMBYs who are now complaining how their parking and their views are gonna be destroyed. But of course these are the same people that can afford to drive Teslas, have massive solar and heat-pump setups, and leach off all the subsidies to insulate their houses...
And that's only on the medium voltage side. Our high voltage transmission grid is facing even bigger issues, with planning for a single switching yard taking up to 10 years to complete. Everybody wants to use electricity, but nobody wants to see massive poles and wires ...
@@Beaglepup70
I've been waiting for 6 months in a town for an unloop to just get enough power to run 7 KW charger
@@112Haribo northern europe will have 30% more cuts outs on the grid
if we dont solve the storage probem within 10 years
with the grid prices we see on the grid i only see more or less off grid as a long term option
i make bitcoins i drive a EV, have massive solar and heat-pump setups, and i dont leach off all the subsidies to insulate or heat anything..
i do my thing and they do their things, i dont expect anyone to pay for me
but if i did i would need paperwork that cost most of what i save, i would need to get my house a energy classication to get anything.
i would pay pretty much the same i would get
Two of us in our 3 bedroom, 3 floor house both work from home full time use about 5kwh of electric a day. I know they have an EV but usig 80kwh a day is mind blowing!
I thought he was going to say the house could be off-grid for 4-5 days not 1 😅
Agree with you about the light intensities.
I've just had a modest system installed (October) and noticed significant changes in production. I have been checking light levels daily with a simple LUX meter - not calibrated, so effectively only 'qualitative'; but it tells a story.
Just try this on one of your sites. Take the meter and measure LUX at varying angles between vertical, and horizontal towards the sun from dawn till dusk. It will tell its own story!
Never saw Directional Boring done like that.
Here in the States Ours are a powered rig that push a steerable tip that can travel several feet underground to go under obstacles and has a transponder that a person can track it along it's path to tell the operator to go up, down, left, right. and depending on Soil type, It can push to several hundred feet. it can have a Core bit installed to go through rock or a Foundation wall..
I really like watching your videos. I work for a DNO and it’s nice to see these systems from the other side of things. Well done
Hi Jordan, that was a Mammoth install, one way of avoiding panel connector issues is to label the PV cables that go to the Micro Inverters.
Was having a chat with one of my customers who is involved with commercial solar, they have been looking into different grasses and they reflective properties. They have found good gains in output with by-facing panels with the right grasses.
Do you have links or info on the grasses used?
@ sorry it was just a conversation with one of my customers and that he is involved with commercial solar. No specifics. Just found it interesting.
@@danielball8897 no worries! Also find it interesting!
That’s one heck of a system. Great work with designing it and getting it all set up.
Thanks!
If they didn't want a trench, what about pulling in the cables with a pipe layer/ripper on a tractor? I could pull those cables in in under 5 minutes, just need a hole in the ground to start with to lower the ripper into and feed the cable through, then drive at walking pace to the end point....or I could pull in a 50mm PVC pipe to use as conduit. At the end of the job, simple drive a wheel along the rip line to pack everything down and in a few weeks you'd never know the ground had been disrupted.
Agreed
There is a lot about this video that I like, but the in video ads are a challenge for me, in particular the the Hilti ones. While I'm a big fan of Hilti tools, in all reality while they are pretty good, they are pretty highly priced compared to others, probably due toi their advertising budget?
I enjoyed watching ALL of this. Not often I watch anything that long.
Wow thanks!
Fascinating watch, although I cannot concieve how they are using 88kWh a day! It looks a big property for sure, so is there a lot of electrical heating? If so, with that much money, have they looked at heat pump? Ground source potential? Looking forward to the video on the DC bidirectional EV charger, this with V2H will be my dream setup
Maybe they have a sauna and a swimming pool? It does seem like a huge amount of energy though you're right.
@lehoff ah I hadn't thought of those, good call
It’s interesting to stand back from this install beautifully done and just look at the end result from a distance.
I have a 19 kw ground mounted bi facial system in a fabulous solar area. Clear skies all round, great irradiance etc. ground mount, bi facial Panels are now cheap, 70 euros each.
Now on a cloudy day, I get a fraction of production this time of year, 2.9 kw today, sunny day 30-40 this time of year. So even with 3 times more generation to 54 kw still would only get a fraction and not even be remotely be grid independent. Now on a sunny day, don’t know what to do with all the power. But for 3 months of the year minimum, not grid independent. I have 4 holiday units on the site. So I reckon break even is 5-6 years and I sell my production at full price to people staying on site. My install has two inverters, 20 kWh batteries and I installed it myself so no labour cost.
For any end user looking at this system, fine if it’s a project and you are happy to spend money just to have it, but the maths on this system which must have cost three to four times mine, are just not that appealing. If as in other countries there becomes a charge on selling excess back to the grid then its head scratching time. There is no way with optimisers, vermin, sheep etc that there will be no maintenance on these systems for 30-40 years. It’s a great video, really well explained, however the reality for us in the Northern Hemisphere huge arrays for 4 months of the year are largely idle,. Wind would be extremely interesting for me as I am ideally placed, but even allowing for spend just to have it, I cannot get the maths on that to work at all, just hassle with maintenance. If anyone has got wind to work with the solar in any meaningful way be interested.
I was actually thinking of some sort of reflective material to help with bounce back.. I certainly would like to know about how the generation go's with this setup. As my mind was thinking on automating the moving of the panels to. Then I am one for making things more easy on myself if it was me.
48:55 GPT-4 is a language model, for talking to, it doesn't do maths - don't assume details in fields that you're not an expert in. They may well be using some other kind of model from OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT, but it definitely isn't a GPT model.
Great video, not sure why you didnt install pipe ducting through the field so cable runs can be easily changed if there are issues down the line!
@ArtisanElectricains: Regarding your question on putting white gravel or a mirror underneath bi-facial panels to increase the production of the panels rear side, I was going to ask that question for a planned installation on my house as I will have a SW- NE array with the NE being significantly bigger!
If the installers were to paint the NE roof tiles white (under the panels only), or place a shiny tinfoil esk material on the tiles to increase light reflection and their bi-facial production, I'd love to see if its worth it for a tiny amount of spray paint/ backing cover!
If you can do a project trial like this, I would be very interested to know the results! If you want to try it on my roof.....im not in your price bracket, but 18panels total with 14 going on the NE roof is the plan!
Really enjoyed this video!
I've got a roof mounted system, these bifacial panels are interesting. Perhaps when the existing panels are replaced and the roof would probably be due a refit too, I'll get some reflective tiles and have bifacial panels fitted! lol
The only thing missing from this video was footage of the system running in the daylight, it would have been interesting to see the difference in generation if you swivelled the panels as the solaredge monitoring is near-realtime enough to tell. But I guess we need some sun for that, which has been lacking of late! ;)
Just wondering why you didn’t install the inverters at the solar panels and just run ac back to the gateway smart port?
Why didn't you do the DNO application and get the approval before the start install? You mentioned there was some time and back and forth going on finalizing the design.
Really interesting very technical which I love. Brilliant keep it up chaps
Glad you enjoyed it
I would love to see what the angle of the panel will make a difference on efficiency, also can we not automate it? would love to see a solution for this (auto angle follow the sun)
DC traveling long distance you will see Voltage drop. In the US we can do it both ways but typically depending on local code, we would of mounted the Solar Edge Inverter at the Array with a DC Disconnect. Then the cable run to the Barn is A/C and less susceptible to Voltage loss, plus you can ro use smaller gauge cables for the run...
Just curious why you choose to do DC rather than AC run?
Great Video as always, Thank you
Those Jinko Black on Black Bifacial Mods look absolutely amazing!!
Or indeed gone to micronverters, kept the inverters out of it altogether. Same shading management as optimisers but no DC above 40V anywhere
The voltage drop is not so much of a problem when the voltage is higher and the current is lower, e.g. 20 panel string = ~720V and 12A. To transfer the same power at 240V, the current is 36A. Since the voltage drop is dependent on the current, the problem is greater at a lower voltage.
@@faraway5828 I am a huge fan of Microinverters. Micros on this install would have remedied the shading issues but it would have been a wau more labor intensive install because of 1 micro per module. I believe they used 1 optimizer per 2 mods.
Also remember they had to throttle and modify the backfeed to the grid, with the Microinverters it would definitely increase the backfeed compared to the Solar Edge Inverter. It is easier to PV shed or throttle DC than AC...
@ not a lot more effort to have one micro per panel - but emphases can support 2 panels per inverter, and also have grid export limiting, so no compromise, but there would be higher current at 240Ac. Always swings, always roundabouts
DC voltage is significantly higher in this case
30:08 in Australia you need to equipotential all rails that have DC on them with the same size earth to the inverter.
You can use string fusing and reduce the earth to the array to 6mm2
It seems obvious to me to motorise the tilting mechanism to automatically optimise the efficiency of the panels. Ideally you’d actually want movement east west but that would be very expensive.
Right. If you have enough real estate, then tracking PV panels just don't make any financial sense. Just buy more fixed panels.
The tracking mechanisms are very expensive compared to the cost of PV panels. Part of that expense is sunk into the movable frame, low friction bearings, linear actuators, controller modules and stored energy power supplies.
Moving parts tend to be common failure points. E-W trackers have to be highly reliable, and that criticality forces the robustness (and price) of every component higher.
E-W trackers are much more expensive than seasonal trackers. But even seasonal trackers are more expensive installations than fixed position or manually adjusted frames.
*_As you can see in this video, the two ends of each adjustable frame are individually clamped into position._* This prevents the frames from twisting out of alignment. Each twisting cycle can contribute to metal fatigue and eventual cracking. So manual adjustments are only made in mild wind conditions or else a pair of strong cooperating laborers is required.
The existing frames would need to be constructed even more stiff and robust (expensive) in order to be clamped at only a single point. You have to weigh the cost of much stiffer frames vs the cost of two actuators operating in lockstep.
E-W trackers need to cycle about ±90° daily. Such moving frames need well lubricated weatherproof bearings and good symmetry. The client frames are already built to this standard, which certainly made them more expensive. To me it seems hard to justify the cost, even if this reduced installation labor.
Actuator motors must overcome viscosity, friction, and imbalances of weight and wind forces upon the PV panels.
Even during high winds, the actuators must prevent torsional forces upon the frames. Otherwise the frames will crack due to fatigue failure.
Multiple actuators are needed - probably exactly two for this frame design. The actuators need to prevent twisting forces on the frames, and a pair could work from each end in lockstep. However this requires a joint controller to assure that each pair stays in lockstep and shuts them down if they cannot. Each controller needs to monitor motor currents to evaluate which side of the panel is leading or lagging the other side. The vagaries of imperfect geometry means that the absolute position of the actuator pairs is not always enough.
Otherwise the two ends of each frame must be kept aligned through strong stiff anti-torsion tubes, or with a connecting linkage that somehow minimizes torsion upon the moving frame. High winds will tend to cause strong rapid vibrations at resonance, so that is part of the strength, stiffness, and damping requirements of moving assemblies.
A positioning signal needs to reach each subordinate controller. A boss controller transmits the position signal and the subordinate controllers follow the signal.
The boss controller may turn the array closer towards horizontal in overcast conditions, may position the panels vertical to shed snow, and turn to the eastern horizon directly after sunset, but otherwise track the Sun closely.
In turn, each subordinate controller needs to compare the linear actuator feedback signal to the control signal and apply power to the motor to minimize the error. The subordinate controllers also need to report error vs compliance logs back to the boss controller.
@ you know your stuff. Thanks.
And a high pitched will help shed the snow off the panels!!! And the reflection off the snow will help….
Yes, but the bottom edge must be positioned above snow drifts.
A cable plough might have been an acceptable way to lay underground cable. Part the soil and immediately return it to its original position (neglecting the additional volume of cable and aerated soil)
Much better idea
Great video! It definitely would be interesting to see the benefits of the Cornish Rocker and the seasonal pitches against a static pitch…. What brand are the bifacial panels? Cheers
I'm currently working with solaradge optimizer a lot is South Africa and the best way not to connect it wrong is to firstly connect just the optmizers alone then you connect to the models afterwards. I assume you guys are using frog leap-frog method which is great in saving pv cables usage
Just wondering. How is DC cable different to AC? as in the DC armour cabling
great build, I am going to be installing sigenergy in the new year so good to see this video. I am finding all of the wiring, connections, fusing and circuit breaking of many individual components in the victron systems I build are very time consuming. Personally I don't see the point of being grid tied, too much hassle, red tape and in my opinion off grid is the entire point of building your own power supply. I have lived off grid for 11 years with no issues and have built at least 50 off grid systems for many happy customers. Get away from the system, that's the point.
Very impressive install guys. I can't see how this will be "good financial investment" though
Actually the payback time was very good on this one - usually the bigger they are the quicker they pay for themselves due to economies of scale
I noticed a Tractor in the background of one of the shots. Is is a farm?
If they do get 88kw that would make a lot of sense, as the energy would mostly be needed during the Spring and Autumn, rather than winter. Even if none of it goes back to the grid, would save an absolute fortune on electricity costs.
Cleaning them would be a doddle if they get dirty for one person with a squidgy and a bucket every few months, no need to climb on roofs, The land wouldn't be doing anything else Although other people have allowed sheep between panels. (Although not cows, they would destroy it)
TBH, it seems like a no-brainer if you can front the up-front costs.
@@artisanelectricsrough idea on how much this installation cost?
Hope you're thinking about flooding when installing ground mount batteries
Love that you give back to other electricians. I wish other businesses would understand making everyone stronger would be a better choice.
Thanks 🙏
29:29 I can say that your cable ties (zip ties) will NOT last 25 years, those should be stainless ties, or the cabling in rigid conduit to keep them neat. Split loom tubing for all that cabling would help to protect them and help keep the UV off if you aren't going to do rigid. Here in Texas I use it on network and coax, anything that is exterior in the sun and elements. With temps getting to 45C in the summers and the harsh sunlight here, anything exposed will fall apart from UV and heat. "UV stabilized" cable ties last a few years in the sun and elements here. No way will the hundreds of cable ties last for 25 years there even as well. I am surprised that the frame work with the set-screw doesn't have a pin latching system, those wouldn't seem to hold up well to the amount of wind we get and would act as a sail, and with that many sq feet of surface area two little set screws aren't going to hold it firm during a wind storm. Excellent job to Jordan and the whole Artisan team. 🤠
Thanks - the DC cables are all UV rated so no issues there - same with the cable ties although I agree they might not last 25 years.
You have dropped a mega clanger with direct burial of swa DC unearthed. Unless you noted the devation on your certification. All direct buried SWA regardless of voltage system MUST be earthed. At the very least tied to a polarity in the strings. Huge non compliance as with moling that cable will see creepage and landslip. A scary approach to safety and lack of knowledge imho. Should be in a 750N duct regardless IF the cable is left as mechanical protection only rather than earthed protection. I would be interested to know the design decision here.
Watch 27:41
Definitely interested in seeing the benefits of changing the angle of the panels. Any advise re how best to approach a requirement to secure biodiversity reports for a ground based system? Great series of videos. Many thanks.
The semi-transparent PV panels are getting a good reputation. The micro climate under them is stable and conducive to undergrowth lifeforms. But exactly how do you define "ground-based"?
Well done! Awesome installation. The insulation test can be done with 500 or 1000volts though. SolarEdge mentions that in their documentation.
Cant wait to install these Sigenergy batterys myself! Great job guys!
Thanks for watching!
Nice team nice work and nice video . Optimisers in an open space , waste of money . Personally I prefer victron n fronius :)
I like the adjustable angle on ground mount frame .
Does uk not require g10 protection panels to stop export when over limit ?
Thanks! Its G100 here in the UK
Fantastic job team, with that system though, I would give the power company the flick and go off grid altogether. I easily survive on 10kWp solar and 35kWh battery and charge an EV. 🤠😎
Good call!
I don't know much about the UK specific rules but wouldn't it be better to apply for those paperwork upfront the install? This would have highlighted the 50kw export issue before you bought all the gear for the installation.
I wonder, on a big install like this, if a tracking unit that automatically adjusted the angle would maybe be better
That would be cool but expensive
This was a fascinating episode, well done Artisan crew 👍😊👍
Regarding earthing the dc cable armour. In some systems the battery negative is earthed to the main earth terminal (Victron recommend this for one). Is your battery earth referenced? If it is, does the charger inverter electrically separate the battery negative from the PV negative?There is also the issue of lightning protection to consider. Would the SWA armour be better earthed to protect the dc rails from induced voltage spikes?
It would be great for the customer if some how you could fit motors on the solar mounting system with software that would automatically move the panels to the correct angles for the time of year
I would probably raise the panels if there was a high probability of hail in the weather forecast. But then the top edges would need to be a little reinfroced.
Really interesting, as a non electrician I would comment that most cable ties will not last 25 years, unless your using something new of course. Sheep will eat virtually Anything 😳😳👍. Hope you go back after a while and see how it all performs.
Right. The nylon cable ties I see outdoors are brittle after a few seasons. Stainless metal straps are robust. YMMV.
What design app did your in-house engineer use to develop the design, I'm interested in learning it
Yes please, we would like to know how much difference moving the panels makes. We're having a Cornish Rocker system installed and we're wondering whether we can be arsed to adjust it every time we get the email. (We don't live where the system is so would usually have to get someone else to adjust it for us.)
Vertical tilt angle gives a power reduction of cosine(angle_error), so facing the sun at noon each day is ideal. The ideal average angle is your lattitude. The earth's axis is tilted by about 23 degrees, so in the worst case cos(23) = 0.92 at the solstices, so an 8% difference peak. Average would be about 5% loss when averaged over the whole year. So tilting panels help, but buying more panels may be a cheaper and stronger option. However, being able to lay the panels flat in high winds may be helpful. Interestingly, on dull days, you may get the most power when facing straight up.
@@krslavin They're flat at the moment, deliberately left so for high winds (they haven't been connected up yet) and survived the recent storm!
@@krslavin
all good
25 year rated exterior cable ties... Always something new.
Might have been answered in another video but what brand are the work trousers your team have? Always on the look out for work wear that looks good.
The metal guard of the DC cables should be earthed at the point of the DC surge protection, if put in place. Otherwise, it is only a mechanical projection. Maybe?
Great work guys,this on African sun can siphon some good juice
Definitely 😎
Do you use marine heat shrink or ever tried it? Having the glue inside I've found very useful for a watertight seal.
Great suggestion!
@artisanelectrics you'll have to try it, the glue activates with the heat and you can get it to shrink 4 to 1 also.
Great video again
Glad you enjoyed it
42:42. 1.2 ohm! outch.. Yes the cable lengh is high but that resistacne mean that for 15A current this is 270Watts loss per cable string!
With SolarEdge this isn’t an issue as it balances the voltage and current to avoid losses even on long string length like this - we can have up to 600m on 6mm cable
With all the money spent on that I'm surprised you didn't motorise the angle of the panels 🙂.Of course, you could then make use of the Date\Time from t'internet and automated it all. Poor man will have to get his wellies wet 🙂.
Great install!
Thanks!
How many years will it take for this system to make its return on investment?? There’s got to be well over $150,000 in this installment.
Less than 10 years 😎
Should the metal framework be earth bonded to prevent any fault condition DC Volts appearing on the metal work?
Use the metal shroud with the heat gun. Heats the heatshrink all around.
Do they not have directional boring out there? Setup one unit and bore conduit in for hundreds of feet. No reason for multiple holes or inspection ports.
That tree over the row of panels will be fun as it grows.
Hey Jordan what about earthing the framework of the array? Does this not come under an extraneous conductive part? Won’t come under basic protection like a roof mounted system as it is not out of reach?
Panels are double insulated
@@artisanelectrics this is something I have been looking through as I have a ground mount 7.4kw system to install in a few weeks. I have spoken with technical from NICEIC and the inverter manufacturer Fronius where the issue of parasitic capacitance can become a risk. My system that I am looking at is going onto a TNC-S system so we looked at IET Guidance 5.13.6 which states that for ground mount solar frames on a TNC-S that the frame should be connected to a earth electrode and also to the main earth terminal - Would be great to hear your opinion Jordan, great install I think the sigenergy system is a game changer!
"It's easy to get the wires the wrong way round".... on 2 or 3 out of 4 strings ? That's just sh... work. I would never get away with so many mistakes, but fair do's for showing them
Where's the link to the Sigenergy AI case study?
Big invest. I wonder why there are wood enclosures. Especially where are cable junctions for high current DC cables. It is easier to work with wood than metal ones but…
Funny hearing that DC systems should not have an earth connection. Here in the Netherlands the code requires us to earth all solar systems to the AC isolator which is in turn connected to the consumer unit. All mounting frames have to be bonded together and ran back inside with the DC- cable and connected to the house's earthing system.
Yeah completely different in the UK
FYI boy's The auto focus and stabization was maing my eyes hurt on full screen not sure if the camera settings need to be set up better for a walking/moving shot.
Thanks
That FC sheet is almost as bad as asbestos, please start using a dust extractor or masks when cutting it.
Thanks yeah the dust is pretty horrid
OOOOOhhhhh you absolute animal !
After what you did in that 2 seconds at 47:43 I could never let you near anything!
really denying the home owner of his rights!!!
I'd be showing you another use for the mole lol
What make/model are the tilt adjustable mounts, please?
Try "Cornish Rocker" ground mounts
Curious to think 80grand to deal with an export would that not be better used to make the array bigger with more storage and you simply dont need a DNO supply at all.
Good video as always 👍
Why did you use the SolarEdge inverter and not the sigenergy built in?
Thanks! As I explained in the video the cable lengths were too long to use hybrid inverters, with SolarEdge you can go up to 600m cable length with 6mm DC
@@artisanelectrics why does the voltage drop over 200m affect inverter choice?
I'm surprised you haven't motorised the frames so with the flick of a switch it changed the angle of the panels.
Good comment, beat me to it.👍😏
Such a system would also be able to automatically track the sun throughout the year, rather than having the owner remember to adjust the angle 8 times per year.
It only takes minutes to adjust the panels and most people would only do it in spring and autumn. If you were going to have a tracker you'd put the array north south and track the sun from east to west. Panels are so cheap now you might as well just put more out and avoid the complexity and reliability of having moving parts.
Given the huge price of this set up, i was thing the same. Also it could track the optimum angle daily.
Daily horizon-to-horizon tracking makes sense if you have severe limits on solar panel quantities (little real estate), but trackers are so expensive today compared to the panel cost...
For example, it surely makes sense to track the sun in space, on the Moon, and on Mars. There is little to no wind, no storm damage, and trackers can shake off dust. The frames and tracking hardware would be very flimsy in comparison to what is required on Earth to resist storms.
That’s a beast for residential. Awesome work.
Thanks 👍
On the subject of solar size and DNO permission, can you tell me if there's a maximum size for domestic solar? I had 8.9 KWp installed a couple of years ago and was told by my installer that this was the largest I could install because the DNO wouldn't allow more. But I'm not sure this is/was the case. Reason I ask is because on top of the 23 panels on my roof I think I could get another 11 or so (and probably about 35 on the other side but that's not pointing in the right direction) and was wondering if it would be allowed. I'd probably have to get a second inverter, splitting those 34 panels roughly in half.
Any ideas?
I think the DNO is concerned about the inverter power output passing through the local transformer and the rectified power consumption charging your batteries from the same transformer, *_not the PV collectors or battery capacity you could use for BEV charging._*
Why do you prefer isolators to breakers in your DC or AC circuits?
That's a good question because there is always a risk, and it's quite a high risk that someone will use an isolator to break the current.
I'm making a small solar PV direct to immersion heater setup. I bought a good old-fashioned high current breaker to isolate it if necessary. The thing is made mostly of metal and ceramic, so minimum fire risk.
9:46 About a 15 degree pitch in summer? Yeah right. In southern Spain maybe but the highest angle the sun gets to in the UK is about 64 degrees.
The whole solar edge optimiser seems totally pointless. Why do they need optimising? They're not shaded by trees. Just extra to go wrong and extra money!
Just pointless upselling 😢
Shading and also DC cable lengths were long, plus safety.
The front array slightly shades the rear panels in winter, hence the optimisers. 35 minutes ish into the video.
@@PG-ji6vq they are largely irrelevant in that situation. He said it was something to do with sheep eating the wires.
Spoken from someone who has no idea ahah
A home DC charger is fucking cool plus having it bi-directional to allow the car to run the house is awesome. Wonder how long the car could run the house for under normal house consumption and obviously depending on the car you’re plugging in
We’re dropping a separate video on this soon 😎
It doesn't work with nearly any vehicle. Right now the Sigenergy UK site only lists a few Nio vehicles and they operate as PointGuard Energy in North America and they have zero vehicles compatible.
It's nice that it can do 25kw bi-directional charging, but that's only if you are using solar, battery, and AC grid at the same time to push to the vehicle. It can't do that if the solar is low, at night for instance, or don't for a very long time if you have a smaller battery in the stacks for very long since it will drain the battery very quickly.
What does it mean when my Hypervolt charger is receiving to much voltage, then shuts down?
Either your grid voltage is too high or you have a PEN fault
@ Thank you for reply, I’ve been told by Hypervolt tech, it’s a dno fault, I’ve never had this before.
Does this sound right?
how exactly iis using armored cable preventing sheep chewing on it? i mean yeah it propably wouldn´t chew through it but the cable will still be damaged, i probably would have used some conduit around it or semthiing siimilar
If you know sheep, it's not so much the chewing (yes some will always experiment) you have to worry about, it is the rubbing against the uprights and anything attached to them. Any chewing damage will more likely be down to squirrels and rats/mice. I'm surprised that with all that power available, the client doesn't fence them off and run a robotic mower in the area under the panels.
Good point 😂
I would Love to Know the Cost of a System Like This ?
What's the brand of bifacial panel with the transparent backsheet?
Legend says after 150 years the customer got his money's worth. 😂
Cool setup tho, definetly not for a plebian peasant like me.
10 year payback 😎
Doesn't Sigenergy supply installation instructions for their battery stacks??
Me by zajimalo to kódování. K čemu to auto potrebuje? Vzdyt si meri volty a pravděpodobně i pokles voltu ori zátěži. To řekne daleko víc, než nějaká zadaná kapacita, ktera se bude od skutecnosti stejne lišit. Navic se baterie nabíjí podle napětí a ne podle kapacity. Tak na co tam to kodovani je
Great video Can you not just go off grid totally and not export anything? Would that be possible seems like the grid is not ready for all this solar energy and electric vehicles what are they going to do when we all charging cars and using electric heating do you think the uk is ready for solar and battery systems? Just interested what people think
We are years from being ready for any serious uptake of EVs and batteries. The grid just isn't up to the job because of how it was designed. Dno do regularly turn down every chargers because the cable capacity to the properties just isn't up to the job. So if the capacity isn't there for import then it's not there for export. We really need to start chucking billions upon billions at it.
The issues with the G99 just highlight that DNO's have long been under investing in the infrastructure and now aren't in a position to transition to an all electric future.
Very true