8 Costly Solar Mistakes to Avoid When You Design Your Solar Panel Kit
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- Опубліковано 6 чер 2024
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Addendum to #1: Don't assume your power company will credit you back on a 1 to 1 ratio. Check first before deciding what is most cost effective for you in your area. Some electric companies will take your 1KWH that you produce during the day, and only give you a third or a quarter of it back at night.
You're lucky you're not in the UK my supplier gives 3.5p per unit. Which is just under 10 percent of what they charge me on import 😕
@@keithhobbs1 Better if we all go off grid, then they’ll beg for access to rooftop power. Or if groups of people band together say on each block. They can negotiate better prices collectively. Or, governments can wake up and smell the coffee, and regulate for equal price each way, just with time-dependant tariffs. So we put power into the grid at peak times, and try to use most of our car charging, washing etc at off-peak times.
I pay an average of 4.1 cents per KWH and I get .8 cents per KWH. But to be honest, I used to pay 13.1 cents per KWH so it's still a plus. Last months I sold back about 230 KWH more than I bought, but with the Air conditioning starting up now, that'll change in the next few months.
The point of being off the grid is that I will have power when the grid goes down! Specially in Florida with how often we get hurricanes
I realize this is an older video, but to respond to one statement...
"Why pay for batteries when the utility grid will take care of storage for you?"
1. My utility company only gives me a 30% return on the power I give them
2. Power availability when the grid goes down
She did say you won't be able to use the battery when the grid goes down as its unsafe for technicians repairing the grid to have micro producers sending electricity back down the line.
@@ianwynne5483 May wish to watch the video again. 3:31
That is not correct you can use batteries when grid down. You can not generate power when grid down.
@@jenallen5202 if you get the hybrid inverter without back feed and use a generator interlock circuit breaker you power up your system and the inverter doesn't know the difference
Mini deep cycle lithium ion batteries will certainly change The Scenario soon
Thanks guys! This is the #1 video that I send to all of my clients, I am a solar installation tech. and this answers so many questions right from the start! You guys have been along with me through several complete systems, and I'm looking forward to many more, Lordwilling and here in west TN we have A LOT of creeks that rise.. 😏
Batteries are not expensive anymore. There are UL listed rack mount LFP 5.12kwh units now less than $2k. And even just having 10kwh to pull from in the evening when energy is most expensive in most areas is a no brainer. And the cost is dropping by roughly 18% a year and has been for the last decade. Much like solar. Which retail by the pallet is 45-55 cents a watt now. Compared to $175 in 1978.
Thank you for sharing! Great guide that answers many initial questions for DIY!!!
This is the most informative Solar system video I've seen. Lots of straightforward info. Thanks.
Great Info, great delivery, thanks!
Your tips are very helpful. Thank you.
A lot of good information on concepts to research, and common sense distilled into simple words. Thank you!
Making the distinction between Dr Frankenstein and his monster greatly pleased me. Good job by the script supervisor.
Frankensteen ! Frankensteen! When will anyone get it right ?
We have used the ua-cam.com/users/postUgkxOTeIs0vv4_9B5hsmnLsk9r930uDQLu_Y for probably 30 hours with our camper and it’s been great! The noise level is really only noticeable when running the AC and other appliances like the microwave, hair dryer, or coffee pot. It’s not huge like other ones and it has wheels so even at 90lbs, I can move it!
I didn’t expect much from this video, but this is legit advice. Factual and straight to the point.
Nice one! Thanks for the pointers!
Awesome Tips, Compliments from UK.
Thank you for this effort
Excellent and informative presentation!
Really good pointers... thanks for sharing such useful information.
Grid tied systems have the disadvantage of having no power during a power outage. Having a hybrid system is another option which has been much more affordable since this video was released. Rack mounted Lithium Iron Phosphate battery systems that store about 5000 Watt Hours (KWH) cost about $1750 which have built-in battery management systems, cell heaters, etc. With that kind of power 30 KWH costs less than $11K plus tax, shipping, and installation cost (unless it is a DYI install). A grid cutoff switch is necessary to tie the solar battery system to the grid once power returns.
It is worth noting that Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries (with respect to Lithium Ion batteries) are much more durable and have a much longer lifespan (at least 10 years) and can last a lot longer. Because of their weight increased weight, these batteries are ideal for stationary use and are much less suitable for non-stationary use. As the name implies, manufacturers market server type racks that include bus bars for vertical mounting for multiple battery systems.
Following a nature or man-made disaster (excluding an EMP attack or a mass solar ejection which would fry nearly all electronics to the grid), a hybrid system would supply endless electrify to a home unlike a Generac generator which requires it to be supplied with fuel and when that fuel runs out. By the way, the total cost can be around $12,000 to $15,000 to buy and install a whole-house which is somewhat less than the cost of a battery backup system.
Just add a shutoff on the grid side.
Don't forget the battery will be shot in 10 years. A gas-powered generator beats it hands down - it's 10x cheaper and maybe I'll have to replace a couple of gaskets once in 20 years... Yours is the solar mistake #9.
#1) Because in some areas you are only credited a fraction of you sell vs what you buy. It's also insurance against the grid being down. For those in unreliable power areas like CA and like to keep the cold stuff in the fridge cold, a battery system is worth it.
Exactly. The whole point at first for me was to have a backup for when the grit goes down and not have to worry about storing huge amounts of gas for the generators. So grit-tied does no good for that.
Yep this video is misleading at that. If you got the pannels have the batteries 🔋 flip a switch and go off grid if your grid is no longer up.
@@rjvanloon4769 I guess it depends on how much it stores doesn't it?
The battery power may only last one night, right?
What if like in TX the power outage was for a week or more and in winter no less?
Yep, and if you're in a rural area, where you might be a very low priority line repair, you'll want a secondary power system, be it batteries, or a generator. No matter what, you'll need some form of BMS if you use batteries, and it may actually be worth staying away from the "used Tesla Cells". Some have an AMAZING luck, but I've heard of people buying a battery system, tying it in, and finding in 6 months that half the cells can't hold a charge at all...
I'll have a grid tie system, but I'll also have a battery solution. Still in my very early planing stages, especially considering I'm not sure if we're building on our property or somewhere else. I want the property, SWMBO want's local. :(
@@WreckDiver99 It always made me wonder, if you have a pack with say 100 cells and 10 have "worn out", wouldn't it stand to reason the remaing 90 are probably very close to being worn out also?
we went with a 6.6kw on-grid no battery system. Our electricity cost first month (November) went from $110 in 2020 to $42 in 2021. We sell back more than we use.
Very informative!
Very informative video. Thank you.
Great videos and nice presentation
Thanks a ton
Brilliant! Such good advice and I thank you so much for it. You’ve certainly helped me with my research
Thanks for this very clear and interesting video.
Some great advice here, thank you!
Very helpful video. Thanks!!
Great info. Thanks.
The best educational video l’ve watched on solar energy systems!!!
Very informative, it will definitely guide while working with solar power.
Thanks for sharing !!! ❤️
This is an excellent presentation. She's spot on.
thank you for sharing
This is the company I bought my whole 7.2 kw system. They designed my whole system and to get me to buy they did my building permit for free.. The building permit passed our county building dept on the first try.. I paid for the system in 3 years 7 months.. I installed all 24 panels plus microinverters in 28 hours the whole thing myself..I was 66 years old them.. Part 2 of my system will start when the quantum glass battery comes out of research.. This battery will put lithium out of business.. They are cheaper, last longer and no I’ll effects to make them to the environment.. one more thing this company is employee owned and sell American made products for 30-35% less.. They are skilled engineers and love home owners.. This company is the best way to go..
Great solar tips thanks!
Nice explanation got good knowledge about Solar
Very pertinent tutorial.
Thank you for a very informative and well presented run down.
I just want to thank you for this video. It does such an amazing job of giving you the right tools and mindset of going about a solar project. I wish I had watched this video first before anything else!
My one ask would be to have an updated version which includes a bit more details about micro invertor vs power optimizers as well as an updated outlook on future trends you are seeing in regards to NEM as well as the role of EVs in a solar system.
Very good representation, thank you!
P
2
Thanks!
Deland Florida’s Duke Energy for the most part is pretty reliable. But in the last three months we’ve had about six power outages some last up three three or four hours. So a back up battery installed in our garage would be ideal since we can’t trust or depend on the electric grid of the electric company.
Great advice.
Good information here...
An elderly couple hired a company and sold energy back to FPL. When a hurricane came they had trouble finding people to bring down the panels and from time to time they have trouble reaching technical support. Also consider that solar panels do fail and cause fires , on your roof! I suggest you learn and do your own installs. I have several (Frankenstein) solar generators and they have been working fine for years. This presentation is a sells job. Beautiful lady though.
Excellent presentation! I was offered leasing ^^
Very Good Explanation.... 👍💪😘👩🏻
Great informative video
You do a great job
very informative
are there any affordable hybrid gridtie/backup controllers?
Hello Is there a way to buy some equipment and later add panels?
Love IT!
Commending your developing Presenting Skill Ser
Don’t let a solar company scam u people... invest in a system that u own and have the battery back up as well as generator
@Jackson Parker just go off grid
Only go off-grid if you have a generator. If you don't and your inverters go bad, what do you do? Generator is good, but you need to do a stress test once a month.
@@mthompson965
Well what do u do if ur generator goes bad u buy a new one right ?
Some solar companies have done a lot of harm to the industry by lying to customers and selling their shit very expensive. I sell solar panels for a living and it's become very difficult. A lot of people have become very distrustful and I don't blame them. If you are interested in solar panels please let me know. We have customers in west Texas who ended up with credits for 2020 between $300 all the way to $926. I know it's hard to believe but it's no lie.
I would like to talk more to you about an off grid system install is there a link or other source besides this to contact your company?
My brother did Grid tie solar, over 10 kilowatts, and when the power went down in Texas in the coldest winter time he had NO ELECTRICITY!! He had no batteries, no storage and no means of using kilowatts of to light or heat the house. Solar panels can be added on later if your inverter and charger can handle the extra power so going large on the hardware is a good idea. The same is true of batteries, they only store the charge they don't force too much current on your system when wired in parallel, unlike wiring in series where the voltage goes up and can adversely effect everything.. Also to consider is having a separate system for certain applications like AC cooling or charging a car, kept wired separately from your breaker box set up. Lastly some inverters can be combined or stacked with others to increase their output.
Good info
Here in the UK, new installs get very little credit for power fed back to the grid, approx one sixth of what you pay for import, so a battery is a very efficient idea.Also we can import power during restricted overnight hours at approx one quarter of the day rate, and can charge the battery at cheap night rate, and use it during expensive day rate.
At todays rates and looking to the future, a battery is a really good idea, possibly good just to install without solar and enjoy the cheap night rate.
Is there enough sun in the uk?
There is no gate to the return so everyone sends electricity back. You pay fit it they don't tell you and absolutely no money
with a centralized invertor...the entire panel array only produces at the rate of the panel with the lowest out put...so if one panel is in shade due to sun, or dirt, or debris, or any reason, then WHOLE system is truncated. Also...DC loses power over distance, so the invertor has to be near the solar panels... with sunpower and each panel with an invertor...you can put the panels anywhere you want, and if one panel gets shaded due to cloud cover, then only that panel has reduced output.
The money I save by going off grid and storing in batteries for use is much more money after factoring replacing batteries after 10 to 15 years. So yes off grid is a go for me. Plus the perks of building a portable system. All the cons she stated can be solved by other components but only a quack would make those kinds of mistakes when designing a system in the first place.
Good information
great info
Superb information! Straight to the point and factually right.
I run Frankenstein system, but it's running good for almost two years and on going.
As long as you have knowledge Frankenstein is your best friend
I am confused a bit: Mistake nr. 3. Suggestion "back up battery system" against power outages. Question: what will be the cost difference between "off-grid" battery system and "grid-tie" back up battery system?
Great....ma'am agree with you...
Find this video at the correct time Thanks!
Great video, thanks! Going in circles trying to undertand my needs was frustrating. This vid and another helped get me me back on track.
I’m looking for a nz co that can look at my very expensive solar set up that is wonderful in Summer and hopeless in Winter.
Where can i purchase the material ?
Thanks
Overall decent video. with a few notes...
You cannot "Store Energy in the grid", that is about the worst way you could explain "Supplementing grid power".
The 5-6 years return on investment is not realistic. Most system are 7-8 years. including mine which is now 8 years old and just balanced out in the start of year 8.
We have our system over a year now and the payback time was estimated at 6 years. With the current rise in energy costs in Europe the payback time is reduced to 4 years! Our energy provider allows a 1 to 1 deduction (our cunsumption is negative) and the buy back rate of the surplus is only 40% but it is absolutely a good investment.
We over invested in 50% more pannels against the advice of the bare minimum (the additional cost were only 15%) to be ready for the heathpump wich was installed recemtly.
Could you come help me with my off-grid setup in central Maine ⁉️
Amazing presentation
Here in northern Canada in winter you get maybe 5 hours of day light and NEVER high enough in the sky to do any good. Over charging should not be a problem if you have a charge controller.
Read all the agreements including the fine print. Some deals will allow for a lean against your home so you can't sell the house until that's paid off.
Nice!
You still need batteries “on grid” if your grid feed-in tariff is near zero as in the UK.
In Brazil we have the same system of feed-in tariffs. They usually pay around 90% back when you feed grid and get the kWh back in the night.
It's a shame they don't even do 1-to-1 credit as the solar energy makes a better place for our living.
Very nice video, congrats.
This sounds extremely far o me. Getting 90% back is an awesome deal.
I own two vacant lots in central Florida around 27.5. I understand in the northern hemisphere panels should point south, but we are not that far south. The challenge is one lot faces east and the other faces south and the houses I want to potentially build has a single flat roof where the solar panels will offer shade to a roof top. How important will solar panel angle be for me?
The ideal would be south orientated at an 90-[your latitude] degree angle. This will give you the peak spreaded around noon. To spread the peak it is not unusual to have pannels facing part east and part west at an 30 dergree angle.
Within the first minute and fifteen seconds of your video you managed to omit a really important consideration: utilitiy companies for grid-tie sell-back require a VERY long term contract, like twenty years. There lots of rules and regulations that make dealing with the situation not worth the hassles for many people if not most.
Remark with the first point, you say if grid company allows. Mine will allow to deliver power to, but I pay more when taking, this goes upon the next 10 years upto that I pay full rate when taking. Battery is then worth considering right
Because when you do a grid-tied system your power system still fails when the power goes out only option batteries
P please I need help . How much A output ?
This video is clearly made for people who are just beginning research, so I believe “101” or something like that should be included in the title. Also; at no point did she ever discuss that a lot of people choose to go off-grid because the U.S. grid is not a pure sine wave; and therefore, damages all of your electronic devices more than even a cheap $50 pure sine wave inverter from Amazon would. So a lot of people do NOT want to be tied to the subpar grid (in the world’s richest nation).
HOW MANY BATTERIES DO YOU NEED TO STORE ENERGY FOT 2,000 FOOT 4PERSON FAMILY? NAME BEST BATTERY'S TO USE? IS THERE A SUN CRANK OR MACHINE TO FOLLOW SUN WITH PANELS THANK YOU
I pick up panels cheap when I see them go up on local sales sites , I have enough parts now to run 3 seperate setups witch works out fine for what I'm doing with them .
Very good, Doctor.
Any solar photovoltaic energy questions?
Is solar worthy here in Florida?
Wow, this girl is smart!
Grid tied isn't necessarily cheaper, it depends on where you live (regional or country). For example it is great if the regulation allows you to get the same amount of electricity back for free as you put in, however in that case you are using the grid as a battery, which makes it actually more difficult for grid operators to manage the system. This is why such schemes are slowly dissapearing everywhere and you will still have to pay something for using electricity your panels provided to the grid.
For example if the grid operators only pay you the generation costs (ie. don't charge generation costs on equivalent amount of electricity your panels put on the grid), this might only reduce that part of your bill by around 25-35%, instead of 100%, since things like grid costs, distribution and taxes might still be incurred. If this is the case an off-grid/far hybrid system might be more interesting on the long term even pricewise.
My electric bill is 1/3 cost of electricity, 2/3 cost for “delivery charges.” Even if I 100% covered my electricity needs with solar, I would still have a small bill to remain on the grid
@@dougf9900 that sounds like a standing charge, you're paying to be connected to the grid should you ever need to access extra electricity.
You're right, except for one little thing. Local electricity generation does not burden the distribution network. Distributors like to promote virtual batteries because it brings them carefree profits. I'll explain. Each village has its own transformer and believe that no energy produced from the panels will get out through this transformer (it can get if there is no consumption). For example, there are 50 houses in that village, of which 5 houses have an On Grid (battery-free system). The distributor will calculate the purchase price of energy in kWh, which is only a small fraction. This calculation is based on those 45 houses that consume your panel energy at a lousy purchase price, but the distributor sells it to 45 houses at full price. In addition, you pay for electricity meter rental, power distribution and virtual battery. The distributor in the locality collects more money than in the normal state without panels. The distributor keeps this condition with a good tariff, which will offer you and you will save a little money, which is not a significant saving. If the panels buy another 20 houses (50-5-20 = 25), 25 houses are no longer financially interesting for the distributor and they come up with a fairy tale that it would overload the network and not connect these houses to the distribution network. However, network congestion exists, but from large solar power plants in front of the village transformer. This is true of so-called network congestion. But otherwise I agree with the others. It is better to stay in the network and get a large UPS with batteries (hybrid) for the panels. Batteries can be lead traction, which are cheap and safe. Their capacity is not high, but they have a greater depth of discharge than car batteries. If the power supply is interrupted or you switch off the distributor circuit breaker yourself, the solar UPS switches to battery operation. Every kWh that does not have to be paid to the distributor is a saving.
@@DL-kc8fc The problem with your local argument is that this only applies if a few have solar panels, if most houses in that local area have solar panels, they'll all produce power at the same moment and likely will have to offload this to outside the local zone (ie. industry). Local grids with lots of solar are only less difficult to operate if you have some battery back up to store some of the charge.
@@MDP1702 But I write about it all the time. I'm not talking about an open distribution network vs. industry, etc., but about the network behind the transformer in a small locality, such as a village. If the location behind the transformer is saturated with photovoltaics, it is not financially advantageous for the distributor and he does not want to connect most houses with new photovoltaics "on grid". Therefore, I write clearly and unequivocally that in that case it is good to install a hybrid (photovoltaics with batteries, ie a backup method of UPS). The distributor himself will offer this solution because he will keep your dependency. The island system is really for the minority community, which will never endanger the distributor. The distributor regulates the "on grid" by offering you an unfavorable purchase price of your energy. If the distributor registers energy production in the local network, he will fine you for illegal electricity production. Why? Because the main main electricity meter at the transformer brakes and the distributor loses the profit in the locality. Yes, it can happen that at the time of minimal energy consumption, the sun shines very well and energy is overproduced. The local network does not take anything from the main network and therefore the power engineers talk about network congestion. It's such a technical terminus. The actual network congestion tends to apply to consumption for which the network was not designed, but the power engineers have come up with a fairy tale that suits them. In fact, consumption is not implemented and this creates "surpluses" in the main network, into which the constant power from hard sources "flows". This power must then be "burned" somewhere, because it cannot be regulated throughout the state. In order to avoid disproportions and damage to transformer stations, energy will be provided to another country, even free of charge. Likewise, farmers prefer to destroy their overproductive crops so that they do not have to compromise on the stock exchange. Never believe that a distributor wants to lose market dominance. Paradoxically, ordinary people's photovoltaics help him increase profits.
About the efficiency being reduced by heat could be fixed by add on peltier cell that use heat to convert to electricity that way the more heat the more power generate and not less
Thank you for your time and experience
"Why pay for batteries when you don't need them?" To answer your question, how about when the grid goes down. I'll bet there's a lot of people in Texas saying why didn't I get a system with batteries when I had the chance.
She actually addresses that later in the video
@Dan Quayles ITS SPELT POTATOE! batteries are most definitely an insane expense, it would take extreme measures before the person with full battery backup would look wiser than the person with a Honda EU7000. I think that a lot of people with full battery banks are preppers though and they consider it an expensive vice.
Great video and very useful information. I only have question on point #7, using turn-key installer vs #10 Frankenstein - Because of #10, people will choose big companies and they also provide 25 years of warranty, labor etc. I am very new, so I may be missing a point on warranty/labor on choosing local installers
Labour warranty is typically only 1-3 years. The warranty on the panels is typically 20+ years, and you should get the panel warranty whether you use a turnkey installer or DIY it.
Always buy QUALITY over WARRANTY! Warranties are only as good as the companies that back them. Over the years we've all seen many big-name companies with long histories and renowned products go out of business or bankrupt when economic conditions change and warranties then become useless.
I just bought a house that has solar panels on the roof. The system is in good working order and is still under warranty but I need a new roof and I'd like to sell the system to someone who is interested. How do I get started in this process? Thank you!
Using super capacitors or ultra capacitors can help assist your batteries with your energy storage needs. Super capacitors and ultra capacitors are most efficient when paired with batteries, but they don't suffer from the same degradation issues that batteries do.
@@boblatkey7160 supposedly that is actually what they are doing with EVs to decrease charging times.
why for the home roof solar panels, only residential panels used. why can't we use commercial panels
Thousands of people here in Maine have filed law suits against the power company for over charging ! They over charged me , My energy bill went from $100 a month to $300 over night ! I do not use much power , as I said I have solar panels and generate all my own power now .
Did you put the federal tax credit back into the loan?
#1 may be true in the US, but NOT in the UK. Here we pay 27p per kwhr for grid electricity but only receive 4p for feeding in solar.
Good advice just a slight contradiction on the batteries