# Solar Information Needed.



## Annie (Dec 5, 2015)

What's your favorite website for solar info? I know next to nothing with regard to the subject and I need a good resource.


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

Annie, it looks like member *budgetprepp-n* is also doing research, especially for cold weather. You might contact him.


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## soyer38301 (Jul 27, 2017)

Still learning myself...I'll post as I find..

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## Gunn (Jan 1, 2016)

I think there a lot of members here that would like that info, me included. I read all the threads that talk about solar energy. When I retire in the next two years I hope to be educated on the subject. As the bride wants to be completely "Off Grid". We were starting to head that way at the BOL when I sold my share. The nephew is pretty up to date on that knowledge but keeps it close to the vest. Please share your wealth of knowledge.


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## 0rocky (Jan 7, 2018)

@AnnieI've used Information & Resources | Learn How to Live Off the Grid as a good resource. Also, I've purchase a number of their products in building my system.


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## dwight55 (Nov 9, 2012)

Annie said:


> What's your favorite website for solar info? I know next to nothing with regard to the subject and I need a good resource.


It would help to know the desired result?

Going completely off grid, . . . or solar charging the boat batteries, . . . or something in between???

May God bless, 
Dwight


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## Annie (Dec 5, 2015)

dwight55 said:


> It would help to know the desired result?
> 
> Going completely off grid, . . . or solar charging the boat batteries, . . . or something in between???
> 
> ...


I want to know almost everything; not necessarily boat stuff, but going off-grid, charging batteries and maybe there are possibilities I don't even know about. Hope that helps.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Annie said:


> What's your favorite website for solar info? I know next to nothing with regard to the subject and I need a good resource.


Annie,

Check out Backwoods Solar
Solar Panels & Micro-Hydro | Off-Grid Solar Power Systems

Disclaimer; I do not have a Solar Power System in place but I have done some research and the guys at Backwoods Solar are pretty good at providing info. I'll get my Solar Power up and running one day...yes...one day...


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## edprof (Aug 13, 2016)

Hi from someone who did a whole house solar generator setup plus a portable 750 watt "portable" one plus a small 200 watt one. Let me just add a few experiences.

We bought a 6000 watt, 24 panel system in summer of 2015. Half (12) of the panels are on a ground mount facing 160 degrees to catch some morning sunshine, half are on a southwestern facing roof. Any large-scale solar installation is going to have some compromises and our compromise was to have a useful amount of electricity longer during the day instead of having a really large looking number of watts for only a few minutes during solar noon. 

Our installers had some software that helped them arrive at this southeastern/southwestern compromise. In terms of kilowatts per day on the average, this arrangement will give us about 2 kw hours more electricity per day than a totally south-facing system.

We wanted long-term, quiet, replenishable electric power over a long haul if we ever had a total regional or national grid failure. So we included a battery bank of eight 12-volt AGM batteries. This not only gives storage for night times or shady days, it also means that we don't lose our electric backup when the grid goes down. No batteries and the panels would have nowhere to send the electricity except back into the grid --- which could kill a lineman.

As an overall average high figure for output, we will see around 4500 watts between 11 am and 3 pm. About 3000 from 10 to 11 and again from 3 to 4 in the afternoon. Due to no southern facing panels, plus we are 35 degrees north of the equator, we will never see 6,000. But you can do a lot with 3,000 watts. It's surprising how much you can do around home with the 2,000 that we usually get from 9 to 10 in the morning and 4 to 5 in the afternoon. 

We extended our generating capacity some more. We bought a Generac 11,000 watt propane-powered generator and a 500 gallon tank. This generator is set to come on with the batteries fall to 40 percent and will run automatically until the AGMs are back up to 80 percent. We can manually run the Generac anytime we want to. 

As if that weren't enough, we bought a Troy-Bilt 7000 watt gasoline generator and had a plug-in installed on an outside wall so that we would have another layer of protection against power loss. Face it, folks, electricity is the coin of the realm these days, and it is not a good idea to be caught without it. No, we do not have anyone living at home who has to have a C-pap machine or other life-sustaining equipment. We had the money ($31,000) at the point of my retirement and had some interest in this as a hobby. Some people buy sailboats and some of us buy back up power generators.

We didn't buy the solar part with the idea of making or saving lots of money. But our electric bills have dropped by about 75%. The Generac and Troy-Bilt, though, are not viable ways of saving money on the electric bill. They exist to get us through a bind if solar isn't making the grade.

We sometimes get the "break-even question" from the sharp-pencil guys., We should break even on the solar part of the investment around 9 years. Nine years! they scream! And then I ask when, if they just keep paying their light bills, they will own their own power company. That's usually when the screaming stops. You can pay the utility company forever and they well never want you to stop sending money.

What if the grid went away and never came back? We would not have the amount of air conditioning to which we have become accustomed. But we would have enough power to live on for the rest of our lives. In careful degrees, we can share with our neighbors (not extension cords).

The 750 watt solar generator is not connected in any way to the 6000 watt house one. The main unit is on a cart and there are three 255 watt panels, mounted like easils. We have a bug out location about 40 miles away and this would give us at least some power to take there if we needed to. 750 still beats nothing by a very long shot. 3 panels, charge controller, 4 AGM batteries, 2000 watt inverter. 100 foot long cords from panels to central unit give us a lot of flexibility for placing the panels.

The third solar generator is nearly a toy by comparison. Two one hundred watt panels, a charge controller, one AGM battery, a 750 watt inverter. This is for a storm shelter which has a 2 meter hamd radio, CB radio, and some down-to-the-bitter-end emergency supplies. You notice, though, that all three systems have some common kinds of components.

I posted this on another site, but since I am the original author and these people need the information, here it is here too.


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## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

And now my ******* .02.
First off take everything you read or are told with a grain off salt - Use sea salt the strong stuff. 

Would you like me to babble on about solar stuff? Cause I can. I think I'l do a post on that never mind


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Excellent @edprof

Thanks for posting.



edprof said:


> Hi from someone who did a whole house solar generator setup plus a portable 750 watt "portable" one plus a small 200 watt one. Let me just add a few experiences.
> 
> We bought a 6000 watt, 24 panel system in summer of 2015. Half (12) of the panels are on a ground mount facing 160 degrees to catch some morning sunshine, half are on a southwestern facing roof. Any large-scale solar installation is going to have some compromises and our compromise was to have a useful amount of electricity longer during the day instead of having a really large looking number of watts for only a few minutes during solar noon.
> 
> ...


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## azrancher (Dec 14, 2014)

Annie said:


> What's your favorite website for solar info? I know next to nothing with regard to the subject and I need a good resource.





Gunn said:


> I think there a lot of members here that would like that info, me included. I read all the threads that talk about solar energy.


I have 8.4 KW of Solar Panels, you will never see that amount even at the correct sun angle, that said there are some days that it gets close to 8 KW. My pay back on a $35K system was 7 years, it's getting real close to that. We had Power Company (COOP) rebates, of approx $15K, and the Fed tax rebate of 30% on the rest. Mine is Grid tied, but soon to also have battery backup, the COOP would not have given a rebate if I had installed the battery backup at the time I had the system installed.

My go to site for solar info is:

Northern Arizona Wind & Sun Solar Forum Operated by experts and not by the store that hosts the forum.

*Rancher*


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## azrancher (Dec 14, 2014)

edprof said:


> What if the grid went away and never came back? We would not have the amount of air conditioning to which we have become accustomed. But we would have enough power to live on for the rest of our lives. In careful degrees, we can share with our neighbors (not extension cords).


How do you plan on sharing with the neighbors? And better yet... why?

*Rancher*


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## Annie (Dec 5, 2015)

budgetprepp-n said:


> And now my ******* .02.
> First off take everything you read or are told with a grain off salt - Use sea salt the strong stuff.
> 
> Would you like me to babble on about solar stuff? Cause I can. I think I'l do a post on that never mind


Is that because it (solar) hasn't delivered what you expected?


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## soyer38301 (Jul 27, 2017)

You can take any energy system with a grain of salt. I had a 1Kw wind generator that in high winds maybe get me 600 watts. Always over estimated...but still better than buying all your power, of if power goes out...just be smart and frugal...my 2c

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## Annie (Dec 5, 2015)

edprof said:


> Hi from someone who did a whole house solar generator setup plus a portable 750 watt "portable" one plus a small 200 watt one. Let me just add a few experiences.
> 
> We bought a 6000 watt, 24 panel system in summer of 2015. Half (12) of the panels are on a ground mount facing 160 degrees to catch some morning sunshine, half are on a southwestern facing roof. Any large-scale solar installation is going to have some compromises and our compromise was to have a useful amount of electricity longer during the day instead of having a really large looking number of watts for only a few minutes during solar noon.
> 
> ...


Wow, awesome post! Thank you. I think that's great that you're starting to see some returns on your investment...I feel like I hardlty even know what questions to ask, because this stuff is so new to me, so my next step is to check some of the resources people have offered so far. We'll (hopefully) be looking to incorporate solar into the mix in the near future. I guess I'm wondering what sort of maintanance is required, and the kind of difficulties (if any) you've experienced so far with your system?


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## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

If you are still looking for the best information on solar your search may be over.
There are people on here that actually know what they are doing or even help you find 
information.


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## Chiefster23 (Feb 5, 2016)

Annie said:


> Wow, awesome post! Thank you. I think that's great that you're starting to see some returns on your investment...I feel like I hardlty even know what questions to ask, because this stuff is so new to me, so my next step is to check some of the resources people have offered so far. We'll (hopefully) be looking to incorporate solar into the mix in the near future. I guess I'm wondering what sort of maintanance is required, and the kind of difficulties (if any) you've experienced so far with your system?


Maintenance is not too bad. I check the water level in my batteries once a month. I also check the specific gravity in each cell every month to make sure the batteries are charging evenly and are in good shape. You have to do an "equalizing charge" periodically but that is usually handled automatically by your charge controller. And of course keep the snow off the panels.


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## MaterielGeneral (Jan 27, 2015)

Annie said:


> What's your favorite website for solar info? I know next to nothing with regard to the subject and I need a good resource.


Annie, 
This is in response to your solar thread. Some of the guys talked about their big systems which I cannot afford right now but I do want to achieve that degree of solar generation but I am at a very small scale/hobby right now.

My computer had crashed and I lost all of my favorites but this is some of the information that I have learned.

As you probably know solar panels are usually 12v and can be 24v. There are two different styles of solar panels the old and new. The new collects more energy from the sun. You probably wont find the old style unless you go to Harbor Freight.

The longer your wires are the more power you loose thru line loss. 10Ga or 10 AWG wire or larger is recommended to combat the line loss. There is a special wire you can use to bury or surface without putting in a pipe or other protection but I used regular wire because it is cheaper and just put it in a wire loom as I do not plan on burying the wire right now.

The connectors that you use are called MC-4 and are really simple to attach to the wires. You will need splitters so that you can attach several solar panels to your main wire going to the house. Do you remember when Main Marine was selling 20watt panels for his boss? I bought 4 panels from him so I had to get two splitters that have 4 connections. One splitter for positive wires and one for the negative wires.

Your main wires will go to a solar charge controller first. This ensures that the solar panels do not overcharge your batteries which will ruin them. I bought a water proof controller so that I can use my system while camping or for a bug out. There are different sizes of controllers so it just depends on how many panels your want to use. The more panels the larger charge controller. You then run wires from the charge controller to the positive/negative on the batteries. There are two different types of charge controller. PWM which is the old style and MPPT which is the new. MPPT increases more power available to go to your batteries. It is more efficient.

You have to wire the batteries a certain way. I will attach a picture of a wiring diagram.

From the batteries you run a thick wire like what you find on the battery terminals on your vehicle to the inverter. The inverter is what changes the the 12v to 110v electricity. There are two different styles of inverters. Pure Sine which is the better one and Modified Sine. Pure Sine is better for electronics like computers and other sensitive electronics. You will have to figure out how large of an inverter to buy. Figure out what you want to power using Amps X Volts = Watts.

Now I don't know how the big systems do it for sure but for a long term SHTF I just planned on turning off the main on the fuse box and connecting to what circuits that were needed. You could also use a transfer switch like what generators connect to.

I hope this helps.


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## Annie (Dec 5, 2015)

MaterielGeneral said:


> Annie,
> This is in response to your solar thread. Some of the guys talked about their big systems which I cannot afford right now but I do want to achieve that degree of solar generation but I am at a very small scale/hobby right now.
> 
> My computer had crashed and I lost all of my favorites but this is some of the information that I have learned.
> ...


This helps a lot. You're the best, Mat.General, thank you!


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## Chiefster23 (Feb 5, 2016)

Here are a few more tips/guidelines.
Wire is expensive and bigger wire is more $. So obviously you want to go with the least expensive wire that will actually do your job efficiently. Wire is primarily priced by size and larger wire is required to carry more amps. Watts = volts x amps. So you really want more volts and less amps.

So if you are going to hook up 5 panels you can connect them in series or parallel. My panels each individually can produce 5 amps at 20 volts. If I connect them in parallel they produce 25 amps at 20 volts going to the charge controller. If I connect them in series they produce 5amps at 100 volts. So series connection requires smaller cheaper wire in this case. So why doesn’t everyone connect all their panels in series? Charge controllers usually have some upper limit allowable voltage input. Mine is 150 volts. So in my case I run two strings of 5 batteries connected in series. Then the two strings are connected in parallel. This gives me 100 volts at 10 amps going to my controller and I only need two splitter connectors. As an added plus I use smaller wire cause I’m only passing 10 amps. In my case it is 110 feet between my panels and the charge controller so using smaller wire saved me some $.

I hope this helps some.:tango_face_smile:


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## Elvis (Jun 22, 2018)

Like AZRANCHER said Northern Arizona Wind & Sun Solar Forum is the best place to ask well thought out questions.

I also run solar but unlike Rancher it's not financially worth while to sell back to the grid with my local utility's policies. I've got 5900 watts in panels and just got in a new set of giant batteries. At 340 lbs each installing those puppies is not going to be fun.

I also run a smaller solar system in another building to run a small fridge and some lights in addition to a portable solar setup I use when teaching. If you have any questions just ask and someone here can probably help.


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## edprof (Aug 13, 2016)

If they bring their batteries over, I can re-charge them. The 200 watt system will address the 12 volt batteries especially well.

We have a barn, greenhouse, and motor home in our back yard. When it's not in the heat of the summer, I can run those during the day, taking that load off the house system. That's of course with the motor home's air conditioning turned off.


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## SerenityTactical (Aug 17, 2015)

This is my favourite. Their hydro reaction turbines are super impressive.

https://absak.com/

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## tonybluegoat (Sep 5, 2018)

I have a 3,500 watt grid tie solar array that I installed myself and connected to a Sunnyboy 3000 TL-US inverter. I installed it 5 years ago. The entire system cost $4,850 to install. If I installed the same thing today it would cost closer to $3,500. I like to rattle on, so here's a lot of information based on my personal experience.









I live in East Texas. It is very sunny with clear skies most of the time. I have 10 acres so I installed the panels where they will get sun pretty much 100% of the time. I used a solar app on my phone (don't remember which one) that told me (based on GPS) the exact direction to face my panels.

Where did I buy the panels? On Craigslist.

I just did a search and here's what I found today - I found 350 watt new (mono) solar panels for $220 each. 
If I were to install my 3,500 watt system I would need to buy 10 of them ($2,200) no tax because I'm buying them off Craiglist from "a guy" who buys them by the pallet and resells.








(Caption: The white wire goes to the "by-pass circuit" that provides power during an outage. The metal jacketed wire (bottom right) goes to my main outside breaker box and connects the inverter to the 220 v AC service. There's another wire that you can't really see (bottom left) that goes to the solar array and bring the solar power into the inverter. They Yellow Wire is something else... probably just some wire I was using for a different project. I never put anything away.)

I use a Sunnyboy 3,000 TL-US inverter. I'll talk about why shortly. 
I bought mine from Ebay! New.
If I were to buy one today new from Ebay it would cost - less than $750, depending on who you buy it from... again no sales tax.

That will get you the panels and the inverter for less than $3,000.

Next you need to mount the panels. You can spend a bunch on "solar" mounts or you can do what I did. I put an upright post in the ground between each OTHER panel. Then I used 1" electrical conduit pipe and pipe mounts (those half moon things) to mount the pipe to the posts and the panels to the pipe. This way the panels pivot. Then I used another piece of conduit to connect each set of 2 panels together (so they move in unison). Finally I just prop the panels to the angle I want them. I have a very flat horizontal angle for high summer and a more slide like angle for fall/winter.

That set-up used some pipe I had laying around plus some I bought, probably cost $100. (now we are at $3,100)

How do you hook up the panels? Very Carefully. This is very high voltage (about 300 volts DC when they are all connected. Each panel has two connector wires coming off it. Positive and Negative. They have jacks on the end so it's idiot-proof. You connect each panel to the next. That leaves you with a final Positive wire on one end and a final negative wire on the other. These two wires plug into a "Solar Combiner Box"

You need an "Solar Combiner Box" - Cost $110 on Amazon - I use Midnight Solar. In this configuration you only use one port. You will need to buy the right fuses for it.
This is the box that give you the ability to Shut Off your array in the field.

Next you need REALLY BIG WIRE to bring the electricity from the array to your inverter. My distance is about 100'. I use 6 gauge I think... The longer the distance the bigger the wire needs to be. There are online places you can look up VOLTAGE, AMPS AND DISTANCE for DC VOLTS and it will tell you what size wire.

Hook the big wires up to your shutoff that comes with your inverter. Take some 10 gauge wire and hook the inverter controller up to your outside 240 supply (Use a breaker, don't just stick it on the lugs).

Turn the whole thing on and see what happens!

Add another $200 for misc. wire and you end up with a 3,500 watt grid-tie solar array for about $3,500. No Joke. I did it.

GET A BOOK and follow it. That will keep you safe and explain what you are actually doing. It's not much more complicated than running the wires and plugs to put a new electric range in your house.

WHY GRID TIE, AND WHY SUNNYBOY TL-US

Batteries are expensive... Not "wow, that's more than I expected" expensive. More like "ARE YOU F---ING KIDDING ME?" expensive. 
Batteries have to be replaced every 7 -10 years. The fewer you buy the more often they have to be replaced.
Battery based systems need other expensive stuff - like charge controllers, heavy wires, mounting racks and maintenance.

If I had the money (Tens of thousands of $$$) then I probably still wouldn't do a battery backup. I would spend the money on the most efficient (and relatively smallest) propane powered generator I could buy and a 1,000 gallon propane tank.

THE TL-US INVERTER PROVIDES LIMITED ELECTRICITY EVEN DURING A POWER OUTAGE.... DAYTIME USE ONLY.

The reason I use that inverter is because it has a by-pass circuit that provides 1,500 watts of power to a special plug in the case of a power outage.

The "TL-US" is an important part of this. Not all Sunnyboy inverters have this bypass circuit. Last time I checked it was only the TL-US models. I could be wrong. It has been years.









This wired in with normal wire and a switch. So if the power from the utility is out AND THE SUN IS SHINING I can turn on the switch and have some electricity - not for an AC or refrigerator, just for fans and electronics or lights, phone and laptop charging, even charging small batteries to run emergency lights after dark.

Past that I use a small gas generator.

MAKE AN ARK, not a yacht.

I wouldn't ever try to run my entire house on solar. I have a smaller setup for long-term emergencies... Think RV-like. Mine is a small 200 square foot fully contained apartment with propane water heater, propane cooking, wood burning heat, etc.

SAVING MONEY WITH SOLAR?

Not as much as you think. The buyback programs aren't worth the trouble for a system my size. I generate 300 kwh - 400 kwh per month. I use 1000 - 1,200 kwh per month. Based on usage I might have as much as 100 kwh to sell back. I only pay 6 cents per kwh for electricity. Even if I got 100% credit (which you don't if you are paying a low rate up front) That's worth about $6 per month for the extra 100 kwh I might generate during the month but not use when it was generated. Not worth the trouble.

Even through my rate is 6 cents per kWh I still have to pay 3 cent per kWh for "delivery." So I pay an effective rate of 9 cents per kWh. If I generate 400 kWh in a month and use 300 kWh (the other 100 kWh was not used and not sold back so it was wasted). Then I have SAVED 9 cents x 300 kWh per month in electricity I did not have to buy... Round it up to $30.

At $30 per month in average savings (and this is right based on 5 years of use). It would take 100 months to break even on a $3000 system... Call it 10 years. I call it 8 because electricity rates will probably go up.

I don't care about that. Preps are generally a mildly expensive hobby if there is no SHTF moment, and they are priceless if there is one. I could have spent the $3,500 on a used ATV or a boat or smoked 75 cartons of cigarettes over that time. I didn't. I spent it on a solar array.

I know nothing about $35,000 solar arrays. That's outside my pay grade.

WHY NOT BIGGER?

I could add a 2nd array for $3,500 more. Why don't I do it? Because I'm already using as much of the solar as I can use. I have extra every month that I'm not using or selling back. If I added more capacity it wouldn't really do me any more good. If I do add a 2nd array it will be a smaller array that charges a battery bank. It would be nice to have SOME electricity when the sun is down without having to store fuel for a generator. Solar is forever... So, my next step would be to look at a $3,500 battery-based off-grid solar setup that would only be used in a longer term power outage. I wouldn't use it for everyday power.... probably. The less you use the batteries the longer they last. (based on discharge cycles and discharge depth)

That's my story. I have made my electricity bill as low as $27 per month, but that was when the wife was out of town for a few months. When she's in town... women use lots of electricity!!

NOTE: For any of this to be possible you have to live in an area where the electricity provider allows grid-tie solar systems. Before I installed this I had to apply for an "INTERCONNECT AGREEMENT" from the electricity distribution company (not the same as the provider). In Texas we have hundreds of electricity providers but only 3 electricity distribution companies... These are the guys who maintain the physical wire. Once I had the "Interconnect Agreement" which took about 45 days to get. I installed my system. They required a some drawing and a well marked "SHUTOFF SWITCH" were a worker could easily see it (near the meter) and turn my solar array off. They also installed a "smart meter" so I could sell electricity back if I want to.


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## tonybluegoat (Sep 5, 2018)

azrancher said:


> I have 8.4 KW of Solar Panels, you will never see that amount even at the correct sun angle, that said there are some days that it gets close to 8 KW. My pay back on a $35K system was 7 years, it's getting real close to that. We had Power Company (COOP) rebates, of approx $15K, and the Fed tax rebate of 30% on the rest. Mine is Grid tied, but soon to also have battery backup, the COOP would not have given a rebate if I had installed the battery backup at the time I had the system installed.
> 
> My go to site for solar info is:
> 
> ...


Thanks for the link. Very useful.


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## Annie (Dec 5, 2015)

> vTHE TL-US INVERTER PROVIDES LIMITED ELECTRICITY EVEN DURING A POWER OUTAGE.... DAYTIME USE ONLY.


 @tonybluegoat omgosh, I thought solar energy could be somehow stored. Thanks for all your info. I can see solar energy is less than ideal.


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## soyer38301 (Jul 27, 2017)

@Annie solar energy can be stored. Not cheap to do, but can be.

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## Elvis (Jun 22, 2018)

Annie said:


> @tonybluegoat omgosh, I thought solar energy could be somehow stored. Thanks for all your info. I can see solar energy is less than ideal.


Annie, He's using a SunnyBoy grid tie inverter that isn't designed to support a battery bank. Grid tie only inverters usually turn off when there is no grid power which made a lot of people unhappy when the grid was down but the sun was shining they had no electricity so SunnyBoy came out with a model that would provide up to 1500 watts but only when the sun was out. 1500 watts will run some small refrigerators, lights, radio, small stuff so when the grid is down the owner will have at least some power during sunny days.

I doubt that 1500 watts will start a normal sized refrigerator and it will not run a well pump. He's using his solar system to supplement the grid, not replace the grid. This means that during sunny weather he buys less electricity from the grid.

Most people (including myself) with solar run a large expensive battery bank so we can store power for overnight use. This requires a different type of inverter such as a Magnum, Conext, Outback make along with a separate charge controller. Yes, it's more expensive, but when the grid goes down for a few days we never even notice.

Define your loads, then size the solar system to run those critical loads, then you can move forward with your system. Since my loads include everything from a well to the home AC (22 seer mini-split) I have a larger system and since I like having power at night we do have the big expensive battery bank.

But a smaller system can really be handy also, We have a 500 watt system that runs a 2.3 cu/ft fridge, a 10 c/f chest freezer, and a few other small things in a different building.


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## MaterielGeneral (Jan 27, 2015)

Annie said:


> @tonybluegoat omgosh, I thought solar energy could be somehow stored. Thanks for all your info. I can see solar energy is less than ideal.


Annie, the energy can be stored using batteries.

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## tonybluegoat (Sep 5, 2018)

Annie said:


> @tonybluegoat omgosh, I thought solar energy could be somehow stored. Thanks for all your info. I can see solar energy is less than ideal.


I agree with what the others said. I was just saying what I did. I do "grid tie" which does not use batteries. You can do an off-grid system, which would use batteries. They are more expensive and need to be sized to your particular situation.


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