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Going with Offgrid Solar

They look nice. I always make my own and have hydraulic crimpers for the lugs (but I've made more cables than I care to even guesstimate).
Yeah, I know it's a lot of money. Everything has gone way up in price.
But I was worried that they are too critical for a rookie like me to not make them correctly.
And I would have to buy the crimpers which I'm sure you already own.
Plus my batteries are the DIY LifePO4's that require more attention.
So I wanted the best cables to keep the 3 battery banks balanced as much as possible.
 
Well I finally got to the final wiring of the batteries and Inverter.
The 3 ton mini-split is the only load I have wired to the panel right now.
Here is the wiring inside the garage :


1668832184582.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Well I finally got to the final wiring of the batteries and Inverter.
The 3 ton mini-split is the only load I have wired to the panel right now.
Here is the wiring inside the garage :


View attachment 9255

Maybe I can't see it in the picture, but where is your ground wire? Make sure you have covers for the negative and positive busbars. If someone were to touch those, it'd be lights out for good.
 
Maybe I can't see it in the picture, but where is your ground wire? Make sure you have covers for the negative and positive busbars. If someone were to touch those, it'd be lights out for good.
Yes, the ground wire isn't installed yet. I do have the covers but wanted them off for the pic. I'll be working on that today !
I don't have a circuit breaker between the incoming PV wires and the two Midnite Classics (inside the garage) ,
but I do have circuit breakers out at the solar panels.

When I hook up the fully charged batteries, is there a procedure to protect the inverter ?
Should I connect the battery negative cables to their busbar the very last step ?
 
Yes, the ground wire isn't installed yet. I do have the covers but wanted them off for the pic. I'll be working on that today !
I don't have a circuit breaker between the incoming PV wires and the two Midnite Classics (inside the garage) ,
but I do have circuit breakers out at the solar panels.

When I hook up the fully charged batteries, is there a procedure to protect the inverter ?
Should I connect the battery negative cables to their busbar the very last step ?

This is what I use before (coming in from the panels) and after (before it goes to the busbar), so you'd need to buy 4 of them, but it gives you the ability to isolate the Midnite Solar charge controllers for service and safety.


Next, you will get an arc the first time you hook up the inverter (very big arc) unless you can isolate the power coming from the batteries going to the inverter.

This is the disconnect I use:


Once that is in place (inline with the positive cable going to the inverter), all you have to do is turn that on and then turn on the inverter. I recommend not using the standby mode and just powering it on full.
 
NEM 3.0 coming to a state near you. I'm betting it'll be adopted in the liberal states first though. California is the first to adopt it and it reduces the value (from 40% to 80%) what you'll be paid per kilowatt you send back to the grid.

 
NEM 3.0 coming to a state near you. I'm betting it'll be adopted in the liberal states first though. California is the first to adopt it and it reduces the value (from 40% to 80%) what you'll be paid per kilowatt you send back to the grid.

It will incentivize more people to stay off-grid ? That also means no more subsidies and people will have to pay for everything themselves.
That will definitely hurt the demand.
 
It will incentivize more people to stay off-grid ? That also means no more subsidies and people will have to pay for everything themselves.
That will definitely hurt the demand.

Yep. If you get only 25% value of what you feed back, why would you?

They will figure out a way to tax you for the sunshine you use. Fuck them.
 
A question about heat-pump water heaters ( for Kevin obviously ) :)
There are 2 main "modes" for use with solar.
1) Heat pump only - very efficient but slow recovery
2) Energy saver - uses the heat pump and electric heaters - faster recovery
Do you stick to the "heat pump only" mode ? Or go with the energy saver ?
 
A question about heat-pump water heaters ( for Kevin obviously ) :)
There are 2 main "modes" for use with solar.
1) Heat pump only - very efficient but slow recovery
2) Energy saver - uses the heat pump and electric heaters - faster recovery
Do you stick to the "heat pump only" mode ? Or go with the energy saver ?

I use heat pump only and it's not as slow as you would think. From a cold startup a standard electric water heater is much faster to heat the water, but in heat pump mode it kicks the pump on faster (sensors at the top and bottom of the tank) to fire the heat pump sooner.

What I've found is in heat pump mode the heat pump starts sooner to bring the temp back up. You won't notice any difference except in the lower cost to run the WH.
 
An electrical question for the gurus on here (Kevin, Brian or Rick ; no offense if you've been omitted!)
I think I know the answer but I don't want to screw up !

See the diagram below. This is a pic of the terminals on the inverter.
I wired the AC output with 4 gauge wires on all 3 terminals. These wires feed an electrical box that powers my house.

The "AC input" is just power from my utility company. It helps the solar keep up when cloudy days prevent the solar panels from producing enough power.
I am running 6 gauge wiring from my main breaker box to the "AC input" on the inverter.

My question is which wiring can I run ? 6/2 or 6/3 ? It appears to me that 6/2 will work as there isn't a "line or neutral" connection, it's a ground connection.

I wish I understood electricity better !


1688097146962.png
 
Only time you need a Neutral is if your 230 volt appliance has a Light Bulb like a clothes dryer or Range or instructions call for it having a 120 volt motor like some type of diffuser motor or a small timer motor Edit Invertor equipment use some low voltage motors
 
Only time you need a Neutral is if your 230 volt appliance has a Light Bulb like a clothes dryer or Range or instructions call for it having a 120 volt motor like some type of diffuser motor or a small timer motor Edit Invertor equipment use some low voltage motors

Inverters only have low voltage fans for cooling, and that is taken from the battery source.
 
The system is turned on and ready to go ! In the morning it will start charging the batteries and I will switch over
the water heater , attic air handler, 36k mini-split (house) and 18k mini-split (garage) to solar power with the transfer switch.

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1689299290988.jpeg
 
Startup was a big dud ! The max input from the panels was 3-4 amps so something was screwed up.
I went out to the panels with a voltmeter and checked across the + and - and got 91. Then I noticed I forgot to ground the panels.
Checking from the + to ground gave me a reading of 3. That's what it's showing at the controller.


The metal panels are mounted on a wood structure. Would that prevent the DC current from flowing ? I thought it was just for lightning safety ?
So I shut everything down until I get this solved.
 
Grounding the panels is only for lightening and would have nothing to do with the power.

Let me ask you a question.... are you trying to power the inverter directly from the panels? That won't work, the inverter needs to be powered from the batteries and if the batteries don't have a charge, then the inverter won't start.
 
Grounding the panels is only for lightening and would have nothing to do with the power.

Let me ask you a question.... are you trying to power the inverter directly from the panels? That won't work, the inverter needs to be powered from the batteries and if the batteries don't have a charge, then the inverter won't start.
Yes, the batteries are fully charged and the inverter is running. Does the inverter need a load to get the dc current flowing ?
I tried to turn the ac on but no-go.
 
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