That's insanity, sir. And he's actually living on the grid, because without a hook-up he wouldn't be able to "sell" back to the utility co, thus placing himself into bankruptcy.
Great interview! 1999 I moved into this house and did a self install solar system with 1200 watts of solar and 4 L16 batteries for a 24v system. The inverter is grid tied. 2020 upgraded to LiFePO4 16K watts, 3800w more solar panels. This was mostly a self skill test for me! It has turned out to be great idea. Thank you for your video.
What an awesome home he's built there in Vermont! I wish that I had that kind of knowledge and work experience, so that I wouldn't have to pay others to do these kinds of amazing installations.
Really nice setup, thank you! I was wondering: when the grid goes down, does the MPP inverter's mains power output provide a signal for the solaredge inverter to synchronise with and provide power too? And then, if the solaredge is providing mains power, can that power be used by the MPP to charge "from the grid"? It'd be great if it were that flexible... And also, if you have a real grid failure somewhere up the line, won't your system attempt to keep powering the complete neighbourhood until you trip the breaker?
The MPP does not support AC coupling with grid tie inverters, nor does it backfeed the grid. All power produced is used on site. The solaredge is (for now) useless to me when the grid is down.
@@leviclark2573 they're a little less efficient than DC coupled systems, but a great way to add a battery to an existing system. When using lead acid, there are lots of sizing requirements for AC coupling that are based on the battery charging needs. It becomes a lot easier with lithium, as they can take almost anything you send their way.
Checkout the MPP LV2424 and the LV5048.. they can output 120v but can also output split phase 240, and also has grid tie! It can be programmed to take grid power when available, so your batteries are on standby.
Am really digging solar again I really got turned off a wail back but with me looking at getting off grid to be self sufficient and self reliant. This is super cool thanks for sharing
What a great thing to be energy sufficiant with no brownouts or blackouts here in central Milo, Maine (The Magoo's) no electric bill for over 20 years now.
north facing roofs: in overcast panels deliver the same like south facing panels, if the inclination is the same. and ok, in overcast you need most panels, solar energy. in summer they generate the same amount in sunny weather, however in winter that drastically reduces.
Nice I am headed back to the US (Massachusetts / New Hampshire) from the Philippines and want to do a similar system when I get back. My sister has a full array on her house in Mass and it provides her with a check from the electric utility every month, it is nice to have a zero due electric bill every month.
Question on freezing rain: I don't do anything. Yes, a layer of ice will form over the panels. But, the sun will come out in one or two days. When it does, the panels heat up and the ice slides off.
Found this one but looking for more info on the “How To” with adding the battery bank and inverter system to my current grid-tie and net metering system.
Thanks Ben you learning me a lots And yes now that I'm witching against true your videos I'm picked up lessons of you Friend You go big your installation is nice so yes I'm follow you Ben I'm form South Africa Country Free State Go on you my mentor in it thanks
Nice walk around and good info on a working system from a guy that installs energy systems. 10:14.. They say that the shoe maker has the worst shoes....
So, Northern Vermont is around 44 degrees north, but the roof is pretty flat. Christmas day at noon the angle of incidence would probably be too great to get any sun on those northern panels, but I bet you get wind in the winter up there! 500 watt wind turbine and you would be barely drawing down on the battery.
Those PIP solar inverters seems to be the same one sold as FlinEnergy in India. I have been looking at having one of those at home as off-grid system, mainly to power air-conditioning during day time. Great to see some real-world experience with it.
One important thing to point out about solar is this. Know what your charge is per KWh from the utility company. Mine is about 12 cents per KWh for the first 1000 KWhs per billing cycle (usually 30 days). Here in my state, we get about 5 "sun hours" per day, which means that on average, we get the equivalent of about 5 hours of strong "straight up" sun as far as solar electricity generating power. So that is 60 cents per day of electric per KWh of solar panels. I derate that to 40 cents due to system losses and inefficiencies such as not always being able to use the full output from the panels (such as batteries are already topped off, low electrical load, solar charge controller losses, losses in long wire runs, partial shade...). So 40 cents per day is only about $12 per month of electric. If my electric bill was $100, a 1 KW solar system might drop it to $88. To completely get rid of my electric bill (not really possible), I would likely need an 8 KW solar system. Since I cannot fully get rid of it (since I have to keep grid power and pay the monthly service fee), my "best" solution is to just use solar to lower my electric bill, but not eliminate it. A small 1 KW system (3 to 6 panels depending on wattage per panel), is fun to tinker with, but doesn't save much money. The cost of all the equipment for even a small 1 KW system is about $1000 (6 used solar panels, solar charge controller, 8 large used 6V AGM batteries, split phase inverter...). The RoI (Return on Investment) time would normally be about 7 years for this setup, however, it would be even longer for me cuz I get some assistance with electric so for me, solar is not worth it. I would break even at about 10 years with a 1 KW system. I likely won't be in the house that long. However, I could use it for 5 years and then sell it. That is a possibility too.
Interesting video, amazed the power bills him 15 c a kwh and he gets paid 30c a kwh , I live in Melbourne Australia have 2 systems 1 at a beach house 11.3 c kwh and billed 38 c kwh 2nd system been in 25 years hence I get 71.3 c kwh will be doing a grid tied system with a battery in 2024 when my rate runs out.
Its because up here in northern New England. We have supply issues, the population doesn't support more inferstructor. So power companies, are subsidised for helping with the smoothing the spikes in demand.
Question for Mr. Ben. What do you think about this idea for additional boost to a battery backup system for people with either NO solar or outages when there is little to no sun? You start your car, let it idle, and boost your battery bank 12V at a time. For example, if you have a 48V battery bank, let your car idle and every half hour, move the clamps to a different 12V subbank (keeping track of which ones you already boosted of course). A typical car idling can output about 1000 watts to a battery bank that is not already near fully charged (or to a near fully charged bank with a 1000+ watt load on it). Another method is to use a 12V to120VAC inverter outside (if possible) and feed it into your house, then run battery chargers from that. Pure sine wave output is preferred but modified square wave should work too for most chargers. I would not recommend bringing the inverter from warm inside to the very cold outside to do this. One way around that might be to run your car in the garage so you retain the heat and of course vent the CO out of the garage and use CO detectors as a precaution. That way the inverter stays relatively warm, close to 70 degrees F. In some cases, it may be possible to run 230V into your house using a 12V to 230V inverter, and then drop the voltage inside from 230 to 115V, then run your chargers. Many tweaks to these ideas are possible such as upgrading the alternator on your car from 1000 watts to 2000 watts or even higher. Again I would only recommend doing this if you need emergency boost power (like your solar system has been running on batteries for many hours and the batteries are getting dangerously low). A boost of 1000 watts on a 2000 watt average load might double the runtime of your batteries. For very long car idling times (more than say 2 hours), it is recommended that you blow a fan across the car to help cool it, unless the car is outside in the cold. It would be kinda slick to have a way to get the jumper wire power easily inside your house such as a terminal interface from the outside to the inside of the house or garage. That way you don't need to run thick wires under the garage door for example where CO could possibly get in.
I didn't say anything about 1 battery at a time, I said charging the bank, implying many batteries. Also, why would charging 1 battery at a time be "asking for trouble"? A typical car normally only has one battery (under the hood) and those usually last for years.
Sounded like that was what the whole first paragraph was about... Maybe I misunderstood, but you were talking about a 48v battery bank and charging it 12v at a time moving leads around. Car batteries barely get cycled. They're there for the cranking amps, then float charging.
You so gotta come down to Delaware... I've got a huge house roof and barn roof that is screaming for panels. A lot of what you were saying was way over my head. That's so what we need. Getting tired of the little outages that are just long enough to be a PITA. Did you say how much the batteries were and I missed it? (no lead acid) All the companies down here want to lease panels/systems to you and have you pay them for 20 years... don't wanna do that.
I don't think Ben travels that far, buy you can always call the company he works for. (link in description). I agree that leasing panels is a bad deal.
love it just had another 3 days of fun in Maine with no power. FRUSTRATING to see sun shining on our solar but no battery back up means it is all for naught. Looking into battery back up myself
It's a big fun topic to get into (battery storage). Sorry you don't have power up there. Connect with me on FB if you want to talk more. facebook.com/DavidPozEnergy/
Guy"s a Great video, 2-3 Qs though, do you have a transfer switch that runs the critical panel when utility is on? I do not see 1 on your wall. Does your solar stay on when utility is lost? If you tapped into your solar system to power your inverters built in MPPT. where did you tap in and did you need a special device or what. Sorry for the many Qs but I to am installing on a grid tied system a 48vdc 15Kw split phase inverter/charger with and 640ah batteries with a built in 80a MPPT charger. I am trying to find out where and how to keep the power coming in from the solar to feed the inverter/and charge the batteries. any input you can offer would be a big help. Thanks in advance
Where I live, Phoenix, my electric company, APS won’t allow me to add more panels, or I will lose my current “net metering” plan, where they buy back electric. They see the value in solar energy production, and they want to be the only provider, they want to stop someone that may want to produce their own power. Such backwards thinking...This is solar heaven here!! It’s politics. Big companies have law makers at their disposal. I’m jealous. Nice system :-)
I have a 10 year net metering agreement with the POCO. I got around changing it when I added panels because the PIP doesn't backfeed the grid. They have no jurisdiction on a system that doesn't backfeed.
Brilliant example. Many thanks to Ben and his expertise. Inspirational would come to mind. Question is how about snow on the panels... Is that an issue?
I get up on the roof and push it off with a reversed roof rake when it snows a lot. Once they're a little clear, they melt off pretty well when the sun comes out.
I live in Wyoming. Our net usage rate is very bad. I’ve done a little research on the ROI and with my average monthly electric bill being around $60, I just don’t think it’s a good decision. If I knew how to do it all myself, maybe the ROI would get better, but that’s where I’m at. If you have any advice on what I could do to go solar without breaking the bank, I would be very interested. Thank you
Really nice and was great for me to learn something. Now if possible, 1. The transformer acts like the power company 2 hotlines (240v) correct? 2.the circuit breakers next to the transformer have like a secondary wiring for needed electronics to run on backup, Correct ? 3. How to automatically switch the backup system on once grid is out? 4. Is there any simple wiring diagram for the main connections? Thank you so much
Out of the transformer there are two hot lines. 120v-N-120v. The two hot legs can be combined for 240v. Yes, this is exactly like what you get from the grid. 2. The subpanel (circuit breaker box) is everything running on the transformer. Not everything can run on it, such as the electric dryer is still on the original panel. 3. It switches automatically, built into the MPP PIP (white inverter). 4. The inverter company probably has some wiring diagrams in the manuals: www.mppsolar.com/v3/
Bens inverter is the 5048MG. I show this at 7:27 in the video. He likes it a lot because it also serves as a charge controller, so it's like getting two devices in one. Ben has said that he likes running it through the transformer to get 120/240v.
@@DavidPozEnergy I am looking the LV 5048, in a split phase , L1 = 120, L2 = 120, and L1 L2 is 240. This feeds the whole house power As a tiny, the current demand is 21 A at 120 V. Any comments ? Any past issues with his 5048
Bens 5048MG puts out 240 volts on a single leg. He then runs that into a transformer to give himself 120/240 split phase. This is because he bought his inverter before MPP Solar started manufacturing a split-phase model. Now that they make a split-phase model (LV5048) you have another option on the table. Both options are good. Ben likes to series the panels into a higher voltage than the LV5048 can handle. Notice the LV5048 has an MPPT range of 60-110 volts DC. www.mppsolar.com/v3/catalogs/split%20phase%20LV5048.pdf But, the 5048MG has a voltage range of 120-430 volts DC. That means less wiring, less combiners. www.mppsolar.com/v3/catalogs/PIP-MS_MG.pdf But, the downside is you have to buy a transformer. Here is a video from another TH-camr on how to wire in a transformer: th-cam.com/video/0E8fV9VMDFs/w-d-xo.html
Great video, only two things that bug me. One is, your batteries, hope it doesn't flood in your area, maybe lift your batteries a little just in case. The second is fire, what measures are there in case of battery or electronic fires. I would like to see videos about safety because lithium batteries are dangerous. Thanks great how to videos.
I like at 2:46 that he's disconnected from Natural Gas and I would like to know how he did that as I'd like to do the same - in Australia our BBQ gas cylinders are LPG and I have been told it's higher pressure is unsafe to use in our natural gas stovetop due to the larger nozzles for natural gas versus narrower nozzles for LPG - how did he solve that problem? It looks like he has 2 regulators - is it that simple or is there more important things to know to ensure safety? Cheers! David
Attached to the tank is a grey round disk, it is a regulator. It takes the high pressure of the tank, and drops it down to low pressure for the stove. Search for regulators and you will find them. In the USA you can buy them at any hardware store as a replacement part for outdoor grills.
Do you have any videos regarding fully off grid systems? I'm building my dream home in the SE foothills outside of Reno. 2400 sq ft house with 950ft deep well. No grid tie available really ($175,000 cost from Nevada Energy). Lots of great sun and I have a large, south facing barn roof to cover with solar panels....
Most of my videos are on my own projects. My current house still has the grid. My goal is to build my next house 100% off grid, like you are doing. So my projects are based on off-grid.
Good informative video. Yes 48v is the correct way to go as I started with 24v. The main switch was turned to battery and solar, but what happens when the switch is turned back to the grid? Will is be possible the the frequency will be off and be like a huge short? I'm very quruous about that. Is there a sitch delay and synchronisation before switching back?
i have a solectria grid tie inverter, old 7600w, a victron 600 80 mppt, samlex 1500w inverter, and 200ah 48v battery set. i've been told that i can't hook up the battery to the solectria inverter. but do i need to? can't i hook up the pv strings to the solectria and to the victron mppt via pv disconnect switches and fuses. then use a separate ac power out box and breakers from the soletctria to main circuit breaker panel. and have another ac power out box from the samlex inverter to the main c.b. panel.
Hi Mark, Ben purchased his battery through Ebay. You can do a search for used EV batteries and find Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf, Tesla, Smart Fortwo, and others.
He smiles and he explains his toys like a happy adventure. Wow! Ben = solar installation. That's it! Thanks for the video.
I can't get enough of his smile and happiness, that guy is not wasting money living off-grid. kudos tu you sir!
That's insanity, sir.
And he's actually living on the grid, because without a hook-up he wouldn't be able to "sell" back to the utility co, thus placing himself into bankruptcy.
@@alphaforce6998 You know he said he gets paid because its grid tied? did you not watch the video
Great interview! 1999 I moved into this house and did a self install solar system with 1200 watts of solar and 4 L16 batteries for a 24v system. The inverter is grid tied. 2020 upgraded to LiFePO4 16K watts, 3800w more solar panels. This was mostly a self skill test for me! It has turned out to be great idea. Thank you for your video.
What an awesome home he's built there in Vermont! I wish that I had that kind of knowledge and work experience, so that I wouldn't have to pay others to do these kinds of amazing installations.
David, thanks for providing a look at another way to do things. Reminds us to keep an open mind.
I really appreciate how friendly you guys look
Thanks for coming to see the madness, and awesome job editing!!
Thanks for sharing your awesome setup for all of us. Thank you for the comment on editing. I'm trying to get better at it.
Really nice setup, thank you! I was wondering: when the grid goes down, does the MPP inverter's mains power output provide a signal for the solaredge inverter to synchronise with and provide power too? And then, if the solaredge is providing mains power, can that power be used by the MPP to charge "from the grid"? It'd be great if it were that flexible... And also, if you have a real grid failure somewhere up the line, won't your system attempt to keep powering the complete neighbourhood until you trip the breaker?
The MPP does not support AC coupling with grid tie inverters, nor does it backfeed the grid. All power produced is used on site. The solaredge is (for now) useless to me when the grid is down.
@@benssolarandbattery what are your thoughts on an AC coupled battery backup system?
@@leviclark2573 they're a little less efficient than DC coupled systems, but a great way to add a battery to an existing system. When using lead acid, there are lots of sizing requirements for AC coupling that are based on the battery charging needs. It becomes a lot easier with lithium, as they can take almost anything you send their way.
Excellent job Ben - thanks David for doing this!
This guy from Vermont has it going I'm doing all off grid and love the freedom from the grid.
Looks complex but is awsome! His smile says it all!
I have watched this more than 5 times, it's inspiring. It's giving me ideas.
Great setup Ben. Thanks for sharing on David’s channel. Now all you need is an electric car!
Checkout the MPP LV2424 and the LV5048.. they can output 120v but can also output split phase 240, and also has grid tie! It can be programmed to take grid power when available, so your batteries are on standby.
Am really digging solar again I really got turned off a wail back but with me looking at getting off grid to be self sufficient and self reliant. This is super cool thanks for sharing
Ben is a lovely guy, he has a great setup.
Pretty sweet system. Thanks for the tour.
Nice setup! Thanks for sharing.
What a great thing to be energy sufficiant with no brownouts or blackouts here in central Milo, Maine (The Magoo's) no electric bill for over 20 years now.
i dont think hes got batteries?
Yup, solar panel + backup energy storage is the way to go
you missed a bit. + sell excess back to the grid. Glad you said energy storage as it doesn't have to be a battery
In Vermont
Props for the metric conversion!
Thats the guy you want doing your installation right there, does it in his spare time, eats-sleeps-and breaths solar installation :)
north facing roofs:
in overcast panels deliver the same like south facing panels, if the inclination is the same. and ok, in overcast you need most panels, solar energy.
in summer they generate the same amount in sunny weather, however in winter that drastically reduces.
So the snow slides off, use Rain-X. Works great!
Nice I am headed back to the US (Massachusetts / New Hampshire) from the Philippines and want to do a similar system when I get back. My sister has a full array on her house in Mass and it provides her with a check from the electric utility every month, it is nice to have a zero due electric bill every month.
Are you sure that's not your brother? I'd get a DNA test if I was you!
I was watching on my TV and I took out my phone to make this exact comment.
i went to comment the same thing and bam , someone already said it lol
My question is in the winter months when we have that freezing rain how do we keep them panels on freezing over.
Question on freezing rain: I don't do anything. Yes, a layer of ice will form over the panels. But, the sun will come out in one or two days. When it does, the panels heat up and the ice slides off.
@@DavidPozEnergy good to know . I'm doing a setup in Wisconsin
Found this one but looking for more info on the “How To” with adding the battery bank and inverter system to my current grid-tie and net metering system.
Fantastic! Thanks for all the Information! Hopefully i will see some SHW?
Nice big system plenty of power from the sounds of it , nice video sir
Nice work Ben
Thanks for showing us.
Thanks Ben you learning me a lots
And yes now that I'm witching against true your videos I'm picked up lessons of you Friend
You go big your installation is nice so yes I'm follow you Ben
I'm form South Africa Country Free State
Go on you my mentor in it thanks
Great to see other People doing this stuff. Now I don't fell like I've lost it:) Very much, I have to switch from 24V to 48V Some how
Nice walk around and good info on a working system from a guy that installs energy systems.
10:14.. They say that the shoe maker has the worst shoes....
So, Northern Vermont is around 44 degrees north, but the roof is pretty flat. Christmas day at noon the angle of incidence would probably be too great to get any sun on those northern panels, but I bet you get wind in the winter up there! 500 watt wind turbine and you would be barely drawing down on the battery.
You surely are one gifted guy
Those PIP solar inverters seems to be the same one sold as FlinEnergy in India. I have been looking at having one of those at home as off-grid system, mainly to power air-conditioning during day time. Great to see some real-world experience with it.
Very nice I know the feeling of running out of room on the roof
I could only get 2.8kw on my 5th wheel home .
Awesome. Ben is my kind of guy! :D
That was pretty sweet! Tell Ben to go to a heat pump dryer.
One important thing to point out about solar is this. Know what your charge is per KWh from the utility company. Mine is about 12 cents per KWh for the first 1000 KWhs per billing cycle (usually 30 days). Here in my state, we get about 5 "sun hours" per day, which means that on average, we get the equivalent of about 5 hours of strong "straight up" sun as far as solar electricity generating power. So that is 60 cents per day of electric per KWh of solar panels. I derate that to 40 cents due to system losses and inefficiencies such as not always being able to use the full output from the panels (such as batteries are already topped off, low electrical load, solar charge controller losses, losses in long wire runs, partial shade...). So 40 cents per day is only about $12 per month of electric. If my electric bill was $100, a 1 KW solar system might drop it to $88. To completely get rid of my electric bill (not really possible), I would likely need an 8 KW solar system. Since I cannot fully get rid of it (since I have to keep grid power and pay the monthly service fee), my "best" solution is to just use solar to lower my electric bill, but not eliminate it. A small 1 KW system (3 to 6 panels depending on wattage per panel), is fun to tinker with, but doesn't save much money. The cost of all the equipment for even a small 1 KW system is about $1000 (6 used solar panels, solar charge controller, 8 large used 6V AGM batteries, split phase inverter...). The RoI (Return on Investment) time would normally be about 7 years for this setup, however, it would be even longer for me cuz I get some assistance with electric so for me, solar is not worth it. I would break even at about 10 years with a 1 KW system. I likely won't be in the house that long. However, I could use it for 5 years and then sell it. That is a possibility too.
Interesting video, amazed the power bills him 15 c a kwh and he gets paid 30c a kwh , I live in Melbourne Australia have 2 systems 1 at a beach house 11.3 c kwh and billed 38 c kwh 2nd system been in 25 years hence I get 71.3 c kwh will be doing a grid tied system with a battery in 2024 when my rate runs out.
Its because up here in northern New England. We have supply issues, the population doesn't support more inferstructor. So power companies, are subsidised for helping with the smoothing the spikes in demand.
Thanks Ben.
Question for Mr. Ben. What do you think about this idea for additional boost to a battery backup system for people with either NO solar or outages when there is little to no sun? You start your car, let it idle, and boost your battery bank 12V at a time. For example, if you have a 48V battery bank, let your car idle and every half hour, move the clamps to a different 12V subbank (keeping track of which ones you already boosted of course). A typical car idling can output about 1000 watts to a battery bank that is not already near fully charged (or to a near fully charged bank with a 1000+ watt load on it).
Another method is to use a 12V to120VAC inverter outside (if possible) and feed it into your house, then run battery chargers from that. Pure sine wave output is preferred but modified square wave should work too for most chargers. I would not recommend bringing the inverter from warm inside to the very cold outside to do this. One way around that might be to run your car in the garage so you retain the heat and of course vent the CO out of the garage and use CO detectors as a precaution. That way the inverter stays relatively warm, close to 70 degrees F.
In some cases, it may be possible to run 230V into your house using a 12V to 230V inverter, and then drop the voltage inside from 230 to 115V, then run your chargers.
Many tweaks to these ideas are possible such as upgrading the alternator on your car from 1000 watts to 2000 watts or even higher.
Again I would only recommend doing this if you need emergency boost power (like your solar system has been running on batteries for many hours and the batteries are getting dangerously low). A boost of 1000 watts on a 2000 watt average load might double the runtime of your batteries.
For very long car idling times (more than say 2 hours), it is recommended that you blow a fan across the car to help cool it, unless the car is outside in the cold. It would be kinda slick to have a way to get the jumper wire power easily inside your house such as a terminal interface from the outside to the inside of the house or garage. That way you don't need to run thick wires under the garage door for example where CO could possibly get in.
I wouldn't recommend charging 1 battery at a time, you're asking for trouble with that.
I didn't say anything about 1 battery at a time, I said charging the bank, implying many batteries. Also, why would charging 1 battery at a time be "asking for trouble"? A typical car normally only has one battery (under the hood) and those usually last for years.
Sounded like that was what the whole first paragraph was about...
Maybe I misunderstood, but you were talking about a 48v battery bank and charging it 12v at a time moving leads around.
Car batteries barely get cycled. They're there for the cranking amps, then float charging.
@David James - No...
Got rid of the furnace! Very Impressive. Great video.
Great vid guys. Really inspiring. Love your energy
Great video 👍😀 thank you for sharing s😎
great to watch
This is a great job indeed. I wish you were in Namibia to do this for me.
Really cool setup. Thanks for sharing :)
You guys look like you could be brothers. Nice video.
I'm glad you liked the video. Nope, we are not brothers.
3:50
I live in Vermont. Though you may not use it I would never remove a furnace from a house.
Battery from a SMART car 😂😂😂😂 love it! Not to forget his voice, VERY easy to listen to!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Nice setup!
Good video. Any chance of disclosing the cost and ROI.
I hope you keep the air circulating and filtering in your house still
Yeah, the windows are still pretty bad so that's not an issue for now. I do have 2 Panasonic bath fans that run a couple hours a day automatically.
This guy is a DIY king.
You so gotta come down to Delaware... I've got a huge house roof and barn roof that is screaming for panels. A lot of what you were saying was way over my head. That's so what we need. Getting tired of the little outages that are just long enough to be a PITA. Did you say how much the batteries were and I missed it? (no lead acid) All the companies down here want to lease panels/systems to you and have you pay them for 20 years... don't wanna do that.
I don't think Ben travels that far, buy you can always call the company he works for. (link in description). I agree that leasing panels is a bad deal.
Love the set up neat
Awesome video thank you for sharing!
love it
just had another 3 days of fun in Maine with no power. FRUSTRATING to see sun shining on our solar but no battery back up means it is all for naught. Looking into battery back up myself
It's a big fun topic to get into (battery storage). Sorry you don't have power up there. Connect with me on FB if you want to talk more. facebook.com/DavidPozEnergy/
Thats whats up, it must be a beautiful thing to heat, and cool your home during the year from the power of the sun, God bess you man.
Thanks, this is inspiring.
Holy shit !!! Your long lost brother !!!!
HOWdy D-P,
Thanks
COOP
...
Holy cow! He looks like your brother.
Guy"s a Great video, 2-3 Qs though, do you have a transfer switch that runs the critical panel when utility is on? I do not see 1 on your wall. Does your solar stay on when utility is lost? If you tapped into your solar system to power your inverters built in MPPT. where did you tap in and did you need a special device or what. Sorry for the many Qs but I to am installing on a grid tied system a 48vdc 15Kw split phase inverter/charger with and 640ah batteries with a built in 80a MPPT charger. I am trying to find out where and how to keep the power coming in from the solar to feed the inverter/and charge the batteries. any input you can offer would be a big help.
Thanks in advance
Great video mate
Awesome guys thanks for the great info....
Thanks 🙏
Cheers and thanks
Good work
Nice and thanks a million
Where I live, Phoenix, my electric company, APS won’t allow me to add more panels, or I will lose my current “net metering” plan, where they buy back electric. They see the value in solar energy production, and they want to be the only provider, they want to stop someone that may want to produce their own power. Such backwards thinking...This is solar heaven here!! It’s politics. Big companies have law makers at their disposal. I’m jealous. Nice system :-)
Its all just to safeguard their $$$$$$ and that's it !
They do that in California also
I have a 10 year net metering agreement with the POCO. I got around changing it when I added panels because the PIP doesn't backfeed the grid. They have no jurisdiction on a system that doesn't backfeed.
Can you give a breakdown in terms of cost for the system?
Brilliant example. Many thanks to Ben and his expertise. Inspirational would come to mind. Question is how about snow on the panels... Is that an issue?
I get up on the roof and push it off with a reversed roof rake when it snows a lot. Once they're a little clear, they melt off pretty well when the sun comes out.
@@benssolarandbattery Try Rain-X!
I live in Wyoming. Our net usage rate is very bad. I’ve done a little research on the ROI and with my average monthly electric bill being around $60, I just don’t think it’s a good decision. If I knew how to do it all myself, maybe the ROI would get better, but that’s where I’m at. If you have any advice on what I could do to go solar without breaking the bank, I would be very interested. Thank you
That's awesome
Really nice and was great for me to learn something. Now if possible, 1. The transformer acts like the power company 2 hotlines (240v) correct?
2.the circuit breakers next to the transformer have like a secondary wiring for needed electronics to run on backup, Correct ?
3. How to automatically switch the backup system on once grid is out?
4. Is there any simple wiring diagram for the main connections?
Thank you so much
Out of the transformer there are two hot lines. 120v-N-120v. The two hot legs can be combined for 240v. Yes, this is exactly like what you get from the grid. 2. The subpanel (circuit breaker box) is everything running on the transformer. Not everything can run on it, such as the electric dryer is still on the original panel. 3. It switches automatically, built into the MPP PIP (white inverter). 4. The inverter company probably has some wiring diagrams in the manuals: www.mppsolar.com/v3/
why not the drier? wouldn't you have a inverter?
How does he like the MP inverter, and what model is it. a real fab job !
Bens inverter is the 5048MG. I show this at 7:27 in the video. He likes it a lot because it also serves as a charge controller, so it's like getting two devices in one. Ben has said that he likes running it through the transformer to get 120/240v.
@@DavidPozEnergy I am looking the LV 5048, in a split phase , L1 = 120, L2 = 120, and L1 L2 is 240. This feeds the whole house power As a tiny, the current demand is 21 A at 120 V. Any comments ? Any past issues with his 5048
Bens 5048MG puts out 240 volts on a single leg. He then runs that into a transformer to give himself 120/240 split phase. This is because he bought his inverter before MPP Solar started manufacturing a split-phase model. Now that they make a split-phase model (LV5048) you have another option on the table. Both options are good. Ben likes to series the panels into a higher voltage than the LV5048 can handle. Notice the LV5048 has an MPPT range of 60-110 volts DC. www.mppsolar.com/v3/catalogs/split%20phase%20LV5048.pdf
But, the 5048MG has a voltage range of 120-430 volts DC. That means less wiring, less combiners. www.mppsolar.com/v3/catalogs/PIP-MS_MG.pdf But, the downside is you have to buy a transformer.
Here is a video from another TH-camr on how to wire in a transformer: th-cam.com/video/0E8fV9VMDFs/w-d-xo.html
heya that is a nice calboration with a real pv and hot water installer
this is my dream system
More like this please
Sure, I'd love to make for of these. Do you know anyone else who is willing to be interviewed and lives in north-east US? Thanks.
Great video, only two things that bug me. One is, your batteries, hope it doesn't flood in your area, maybe lift your batteries a little just in case. The second is fire, what measures are there in case of battery or electronic fires. I would like to see videos about safety because lithium batteries are dangerous. Thanks great how to videos.
Great setup, thanks!
I like at 2:46 that he's disconnected from Natural Gas and I would like to know how he did that as I'd like to do the same - in Australia our BBQ gas cylinders are LPG and I have been told it's higher pressure is unsafe to use in our natural gas stovetop due to the larger nozzles for natural gas versus narrower nozzles for LPG - how did he solve that problem? It looks like he has 2 regulators - is it that simple or is there more important things to know to ensure safety?
Cheers!
David
Attached to the tank is a grey round disk, it is a regulator. It takes the high pressure of the tank, and drops it down to low pressure for the stove. Search for regulators and you will find them. In the USA you can buy them at any hardware store as a replacement part for outdoor grills.
Awesome video
What management device determines if it charges from panels or grid?
I missed it. How much to put a similar system in by a commercial installer?
what is the solar edge used for, if there is already the Mpp 48v PV inverter up and running?
Think power, think solar, think wind, think hydro............please think green....kudos boss!!!
why did you go on propain gas over nat gas ?
Very cool!
Do you have any videos regarding fully off grid systems? I'm building my dream home in the SE foothills outside of Reno. 2400 sq ft house with 950ft deep well. No grid tie available really ($175,000 cost from Nevada Energy). Lots of great sun and I have a large, south facing barn roof to cover with solar panels....
Most of my videos are on my own projects. My current house still has the grid. My goal is to build my next house 100% off grid, like you are doing. So my projects are based on off-grid.
Good informative video. Yes 48v is the correct way to go as I started with 24v. The main switch was turned to battery and solar, but what happens when the switch is turned back to the grid? Will is be possible the the frequency will be off and be like a huge short? I'm very quruous about that. Is there a sitch delay and synchronisation before switching back?
It will synchronize with the grid before reconnecting.
Keep it green man!!!!
i have a solectria grid tie inverter, old 7600w, a victron 600 80 mppt, samlex 1500w inverter, and 200ah 48v battery set. i've been told that i can't hook up the battery to the solectria inverter.
but do i need to? can't i hook up the pv strings to the solectria and to the victron mppt via pv disconnect switches and fuses. then use a separate ac power out box and breakers from the soletctria to main circuit breaker panel. and have another ac power out box from the samlex inverter to the main c.b. panel.
i would use the samlex 1500w inverter for critical loads only.
Great video. Like the PIP and transformer setup... seems like a cost effective option.
We are grid tied here in SE Georgia with no backup yet. I am really wanting you to post a link to your battery source.
Hi Mark, Ben purchased his battery through Ebay. You can do a search for used EV batteries and find Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf, Tesla, Smart Fortwo, and others.
@@DavidPozEnergy I wondered about the battery also... So his is a battery pack from an Auto? I would think even a golf cart one?
Very nice
so what would it take for you to come to Michigan and help a brother out. I want to build a solar array.
Sorry, I don't travel to install systems.
Hey David, you have tried many different inverters, so which inverter would you recommended and find very reliable?