A load of information that is beyond my capabilities to understand but like you said, when the time comes for me to install solar, I'll do my research. Thanks for the help.
Man do I have a lot to learn! You said you had a hard time answering other peoples questions because you are a do it yourselfer and not a pro, but almost everything you said here went way over my head. Lol. Very nice system... lots of great ideas.
This is a simple, efficient system given the many energy sources it has. He sells to the grid, and he has a backup system when the grid goes down. The majority of grid tied systems do not work as a backup system when the grid fails. Despite his opinion , I think he has a very efficient way of heating water by utilizing excess energy, and this, also, avoids creating problems in his installation. His system is efficient since most of the energy diverted to heat the water actually heats the water with few losses. The other amazing thing about this system is the redundancy. If his solar, wind, or hydro fail, he still has a fuel generator. He has a geothermal system for heating with a minimum of fossil fuel consumption. He is better prepared against unforeseen problems than most of us. I imagine he must have tinkered with it for quite some time. Nice to see someone so far along this route.
Today, Direct PV is the best way to heat water. PV prices are low and getting lower. You have a nice system! for 2013 you were 100% correct. 2019 and things have changed. We will soon be seeing a ton of household appliances running off direct PV. No batteries needed for many of them! It's only going to get better!
I'm using a TS45 PWM charge controller in it's normal charger mode. It's connected to my back-up 48v bank. Since it's a back-up, it's normally in 'float' mode. The 4 Panels (in series) are 500w of wasted power after the bank is charged. I've connected the PV wires to the TS45 in parallel with a 13 ohm hotwater heating element. It can keep the bank charged & dump some nice BTUs into the hot water heater. Cloudy? The A7 Airtap works fine. Also have 800w of PV on the other 13 ohm element.
Awesome, you're back ! Just got finished planting the garden for the day after work. & looking to split wood tomorrow. I don't use solar of any sort, except when I don't want it, LOL. I want to use solar to remove excess heat in the house and porch areas. Have you done that? Do you use wood to heat? Thanks for the reloading videos, I have learned much from all your knowledge. Thank you again.
Wow, very nice set-up. You have more money in your system than I have in my house. My name is Kevin too. Wish I had your system so we could have more in common than names lol
You can use MPPT to make heating water with solar PV panels more efficient using a Solar Hybrid Hot Water Controller (ebay) and not have to change the lower 240V element, the MPPT makes the load match at all times, especially in the mornings and afternoons when a load like that would drag the panels down below their max power point. PV is very attractive when you look at all the hassles and leaks you could have from plumbing, plus the cost factor with PV at 68c/W and less. Wires are easy to run.
Howdy! I'm curious, have you ever tested your system by turning off the grid? How much fuel do you keep on hand? Ever give any thought as to how to get fuel if the SHTF?
im going to install 10 - 235 watt panels i can set these up in to sets at 60 volts is it better to use 60 than 48 I'm going to run these to 2 2500 watt grid ties. what is your opinion on using 60 volts verses 48 volts. thanks
I would do things differently for heating water. I would change the water tank for an A.O. Smith water tank with two elements and a heat pump. The heat pump will provide you with a new way of heating water in addition to PV solar and geothermal heating, but it will do this very efficiently. You might want to change one of the 4,000 watt or 4,500 watt AC heating elements for a 2,000 watt AC heating element. This will provide you with a heating element for your PV load charge controllers. A benefit of this setup is that if you have a high humidity environment the heat pump will draw humidity from the air, and this will decrease the humidity. If your water tank is next to all your electronic equipment, then this will increase the longevity of the same by reducing the humidity.
Hey as always GREAT video. BTW: just unpacked and set up new 650 Dillion reloader. Now to just find supplies. BTW+: looking for new videos, posting elsewhere??
Been heating water with 1500w PV as a shunt load for over a year. Standard waterheater using a 200A relay to feed the element from mppt controllers. Control voltage on relay is 24 v from an old ac transformer fed through the thermostat. Very safe, simple and cheap. Temp rise of 40°F is about 2.4kwh so preheat with a tank to about 90°F on the airspace heater in the winter.
i have a small system that i set panels out and run electric wires for tv and computers and i try my camper for 48 hours only solar like if the grid went down my campers a 12 volt system & 120 too, I got 10 batterys & 2 inverters with 300 watts of solar panels too! i got small 12 volt light system too runs off solar too! it saved me about 10 dollars a month plus may i have no electric bill! it was 95 dollars a month down to 83 i june about 10 a month! good idea on water tank gregg
With PV panels getting cheaper since this video was made - It has been said that heating water with PV panels now makes more sense than a solar-thermal system.
Unfortunately, as a guy who has installed a large solar-thermal system, you are correct. PV + hybrid (i.e. heat pump based) water heater is the way to go. Direct resistance heating with solar PV isn't too great, however.
@@ajarivas72 Surprisingly no. A hybrid heat pump water heater driven by solar PV will outperform flat plate or evacuated tube solar (if in a warm environment).
i am going to put a bunch of black plastic pipe on our back roof this sumer and conect it with a low speed circulator pump thats on a timer to the watter heater the pump will come on at around 11 am then turn off at 5 it should give almost free hot watter all day and with a insulated tank it should hold the heat for a while
I heat all my water at camp with PV and that is just with excess PV power that would just be wasted. I use 2S grid tie panels for about 60V. These match well with 2,000W 120V heater elements. At home I have a HPWH but for the price you could do supplemental PV water heating economically. If under powered, you will use almost 100% of the PV energy. It is hard to get a better payback than that with solar. I don't see why these PV systems are not very common. I have posted multiple plans. However, only 0.001% can build this stuff. Just think of the energy that could be saved if someday 50 million homes just had 300W of solar.
this is nice an all, but with my budget, I'll heat water with fire in an emergency when possible. which should be about every day. I will use the sun to heat as well using black painted containers, when I have sun. the other possibility is to use PV directly to a heating element to heat small batches of hot water for sponge bath or sanitation of dishes. Not using battery, just PV hooked to element. So I will use less expensive options in an emergency. Currently N gas is very reasonable compared to all of this equipment.
+OBXSOLWIND Damn, I had questions but seeing as how you responded to this hater bs and not other legit questions I say forget it. "all due respect"? other people asked real questions and I see no response. I was impressed. sorry. I don't mean to be rude
Yeah, interesting that ... tons of videos to suck up time that really don't give you any information, and YT's ratings and comments are not a lot of help with that.
I did it off grid. Like you say very expensive and the batteries get wore out. I moved my panels to grid tie and used a cheap immersion heater diverter. If you get the panels off ebay and do it yourself very cheap
Your system is complicated and I guess very expensive. Can you say what your payback period is likely to be? That probably is not a consideration to you as security of energy supply looks to be of primary importance. Nonetheless for any solar energy production at the individual homeowner level to be realized it has to be cost effective. You also mentioned that converting PV energy capture to the water tank is not that efficient...I would argue otherwise. The water tank just becomes another storage medium for the energy capture and when done with a water heater element the transfer is about as efficient as it gets - 97% efficient, no? Everyone needs hot water in their home so I see this means of solar energy capture really taking off in the future as PV costs continue to decline. Solar thermal system will become true red herring systems for residential water heating. My 2 cents...
Bad news for him. No such thing as a dc water heater element. they are a simple resistive load, none are AC or DC. So for a heating element, he fell for the scam and paid 3X as much for the exact same one her replaced!
A load of information that is beyond my capabilities to understand but like you said, when the time comes for me to install solar, I'll do my research. Thanks for the help.
Man do I have a lot to learn! You said you had a hard time answering other peoples questions because you are a do it yourselfer and not a pro, but almost everything you said here went way over my head. Lol. Very nice system... lots of great ideas.
This is a simple, efficient system given the many energy sources it has.
He sells to the grid, and he has a backup system when the grid goes down.
The majority of grid tied systems do not work as a backup system when the grid fails.
Despite his opinion , I think he has a very efficient way of heating water by utilizing excess energy, and this, also, avoids creating problems in his installation.
His system is efficient since most of the energy diverted to heat the water actually heats the water with few losses.
The other amazing thing about this system is the redundancy.
If his solar, wind, or hydro fail, he still has a fuel generator.
He has a geothermal system for heating with a minimum of fossil fuel consumption.
He is better prepared against unforeseen problems than most of us.
I imagine he must have tinkered with it for quite some time.
Nice to see someone so far along this route.
Today, Direct PV is the best way to heat water. PV prices are low and getting lower. You have a nice system! for 2013 you were 100% correct. 2019 and things have changed. We will soon be seeing a ton of household appliances running off direct PV. No batteries needed for many of them! It's only going to get better!
Thank you for sharing. I can tell you spent a lot of time and energy putting this system together and it shows.
thanks for the tour bud, you are squared away no doubt brother man
I'm using a TS45 PWM charge controller in it's normal charger mode. It's connected to my back-up 48v bank. Since it's a back-up, it's normally in 'float' mode. The 4 Panels (in series) are 500w of wasted power after the bank is charged.
I've connected the PV wires to the TS45 in parallel with a 13 ohm hotwater heating element. It can keep the bank charged & dump some nice BTUs into the hot water heater. Cloudy? The A7 Airtap works fine.
Also have 800w of PV on the other 13 ohm element.
You always keep me on information overload! Thanks brother!
You always explain well in your videos. Thanks & keep it up!
Awesome, you're back ! Just got finished planting the garden for the day after work. & looking to split wood tomorrow. I don't use solar of any sort, except when I don't want it, LOL. I want to use solar to remove excess heat in the house and porch areas. Have you done that? Do you use wood to heat? Thanks for the reloading videos, I have learned much from all your knowledge. Thank you again.
Wow what a set up ! very nice
Thanks Kevin, and you've always been a great help and informative. This is how I plain to do with my new system. Thanks Buddy
Wow, very nice set-up. You have more money in your system than I have in my house. My name is Kevin too. Wish I had your system so we could have more in common than names lol
as always another very informative video. thumbs up
very good explanation and simple to understand. thank you
You can use MPPT to make heating water with solar PV panels more efficient using a Solar Hybrid Hot Water Controller (ebay) and not have to change the lower 240V element, the MPPT makes the load match at all times, especially in the mornings and afternoons when a load like that would drag the panels down below their max power point. PV is very attractive when you look at all the hassles and leaks you could have from plumbing, plus the cost factor with PV at 68c/W and less. Wires are easy to run.
That's, a lot of equipment and well put together. Thanks for sharing,
Howdy! I'm curious, have you ever tested your system by turning off the grid? How much fuel do you keep on hand? Ever give any thought as to how to get fuel if the SHTF?
im going to install 10 - 235 watt panels i can set these up in to sets at 60 volts is it better to use 60 than 48 I'm going to run these to 2 2500 watt grid ties. what is your opinion on using 60 volts verses 48 volts. thanks
Awesome Buddy Bravo Great Video Kevin
I would do things differently for heating water. I would change the water tank for an A.O. Smith water tank with two elements and a heat pump.
The heat pump will provide you with a new way of heating water in addition to PV solar and geothermal heating, but it will do this very efficiently.
You might want to change one of the 4,000 watt or 4,500 watt AC heating elements for a 2,000 watt AC heating element. This will provide you with a heating element for your PV load charge controllers.
A benefit of this setup is that if you have a high humidity environment the heat pump will draw humidity from the air, and this will decrease the humidity. If your water tank is next to all your electronic equipment, then this will increase the longevity of the same by reducing the humidity.
How do you service the wall bank of ( Inverters, charge controllers, switches, breakers, etc ) from behind? Is the wall hinged ?
I always enjoy seeing your videos. Looking for new stuff 2018.
nice job with the video and your work! Press on brother!
Really good information right there
Great information, sir!
Thank you!
Hey as always GREAT video.
BTW: just unpacked and set up new 650 Dillion reloader. Now to just find supplies.
BTW+: looking for new videos, posting elsewhere??
You must have a great job to afford all of that nice stuff.
I think it's about 80 some days.. Thanks for your kind words..
Nice video.did you have a list parts
very good stuff mate :)
Great Videos....Thanks for sharing! Awesome!
Been heating water with 1500w PV as a shunt load for over a year. Standard waterheater using a 200A relay to feed the element from mppt controllers. Control voltage on relay is 24 v from an old ac transformer fed through the thermostat. Very safe, simple and cheap. Temp rise of 40°F is about 2.4kwh so preheat with a tank to about 90°F on the airspace heater in the winter.
I like all your videos
Thanks for the video!
What state are you in?
i have a small system that i set panels out and run electric wires for tv and computers and i try my camper for 48 hours only solar like if the grid went down my campers a 12 volt system & 120 too, I got 10 batterys & 2 inverters with 300 watts of solar panels too! i got small 12 volt light system too runs off solar too! it saved me about 10 dollars a month plus may i have no electric bill! it was 95 dollars a month down to 83 i june about 10 a month! good idea on water tank gregg
With PV panels getting cheaper since this video was made - It has been said that heating water with PV panels now makes more sense than a solar-thermal system.
Unfortunately, as a guy who has installed a large solar-thermal system, you are correct. PV + hybrid (i.e. heat pump based) water heater is the way to go. Direct resistance heating with solar PV isn't too great, however.
After 3 years...more and more! No it's time for everyone to do it
@@joels7605 using solar electricity to heat water is not efficient. Better heat the water directly with the sun ☀️.
@@ajarivas72 Surprisingly no. A hybrid heat pump water heater driven by solar PV will outperform flat plate or evacuated tube solar (if in a warm environment).
@@joels7605 I will look into it.
That's a great setup, and similar to how I'm slowly building mine. Any reason you chose to go with 12/24 instead of 48v?
i am going to put a bunch of black plastic pipe on our back roof this sumer and conect it with a low speed circulator pump thats on a timer to the watter heater the pump will come on at around 11 am then turn off at 5 it should give almost free hot watter all day and with a insulated tank it should hold the heat for a while
yeah our heater failed last month it was a tough 4 days without
It is hinged and that was tough to get right..
can i use say , a 48 volt mppt controller connected to solar panels then connect the mppt output straight to my 240vac hot water service ?
try this. techluck.com/index.php#buy
We can all live without hot water it just plain sucks.. Most of us take our simple pleasures for granted.
I heat all my water at camp with PV and that is just with excess PV power that would just be wasted. I use 2S grid tie panels for about 60V. These match well with 2,000W 120V heater elements. At home I have a HPWH but for the price you could do supplemental PV water heating economically. If under powered, you will use almost 100% of the PV energy. It is hard to get a better payback than that with solar. I don't see why these PV systems are not very common. I have posted multiple plans. However, only 0.001% can build this stuff. Just think of the energy that could be saved if someday 50 million homes just had 300W of solar.
this is nice an all, but with my budget, I'll heat water with fire in an emergency when possible. which should be about every day. I will use the sun to heat as well using black painted containers, when I have sun. the other possibility is to use PV directly to a heating element to heat small batches of hot water for sponge bath or sanitation of dishes. Not using battery, just PV hooked to element. So I will use less expensive options in an emergency. Currently N gas is very reasonable compared to all of this equipment.
Seems really complicated
I think you can see some good advices on Avasva solutions.
Should be called how to heat $100 in hot water with $30000 in equipment
jernst7569 With all due respect. I think you missed the point.
+OBXSOLWIND Damn, I had questions but seeing as how you responded to this hater bs and not other legit questions I say forget it. "all due respect"? other people asked real questions and I see no response. I was impressed. sorry. I don't mean to be rude
Yeah, interesting that ... tons of videos to suck up time that really don't give you any information, and YT's ratings and comments are not a lot of help with that.
I bought instruction from inplix and I built it very cheap.
If you don't know how to make it by yourself , just go to inplix website.
not afordable ffor us working people, too expensive and complicated, need simple now!
I did it off grid. Like you say very expensive and the batteries get wore out. I moved my panels to grid tie and used a cheap immersion heater diverter. If you get the panels off ebay and do it yourself very cheap
Your system is complicated and I guess very expensive. Can you say what your payback period is likely to be? That probably is not a consideration to you as security of energy supply looks to be of primary importance. Nonetheless for any solar energy production at the individual homeowner level to be realized it has to be cost effective. You also mentioned that converting PV energy capture to the water tank is not that efficient...I would argue otherwise. The water tank just becomes another storage medium for the energy capture and when done with a water heater element the transfer is about as efficient as it gets - 97% efficient, no? Everyone needs hot water in their home so I see this means of solar energy capture really taking off in the future as PV costs continue to decline. Solar thermal system will become true red herring systems for residential water heating. My 2 cents...
+EcoSenseMan
Besides, it is way easier to run wires than pipes. And electricity will not freeze inside those wires.
I did something very similar, new plans from Avasva helped me with this.
Bad news for him. No such thing as a dc water heater element. they are a simple resistive load, none are AC or DC. So for a heating element, he fell for the scam and paid 3X as much for the exact same one her replaced!