No problem, man. I'm happy to help. Regarding the current leaking to ground, in order for current to flow through the battery to ground you need a circuit. The positive isn't connected to ground so there's no circuit. Meanwhile once you've connected the negative to ground, it's now at ground potential i.e. there's 0 volts between the negative and ground so there's no leakage there either. Good question, by the way.
Yes, they're both grounded. The negative pole of the batteries are grounded inside the large box just to the right of the inverters, the box with the large battery cables going up into it. The negative wire from the panels goes to the charge controller. Inside the charge controller the panel negative and battery negative are connected together. So since the battery negative is grounded, so is the panel negative.
Great job on this video. I have 16.5 KW with a bank of 20 167lb batteries. I have a larger home with all the amenaties. Jenn-Arie Stove, 8 ft Jaccuzi, Inground pool, the works. I use less energy than I produce. This is the best video demonstration on how Solar works that I have ever seen. Thanks
The gen supplies 240 and the inverters together output 240 to the breaker panel. It does have an X.240 auto transformer but it came pre-wired. It was a while ago but I think it was series/parallel with the slave programmed as OB Slave L2. I'll keep in mind your idea of doing another video but I would need access to the system, which being way out in the country, I don't. I'd want to do more than just diagrams. I'm glad you like it. I was going for usefulness, as opposed to just entertainment.
Oh, you're talking about breakers for the solar system itself. You can see them on the solar system's panels and I talk about them during the tour and when going over the diagram. There are breakers between each component in the system - there as disconnect means so the components can be isolated and removed should repairs be necessary and also there for tripping when there's a failure or other problem. That also includes between the inverters and generator going to the main breaker box.
Thanks! I'm glad you liked it! I don't know what electricity prices are like in the UK but here (Ontario Canada) they're around $0.20CDN (0.13 British Pounds Sterling) per kilowatt hour when all costs on the electric bill are included. The price of solar panels has come down a tremendous amount over the past few years but it's still expensive for an off-grid system when comparing to our grid costs.
@abisoxth I have cleaned bird droppings off panels. Rain tends to keep them clean in summer. In winter snow becomes an issue. The maintenance you need to do depends on where you live.
Thanks. Yup, I'm aware of a bunch of those tricks and have used them a few times. Not often enough I guess. :) I think I had my tripod with me that day so I could have mounted the camera on the tripod and use the tripod as the counterweight, like you're talking about.
I'm glad you like the video! Thanks. These people are way out in the country, far from any power lines, off-grid. If they were to bring power lines in then it would cost far more. They're also pushing this system to the limit, living a city lifestyle with all the amenities. And no government subsidies.
@namesleft Around $40000. The components are the same as in any off-grid PV system but this is a large system (2 inverters, 2 charge controllers, large battery bank, 10kW generator) almost capable of keeping people in a city type lifestyle. Even then it can use more solar panels; there aren't enough non-shaded areas on the property.
Ottawa. I don't know if you're a solar installer or have a solar system, but if you do and live around here it becomes very obvious. Keep in mind, in the PV world, one month without sunlight means no useful sunlight, not seeing the sun's disk. Cloud covering the sun = no sun were PV is concerned. You might get a few amps but they won't power your off-grid cottage. Also, I hadn't noticed this myself until off-grid solar customers pointed it out. It happens every year.
I've seen many installation tours, this is the best one of all. Great coverage of the equipment, layout, logic, and safety features. A pleasure to watch. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! Looking at that old video now, I see the camera's pretty shakey but at least all the coverage and explanation is there. Thanks for the feedback, and for watching!
This particular installation isn't too old yet, and the batteries are fine. But if you look at my other video "Off-Grid Solar Installing - Day in the Life" you'll see the same type of Surrette batteries that we're replacing that were in use for 17 years. They last long as long as you take proper care of them. You can find a link to that video in the description below this video and on my channel page. Note that in the US, Surrettes are called Rolls.
I don't know why someone flagged you comment as spam. Are you asking about the connections to the battery terminals? Are you also talking about connecting a DC load? If so then yes, you have it right. I guess I should have added more wires to the diagram but I wasn't intending to go into that level of detail. And no, I'm not a professor but in a former career I did spend 13 years teaching for a software company and still do a little teaching for a local school board.
Not enough amps to matter. I didn't design the system but I think it was because of the voltage limit. I suspect these were Kyocera KC175GT panels (guessing based on other installations we did around the same time) and that there are 4 series strings. I did the wiring of the charge controllers and inverters, not the solar panels. Open Circuit Voltage per panel is 29.2V. 3 in series is 87.6 volts. Add 25% for 110 volts. And that's if they were KC175GTs. The OC voltage might have been higher.
@namesleft That's an install yourself price (estimate, I don't have the exact figure.) In case you ask, I don't know what install costs came too - I'm just one of the guys who worked on it. There was quite a bit of work involved and it was around 2 hours out of town. I don't know how much wind they have up there. It'd have to be a very tall tower, though; tall trees all around. Good possible alternative though.
Do you mean the wiring? They come with a wiring diagram but it's pretty simple. From memory, a DC lightning arrestor has red, black and green wires. Red goes to positive of the incoming PV array, black to negative and green to ground. AC lightning arrestors have black, white and green for 120VAC arrestors or black, red, white and green to 240VAC arrestors. Black and red got to the HOT wires, white to neutral and green to ground.
Thanks, I'm glad you like the video. 167lb batteries, from experience I know those are big ones, probably in the 1000Ahr range like the ones in the video. That's a nice size system you have. Do you have a generator? If so, what size and how much does it run?
Batteries to inverter was 250 amps DC. Between the inverter and generator, and the inverter and breaker panel they were 50 amps AC. The generator also has one on it but I don't know the value. I don't recall the exact value for the breakers around the controller. Each controller's output, given the panels, is 45 amps so the breakers were around that. I don't know how the panels were wired on the roof but I'd guess 22 amps into each controller.
Computers and all sorts of electronics are powered by this installation. These aren't cheap inverters, they provide clean power and surge protection. I don't have a photo of the inside of the breaker panel. This is a customer site and is out in the country. However, I did see inside the breaker panel at one time and to the best of my recollection there are no circuit boards inside (if that's what you mean by mcb.)
These are battery's I use for powering my electronics experiments so they are always kept topped up and charged after use, they are also the sealed types. Its just the location where I keep them would make them very easy to quickly connect and disconnect from a small lighting load via alligator clips/spade lugs and some thick wire to over come wire losses due to the low voltages involved. As for power cuts I'd say only about twice a year (they are usually caused by copper wire thieves).
You should also have a charger keeping the battery topped up at all times. Batteries lose a little of their charge each day. You might also consider sealed batteries so there's no maintenance or hydrogen. They do cost more though. How often do you have powercuts? The company I sometimes do solar contracting for once installed battery backup for a hotel as you described (i.e. no solar, just batteries, charger and transfer switch), also for emergency loads only.
Nope. The generator power goes into the inverter first. The inverter also contains a charge controller, though we usually just say charger in that case. The way it works is that the inverter passes generator power straight through to the appliances and any remainder is used by the inverter to charge the batteries as needed. The charge controllers that you're referring to (2 in this case) are used just for charging from solar power. These chargers don't cause problems for each other.
Excellent video as I am a still learning and this broke it down unlike countless thousands that assume you know all the missing details. Thanks for sharing...
Great setup you have there! I had an idea of making a smaller backup lighting system in my room for when we have powercuts. A small 12vdc mains powered supply energising a relay that has a lead acid battery and small 12v lighting circuit connected to the normally open side of the relay. When the power goes out the relay will close and complete the 12v battery powered light circuit, this can also be used to power the internet router and other 12v items. When power is restored the relay will open.
Oh, if it were my system I would ground battery negative since I don't like the idea of the battery voltage being random with respect to everything else. My previous reply was just what the US and Canadian electrical codes say. And I'd also put fuses (or breakers) as in the video. I prefer breakers because they can also act as a disconnect means.
No, I haven't heard anything about that. Here in Ontario, Canada we have infrastructure shortages too but in that case the applications to put on the grid are simply denied.
I have no idea what the setup cost would be or what the generator would use for a year. In order to find those things out you have to do an analysis of your power needs. You could analyze a bunch of 4 bedroom houses and depending on the inhabitant's lifestyles, the power needs could be vastly different. I'll email you a link to me website where I show how to do a neads analysis.
That's probably just a 12 volt system so no, they don't need to be grounded unless some equipment wants them to be. For example, a Magnum automatic generator starter assumes that battery negative is grounded. I would still connect any metal cases to ground to prevent danger of shocks due to short circuits.
Neither. The AC generator feeds into the inverter. The inverter then passes the AC from the generator straight through to the breaker panel to power household loads and converts any remaining power to DC charge the batteries, should charging be needed. So the generator is an input to the inverter. Not shown in the diagram is a bypass path around the inverter, going from generator to breaker panel in case the inverter is broken. Search "inverter bypass switch" for more on this.
this is the best Exsplanation I have severy seen on an outback system and gen backup for off gride I love to see more IE is it set up fo r240 or 120 and how was that set up did you use and autotransformer or use the Mate to program it. nice system love the block diogram.
If you tape the camera solidly to a weight, such as a bottle of water, it greatly reduces shake in the video. Just trying to help :) I love your channel
I can understand your ideas about breakers and fuses...you are my man! Ihave one more stupid question....i know that the current (electrons) flows from negative wire to positive......if the negative wire grounded, then the current isn't leak to earth????
For off grid solar installers do a search on google.com like "_you_city_name_ solar power". Even if whomever you find doesn't, they might know who does. Most off-grid systems are in the country on cottages where I don't think they pay property taxes. If you have cheap access to the grid then it makes no sense to go off-grid - too expensive still. But with more grid-tied systems being assessed these days, I imagine some off-grid systems are assessed with the property and that may increase taxes.
Hi sir.........you done very good job!!!!!!!!! I have a quastion about the batteries. Did you ground the negative pole of batteries???? And did you ground the negative pole of panels????
Thanks for your quick reply my friend!!! I'm thinking to install a small solar system for the beginning, just to load 5-6 lamps. Please let me ask for this small project, do i need to grounding the negative of panels and battery??? Thanks again
Great Video ! Geezzz.....that's a lot of hardware for a few kilowatts of power. I don't know what the actual cost of a Kwh is coming from that set-up but I'm guessing somewhere between 35-50 cents without all the government subsidies..... That's a hard sell, not to mention the maintenance...Good video though !
OK......your and my opinion is similar.......don't ground the battery and panels with negative pole. I' m thinking to add fuses to cables, similar that uses for cars to avoid short circuits from burning the cables. What you think? Am i correct if i add fuses?
@RimstarOrg even a wind gen would help (yep i am just north of kingston) is that instaled or an install your self price thanks (or can you add a wind gen to it)
Oh, your email address doesn't work. Here's a link to my webpage where I show how to do a needs analysis rimstar.org/renewnrg/calculate_your_power_needs.htm Unfortunately I haven't finished putting up all the steps for sizing the system once you've done the needs analysis but at least once you know your needs you can go to a solar shop and they can go from there.
wellsmd1 I no longer work in the solar business so I don't have access to the hardware anymore. However, if it's an off-grid system like the one in this video then think of the inverter as the grid and wire the inverter's AC output into the input side of the breaker panel.You'll also need a good ground. You can buy grounding rods from some hardware stores. These are 4 or 5 foot long copper rods, around 1/2" in diameter that you pound into the ground and run a wire from that to the input side of the breaker panel. That should also be the ground for your inverter.
Are you professor in university? So lets make a conclusion......in to positive pole i connect 1 wire that goes to load (with breaker), in to negative pole i connect 2 wires, 1 goes to load and the other goes to ground....am i correct?
Hmmm... I haven't done much with wind and I can't think of a best way to handle what you describe. I'd just be making a suggestion with no experience to back it up. So I suggest you ask on the forum at fieldlines {dot} com - I've spent a little time there in the past and they seem really knowledgeable about wind.
Hi, I have a problem with my solar energy off grid, and maybe you can help me. I have a diesel generator, to generate power when is dark or cloudy. The power went off the other day, and now, if we stop the generator there is no electricity in the house, the batteries are full, the solar panels are charging but the systems just shuts down when we stop the diesel engine. If you have any idea what we can do let me know. I look forward to heard from you. Adrian
What do you mean by "the systems just shuts down when we stop the diesel engine"? What specifically happens? Does the charge controller shut off too? If you have any monitors, do they lose power and go dark? Can you describe your system a bit? Do you have breakers/disconnect switches? What caused the power to go off?
RimstarOrg Wouldn't a sterling engine with panels reflecting the sun be more efficient and cheaper than photovoltaic solar panels ? Very nice video, I usually don't comment but now I do haha.
Lee Eccles Yes and no. I recall a few years ago reading that a commercially made Stirling engine was up to 30% efficient, and even if you add the losses due to the parabolic mirror or lens to concentrate the sunlight on it you'd still be a bit above the 20% efficiency for a photovoltaic solar panel, though I don't know if an equivalent cost and power Stirling engine would be cheaper. You'd also need a tracker to track the sun. If you do that then you may as well go with a small but expensive 40% efficient multijunction photovoltaic solar cell with parabolic mirror or lens and tracking system. That might be cheaper than a Stirling engine system. But Stirling engines and tracking systems are mechanical systems that won't have the 25 to 30 year life of a PV panel or cell, so yes and no. And thanks for breaking your silence and commenting. Glad you liked the video.
I've just purchased my Schneider Xantrex XW 6848 complete for 20grand and that is with 3 (24v) Forklift battery banks. If you're interested contact me and I'll send you the info.
Yet... the wiring is pretty ugly :D Wires routed on the floor and walls should be better protected from damage. Mechanical damage, firstly, then electrical or thermal damage. Let's say that someone is pushing a metal rack made of L shaped profiles and accidentally bumps in a pair of live cables, crushing and penetrating the insulation and shorting it or shocking the unwary. :)
Are you professor in university? So lets make a conclusion......in to positive pole i connect 1 wire that goes to load (with breaker), in to negative pole i connect 2 wires, 1 goes to load and the other goes to ground....am i correct?
No problem, man. I'm happy to help. Regarding the current leaking to ground, in order for current to flow through the battery to ground you need a circuit. The positive isn't connected to ground so there's no circuit. Meanwhile once you've connected the negative to ground, it's now at ground potential i.e. there's 0 volts between the negative and ground so there's no leakage there either. Good question, by the way.
Yes, they're both grounded. The negative pole of the batteries are grounded inside the large box just to the right of the inverters, the box with the large battery cables going up into it. The negative wire from the panels goes to the charge controller. Inside the charge controller the panel negative and battery negative are connected together. So since the battery negative is grounded, so is the panel negative.
Great job on this video. I have 16.5 KW with a bank of 20 167lb batteries. I have a larger home with all the amenaties. Jenn-Arie Stove, 8 ft Jaccuzi, Inground pool, the works. I use less energy than I produce.
This is the best video demonstration on how Solar works that I have ever seen. Thanks
The gen supplies 240 and the inverters together output 240 to the breaker panel. It does have an X.240 auto transformer but it came pre-wired. It was a while ago but I think it was series/parallel with the slave programmed as OB Slave L2. I'll keep in mind your idea of doing another video but I would need access to the system, which being way out in the country, I don't. I'd want to do more than just diagrams. I'm glad you like it. I was going for usefulness, as opposed to just entertainment.
Oh, you're talking about breakers for the solar system itself. You can see them on the solar system's panels and I talk about them during the tour and when going over the diagram. There are breakers between each component in the system - there as disconnect means so the components can be isolated and removed should repairs be necessary and also there for tripping when there's a failure or other problem. That also includes between the inverters and generator going to the main breaker box.
Thanks! I'm glad you liked it! I don't know what electricity prices are like in the UK but here (Ontario Canada) they're around $0.20CDN (0.13 British Pounds Sterling) per kilowatt hour when all costs on the electric bill are included. The price of solar panels has come down a tremendous amount over the past few years but it's still expensive for an off-grid system when comparing to our grid costs.
@abisoxth I have cleaned bird droppings off panels. Rain tends to keep them clean in summer. In winter snow becomes an issue. The maintenance you need to do depends on where you live.
Thanks. Yup, I'm aware of a bunch of those tricks and have used them a few times. Not often enough I guess. :) I think I had my tripod with me that day so I could have mounted the camera on the tripod and use the tripod as the counterweight, like you're talking about.
I'm glad you like the video! Thanks.
These people are way out in the country, far from any power lines, off-grid. If they were to bring power lines in then it would cost far more. They're also pushing this system to the limit, living a city lifestyle with all the amenities. And no government subsidies.
Thanks. I appreciate your feedback.
You're welcome. And thanks for the feedback.
Thanks! I'm glad to hear you liked it.
@namesleft Around $40000. The components are the same as in any off-grid PV system but this is a large system (2 inverters, 2 charge controllers, large battery bank, 10kW generator) almost capable of keeping people in a city type lifestyle. Even then it can use more solar panels; there aren't enough non-shaded areas on the property.
By far the most clearly edited and explained video on youtube I've seen so far.
I'm delighted to hear it helped. Thanks for the feedback!
Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!
Ottawa. I don't know if you're a solar installer or have a solar system, but if you do and live around here it becomes very obvious. Keep in mind, in the PV world, one month without sunlight means no useful sunlight, not seeing the sun's disk. Cloud covering the sun = no sun were PV is concerned. You might get a few amps but they won't power your off-grid cottage. Also, I hadn't noticed this myself until off-grid solar customers pointed it out. It happens every year.
I've seen many installation tours, this is the best one of all. Great coverage of the equipment, layout, logic, and safety features. A pleasure to watch. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! Looking at that old video now, I see the camera's pretty shakey but at least all the coverage and explanation is there. Thanks for the feedback, and for watching!
Thanks Robert. I'm glad you're finding it useful.
This particular installation isn't too old yet, and the batteries are fine. But if you look at my other video "Off-Grid Solar Installing - Day in the Life" you'll see the same type of Surrette batteries that we're replacing that were in use for 17 years. They last long as long as you take proper care of them. You can find a link to that video in the description below this video and on my channel page. Note that in the US, Surrettes are called Rolls.
I don't know why someone flagged you comment as spam. Are you asking about the connections to the battery terminals? Are you also talking about connecting a DC load? If so then yes, you have it right. I guess I should have added more wires to the diagram but I wasn't intending to go into that level of detail. And no, I'm not a professor but in a former career I did spend 13 years teaching for a software company and still do a little teaching for a local school board.
Not enough amps to matter. I didn't design the system but I think it was because of the voltage limit. I suspect these were Kyocera KC175GT panels (guessing based on other installations we did around the same time) and that there are 4 series strings. I did the wiring of the charge controllers and inverters, not the solar panels. Open Circuit Voltage per panel is 29.2V. 3 in series is 87.6 volts. Add 25% for 110 volts. And that's if they were KC175GTs. The OC voltage might have been higher.
@namesleft That's an install yourself price (estimate, I don't have the exact figure.) In case you ask, I don't know what install costs came too - I'm just one of the guys who worked on it. There was quite a bit of work involved and it was around 2 hours out of town.
I don't know how much wind they have up there. It'd have to be a very tall tower, though; tall trees all around. Good possible alternative though.
Do you mean the wiring? They come with a wiring diagram but it's pretty simple. From memory, a DC lightning arrestor has red, black and green wires. Red goes to positive of the incoming PV array, black to negative and green to ground. AC lightning arrestors have black, white and green for 120VAC arrestors or black, red, white and green to 240VAC arrestors. Black and red got to the HOT wires, white to neutral and green to ground.
Thanks, I'm glad you like the video. 167lb batteries, from experience I know those are big ones, probably in the 1000Ahr range like the ones in the video. That's a nice size system you have. Do you have a generator? If so, what size and how much does it run?
Batteries to inverter was 250 amps DC. Between the inverter and generator, and the inverter and breaker panel they were 50 amps AC. The generator also has one on it but I don't know the value. I don't recall the exact value for the breakers around the controller. Each controller's output, given the panels, is 45 amps so the breakers were around that. I don't know how the panels were wired on the roof but I'd guess 22 amps into each controller.
Computers and all sorts of electronics are powered by this installation. These aren't cheap inverters, they provide clean power and surge protection. I don't have a photo of the inside of the breaker panel. This is a customer site and is out in the country. However, I did see inside the breaker panel at one time and to the best of my recollection there are no circuit boards inside (if that's what you mean by mcb.)
These are battery's I use for powering my electronics experiments so they are always kept topped up and charged after use, they are also the sealed types. Its just the location where I keep them would make them very easy to quickly connect and disconnect from a small lighting load via alligator clips/spade lugs and some thick wire to over come wire losses due to the low voltages involved.
As for power cuts I'd say only about twice a year (they are usually caused by copper wire thieves).
You should also have a charger keeping the battery topped up at all times. Batteries lose a little of their charge each day. You might also consider sealed batteries so there's no maintenance or hydrogen. They do cost more though. How often do you have powercuts?
The company I sometimes do solar contracting for once installed battery backup for a hotel as you described (i.e. no solar, just batteries, charger and transfer switch), also for emergency loads only.
Nope. The generator power goes into the inverter first. The inverter also contains a charge controller, though we usually just say charger in that case. The way it works is that the inverter passes generator power straight through to the appliances and any remainder is used by the inverter to charge the batteries as needed. The charge controllers that you're referring to (2 in this case) are used just for charging from solar power. These chargers don't cause problems for each other.
Excellent video as I am a still learning and this broke it down unlike countless thousands that assume you know all the missing details. Thanks for sharing...
Great setup you have there! I had an idea of making a smaller backup lighting system in my room for when we have powercuts. A small 12vdc mains powered supply energising a relay that has a lead acid battery and small 12v lighting circuit connected to the normally open side of the relay. When the power goes out the relay will close and complete the 12v battery powered light circuit, this can also be used to power the internet router and other 12v items. When power is restored the relay will open.
Glad I could help. Thanks for letting me know.
Thanks! Glad to have to helped.
@namesleft Oh, and it's in Quebec, near Ottawa, Ontario (I noticed you're in Ontario too.)
Oh, if it were my system I would ground battery negative since I don't like the idea of the battery voltage being random with respect to everything else. My previous reply was just what the US and Canadian electrical codes say.
And I'd also put fuses (or breakers) as in the video. I prefer breakers because they can also act as a disconnect means.
But if you have a feed-in tariff program where you can sell to the grid then it's economical or if you have some sort of subsidies or incentives.
No, I haven't heard anything about that. Here in Ontario, Canada we have infrastructure shortages too but in that case the applications to put on the grid are simply denied.
I have no idea what the setup cost would be or what the generator would use for a year. In order to find those things out you have to do an analysis of your power needs. You could analyze a bunch of 4 bedroom houses and depending on the inhabitant's lifestyles, the power needs could be vastly different. I'll email you a link to me website where I show how to do a neads analysis.
That's probably just a 12 volt system so no, they don't need to be grounded unless some equipment wants them to be. For example, a Magnum automatic generator starter assumes that battery negative is grounded. I would still connect any metal cases to ground to prevent danger of shocks due to short circuits.
I have just subscribed to you as this was so well done, thank you so much from New Zealand and yes God bless you and your family
Good, I definitely try to keep it real.
Outstanding presentation! Thanks for sharing.
God Bless!
Neither. The AC generator feeds into the inverter. The inverter then passes the AC from the generator straight through to the breaker panel to power household loads and converts any remaining power to DC charge the batteries, should charging be needed. So the generator is an input to the inverter. Not shown in the diagram is a bypass path around the inverter, going from generator to breaker panel in case the inverter is broken. Search "inverter bypass switch" for more on this.
I would like to thank you for taking what appears to be a very complicated system and making it simple god bless
this is the best Exsplanation I have severy seen on an outback system and gen backup for off gride I love to see more IE is it set up fo r240 or 120 and how was that set up did you use and autotransformer or use the Mate to program it. nice system love the block diogram.
If you tape the camera solidly to a weight, such as a bottle of water, it greatly reduces shake in the video. Just trying to help :) I love your channel
very informative, i like to more videos of real instalations like these two
:) And no radioactive waste either, plus ample shielding.
Amazing video and full of details! Thank you for all the info!
Nice setup buddy.
Thanks for sharing this brilliant video.
I can understand your ideas about breakers and fuses...you are my man! Ihave one more stupid question....i know that the current (electrons) flows from negative wire to positive......if the negative wire grounded, then the current isn't leak to earth????
For off grid solar installers do a search on google.com like "_you_city_name_ solar power". Even if whomever you find doesn't, they might know who does. Most off-grid systems are in the country on cottages where I don't think they pay property taxes. If you have cheap access to the grid then it makes no sense to go off-grid - too expensive still. But with more grid-tied systems being assessed these days, I imagine some off-grid systems are assessed with the property and that may increase taxes.
Hi sir.........you done very good job!!!!!!!!! I have a quastion about the batteries. Did you ground the negative pole of batteries???? And did you ground the negative pole of panels????
Thanks for your quick reply my friend!!! I'm thinking to install a small solar system for the beginning, just to load 5-6 lamps. Please let me ask for this small project, do i need to grounding the negative of panels and battery???
Thanks again
thank u sir and best video on youtube like the way u explain everything
Appreciate your help...sam
what amps are the breakers exactly? before-after the batteries,controller,inverters,etc??
It was around $40,000.
Great Video ! Geezzz.....that's a lot of hardware for a few kilowatts of power.
I don't know what the actual cost of a Kwh is coming from that set-up but I'm guessing somewhere between 35-50 cents without all the government subsidies.....
That's a hard sell, not to mention the maintenance...Good video though !
OK......your and my opinion is similar.......don't ground the battery and panels with negative pole. I' m thinking to add fuses to cables, similar that uses for cars to avoid short circuits from burning the cables. What you think? Am i correct if i add fuses?
very nice work , good job, thank you .
@RimstarOrg even a wind gen would help (yep i am just north of kingston) is that instaled or an install your self price thanks (or can you add a wind gen to it)
@RimstarOrg even a wind gen would help (yep i am just north of kingston) is that instaled or an install your self price thanks
That's funny. I thought they were Aussie too! Guess I was wrong too. :)
Nice video. Very helpful.
hi, why you need 2 charges ? how many amps you are getting from the panels ?
Aussie made Inverter / chargers ?
Oh, your email address doesn't work. Here's a link to my webpage where I show how to do a needs analysis
rimstar.org/renewnrg/calculate_your_power_needs.htm
Unfortunately I haven't finished putting up all the steps for sizing the system once you've done the needs analysis but at least once you know your needs you can go to a solar shop and they can go from there.
can you do a video on how you wired the inverters to the service panel??
wellsmd1 I no longer work in the solar business so I don't have access to the hardware anymore. However, if it's an off-grid system like the one in this video then think of the inverter as the grid and wire the inverter's AC output into the input side of the breaker panel.You'll also need a good ground. You can buy grounding rods from some hardware stores. These are 4 or 5 foot long copper rods, around 1/2" in diameter that you pound into the ground and run a wire from that to the input side of the breaker panel. That should also be the ground for your inverter.
hi quick question how do you install the lighting arrestors
Are you professor in university? So lets make a conclusion......in to positive pole i connect 1 wire that goes to load (with breaker), in to negative pole i connect 2 wires, 1 goes to load and the other goes to ground....am i correct?
Hmmm... I haven't done much with wind and I can't think of a best way to handle what you describe. I'd just be making a suggestion with no experience to back it up. So I suggest you ask on the forum at fieldlines {dot} com - I've spent a little time there in the past and they seem really knowledgeable about wind.
Hi, I have a problem with my solar energy off grid, and maybe you can help me.
I have a diesel generator, to generate power when is dark or cloudy.
The power went off the other day, and now, if we stop the generator there is no electricity in the house, the batteries are full, the solar panels are charging but the systems just shuts down when we stop the diesel engine. If you have any idea what we can do let me know.
I look forward to heard from you.
Adrian
What do you mean by "the systems just shuts down when we stop the diesel engine"? What specifically happens? Does the charge controller shut off too? If you have any monitors, do they lose power and go dark? Can you describe your system a bit? Do you have breakers/disconnect switches? What caused the power to go off?
10000 watt is some hard overkill for where i live, a 2000w would be fine for me lol
how much would a system like that cost
Wow, a Nuclear Powered House.
Only the Hydrogen Fusion Reactor is 150,000,000 kilometers away.
what is the cost of this setup ?
Byron Lopez Around $40,000.
RimstarOrg
Wouldn't a sterling engine with panels reflecting the sun be more efficient and cheaper than photovoltaic solar panels ? Very nice video, I usually don't comment but now I do haha.
Lee Eccles
Yes and no. I recall a few years ago reading that a commercially made Stirling engine was up to 30% efficient, and even if you add the losses due to the parabolic mirror or lens to concentrate the sunlight on it you'd still be a bit above the 20% efficiency for a photovoltaic solar panel, though I don't know if an equivalent cost and power Stirling engine would be cheaper. You'd also need a tracker to track the sun. If you do that then you may as well go with a small but expensive 40% efficient multijunction photovoltaic solar cell with parabolic mirror or lens and tracking system. That might be cheaper than a Stirling engine system. But Stirling engines and tracking systems are mechanical systems that won't have the 25 to 30 year life of a PV panel or cell, so yes and no.
And thanks for breaking your silence and commenting. Glad you liked the video.
I've just purchased my Schneider Xantrex XW 6848 complete for 20grand and that is with 3 (24v) Forklift battery banks. If you're interested contact me and I'll send you the info.
Yeah, 10000 watts isn't your average off-grid lifestyle. :)
I like how you put the video together.. Very informative.
Check out my off grid series.. Let me know if you like it.. thanks!
where is bms, dont we need bms to protect the battery pack
The charge controller does that.
Now, imagine 10Kw electrolysis of water.... just imagine how fast could this happens...
nope, i was wrong !
Serious rats nest wow but good vid
Yet... the wiring is pretty ugly :D
Wires routed on the floor and walls should be better protected from damage.
Mechanical damage, firstly, then electrical or thermal damage. Let's say that someone is pushing a metal rack made of L shaped profiles and accidentally bumps in a pair of live cables, crushing and penetrating the insulation and shorting it or shocking the unwary.
:)
how do you heat sink all of that?
the wolf studio How do you heat sink what? There are heat sinks and cooling fans in the various places where needed in the various devices.
hm... ok
Are you professor in university? So lets make a conclusion......in to positive pole i connect 1 wire that goes to load (with breaker), in to negative pole i connect 2 wires, 1 goes to load and the other goes to ground....am i correct?