8 Costly Solar Mistakes to Avoid When You Design Your Solar Panel Kit
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 มิ.ย. 2024
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Addendum to #1: Don't assume your power company will credit you back on a 1 to 1 ratio. Check first before deciding what is most cost effective for you in your area. Some electric companies will take your 1KWH that you produce during the day, and only give you a third or a quarter of it back at night.
You're lucky you're not in the UK my supplier gives 3.5p per unit. Which is just under 10 percent of what they charge me on import 😕
@@keithhobbs1 Better if we all go off grid, then they’ll beg for access to rooftop power. Or if groups of people band together say on each block. They can negotiate better prices collectively. Or, governments can wake up and smell the coffee, and regulate for equal price each way, just with time-dependant tariffs. So we put power into the grid at peak times, and try to use most of our car charging, washing etc at off-peak times.
I pay an average of 4.1 cents per KWH and I get .8 cents per KWH. But to be honest, I used to pay 13.1 cents per KWH so it's still a plus. Last months I sold back about 230 KWH more than I bought, but with the Air conditioning starting up now, that'll change in the next few months.
The point of being off the grid is that I will have power when the grid goes down! Specially in Florida with how often we get hurricanes
I realize this is an older video, but to respond to one statement...
"Why pay for batteries when the utility grid will take care of storage for you?"
1. My utility company only gives me a 30% return on the power I give them
2. Power availability when the grid goes down
She did say you won't be able to use the battery when the grid goes down as its unsafe for technicians repairing the grid to have micro producers sending electricity back down the line.
@@ianwynne5483 May wish to watch the video again. 3:31
That is not correct you can use batteries when grid down. You can not generate power when grid down.
@@jenallen5202 if you get the hybrid inverter without back feed and use a generator interlock circuit breaker you power up your system and the inverter doesn't know the difference
Mini deep cycle lithium ion batteries will certainly change The Scenario soon
We have used the th-cam.com/users/postUgkxOTeIs0vv4_9B5hsmnLsk9r930uDQLu_Y for probably 30 hours with our camper and it’s been great! The noise level is really only noticeable when running the AC and other appliances like the microwave, hair dryer, or coffee pot. It’s not huge like other ones and it has wheels so even at 90lbs, I can move it!
Thanks guys! This is the #1 video that I send to all of my clients, I am a solar installation tech. and this answers so many questions right from the start! You guys have been along with me through several complete systems, and I'm looking forward to many more, Lordwilling and here in west TN we have A LOT of creeks that rise.. 😏
Batteries are not expensive anymore. There are UL listed rack mount LFP 5.12kwh units now less than $2k. And even just having 10kwh to pull from in the evening when energy is most expensive in most areas is a no brainer. And the cost is dropping by roughly 18% a year and has been for the last decade. Much like solar. Which retail by the pallet is 45-55 cents a watt now. Compared to $175 in 1978.
Thank you for sharing! Great guide that answers many initial questions for DIY!!!
Grid tied systems have the disadvantage of having no power during a power outage. Having a hybrid system is another option which has been much more affordable since this video was released. Rack mounted Lithium Iron Phosphate battery systems that store about 5000 Watt Hours (KWH) cost about $1750 which have built-in battery management systems, cell heaters, etc. With that kind of power 30 KWH costs less than $11K plus tax, shipping, and installation cost (unless it is a DYI install). A grid cutoff switch is necessary to tie the solar battery system to the grid once power returns.
It is worth noting that Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries (with respect to Lithium Ion batteries) are much more durable and have a much longer lifespan (at least 10 years) and can last a lot longer. Because of their weight increased weight, these batteries are ideal for stationary use and are much less suitable for non-stationary use. As the name implies, manufacturers market server type racks that include bus bars for vertical mounting for multiple battery systems.
Following a nature or man-made disaster (excluding an EMP attack or a mass solar ejection which would fry nearly all electronics to the grid), a hybrid system would supply endless electrify to a home unlike a Generac generator which requires it to be supplied with fuel and when that fuel runs out. By the way, the total cost can be around $12,000 to $15,000 to buy and install a whole-house which is somewhat less than the cost of a battery backup system.
Just add a shutoff on the grid side.
Don't forget the battery will be shot in 10 years. A gas-powered generator beats it hands down - it's 10x cheaper and maybe I'll have to replace a couple of gaskets once in 20 years... Yours is the solar mistake #9.
#1) Because in some areas you are only credited a fraction of you sell vs what you buy. It's also insurance against the grid being down. For those in unreliable power areas like CA and like to keep the cold stuff in the fridge cold, a battery system is worth it.
Exactly. The whole point at first for me was to have a backup for when the grit goes down and not have to worry about storing huge amounts of gas for the generators. So grit-tied does no good for that.
Yep this video is misleading at that. If you got the pannels have the batteries 🔋 flip a switch and go off grid if your grid is no longer up.
@@rjvanloon4769 I guess it depends on how much it stores doesn't it?
The battery power may only last one night, right?
What if like in TX the power outage was for a week or more and in winter no less?
Yep, and if you're in a rural area, where you might be a very low priority line repair, you'll want a secondary power system, be it batteries, or a generator. No matter what, you'll need some form of BMS if you use batteries, and it may actually be worth staying away from the "used Tesla Cells". Some have an AMAZING luck, but I've heard of people buying a battery system, tying it in, and finding in 6 months that half the cells can't hold a charge at all...
I'll have a grid tie system, but I'll also have a battery solution. Still in my very early planing stages, especially considering I'm not sure if we're building on our property or somewhere else. I want the property, SWMBO want's local. :(
@@WreckDiver99 It always made me wonder, if you have a pack with say 100 cells and 10 have "worn out", wouldn't it stand to reason the remaing 90 are probably very close to being worn out also?
we went with a 6.6kw on-grid no battery system. Our electricity cost first month (November) went from $110 in 2020 to $42 in 2021. We sell back more than we use.
Your tips are very helpful. Thank you.
I didn’t expect much from this video, but this is legit advice. Factual and straight to the point.
A lot of good information on concepts to research, and common sense distilled into simple words. Thank you!
This is the most informative Solar system video I've seen. Lots of straightforward info. Thanks.
This is the company I bought my whole 7.2 kw system. They designed my whole system and to get me to buy they did my building permit for free.. The building permit passed our county building dept on the first try.. I paid for the system in 3 years 7 months.. I installed all 24 panels plus microinverters in 28 hours the whole thing myself..I was 66 years old them.. Part 2 of my system will start when the quantum glass battery comes out of research.. This battery will put lithium out of business.. They are cheaper, last longer and no I’ll effects to make them to the environment.. one more thing this company is employee owned and sell American made products for 30-35% less.. They are skilled engineers and love home owners.. This company is the best way to go..
Thank you for this effort
Brilliant! Such good advice and I thank you so much for it. You’ve certainly helped me with my research
Very informative, it will definitely guide while working with solar power.
Really good pointers... thanks for sharing such useful information.
Making the distinction between Dr Frankenstein and his monster greatly pleased me. Good job by the script supervisor.
Frankensteen ! Frankensteen! When will anyone get it right ?
Awesome Tips, Compliments from UK.
Great videos and nice presentation
Thanks a ton
Great Info, great delivery, thanks!
Nice explanation got good knowledge about Solar
Very helpful video. Thanks!!
Deland Florida’s Duke Energy for the most part is pretty reliable. But in the last three months we’ve had about six power outages some last up three three or four hours. So a back up battery installed in our garage would be ideal since we can’t trust or depend on the electric grid of the electric company.
An elderly couple hired a company and sold energy back to FPL. When a hurricane came they had trouble finding people to bring down the panels and from time to time they have trouble reaching technical support. Also consider that solar panels do fail and cause fires , on your roof! I suggest you learn and do your own installs. I have several (Frankenstein) solar generators and they have been working fine for years. This presentation is a sells job. Beautiful lady though.
Thanks for this very clear and interesting video.
Very pertinent tutorial.
I run Frankenstein system, but it's running good for almost two years and on going.
As long as you have knowledge Frankenstein is your best friend
Excellent and informative presentation!
Very informative!
Thank you for a very informative and well presented run down.
with a centralized invertor...the entire panel array only produces at the rate of the panel with the lowest out put...so if one panel is in shade due to sun, or dirt, or debris, or any reason, then WHOLE system is truncated. Also...DC loses power over distance, so the invertor has to be near the solar panels... with sunpower and each panel with an invertor...you can put the panels anywhere you want, and if one panel gets shaded due to cloud cover, then only that panel has reduced output.
Thanks for sharing !!! ❤️
I just want to thank you for this video. It does such an amazing job of giving you the right tools and mindset of going about a solar project. I wish I had watched this video first before anything else!
My one ask would be to have an updated version which includes a bit more details about micro invertor vs power optimizers as well as an updated outlook on future trends you are seeing in regards to NEM as well as the role of EVs in a solar system.
This is an excellent presentation. She's spot on.
Don’t let a solar company scam u people... invest in a system that u own and have the battery back up as well as generator
@Jackson Parker just go off grid
Only go off-grid if you have a generator. If you don't and your inverters go bad, what do you do? Generator is good, but you need to do a stress test once a month.
@@mthompson965
Well what do u do if ur generator goes bad u buy a new one right ?
Some solar companies have done a lot of harm to the industry by lying to customers and selling their shit very expensive. I sell solar panels for a living and it's become very difficult. A lot of people have become very distrustful and I don't blame them. If you are interested in solar panels please let me know. We have customers in west Texas who ended up with credits for 2020 between $300 all the way to $926. I know it's hard to believe but it's no lie.
I would like to talk more to you about an off grid system install is there a link or other source besides this to contact your company?
Some great advice here, thank you!
Very Good Explanation.... 👍💪😘👩🏻
This video is clearly made for people who are just beginning research, so I believe “101” or something like that should be included in the title. Also; at no point did she ever discuss that a lot of people choose to go off-grid because the U.S. grid is not a pure sine wave; and therefore, damages all of your electronic devices more than even a cheap $50 pure sine wave inverter from Amazon would. So a lot of people do NOT want to be tied to the subpar grid (in the world’s richest nation).
Excellent presentation! I was offered leasing ^^
The money I save by going off grid and storing in batteries for use is much more money after factoring replacing batteries after 10 to 15 years. So yes off grid is a go for me. Plus the perks of building a portable system. All the cons she stated can be solved by other components but only a quack would make those kinds of mistakes when designing a system in the first place.
Very good representation, thank you!
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Here in northern Canada in winter you get maybe 5 hours of day light and NEVER high enough in the sky to do any good. Over charging should not be a problem if you have a charge controller.
Superb information! Straight to the point and factually right.
Within the first minute and fifteen seconds of your video you managed to omit a really important consideration: utilitiy companies for grid-tie sell-back require a VERY long term contract, like twenty years. There lots of rules and regulations that make dealing with the situation not worth the hassles for many people if not most.
I am confused a bit: Mistake nr. 3. Suggestion "back up battery system" against power outages. Question: what will be the cost difference between "off-grid" battery system and "grid-tie" back up battery system?
Great video, thanks! Going in circles trying to undertand my needs was frustrating. This vid and another helped get me me back on track.
Great solar tips thanks!
The best educational video l’ve watched on solar energy systems!!!
My brother did Grid tie solar, over 10 kilowatts, and when the power went down in Texas in the coldest winter time he had NO ELECTRICITY!! He had no batteries, no storage and no means of using kilowatts of to light or heat the house. Solar panels can be added on later if your inverter and charger can handle the extra power so going large on the hardware is a good idea. The same is true of batteries, they only store the charge they don't force too much current on your system when wired in parallel, unlike wiring in series where the voltage goes up and can adversely effect everything.. Also to consider is having a separate system for certain applications like AC cooling or charging a car, kept wired separately from your breaker box set up. Lastly some inverters can be combined or stacked with others to increase their output.
Overall decent video. with a few notes...
You cannot "Store Energy in the grid", that is about the worst way you could explain "Supplementing grid power".
The 5-6 years return on investment is not realistic. Most system are 7-8 years. including mine which is now 8 years old and just balanced out in the start of year 8.
We have our system over a year now and the payback time was estimated at 6 years. With the current rise in energy costs in Europe the payback time is reduced to 4 years! Our energy provider allows a 1 to 1 deduction (our cunsumption is negative) and the buy back rate of the surplus is only 40% but it is absolutely a good investment.
We over invested in 50% more pannels against the advice of the bare minimum (the additional cost were only 15%) to be ready for the heathpump wich was installed recemtly.
Love IT!
Nice one! Thanks for the pointers!
You do a great job
Read all the agreements including the fine print. Some deals will allow for a lean against your home so you can't sell the house until that's paid off.
In Brazil we have the same system of feed-in tariffs. They usually pay around 90% back when you feed grid and get the kWh back in the night.
It's a shame they don't even do 1-to-1 credit as the solar energy makes a better place for our living.
Very nice video, congrats.
This sounds extremely far o me. Getting 90% back is an awesome deal.
very informative
Find this video at the correct time Thanks!
Hello Is there a way to buy some equipment and later add panels?
Great advice.
I’m looking for a nz co that can look at my very expensive solar set up that is wonderful in Summer and hopeless in Winter.
Here in the UK, new installs get very little credit for power fed back to the grid, approx one sixth of what you pay for import, so a battery is a very efficient idea.Also we can import power during restricted overnight hours at approx one quarter of the day rate, and can charge the battery at cheap night rate, and use it during expensive day rate.
At todays rates and looking to the future, a battery is a really good idea, possibly good just to install without solar and enjoy the cheap night rate.
Is there enough sun in the uk?
There is no gate to the return so everyone sends electricity back. You pay fit it they don't tell you and absolutely no money
Remark with the first point, you say if grid company allows. Mine will allow to deliver power to, but I pay more when taking, this goes upon the next 10 years upto that I pay full rate when taking. Battery is then worth considering right
You still need batteries “on grid” if your grid feed-in tariff is near zero as in the UK.
Good information
are there any affordable hybrid gridtie/backup controllers?
great info
About the efficiency being reduced by heat could be fixed by add on peltier cell that use heat to convert to electricity that way the more heat the more power generate and not less
Thousands of people here in Maine have filed law suits against the power company for over charging ! They over charged me , My energy bill went from $100 a month to $300 over night ! I do not use much power , as I said I have solar panels and generate all my own power now .
Did you put the federal tax credit back into the loan?
Great informative video
Wow, I went looking for some OLDER videos about off-grid solar systems to share with a friend and THIS came up. I went "greener" a decade ago and it pains me to have to sift through the plethora of companies like this capitalizing on this. Solar rocks. We know it. But come on! A bit of research for the person that "wants" to go this route should be easier than sifting through youtube algorithms of searches resulting in THIS. My gawd!
I own two vacant lots in central Florida around 27.5. I understand in the northern hemisphere panels should point south, but we are not that far south. The challenge is one lot faces east and the other faces south and the houses I want to potentially build has a single flat roof where the solar panels will offer shade to a roof top. How important will solar panel angle be for me?
The ideal would be south orientated at an 90-[your latitude] degree angle. This will give you the peak spreaded around noon. To spread the peak it is not unusual to have pannels facing part east and part west at an 30 dergree angle.
Thanks
thank you for sharing
Great....ma'am agree with you...
#1 may be true in the US, but NOT in the UK. Here we pay 27p per kwhr for grid electricity but only receive 4p for feeding in solar.
Great info. Thanks.
HOW MANY BATTERIES DO YOU NEED TO STORE ENERGY FOT 2,000 FOOT 4PERSON FAMILY? NAME BEST BATTERY'S TO USE? IS THERE A SUN CRANK OR MACHINE TO FOLLOW SUN WITH PANELS THANK YOU
As far as consulting with an experienced solar technician first; we tried that. In our experience it was like dealing with a salesman. The phone calls were almost relentless until I had to put my foot down. "Consult" should never equal feeling like you're being pressured, pushed or harassed. Personally, I don't like salespeople in general for those reasons. Salespeople tend to forget whose money is being spent when it's all said and done.~APRIL LIPKE
Yeah they are dog's. They pressure you saying stuff like you only can get this deal today yata yata
It sound like the company you were dealing with,
was not supportive and patient with you.
That should not reflect on those companies in good standing for customer service.
Very informative video. Thank you.
Thanks!
Why not store with the grid? Because the grid fails. Texas 2021 example.
and the grid doesnt store it haha
"because the grid fails" It wasn't so much the grid failing rather the green energy production. Windmil generators froze in place and solar panels got covered in snow.
@@datsuntoyy windmill and solar were just a small fraction. The majority still depends on natural gas and oil, aka fossil fuels. These pipelines froze and burst, the entire fossil fuel supply failed, while green energy still managed to function in part.
@@totallyaccuratebotansimula9493 Funny how Coal froze and solar panels worked with a couple of feet of snow on them. Try again.
@@datsuntoyy Coal didn't 'freeze'. Oil and gas pipelines froze because they did not have enough anti-icing measures. When water freezes it expands and ruptures the pipes. And once the pipe is burst, the whole supply line is broken. That was the biggest factor that shut down the grid, because it couldn't handle the increased demand after this happened.
You pay for what you get for. Saying that if your paying a lot more for a company to install them is because your getting top notch customer service and excellent warranties separate from the manufacturers. So your covered back to back. Yes it will be a lot cheaper installing them your self but are you willing to take the problems that come with it? That’s like saying you can build your own house and it would be a lot cheaper than buying one already made but there is a a lot of factors that go in to it.
There are a lot of overpriced scams. Not as innocent as you suggest.
Could you come help me with my off-grid setup in central Maine ⁉️
Amazing presentation
I just bought into the power home solar system. I wanted a battery
backup instead of a generator. Installation was fast and good. The
installers were great. The concierge never contacted me till I sent
emails to them. That is not near as bad as the next thing. I am new to
solar but I was told I would get a 26 percent $14,000.00 (something)
dollar energy tax credit to pay down my system and lower my monthly
payments. Well that's not true in Indiana if your retired. Your social
security is not taxable. You need to have earned more than the energy
tax credit to get that amount returned. Which I didn't. To get the
energy tax credit. I contacted my sales man. he acted kinda surprised.
The system works like it is advertised So If your retired with no
taxable income don't fall for this. Unless you are young and have a
large income.
Rule number One for tax-deduction: You need to pay tax in the first place.
Just out of curiosity: How much lower is your electricity bill with the system in place?
Good advice just a slight contradiction on the batteries
Because when you do a grid-tied system your power system still fails when the power goes out only option batteries
I pick up panels cheap when I see them go up on local sales sites , I have enough parts now to run 3 seperate setups witch works out fine for what I'm doing with them .
Very good, Doctor.
"Why pay for batteries when you don't need them?" To answer your question, how about when the grid goes down. I'll bet there's a lot of people in Texas saying why didn't I get a system with batteries when I had the chance.
She actually addresses that later in the video
@Dan Quayles ITS SPELT POTATOE! batteries are most definitely an insane expense, it would take extreme measures before the person with full battery backup would look wiser than the person with a Honda EU7000. I think that a lot of people with full battery banks are preppers though and they consider it an expensive vice.
In Perth Western Australia we have government run power provider at the moment we get paid 2.5 cents per Kw feed in tariff then we pay 28 cents a Kw when we use it from the grid i do not think they like people getting power from solar
Commending your developing Presenting Skill Ser
Very nice and interested presentation, but have several mistakes in explanation:
1) Solar system are ON-GRID, OFF-Grid and HYBRID.
If On-Grid give you option "to save the planet" producing green energy, this not give you option to have energy when the electric network is dead. In this case you use Hybrid System what give independence when electric network is falling down.
2) Electric panel give you an average of electricity- the panel production curve is very close to Gauss's bell. That is, at sunrise produce less, increase until noon and in the evening we go down again to zero - as long as the panels are fixed on the roof of the house. In this point to have maximum production of energy is mandatory to have a trace/systrem what follow the sun from morning to the twilight, this mean the the sun's rays fall perpendicularly on the panels. In this moment we can consider the maximum efficiency of the panels.
3) If we are on the parallel 45 degrees latitude north - to have maximum efficiency it is mandatory to have 22 degrees on the summer and 67 degrees in the winter angle for the panel. This mean the system must to move in horizontal plan and in same time in vertical plan. Otherwise we are speak about maximum efficiency for one fix system on 45 degrees what give to you 40-60% from maximum capacity of the daily light.
4) To choose a system, we must make a correct estimation/calculation of what we are consume, but also what will be the period of time when the network is dead. As recently there are hours when the current is limited from the provider from the input count-system , we can make the system shut down the electrical network and to consume from the battery reserve or what the electrical panels produce. Most big problem in this time is not consumption on the night , when price for energy is less. Most of the problems are on the day when all the big consumers are in full-mode.
5) Many people install panels and say that they reduce the utility bill. But let's calculate how much the electricity costs, how much the panels cost and we'll see that in fact what we spend today as invest we have a chance to recover in 15 years. In fact, this is the lifetime of the electric system - inverter, charger, panels and batteries.
The batteries, if kept in optimal conditions, if they are charged according to the charging plan maximum 10% of their hourly capacity and discharged in the same way, then they can reach a lifetime of 8-12 years. Not compared to the situation of car batteries, which are stay on cold in the winter, in maximum heat in the summer, and in addition bear all the shocks that the car suffers - these are factors that reduce the life of the battery to no more of 6 years.
6) Correct connection of the network, correct grounding of the panels, correct connection and isolation with fuses and SPD of the inverter and system can solve the problems that occur when electrical discharges are present on the network. All this is done after a thorough study and correct information.
In the end , electric system OFF-GRID HYBRID give you opportunity to have relative independence in terms of energy consumption, but you will not recover your investment in a very short time. It is good like a back-up when the condition of the network are bad.
7) Frankenstein system is a story for children. When you start to check system you request to vendor to give you X panels, Y inverter , Z battery but in same time you request to him the system to be balanced and to give WARRANTY. Vendor is not stupid to give you a Frankenstein system and after this to give to you warranty. Sure he will try to convince you to use elements what he have in storage. For this reason it is mandatory to read, to inform you and to collect information's from different directions/suppliers.
Rest of clip is nice and interested. Good luck!
You cannot assume the grid will supply electricity 24/7 without ever stopping. What a wonderful world it would be if it were so.
I just bought a house that has solar panels on the roof. The system is in good working order and is still under warranty but I need a new roof and I'd like to sell the system to someone who is interested. How do I get started in this process? Thank you!
6:30: Those are not central inverters, by the way. Those are string inverters.
right
Using super capacitors or ultra capacitors can help assist your batteries with your energy storage needs. Super capacitors and ultra capacitors are most efficient when paired with batteries, but they don't suffer from the same degradation issues that batteries do.
@@boblatkey7160 supposedly that is actually what they are doing with EVs to decrease charging times.
അടിപൊളി പ്രസന്റേഷൻ ....
Superb.....😍😍😍😍
Of course there is the worst case scenario which will no doubt occur in some places at some times - which is the fact that if you're tied 2 the grid & the whole shootin match goes down (even if just in your region) - one would be screwed without batteries. You'ld be in the same boat as eveery bodody else - wether u have panels or not!
Where can i purchase the material ?