Grid Tie Solar Installation

[08arcticcat]

19'x12' with a total of 37 internal risers with aluminum plates painted black. 1 circ pump to move glycol into the floor loops. 1 amazon special temperature controller to start and stop the pump based on air temp in the collector. Best ive seen is close to 45000btu/hr of free heat into my shop.

 

[doorfx]

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-other-home-...p_ios&utm_medium=social&utm_source=ios_social

 

[RGM]

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19'x12' with a total of 37 internal risers with aluminum plates painted black. 1 circ pump to move glycol into the floor loops. 1 amazon special temperature controller to start and stop the pump based on air temp in the collector. Best ive seen is close to 45000btu/hr of free heat into my shop.

I want to do the same with my shop . Do you have links to components used.

 

[Cdnfireman]

Have you considered taking that 25g that youd spend on solar and putting it into a high dividend account and using the returns to offset your electrical bill?

25000 x 4.4%(XEI etf) = 1100/year

Maybe its better to get solar if your not planning on moving and leaving the solar system behind.

I built a 40000btu/hr glycol heater this year to heat my shop. It works well but will take a long time to recover costs. It is a cool project though

What was the ballpark cost of that glycol system? Any idea what the electrical costs for the pump would be?

 

[08arcticcat]

Im thinking i got just over 2g in the solar portion. But so many hours building each component. Pump is a b&g nrf25 or 35. I think on setting 2 its under 100watts.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=437507&page=2

Heres my thread on garagejournal

I dont want to hijack this thread from the original poster.

 

[Caper11]

Has anyone here used a solar window yet??? I know of a house im my area with them but have not heard of any actual feedback.

 

[ABMax24]

These are great points, thanks! Will be ground mount on concrete and for the concrete specs I'm just going to get that info from the manufacturer.

As far as the rates that's another thing I need to look into as that would help a lot but I can always play with that stuff after the system is installed.

Current system design is going to be a fronius 15kw string inverter with 48 370watt modules (72cell). Total cost for 17.7kw system is $1.31/watt (includes inverter, wiring, modules, racking) does not include some cable (inverter to power pole) or concrete work.

For what it's worth I priced out a 12.2kw system last year and it was the same price although that system used different modules and micro inverters.

That's really impressive if you can do it for $1.31/watt. I do agree with your choice to run a string inverter, for your setup it should be a lot more cost effective and the string inverters are slightly more efficient. I didn't have a choice, microinverters were the only way my system would work.

 

[jhurkot]

This got cancelled due to Covid but I just got a new quote and will be starting soon.


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[adamg]

A coworker of mine is almost finished his grid tie solar installation at his acreage. So far he's met with lots and lots of code requirements, hurdles and stumbling blocks. He thinks he's close to flipping the switch.

 

[jhurkot]

A coworker of mine is almost finished his grid tie solar installation at his acreage. So far he's met with lots and lots of code requirements, hurdles and stumbling blocks. He thinks he's close to flipping the switch.

That’s the part I’m not excited about. The paperwork. At least my labour will be cheap.


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[lilduke]

Id like to get some solar maybe. Off grid though. I dont want to rely on the grid working.

 

[ABMax24]

Can you claim the greener homes grant if you install yourself?

Or are you going to try?

 

[jhurkot]

Id like to get some solar maybe. Off grid though. I dont want to rely on the grid working.

If you already have a grid connection just grid tie and have battery back up.


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[jhurkot]

Can you claim the greener homes grant if you install yourself?

Or are you going to try?

I don’t think I’m eligible because I would have to be a contractor. I’m getting good pricing on the materials so that will help a lot.

I’m done with government programs. We had a turbine to replace and through this farm efficiency program we could get a subsidy. I went with a smaller pump which Phu*ed my self over and then they said the subsidy was gone by the time they got my paper work. The smaller pump caused a lot of grief and we ended up replacing it with the original size a few years later. I would much prefer the government let us keep our earned money to spend our way instead of taking it and giving it back like it’s some kind of present.

 

[lilduke]

If you already have a grid connection just grid tie and have battery back up.


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Sounds like a good idea, except i trust the power company as much as I trust the government, and would like to keep them out of it all togther.

 

[jhurkot]

Sounds like a good idea, except i trust the power company as much as I trust the government, and would like to keep them out of it all togther.

True but grid tie let’s you sell your excess production. A properly designed grid tie should be able to be converted to off grid easily (this is my plan).

 

[team dirt]

I just built this solar array for my cabin this fall. It’s 8 450w panels grouped in 2 in series then the 4 groups parallel. Gets me around 45amps at around 100vdc when full sun. My charge controller switches it to 48vdc. I’ve got 8 6v 450a/h batteries series for 48v hooked to an outback radian 4048 inverter and a 10,000w kubota diesel for when there’s no solar charge. In Seymour arm that’s pretty much from November to April. There’s no grid to tie to up there.

 

[deaner]

I don’t think I’m eligible because I would have to be a contractor. I’m getting good pricing on the materials so that will help a lot.

I’m done with government programs. We had a turbine to replace and through this farm efficiency program we could get a subsidy. I went with a smaller pump which Phu*ed my self over and then they said the subsidy was gone by the time they got my paper work. The smaller pump caused a lot of grief and we ended up replacing it with the original size a few years later. I would much prefer the government let us keep our earned money to spend our way instead of taking it and giving it back like it’s some kind of present.

Do the materials vary alot? Doesn't seem to pencil out when getting a local contractor to put a setup in. If a guy could get a good deal on materials and do most of the work himself, it might pencil out better?

 

[ctd]

I just built this solar array for my cabin this fall. It’s 8 450w panels grouped in 2 in series then the 4 groups parallel. Gets me around 45amps at around 100vdc when full sun. My charge controller switches it to 48vdc. I’ve got 8 6v 450a/h batteries series for 48v hooked to an outback radian 4048 inverter and a 10,000w kubota diesel for when there’s no solar charge. In Seymour arm that’s pretty much from November to April. There’s no grid to tie to up there.
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That is sweet! How easy is it to adjust the angle? This time of year keeping the panels clean is a PIA. The winter angle would be around 30* in Seymour Arm, that still collects snow & ice. I've wonder the power trade off @ 10 or 20* & not having to constantly clean.

What batteries are you using? I've turned into Lithium fan. Having Bluetooth BMS makes it very easy to monitor, it does cause questions that you never see in a AGM of LA configuration.

 

[jhurkot]

Do the materials vary alot? Doesn't seem to pencil out when getting a local contractor to put a setup in. If a guy could get a good deal on materials and do most of the work himself, it might pencil out better?

I’m at $1.40/watt but I still need helical piles installed. I want to be under $2.50/watt when it’s all said and done. I think a contractor would be $3-3.50/watt but may qualify for subsidy.

One thing that sucks is our house transformer is only 10kv so that’s my limiting factor. I got a quote to upgrade that and it was $11k. No thanks. My plan going forwards is to just max out each service and not upgrade anything.


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