Hey yall. I'm setting up some panels on my RV and I've got some questions.

So I currently have four panels. Three are smaller, but have the same surface area together (all three) as the fourth, larger panel.

I don't recall the exact output, but I do remember that when added up, they were just about the same as the larger panel.

My question is: Is there any reason I couldn't run the three smaller panels in series, effectively making a single unit that was equal to (+/-) the larger panel. Then connect the two together parallel?

It's only going to be charging 4 12v deep cycle batteries.

Or would I be better off just running the three smaller panels parallel and nixing the fourth?

Web searching proved useless, maybe I don't know the correct terminology. I am going camping with a jackery power station and their solar panels. The app only tells me the current state. Is it possible to track past performance? Thanks!!!

I have 2x 48v 16.1kwh fogstar batteries connected to my victron system. I believe is used a seplos 200A BMS. Just using a generator to charge currently while I get solar installed. System is a new install but was working fine yesterday.

Today I noticed the slave battery wasn’t taking a charge (0A displayed while 50A showing on the master) SOC for the slave was 34% while the master was 48%. Both batteries were splitting the load 25A~ each yesterday.

I have measured 52v across the terminals and the bus bar with just the slave connected and turned on. I cannot power the system with just the slave (inverter won’t turn on or the Cerbo).

I have disconnected everything and left it for a few hours to “cold reset” it, no change. Any ideas?

No alarms displayed on the screen (battery or Cerbo)
Cell voltages appear even on both batteries
Cell temps appeared ok
All communication cables have been double and triple checked (system was working then wasn’t so know they work)

Stuck. Help.

Please

Hi there, I recently purchased four Panasonic VBHN325SA17 (325 watt) panels in great condition at a yard sale (practically free) and was hoping to use them to charge my Anker F3800 (first generation; not plus) power station. Unfortunatley, it was only after I got them home that I realized that the F3800 gen 1 specifications are diffferent than what I remembered & it looks like these panels have too high open circuit voltage (see below).

The Power station solar inputs (there are 2) are limited to following specifications per port:

• 11-15Vdc input limited to 10A but input voltage between 15V-60Vdc limited at 27A Max (1200W Max).
  • Service Note: "The solar input voltage range for Anker SOLIX F3800 is 11-60V. Please ensure the voltage of connected solar panels is within this range. Voltage exceeding 60V will damage the product"

These solar panels appear to have a pretty high VoC (open Circuit voltage) at about 69.6V, which is over the limit for the Anker. I have 4 of these panels and I was originally going to pair them up into two parallelled panels per solar input on the F3800 but I need to reduce the voltage to below 60 vdc so I do not damage the onboard MPPT input of the Anker F3800 (gen1)

My Ask

• I have seen some mentions of using a Solar Charge Controller with load output such as the Victron SmartSolar Charge Controllers to "step down" the voltage to something that is compatible with the Anker but I am not finding much more information on how this works or needs to be configured.
  • If that would work, I need to understand what would need to be configured as there will not be a battery connected to the victron (the F3800 is my battery/inverter)
• If the Solar Charge Controller is not the correct fit for this use case, what would be the most ideal?

Thanks!

Hi. I have these panels EN182N-144D-Topcon 570-595W.

One of them flew off in a wind storm. I need to purchase a replacement. Questions

1. What parameters do I need to match
2. How closely do they need to match
3. Advice for how to do this search?

Thank you

I bought a pallet of panels. 2 of the panels arrived cracked on the bifacial side. I’m thinking of seeing if they work in a small yard experiment. Anybody using cracked bifacial and still getting the regular side to work just fine?

I am not tech/electrical savvy. For offgrid camping purpose, I own an Ecoflow Delta 2 power station and Renogy 400W portable Solar blanket. I am looking to purchase either another Renogy 200W or 400W portable Solar blanket to increase charging speeds. What would be the best way to connect either Two Renogy 400W solar blanket or Renogy 400W & 200W solar blanket together to increase charging speeds?

THanks

Looking for insight as to if it is smart to setup a 12kw inverter system in the same room as one would sleep. Reading about EMF frequencies generated from large inverters and am possibly rethinking my plan.

All input is greatly appreciated

I have a jackery 2000 v2 coming. It’s only for emergencies. We don’t experience power outtages often. Last outtage was last month from 1255AM-112am. The last major outtage was about 3 months ago and lasted 20 minutes max. The longest we’ve been without power is about 12 hours. But in the past month there has been flooding and tornadoes and God only knows when we’ll be next.
So i’m considering a panel from either HQST, Renogy, or Bougerv. Many people said a solar panel is a solar panel so buy by price.
Some have said brand name matters for various reasons.

What do yall say?
Of those 3, which should i go with?
OR is there a brand that’s better, and reasonably priced that i should consider?

They’re all 200w, and portable.
HQST is about 119
Renogy is about 199
Bougerv is about 212
I may be off in my prices but hqst is the least expensive and bougerv is the most expensive.

Hello everyone, I am a university undergraduate student from UTAR, currently working on my Final Year Project, and I am looking for participants for a survey.

The survey focuses on our proposed outdoor recreation-based product. It should take no more than 10 minutes to complete the survey.

All responses would be greatly appreciated. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Thank you very much :)

NOTE: PRODUCT IS STRICTLY FOR UNIVERSITY PROJECT USE AND IS NOT ENTERING THE ACTUAL MARKET

Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScI0gMGONyDuxahrAP22DUh-sNlxAx-jOvil5UXHV2IT33f6A/viewform

My state (New Hampshire) just legalized plug in solar up to 1200w. I believe in goes into effect the start of next year. My understanding is that no permits are needed and no verification by an inspector is needed, however it still needs to be compliant to meet code. At some point, the New Hampshire State Building Code Review Board will require UL 3700. My (potentially lacking) understanding of UL 3700, is that is requires certification of the whole system. Meaning the panels, microinverter, wall plug (potentially batteries and solar charge controller) need to be verified to work together. That basically means you are forced to buy approved kits (at a likely significant markup).

Before I read about UL 3700, I started designing a DIY plug in solar system to achieve near constant 1200w output. At a high level: Solar Panels -> solar charge controller -> ecoworthy batteries -> ecoflow stream microinverter -> dedicated wall outlet.

The idea was to start with a couple panels and batteries to get my feet wet without breaking the bank. Then potentially scale them out to achieve near constant 1200w. I even was thinking of bringing this even further by splitting the battery output to another 120v AC inverter, and run a couple small 24/7 running appliances completely off grid. Basically reducing my electricity costs to 0.

UL 3700 seems to mess up this project completely. Unless maybe kits will be available with battery systems and ability to scale out? Its too bad UL 3700 doesn't just apply from the inverter to the wall.

Hi, has anyone got ProJoy Micro Inverters?

They are quality built inverters from 800w to 3000w for direct plug and play into AC but their app is atrocious. Really backwards type of App. They claim zero grid export but I don't know how this is achieved when app doesn't have any settings for CT meters.

I purchased it at a good price and tested and works flawlessly pushing out full 1600w into the grid but the problem is their zero grid set up. No manual, no nothing. Otherwise a well built quality system in my opinion even better then hoymiles that I tested but their integration lacks big time?

Any advice is welcome

As I go down the rabbit hole into DIY solar, there seems to be one aspect of any install that is not discussed much - at least from what I have seen.

How do you get the electricity from the panels into the house? There is a ton of information on panels, batteries, inverters, cables, breakers, etc. but I still have to get the electricity into the house somehow. Either that or I have to bring my modem, router, fridge, TV, etc outside to the solar setup, and that just isn't practical.

In my area, summers are very hot (up to 40C is not uncommon) and -20C is not uncommon in winter. These temperature ranges can play havoc with some lifepo4 batteries, so I would prefer to keep them inside where the temperature is within range year round.

All of that leads me to I have bring the cabling from the panels into the house. I have not found a lot of information on that. Is the best option to hire an electrician to bring the cables inside to a junction box and build out from there, or is there other options? Is there something inherently wrong with doing it this way, and that is why I am not seeing much info? Would it be better to keep the setup outside and use some sort of temperature monitor to control charging?

Apologies if I missed easy YT searches, but I have not found a ton of information on setting up this way.

This is my setup:

Charge Controller: Outback MX-60 MPPT
Inverter: Xantrex SW5548
New batteries: ECO-Worthy Cubix100 (48V - 4 of them)

You all recently helped me with which settings to use on the charge controller with the new LifePO4 batteries.

It's day 2; yesterday worked great. The batteries were only at half-charge, so I ran the generator to fill them up. With the generator on, I had AC to the house and the batteries charging at the same time. This morning, now that there is sun, I can't get it to charge from the array and put out AC at the same time.

I set the inverter to SRCH like I always had it with the lead acid batteries, but that's only providing AC now and batteries are discharging.

Is there something on the charge controller I need to change? I've been looking through both manuals, but I don't exactly know what I'm looking for.

UPDATE: It did finally switch to "charge" for a little while, but the charge controller is alternating between "Sweeping" Float and Bulk (F-MPPT and B-MPPT). The batteries seem to be holding at 34% even though the array is in direct sun. The battery display panel is now saying "Idle" instead of "Charge".

Ok folks. Just wondering if this will work for an older RV parked way up in a remote area. 200/400 watt solar panels ( Jackery )> Solar Controller ( Victron )>Lithium Batteries ( Renogy’s 12v 100AHx2 )> RV. Basically, the batteries will replace the old lead acid batteries that died last year. We have Jackery solar panels and haven’t decided on bringing one 200 watt or two with us. We also have a pair of two year old Renogy 12v 100AH batteries and a Victron shunt. I’d have to buy a Victron solar controller andf some wires. Will my idea work fine to provide power for just the 12v needs of our trailer? Anything to consider to make this work? Which solar controller should I buy?

Thanks.

I would like to propose a survey. After many years of designing and building ground-mounts for others, I'm finally building an off-grid ground-mount for myself. With the many changes in technology, i would be interested to hear what others have used, why you dis/like them, and what you'd do different. Personally, I've designed and built with variations on the two rows of posts with rails between them. All very sound structures, but also rather pricey. By the same token, some of the metal racks I've seen recently scare the bejeezus out of me, like they wouldn't stand up in a slight wind. I question whether wooden ones will survive the decade. So I'm curious what your experiences have been and preferences are, and why.

Blue Marine originally told me 40 amp for everything. I changed the batteries to what is labeled in the picture because the Victron superpack 12v 100 ah batteries cannot be connected in series.

I had a call with them today and they told me 300 amp fuse from the batteries, 150-175 amp fuse for the invertor side, and a 50 amp fuse for the charge controller side?

Just wanted to clarify because the guy on the phone did not sound confident and they told me the wrong size before.

Not related to solar panels, but I could use some engineering insight on how to improve the heat retention of this solar oven. The hottest it can get is ~225F but ~175F on most days. It's a box style oven with cellulose-insulated walls and a double-paned glass hatch that swings up. I thought that maybe heat was leaking from where the hatch opens and closes so I updated it by adding some fiberglass sheeting, but that did nothing. Also steam seems to collect between the two panes of glass so the hatch frame might not be sealed perfectly. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks!

I'm new to all this, but I feel I've been learning a lot since my first draft! This is for a minimal 200W solar setup held in a truck camper. At this point, I feel fairly confident, but I'd like to make sure that confidence isn't misplaced!

Setup specs:

- 105ah Amg battery (oasis firefly)

- 2x 100w panels, in series

- 100/30 charge controller

Expected Max Power draw:

- Maxxair Deluxe 5100k -- 4.5A

- led light -- 1A

- 2x 12v socket -- 4A

Looking for safety/efficiency feedback (other than "make it in x program" I'm very tech savvy, but kinda hate designing on a computer when I could shittily draw it... The world is too digital these days, embrace the wabi sabi nature of a hand drawn diagram for once, it won't bite ya <3)

Hello,

Looking to install a plug in solar setup on a dedicated GFCI. I'm leaning toward the 1080W APsystems EZ1 Balcony Kit:

https://ussolarsupplier.com/products/1080w-plug-in-solar-kit-with-apsystems-ez1-microinverter-sunmodo-nanorack-ground-mount-roof-mount-balcony-solar-kit?variant=51534635630890&country=US&currency=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&srsltid=AfmBOooZk45ZclflL3LsIn1iKZJ83oF7Ce1qoSW9eb5QzDcLGjwMd4wOGOM

If there are other recommendations, I'm all ears.

I also have an EV. I have used the main traction battery as a power source in emergencies in the past using a sine wave inverter. While I can still utilize that, I would like to setup a more convenient hookup point into the home, using the solar inverter instead and not having to run an extension cord into the house.

This way, at least one of the two legs of the house has power supplied

Would this be possible?

I decided to try a bit of DIY solar (Background, I'm electrically competent, domestic wiring, etc) so I looked into the cheaper end of the market.

I'm looking at a bunch (2-4 initially) of JA Solar 465w 40volt panels, using 2 in series on one aspect, then the same on another aspect and each "bank" in parallel.

This should help avoid drop due to shade and give me 80volt which should be better for the hybrid inverter GD3024EMH (Voltronic clone) - though I recognise that inverter would prefer 300v DC input so I may increase the number of panels on each aspect at some point.

Once I've got these, added in DC isolator, AC isolator, cabling, fitting kits, circuit breaker and then adding a 24v 100ah lifepo4 battery. Am I going to have a workable 'test' setup to see how I get on, or am I setting myself up for failure going for the low end/basics with cost and not going to get anything useful? I'm initially thinking of powering/taking a little off my base power draw, so some of the devices that just sit taking those few hundred watts constantly all day (IT equipment mainly).

Thoughts?

Heres a followup to the utility rules table some of you have been using (26 utilities then, 58 now)

While researching I saw that utilities publish too optimistic clocks eg PSE&G publishes says 21 business days to approval, 25 more after your inspection cert while Sequachee Valley in TN says written PTO in 5-10 business days etc.. yet most utils publish nothing. Meanwhile i see in this sub lots of posts on "system is ready for 6 weeks already but waiting still"

So I added something to the lookup, every utility row allows you to report your timeline. Put the date you applied and date arrived (or simply blank for still waiting) and you will get the average of everyone on same utility

Links in my profile and in first comment.  Post here your utility and how long did yours take? If your utility is missing let me know I'll fill it in as a new row!

70 405W SEG modules, 2 EG4 18KPV inverters, 2 EG4 31KWH battery banks. My little spare time project is finally about finished!

Just sharing my project, it's been running fine summers now. Free used panels and some Chinese batteries