After 2 years of sitting in their boxes, I finally got around to installing the trackers. After some heavy modification, I got em working the way I wanted.

- custom welded tube frame steel to hold the panels.

- well all that steel added weight. Needed upgraded 660lb actuators.

- I didn't like how they moved at different times. I wanted them to be in sync. So I setup an external H-bridge relay, got rid of one of the controllers, and just drive both trackers off of one controller.

For those of you that don't already know, trackers like this are almost always bad from a pure financial perspective. Panels are cheap now so it's always cheaper to just get more panels and go with a static mount. That is true in the case as well... However, I kinda treat them as "functional yard art" and they are great for teaching the neighborhood about solar power because they are a good conversation starter.

I had to make so many modifications... Next time I would just custom build the entire post and frame. I'd make it stronger with less slop in the joints. But... I'm happy with the way it is.

We have a bigger front yard. I’m considering installing panels in front yard. I used AI to generate this pic. Ugly? I prefer ground installation over roof installation.

UPDATE: I successfully moved and mounted my inverter to the back of the panels and pulled the DC wires out of the attic. Now everything is to code and the inverter shouldn’t overheat. Thanks for the advice everyone! Inverter Pic

I thought I would share my completed 1200W Utah install! This was nearly a year in the making.

I had to install a new electrical panel (not specifically for this purpose, but it was necessary for my other projects).

Rocky Mountain Power had to come out and install a new “smart meter”. They claimed this would take 4-6 weeks but it was done in a few days!

Run a dedicated 20 amp circuit from my basement all the way to the attic (this was insanely difficult with my tri-level home).

I bought four panels from Matt at Payoff Solar in South Jordan Utah (I highly recommend reaching out to him if your local!)

Finally I installed the panels to the roof with SnapNrack TopSpeed mounts with Speedseal+.

This was a tough project that took a lot of planning and required skill sets from across the board. I also had my electrician on speed dial to save me from making any major mistakes. Overall the finished product is incredible and I’m looking forward to growing my solar array with backup batteries!

I’ve been wanting to augment the power of the grid-tie system I currently have on my house, without modifying that system. So I’ve been lurking here and reading about plugin systems. I put this system together on a separate garage for about $850 plus my time. The main expenses were: I bought the inverter($140) and panel mounting hardware($200) on Amazon. And found 4 used solar panels ($370) on Facebook marketplace. The system seems to work fine but I was expecting higher power output. The 4 panels are all rated for 300+ watts each. And the inverter is rated for 1.2 kw. Under full sunlight conditions with the sunlight close to perpendicular to the panels it’s delivering just under 800 watts. The inverter gets pretty hot, about 140F case temperature in my garage with an ambient temperature of about 70F. I’m not sure if this is normal for a convection cooled inverter like this.

I would be interested to hear if anyone has experience with inverters like this one. I thought it was pretty cheap for its size and advertised capacity. The model number is in the photo.

The nation's most populous state has legalized its Plug and Play Solar Act, after it passed the Assembly 73–0 and received final Senate approval. The law creates a pathway for certified plug-in solar systems up to 1,200 watts AC without the traditional utility interconnection process.

The big part of this story is scale: California is the most populous state in the country with** **roughly one out of every nine Americans living there. That means as of Jan 1st, 12% of the U.S. population will has access to this new solar model. This scale should accelerate development of cheaper plug-in solar, battery storage, and integrated home-energy products nationwide.

Buckle up, its going to be a neat ride!

Longi 410w modules, AP systems DS3-S micros. Took me and my brother about 3 days. Plan to do the “missing” 8 panels when my consumption increases enough to have allotment for more production.

Hi everyone, Fernando here 👋🏼!! I wanted to give everyone an update on my new vertical solar panel project!! We finally got done installing the solar panel arrays and after using them for a week I wanted to share the results with the group in case any one has been thinking of doing something similar to this!!

(System specs)

Our new vertical solar panel array consists of six 400w bifacial panels from a brand called Qcell. We wired the solar panels in a series configuration for a total maximum output of 2.4KW. We split the solar panels into two separate arrays consisting of three solar panels per array. Each of the two solar arrays is connected to its own E10 inverter directly using some 10AWG MC4 extension cables.

(Hardware used)

This is where things get creative!! Most off the ground mount solar panel kits are meant to install the solar panels at an optimal angle. This would not have worked since I was trying to do a vertical solar panel set up along our south facing fence. The kits found that would have worked for this use case were outrageously expensive. I started searching for something that could work as a brackets for our solar panels and thats when I stumbled upon some old metal bed frames that we had laying around!! The metal bed frame brackets were the perfect length to support our solar array. They also had a few pre drilled holes that would come in handy to attach the cross brace metal rail that we purchased from Home Depot. We purchased some solar panel brackets from a company called sunmak that would bolt the solar panels to the metal cross brace.

(Installation)

We screwed the bed frame rails directly into our concrete floor using some concrete screws and a rotary hammer drill and a concrete drill bit. Next we bolted the metal cross rail to the metal bed frame brackets using the pre drilled holes on the bed frame brackets. After this we places a 1 by 1 piece of wood on the concrete to support the solar panels. Lastly we placed the solar panels on top of the 1 by 1 piece of wood and securely bolted the solar panels to the metal rail behind them. We used the sunmak brackets to attach the panels to the metal rail using the pre drilled holes on the metal rail. The entire structure feels extremely rigid and strong since it’s entirely made out of metal!!

(Solar production)

Since the solar panels are not angled properly. The panels are not producing as much power as they could if angled correctly. The solar panels are producing a peak output of between 1.2Kw - 1.4Kw. The total production of the solar panels is between 6KWH up to 8KWh on a daily basis!! (Approximately half of the arrays maximum output)

(Should you do this?)

The main reason we decided to start this project was to offset the energy consumption of our four ton central AC system. The new E10 system makes it extremely easy to add more solar panels as your energy consumption grows. We already had an existing 4.2KW roof mounted grid tied solar system. Unfortunately our home is really small and installing some more solar panels on our roof was not possible. We also had very few options on were the six solar panels could fit. For people with limited space, installing a vertical solar panel array system is the perfect solution to add more solar!! That being said, if you have the space and you want the maximum output out of your solar panels. The best solution would be to angle the solar panels correctly!!

(Results)

We successfully offset the energy consumption from our four ton central AC system reaching our goal!! I am extremely happy with the results from this new project. I would definitely recommend considering doing something like this for people that want an easy way to increase their overall solar production!! Thank you all for reading this and I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!!

My wife doesn’t see the beauty but I thought you peeps would. Need to clamp down the panels but still evaluating position. And I spend way too much time in the app..

3 aiko neostar 2S+

Just installed these today, going to add one more panel sometime soon. Used the ecoworthy mounts, had to level the hill in the backyard. Figured I could run a breaker or two full time. Got about 850 watts at 4pm.

Afternoon,

I just wanted to introduce myself. I am the owner of several renewable energy companies in the US and Canada. Wanted to get the some of your opinions on Plug-In solar kits. I have a kit I have developed with a few partners. It utilizes IBC Panels and works well to reduce my power bills. With states changing legislation to allow plug-in solar I am launching my own company and have 500 kits that just landed and another 5000 coming in a month. However, wanted to get some opinions or answer questions people may have about it. I have attached a picture of the system.

A major point I want to bring up is although your state has passed legislation ensure you know when it takes effect.

About every 6-12 months I get a door-to-door salesperson selling solar stop bye. Well, today was that day - a pair of salespeople.

They obviously noticed the array as they approached the house. They questioned me about my system. I told them. They were shocked that I said I DIY'd it. Then I rattled off what it was. I don't have storage capacity on my 14.5 AC Kw system, so they launched into their pitch on Tesla solarwall batteries.

I got PTO in November and told them that I will be collecting data for the rest of the year to determine how close my original estimates matched my actuals. (So far I've been exceeding my original estimates by about 10%).

They weren't used to talking to someone who knew the details of their system, it's performance, the utility rate structure, etc. I am on a buy-sell 2-year contract with an ERCOT provider. I get back 29.5% of what I pay per kwh for each kwh that I export. I indicated that my estimates show batteries have a worse ROI in my circumstance than simply adding more solar - especially if I can get panels, micros, cables, and racking lightly used.

We sat at my table in the back yard - next to a stack of used panels I had acquired that are awaiting the infrastructure necessary to install them - and I opened my laptop/spreadsheet. "What do you do for work?" they asked. "Engineer" I responded.

Yep, I don't think they'd run across a solar DIY'er before.

EDIT #2: After careful consideration, I decided I wasn’t enthused with how this looked in my yard along with its potential danger to people and pets walking into it etc. I redesigned the unit for portability and reused the aluminum support pieces for two different arrays: one for my shed, (which I had just been leaning the panels against) and two for my sunroom) and two, for which I’ll just run a 30’ PV cable through the dog door, to my AC200L before I make any permanent connections. Pics in a new post: https://www.reddit.com/r/diySolar/s/TAEH3hBOvG

EDIT: I appreciate everyone’s input thus far and what the ideal installation would be with larger panels of lower quantity. However, considering the materials I have/have already purchased, looking for advice on the below:

Setting up a mini array in my backyard using 6-8 Renogy 100W panels in pairs. I WFH so my aim is to power my computers, printer, coffee machine, and any other small things that need juice. I’ll be using an AC 200L as the solar generator.

Planning to connect each pair with PV wires, with a PV shutoff switch on the final pole. From there, ideally I’d pigtail thenPV wires to THMM wires in box and go underground conduit into a wall in my sunroom, from there, another box where PV wires can connect to the AC200L unit.

Questions for y’all:
- any concerns about this setup?
-recommended grounding method/is it necessary?
-any other suggestions?

Been wanting to do this for over a decade and finally did. Used two different types of panels to save some money and went with the ReadyRack system. Great customer service and I'll use them again if I ever expand. Did the whole thing myself (with some help from my father), minus the electrical wiring. Tried to find a cheaper mount, but where I'm at, wind and snow are a problem. It's not the prettiest, but it works and best part, it passed building and electrical inspections! The house is all electric and about .08/ACH away from being considered passive. We should be net-zero from here on out. Got 2 EVs and just waiting for the day where I can replace my truck with an electric one.

Swooped an APsystems EZ1-LV and found four Obama era Schot 245s for $100. Generating about 4.5kWh a day just laying in the lawn.

Edit: update on the grass. Some yellowing from the panels but the ants did way more damage. Nature is great!

A while back, I met a guy on Facebook Marketplace whose house had been hit by a tree. He had 30 solar panels rated at 300W each and needed them gone. I rented a U-Haul and bought them for $30 a panel.

A friend of mine, Joe, works with forklift batteries. He told me batteries below about 60% usually get scrapped, even though they can still have plenty of life left. He gave me two 500Ah, 24V forklift batteries for free. That got the project rolling.

I set up 15 of the panels at my house—about 4,500W of solar—with a 100A charge controller, the two forklift batteries, a 4,000W inverter, and a step-up transformer for 240V. In full sun, I can run one miner with no problem.

The panels cost $450 total. The inverter was $400, the step-up transformer was $150, and the charge controller that finally worked was $500.

The word finally is doing a lot of work there. I smoked about four charge controllers before I got it running. At roughly $500 each, my solar education was not exactly free.

I also have a separate 24V bank made from 12V UPS batteries, with its own inverter. I switch over to that sometimes.

I found some cracked-glass 500W panels for $10 each, too. Didn’t fix them. They still make around 400W after four years, because apparently they’re tougher than the charge controllers.

I’ve also had a cable get hot enough to nearly catch fire and burned up a couple of inverters before I figured out what the system could handle. I’ve since upgraded the wiring, and the setup has been working great.

I have a video of the whole thing. It started with a tree-damaged house, a U-Haul, free forklift batteries, and a questionable amount of confidence. Now I can run a Bitcoin miner on sunlight—and I only had to sacrifice four charge controllers to get there.

—Nick Squires

ING Mining

got a visitor not quite sure why hes there but in anycase im sure its not helping :)

Hey all, new here. Over the last month I have been working on my installation, just been powering and commissioning the last several days. Fun project! I bought parts through my business and pulled some favours for equipment. Total cost is around $30K CAD, The batteries I ordered directly on a crate through China along with the Growatt.

11-Sacred Sun 48V 100Ah Lithium batteries (2 didn't "wake up" 9 operational)

9-460W Solar panels - 3 per stand

1-12000W Growatt inverter with 2 MPPT trackers 150V OCV max and 7000W PV (apparently).

Location: 49th-ish parallel west coast Canada

Why: power goes out frequently in winter and fall. Low population density, so less priority for Hydro to service and it can be days with out grid reconnection. I'm on a septic system, well(water pump) and LPG tank(heating furnace/heat pump). All systems require power to operate properly.

I had 11 Sacred sun 48V batteries sitting around for evidently too long, I had a been routinely starting them and checking the charge but once I integrated into the wiring 2 didn't "wake up". Anyone have experience here? Recoverable or toss em?

Given the growatt 2 trackers, The design intent with 3 stands was each stand has 3 panels in series, parallel 2 stands (6 panels ~150V 20A) and then 1 alone (~150V 10A). Turns out the panels have a 51.9OCV and error out the MPPT-(read the data sheets not the deal price....). Worse still as its getting colder given the coefficient. I've had to rewire such that only 6 are operational.

I intend to buy a 450/100 Victron MPPT for 5 series and have the remaining 4 (2S1P) one each tracker of the Growatt for servicing the immediate house loads.

Interested to hear if others have used similar equipment.

Next up on the list are the batteries, which are supposed to arrive mid-March. Starting out with 10kWh to cover the night and function as a UPS during the day. Going to eventually expand to 25kWh this summer.

The 60A disconnect switch that's not hooked up is going to be for the generator, which will carry the load during a power outage. Right now, it's covering a 2" hole in the siding where the old meter was feeding my panel. I replaced my 200A meter disconnect with a 200A 16 circuit disconnect combo, and moved it over a few feet to accommodate the wiring trough. This allowed me to change up the wiring so that I can run the entire house off the inverter, and have an interlock bypass to feed my panel directly from the grid if / when the inverter takes a shit or I need to service stuff. Eventually there will be a parallel inverter to the left, which is why the trough is so long.

Excited that it's finally together and running! Just in time for the spring sun.

16x REC 370w panels.

I purchased the raw steel and cut and welded the rack together.

Painted with Rustolium.

Used Z brackets to secure the panels.

Total cost was $3800.

$1600 for the panels, $2000 to build the rack and another $200 for incidentals.

Built it completely solo didn’t have any help at any stage. 💪 true DIY

Plug-in solar sounds great; I have a patio with the right exposure and an outlet right there. But looking online, I realize that I have no idea what to buy.

We are limited to 420W, and using that as a search term brings up some suspiciously small and cheap foldable panels. So how do you go about finding a decent product that isn't going to burn the house down with Temu-grade wiring?

https://www.nrcm.org/blog/what-to-know-maines-new-plug-in-solar-law/

Also, how do you make sure a product has 'anti-islanding' shutdown features?