I supply, repair and install Off Grid (Stand Alone Power Supply) and suburban solar power systems. Take a look at what I do as I share some of my jobs with you on my You Tube channel. I am a licensed Electrician and registered Electrical Contractor of 25 years specialising in solar and battery in Perth Western Australia.
If you just toss up a few kw of panels and a couple batteries and an inverter....without bothering to grid tie anything...or get any permits....just about everyone would see a benefit.
Where I live power is cheap. When I see houses with solar it's a money thing. They can never cost justify it, just a way to let everyone know they have money. Solar has a place where the cost of hooking up to the grid is so expensive. Those in the cities and other places where power is relatively cheap want to brag that they don't have an electric bill. How long is it going to take to justify your cost? Good luck with that.
Very similar situation in the US. Most of the installers are basically scammers with what the systems end up costing during the term of the contract. Home is stuck with the system making it more difficult to sell without paying it off. Installer is nowhere to be seen when there are issues. People only listen to the lofty promises and don't look over all of the numbers. DIY or find an honest installer that charges a reasonable rate for labor.
Even if zero payback, no outages, no brownouts. Totally worth it. Depends where you live though - in Vancouver BC our previous home, we didn't have solar since its mostly rain and cloud. In Philippines, mostly sun except for the few days of extreme heavy rain.
Simply put you should right-size the system, change your usage to match the solar output (dishwasher with delayed start, preheat/precool home on solar power, etc) and batteries are getting cheaper by the month, so even when you don't get credits, this is something you can solve. But sure, do the research first. Make sure you understand your daily usage and try to change it and measure again before buying any solar panels or batteries. Also shade can be a big factor. Personally I have a mix of systems on my roofs. - With a lot of complex shade (trees, chimney, building) a micro inverter may be a better option. - With a little shade you can just add some optimizers or use multiple strings (MPPT's). - With no shade at all I would recommend getting a string inverter, with one string per panel direction. I think the best way to prevent wasting money is to inform yourself and to get multiple quotes tailored to your home and power usage. Personally I effectively have had no power bill with 18 solar panels, but that is my situation in the Netherlands. The rules are changing here, so a home battery is on it's way.
So is a lifted, noisy, stinky, four-wheel-drive, diesel, pick up truck. Off grid 2.5 years not one cent paid to the power company. It’s all in your priorities I guess.
i've had a 5kw system for 9 months, never had a power bill since , and currently have a credit due mostly to the govt rebates. Even without the rebates I would still be in front annually with slight bills in winter. That includes using air conditioning in summer. If you put hot water on a basic timer or better still a catch power relay and program dishwasher during the day, use cold wash and line dry cloths its almost impossible to lose. You really want to fight tooth and nail to stop the retailer putting you onto a demand tariff
Installation of solar also brings the need for a new energy plan, with the likelihood of changing from a single rate tarrif to a time of use tarrif where the peak usage rate is double that of single rate, (right when people are coming home to prepare dinner) making the usage costs even higher than before.
Solar is never a waste if you build it right, even if you cannot get full credits. under $20k for 96kw of battery, hard to drain that with a house. If you have a 36000w electric on demand water heater ya solar is not for you. When I move to the next property I just take my solar with me, no $30000 to install grid power like they wanted here. $1000 dollar power bill here is 240kw a day, sounds like a massive grow op.
you don't know what you're talking about - I can get a full 10kw system for under $3500 - and the company I going with has a cricketer on the front. He was throwing a ball up in the air, so I know it was legit. Also he had a handle bar moustache.
I don't know if you plan on doing a followup on this one since it's now a year old but if you do, do the short circuit test as in this clip, but also show the same model of device interrupting the PV on inverter drawing Imp off the array. It might be eye opening to some of the other people that have posted on this video about their MCBs and how they haven't caught fire ... yet.
Circuit breakers are of no use on a pv array. I explain why in this video Do not use this type of DC Isolator for your solar power system array! I explain why they catch fire ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EJC6wKir_Lo.html
@@joondalupelectricalservice3201 have just watched the vid you suggested. Can I ask what voltage the circuit was running as the current was roughly 25-30% below the breakers rating? I'm running 2x 500v 32amp dc breakers, one on a 270v 6amp array and the other on a 450v 8amp array.
Apparently it is NOT recommended to use external DC isolators in the UK after recent house fires anymore, I believe the newer inverters have them built in. That one your showing looks to have had water ingress. Cheers.
A isolator is not rated to break current First switch the load off No current flow, isolate A circuit breaker rated to break current at a certain voltage is a different story
I'm gonna have to get you to come out an have a look over my system one day, tweak it to ensure it meets current standards. It's a self built 48 volt system operating in the extra low voltage range but now the new regs have been in for a while, I probably should get someone to give it a look over. (Wheatbelt area, Perth side of Northam) I'm in no rush but will eventually have to get it done.
Check fuses and Iso to make sure they're rated for your voltage. Lots of fuses say 20amp etc but then 200volts. Noark are 450v max. On a sunny day you can soon go past this voltage but still be under the 20amps. This trips sparky's up when only working with 240v.
A capacitor in parallel with the panels, and a capacitor in parallel with the load would prevent that. The capacitor voltages would be equalized when the cutout is closed, and would maintain that 0 voltage potential long enough for the contacts to separate enough, that the peak voltage difference cannot cause an arc. The capacitors have to be sized for the current of the panels, and, the separation speed of the contacts in the switch. A knife switch needs large capacitors, a spring loaded breaker can use smaller caps. The scariest thing about photovoltaic panels is, that if loaded down to ~80% of open circuit voltage, they become a constant current source. Once an arc is established, that arc can be drawn out to several centimeters, depending on the voltage of the string! The breaker shown in this video only has about 5 millimeters of contact separation when open. It will barely even reduce the current transferred to the load.
First issue is that the isolator is installed on the roof of all places. Best way is to just run cables down to a DC combiner DB downstairs, then install the isolator down there with a DC rated breaker, fuses, surge arrestors. Never install the isolator on the roof…
What is the voltage going into the breakers? If one is doing a 24V or 48V system, it should not be so easy for arcing to occur when breaking the circuit, right?
I tried using the hand ratchet with a 6mm bit in it. It broke my little DeWalt ratchet. If the panels arent being reused the crowbar and hammer work for getting under the clamps.
Was polarity correct? Was test voltage greater than labeled specification? There is nothing here to tell us what was incorrect. Also, it helps a person to understand if you would please speak English, as in complete sentences. Your message jumps around.
I have been researching this and have found that this is a very common problem world wide. It seems that more often the switch is to blame than installation error. DC voltage is much more prone to arching than AC. I am skeptical about using them all together. Thank you for this public announcement.
Great video, thanks for so much information. I just bought the same Ruixu cabinet (one cabinet, full 6 batteries) and am struggling to find a good dc breaker/isolator. What did you use here? Also how did you ground the system? Thanks again.
