Good update, i would typically charge €12k for a 7Kwhp system, so your pricing is fairly close given the size of the property. I would probably recommend a ground mount system for your expansion, as you have the land. I'm so impressed with how much more power these kick out compared to a hot roof. Maybe a Tesla carport, Jude would love digging the foundation's.
That's really interesting to hear about your pricing... well we've got space on the roof so I'm going to expand the system on the roof for now but I think we're definitely going to build a second solar array in the backfield just for the winter production
@@Gridbusters-qx4om Please make sure you fit class T fuses to each battery. Victron do a Class T fuse holder, which is compatible with the Lynx system or you can buy separate fuse holders. Look up the AIC rating of the mega fuses - it is not enough, where a class T fuse has a 20,000 AIC rating. There is a very small chance you could have a dead short in a cell, in this situation other battery packs could dump 10,000 amps or more into the faulty cell, yes the mega fuses will blow, but could arc and cause a fire. Considering what you have spent, buying T class fuses is a very small cost for peace of mind.
I got lucky when building my solar system which is a ground mount. I found big bulk rolls of cables for much less. I paid $600 USD for all my cables which normally would have been $3800. I searched for deals and even got better cables than what I would have paid the higher price for. I also built my ground mount system for $1600 USD which included labor from a handy man I hired to help me. I also built my battery banks 4 x 14.3kw for 57.2kw of battery storage with top of the line JK BMS's for $8000 which includes the tools needed to crimp and torque and the shelf. I also found used solar panels 40 235 watt for $1200 USD. Then 2 all in one inverters 5kw each for $1600. All said and done I paid $12,800 USD as I needed a few other things like busbars disconnect switches etc. I am now expanding with another 10 235w panels another inverters and 2 more batteries which I will build again. The new batteries will be MB30/31 which have 330ah each and 32 (32kw of storage) will cost me $2240 (70 per cell) and If I get the boxes they are $550 each. so Another $4500 when all said and done. Doing things yourself saves a lot of money.
Wow that's amazing, It's incredible how much money you can save when you really search for deals. I am planning on building a second DIY solar system for a greenhouse which I have yet to build. That will be strictly a budget system, Will be interesting to see how cheap we can get it.
11kWp will generate between 3 and 20 kWh on an winters day, depending on how sunny it is that day. Yes, some more panels are a good descission. "You can never have enough solar" like Andy tells 🐸
Same here, don't care about the economics. Currently 11,2kWp solar on the roof + 20kWh LiFePo4 bank with Victron Multiplus 48/5000 inverter. Expanding to all 3 phases with 2 extra inverters, adding 60kWh of batteries and adding 30kWp with a bifacial vertical solar fence(snow wont stick and reflections help out during winter). Why? Because it's gonna be a fun summer project and I need to renew my fence. I don't need all that energy during summer, but I do it because I can and after I never need to think about energy usage. Keep it up, love the videos =)
I like that you bought what you could afford and wanted. Myself I wanted to security incase the grid goes down and it happens that 10 months out of the year I am off grid. Once I finish my expansion with new items I will be off grid with maybe a generator turned on couple times in winter. Now the generator will only happen if grid goes down and world falls apart. I do like your system a lot.
If you in America can’t do DIY . Need permits , plans , and etc to connect to the grid. Also fire hazard is no joke and don’t get off brand panels that cause fires. Hire a professional licensed electrical company. Insurance company will not cover your home if it catches on fire.
We went quite the opposite way and choose good quality with long warranties like growatt 10 year warranty from the day it has been connected to the grid. 30 kWp + 25 kWh LFP storage in EEL cases (german prices were a lot cheaper last year : 400€ for a case incl. BMS ) In total about less than 20.000€ inkl. 11 kW Wallbox Pulsar Plus and Water Heatpump, all the HomeAssistant stuff and load measurements. Oour first system is now about 10 years old, first was also a growatt and we had no issues but we have always expected to replace the inverter every 10 years. Victron will not last 20 years, they did not last on boats that long and for sure not in a home environment. They have also a lot issues like the backup that had been missing before and a buddy went crazy when he heard about that and had lost his data. Victron is under big pressure therefore the prices are collapsing. Anyway. good luck for the choices for the next system or the expansion of the current one which shouuld become so much cheaper that you will rethink it again and look for the 3rd step or stage 2 expansion like even north roofs. We were at the same point and decided to change the strategy and remove east west panels in favour for 75° panels facing south to get a better coverage in the winter. FAr better than the east west we have had before.
I have been watching your system build with keen interest, since I would like to build a similar system in rural New York, USA. Most of your system could be built here. The battery system you designed is what I plan to use, with 4 batteries. The 15K Quattro seems ill suited to the US grid. It can be done, but substituting two Schneider 6048 pro inverters instead will allow me to get approval from my local town inspectors, and my grid operator, because of peculiar UL certification requirements. Keep up the great videos! I enjoy each and every one of them.
Good luck with your system, yes the Schneider inverters are excellent however there is very little information online regards to DIY projects. Plus there aren't very many RU-vid videos where people have installed them. That's another reason why I went down the Victron route because there's loads of RU-vid videos and help out there.
@@Gridbusters-qx4om Yes, I certainly wish there was more information in the diy community about the Schneider inverter. I have been relying heavily on their installation and user manual, and David Poz has done a few good videos on DIYing with them. I am hoping that is sufficient.
You have done a great job even though I don,t agree with everything you have done. My main reasons for going solar are clean regulated power and of course lower energy bills. My system is only 6.2Kw but more than enough for my requirements. Well done on your video presentation ( your visual appearance is quite stunning ) and your French Chateau or Villa? has benefited greatly from your renovation. Overall a thumbs up and you score a 9.5
😂🎉Payback time on a Tesla? With price drops lately........ Well done with your system and diy batteries. Over panelling is a good option for dark winters.
Hi Sarah - I think you and your channel are totally brilliant. Very interesting and well made. Your quest is inspirational. I wish you had the option to DM as I have many questions!!
Just to show what the minimal costs of a DIY solar system can be (Off course with no Victron inverter, i used a PowMr hybrid inverter (great product!) and additional a SRNE MPPT charger): My DIY solar system with in total 5,5kWp panels incl. mounting rails, 14kWh Lifepo4 battery incl. smart BMS + active ballancer, 4,5kW hybrid inverter + 60A MPPT Charger, cables , ATS, Controllers... was in total 3200 Euro here in Thailand and covers 4/5 of our electrical power consumption, which is twice as much as in a average swiss household.
Can you please publish the costings on one peice of paper - or several slides - so we can all see what the breakdown is , its bit dfficult to remember !!
Love your videos and starting my own system. I have about 4000 watts of solar coming in with a Victron 450/100. Plan on adding another 4k soon I hope but not sure what else. You using the multiplus II 5kva to power up the house?
I do suggest getting 4 more batteries. You can find links for the MB30/31 from OFF GRID garage website linked from his channel. The price is so cheap right now and having 90kw of storage will make a huge difference in winter.
Hmmm....from my experience i think with 32 plus 19 panels and her estimated consumption she will not be able to fully charge the two batterie she allready has on any winters day. Additional batteries would only increase the possibility to store low rate grid power.
how will you fill 90kw batteries with 11kw panels on a winterday ?a new batteries should not be connected with old batteries, (200 cirkles), something like that you think of before you put up the system.. unless you have multiple inverters how will you fill 90kw battery, with a few kw every day ??
@@Hansen710 Yes, of course, but as her consumption in summer is low, she would not be able to discharge them anymore. So on the next summer day she will start with abaout 90% SOC and will reach 100% at 9 oclock. There will be some gain in spring and autumn, but only a few days and not in winter as the top post assumes.
im probetly around a years by adding kaspa miners.. they work as a great battery, they just collect money. i would need thousinds kw battery to keep all that value im able to store from kaspa miners over a summer a great bonus is they make heat and money even if plugged into the grid... so i make money heating my house i have the miners connected to my heat recovery system that is connected to all rooms in my house
I have a similar setup, not quite as expensive, but still Victron and DIY build batteries, last year my gas & electric bill was minus £400, that's a saving of around £3000 to £3500 last year alone. I'm in the UK and we get paid fairly well for export. I'm adding more panels. I'm also not fussed about ROI time frame. Another 50 kWh day today, another day my electric bill is minus £6 😁
Thanks for the details. Was there any consideration for system availability with regards to the main inverter (Quatro)? I guess the backup for inverter failure is the grid but when grid is down all you have is the one inverter. Looking forward to phase 2 and panel expansion.
If the Quattro fails, grid power is also lost, because there is no bypass switch in her system. In this case she needs to rewire to get back to the grid.
Yes you make a good point. Maybe that's something I need to install later.. at the moment of the grid fails the inverter automatically switches over it's completely seamless...
I considered this issue when designing my system, I diverted my incoming grid through my Quattro, but before and after the Quattro I have 100A change over switches, so I can bypass the Quattro completely. This enables me to work on the Quattro without turning off the power to the house, well it would be off briefly whilst it was switched over, or if there was a problem with the Quattro it can be completely bypassed.
A picture is worth 1,000 (or in your case 10,000) words. A simple summary SHEET where we can see what you're on about would have saved me 15 minutes. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the scale and effort of the whole project but if you're TALKING costs it becomes VERY confusing. Giving the view a list they can SEE would greatly simplify things.
