Unfortunately that’s the RU-vid algorithm for you, as you say we make decent content but if we don’t add some sense of ‘click bait’ we get half the amount of views which is a hard pill to swallow. We try best to reward with awesome content when you do click though 🫡
Bit harsh on the comment, but I did find the title a bit misleading. I thought this was a video about the downsides of installing solar when I saw it and why it is a "terrible idea" .
Thats just how youtube works, clickbait means more people click, more people clicking mean’s youtube will suggest this video to more people. They have to do what they can to get the views 🤷♂️. Could be worse, the video could be complete rubbish but it isnt. It’s quality content.
@@pn8902 that’s far from the best way to get more people watching. Using clickbait titles which bear no relation to the actual content tends to piss people off. so you might get one-off new viewers, but they’re far less likely to come back time and again than if you’d just made good, interesting content that they’re interested in.
First time I've seen your content and while it looks like you do great work and present decent content, the clickbait title is a strategy which may yield short-term gains but in the long-term will likely cost more than it gained. It appears you do quality work and explain it very well. Don't sell yourself short utilising poor strategies even if it seems "everyone" is doing it. Hopefully it's only a part of your learning curve and you go onto the level of competence you've achieved with the rest of your work.
Couldn't agree more. Really stupid thing for him to have done but perhaps more naive than stupid. Come on mate, use your brains. How much do you like being dicked about? How much do you think people watching this are going to like you doing it to them?
Even tough you have solar optimizers on every panel, I would put the two sides of the roof on a separate string Most Solar Inverters have 2 MPPT's....😉 Here in Austria we have to ground the metal frame of the solar install with at least 16mm² Also our code requires over voltage arrestors in a box in the attic or close to the panels
If u ground them it will become a lightning protector, therefore you need to make a separate ground rod so you don’t fry every electronics, when lightning will hit them. In Denmark we will advise not to ground them, due to the fact that it will increase the chance of lightning strike, and due to the fact that the rails won’t be connected to anything in conductive, so you will have to get a direct path to ground to be able to get shocked 😊
@@4900dk in England we don't ground roof mounted arrays as they are class 2 pieces of equipment & should not be earthed. However, we do earth ground mounted arrays
What was cost of that installation and when will they start showing a profit ? At aged 60 I'm not going to invest in this as I'm not convinced it will save us any money ?!!!
Hi Jules, when we quote for solar we don't give an expected payback time. There are too many variables to take into account with the current energy cost, we don't know what prices will be like in 1,3 or 1o year's time. Some of our customers choose to have solar installed to do their bit to contribute to renewable energy, or even future-proof the generations ahead.
@@julesviolin we installed solar and a battery so we didn’t have to pay for power. It means you’re now spending less each month on outgoings. And with power prices going thru the roof, that’s even more money we’re not spending. Works for us 👌
I like all what you doing apart of plastic clips. We should not use them any more. For DC cable in loft space I use Dewslt electrical stapler with metal clips. It is brilliant and fast and legal.
I think with panels on what I assume must be an east-west facing roof, twin inputs to the inverter from each row would have been my preference. It works very well on my system, I just increased the number of panels by 25%, panels are cheap, and I get as much out of my 4KW array as my neighbour gets from his south facing 3KW array. And if you are not already doing so, blocking off access to the underside of the panels to prevent Pigeons from nesting underneath them is a very good idea.
Thanks. I previously assumed the 'skirts' around the edge were to prevent strong winds blowing under the panels - i.e. to prevent the wind lifting the panels. I live in a hillside settlement and I've never seen edge protection fitted, seems like a great improvement - except for bird comfort.
With the solar optimizers basically a DC DC converter on each solar panel the lesser sun on the other side of the roof won't affect the whole string. However as somebody else pointed out spreading the input across the charge controller might be better.
Agreed, we have doves here that love to nest under solar panels that aren’t protected! Noisy beasts at the best of times scrabbling and cooing all the time!
Yep, my relative had to pay to get bird (pigeon) protection added a year after his solar install and the costs was something like cost of protection £100, labor cost of adding £200, scaffolding £1000 !
Stäubli-MC is what normally in the electronics we call most of the products they made. Both names, MC and Stäubli are used interchangeably. Their 4mm banana jacks are the de facto standard for test equipment connections, with similar designs by other brands as ETA, Pomona, Weidmüller and Phoenix Contact.
If there is a red yes .. but if the other cable is black it makes sense . But in case thee is brown and blue .. blue is negative and brown is positive ( at least in the industrial automation ) The black solar cable with the blue tape is the + . and he connects is to the brown .. so makes sense . But also confusing .. a red tape woud make more sense :p
Also working in a roof space where there’s no flat boards laid over the rafters you could make up some plywood panels to take up into the roof space to provide a safer platform to work on so you don’t fall through the ceiling panel
@artisanelectrics I have a question. In the new cu did you use a type b rccb? Or is a type a good enough. I watched the 3 videos I didn't see this and also how you connected the new cu to the customer original one the other side of the fire place. Was it on a way from thay board or on Henly blocks on the cu tails?
You are so right about cut off cable ties, nasty things. It's very helpful to see the process of fitting an up to date system in some detail. Roof level work is very tiring, the physical stress is continuous. In some ways a steeper pitch is actually better.
The problem is most sparkies cut them with side cutters, have a look at yours, 99% of them have a bevelled cutting edge which leaves the sharp edges on the cable ties. You can buy special cutters, or as in Australia lots of industrial sparkies will grind the bevel out of their everyday side cutters.
I used to work in data comms and cables go under a 6" high false floor into the cabs. Used to have to push the cables under the floor and grab it when it appears in the cab. I still have scars on my arms where idiots used side cutters and left very sharp cable tie ends.
Hi guys There is actually a brand called Dektite and they make a product called Dektite DNLS10MB Cable Flashing Kit and it could potentially eliminate the use of PVC conduit for the DC cables entering the roof space. Its worth a look. I love what you guys do! Please keep up the amazing videos!
We have to install ALL solar DC cables in HD conduit for their entire run here in Australia. On a wall, in a loft, in a wall cavity. We had issues with guys cutting them to jb off for another socket, not realising they were DC. HD conduit can be corrugated or solid PVC or steel. If PVC, it must be marked by the manufacturer as HD. You guys have it easy sometimes🤪
No optimisers on my solar panels and following the snow, some panels had snow while others didn't. We had virtually no energy generated. next day I got up with a long-handled scraper to remove the snow - problem solved.
It's crazy how even a tiny part of a panel having snow on it can virtually zero the generation - I've got optimisers, but thought from the data I had a failed panel as it was barely generating anything until I realised it had about the bottom 2 inches covered by snow/ice...
Its really not recommend to scrape of ur solar panels with anything just let the sun melt the ice! When the glass of the solar panel are scraped ur yield can go down big times! 1small scratch at the worst place of the array can fuck up the whole solar panel!
What would be really useful would be to detail the complete installation costs versus the power generation and energy used/exported and the corresponding payback time before you break even. Generally speaking, most electrical energy is required in the winter when solar generation is low and least electrical energy is required in the summer when solar energy is maximum. The size of this installation seems excessive for the size of the property and with export tariffs so low (relative to import) it's hard to see how it's justified. If you have an EV you could use this as your main storage (providing you have VTH) and fit a smaller battery saving costs. Please explain how the specification of this installation makes sense. Note, I'm fully in favour of solar installation, but sized accordingly.
I don't understand why going to the extra expense of optimisers, when the two sides of the roof appear unobstructed with uniform faces, why not just run two separate strings? Is it because the owner wanted Solar Edge battery or inverter, therefore the optimisers and single string are just how the package comes?
What was the cost of this installation? How much power will it produce each year, so what are the savings, and how many years will it take to recoup the cost? What are the typical working lives of the various components?
I was considering micro inverters/optimisers, but I decided against it because they do get break downs. Taking into account that it always detrimental to the roof to walk on it and it is costly to install scaffolding I decided to have central inverter on the ground floor. After all PV panels can work for 30 years but inverters are not that reliable.
Any reason you went for Solar edge over Enphase? total cost is lower with some benefits like a lower operating voltage and no string inverter so there is no need to allocate space for one and it's a single point of failure.
The name MC4 was derived from it's inventor company name "Multi-Contact AG" which now is part of "Stäubli Electrical Connectors AG". I don't know where the number 4 is actually coming from.
Great videos we been bashing the solar in too and these a few videos in my u tube channel some big 50kw systems and very large pennies and off grid systems have alook 😎😊🔨👨🔧
Thanks for a real fine demonstration, I'm looking at installing here in the US, yours is a very good start to finish with very good narration of the data.
just 2 separate strings on 2 MPTT trackers .. don't know the orientation of this roof .. i guess East-West ? Seems solaredge installers love to sell the optimizers extrea $$ it's easy an extra +/- 80 euro per panel . As a hamradio operator i'm not a big fan of optimizers .. some countrys even wanting to ban them .
Anyone else thinking safe working at height? Even though your working off scaffold with kickboards it is still best practice to wear a harness with a fall arrest device. Then there is the way there lifting the panels up the ladder. Climbing ladders three points of contact at all time. Fall arrest as you ascend or descend and the panel should hoisted from the ground. you go on about belt and braces isolating the panel but are happy to fall and injure yourself.
err no......... Their job, their business, their bodies. I don't think the purpose of the video is to invite keyboard warriors who talk a lot about something they don't do.
@@BerkeleyTowers But as "influencers" they have a responsibility to their views and to their apprentice to do a job properly and safely. A recoil fall arrest device clipped to the solar mounting rail and to the dorsal on the harness won't impact their work flow. you can use a similar system on the ladder. I'm sure the customer will be pleased if they dropped the panel and then had to wait for a replacement. you also say its his business. well if he fell and seriously injured himself the HSE would fine him into bankruptcy and use the video footage shot as evidence. I can see the redundancy letter. Sorry lads your out of a job because its my business and my body.
@@G7OEA You seem to have a lot to say about H&S and nothing to do with the content of the video? If you want to give constructive criticism, let's hear exactly what codes he's breaking. Or you just like to gob off? Let adults be adults and decide what's best for their own business. If you, or anybody else, are so weak minded that you might be "influenced" to work off scaffold and not competent to do so, then crack on. It's called Darwinism. Just out of curiosity, you know that the rail will hold a lateral force of, say, a 100kg at several G of deceleration, how exactly? (Asking with my structural engineering hat on......... )
@@marossgnv So what? A completely worthless comment if not in context. You erect scaffold at eaves height as a platform to work off. You erect barriers at the gable end? Spoiler alert, the USA hasn't got the last word in working practices.
That’s an odd roof, it looks as though someone had previously converted that space, you can see the old plasterboard adhesive on the block work and where the mineral insulation has previously been installed between the rafters.
Why add the 4 core armoured for future proofing and cut the 2 spare cores off flush? Is it not better to bring them 1" to the longest point outside the enclosure and terminate them them in the enclosure. Also for Hi current DC I would opt for a soldered/ heat shrink joint or inline crimped joint to avoid any possibility of arcing or failure of the Wago compression joint over time. Always worry about plastic embrittlement or just plain mech/install failure of these new joint mechanisms, especially when dealing with high currents or large temperature excursions in roof spaces etc Not a criticising the install by any means as you are normally belt and braces, just surprised you stated future proofing and used these connectors in this install. Alternatively you could have added a Din Rail and mech connected to allow for expansion and routine testing/maintenance
15:10 Hopefully the switch is rated for DC voltages and not just AC? I have seen a number of switches burn up because the installers used AC only switches that were not rated for DC voltages. 🤠👍
I live in Australia. I’ve had solar on my roof the last 10 years and I would estimate that I have saved $5000 Australian over that time so to your assertion Solar is a good idea if the figures stack up
I feel your pain Jordan, I run a solar firm and we do commercial solar panelling so in terms of getting your first panel straight it is virtually impossible as you never really have anything to square off per day as the roof is never perfectly square. Try squaring off 8x20 arrays 😊
I work for a company in Austria and we recently started installing our first rooftop solar plants. I quickly realized that getting them straight was a big problem. Next year we will be doing a lot more and I would appreciate if you could give me a tip on the easiest way to do it.
@@Eswaldi try creating an L where your first panels are butted up together top to bottom and perfectly in line on the left side and try square them to the roof as best as you can it’s experience really but it might be trial and error at first you will quickly realise when you move on to row two.Use a string line and get it as tight as you can with clamps on either end of the bottom row so that they line with middle of the rail. If you’re L is pretty straight then you just fill the square out starting from bottom to top. It’s very hard to get it perfect so you have to let it stagger slightly sometimes because there are so many variables on the roof I.e roof not being completely level, rails at different heights/ not perfectly In line( string line is your best friend to get rails straight). There’s also a tolerance In panels so they are never completely the same sizes and you will notice that they bow slightly so the line is never perfectly straight. Some panels are better than others, some roofs are better than others but that is just the industry I’m afraid it comes down to experience here and also don’t forget to put the gap back in top to bottom of the first panels (I) of the “L” as you should have at least 10mm gaps around the panels to meet regulations. Hope this helps hit me up if you need any more info, sorry it’s really hard to explain over text and I’m a hands on guy so my apologies
I cannot get over the size of that battery for 10kWh that is huge. I've got over 30kWh and its nowhere near that size thank fully. What are you doing to protect from lighting strikes? How does DC current behave going through an AC consumer box, because I've isolated my DC earth from the AC system for safety reason on the grid.
I thought the same, I have 2x Pylontech us5000 (9.6kwh total) and they weigh about 40kg each. Granted though that they are not for external use, so maybe the extra weight is the giant metal box and it must be heavily insulated from the cold (I would hope) as it's basically outdoors.
@@RandomShart I guess my carboard box with polystrene sheet attached is no the best looking solution, and that taking off in the summer months does'nt help to improve it either. 🤪
Its been a while, but I was once involved with a few installs using those. They are awesome. The circuit is a simple 230v radial. One day I'll get solar at home and use them.
I looked at both here in Australia. Emphases micros were going to be more than $1000 more than SE optimisers so I went with that. SE 5kw inverter on 6.6kv of panels with optimisers. Been a great system so far. Nearly 3 years old now
I have the same PV panels (had mine 3 years) but I was never given the option of the skirt, what is it used for? I assumed to stop birds getting under but it looked open at the top. Other option I guess is to cut down wind getting under and ripping the panels off.
In America your installation would have just cost you abut £7,000 in fines for safety violations. Here you can’t be on a roof like that without a safety harness. You should consider a harness unless your willing to pay benefits to an injury from falling
Whilst you're feeling outraged about it, don't whatever you do, search youtube for Fred Dibnah Laddering a Chimney..... I'm afraid your weak heart might not hold up........
I am looking to get them installed when they work to both supply my electricity needs and keep the house warm at night and during the 6 months of winter. Stupid thing people say is "You need to wait until summer to see the real benefit"
The work by the roofer to notch the tile is that normal practice when you can get tiles that have a covered hole for cable penetration to replace a standard tile. It’s a much neater installation and removes the possibility of further tile damage and leaks
Great video as usual 👍 Can optimisers be retrofitted to an existing system? Or are there any other suggestions for how to make sure we're getting the most from a 7 year old system?
Shocking install , we fit a dc isolator where others don’t , it’s a requirement to fit a dc isolation there’s no meter been fitted to display amount generated , walking all over the supports for the panels , clipping cables with t&e clips , fitting battery on neighbours wall and no fire clips in trunkings , working at height regs ignored ,
They did fit a DC isolator (14:22), there is a generation meter (15:31, next to the AC isolator), there's no other way to walk on the roof because of its high pitch, the clips hold the cable which is all they need to do, it's a shared wall so they can both use it, and I very much doubt that they didn't do any kind of RAMS; it just wasn't shown. However, you are correct about the lack of fire-rated fixings in the conduit, so the comment wasn't a total loss.
@@aaronmdjones yes he did fit a dc isolator but was bigging himself up by saying others don’t , you can use a normal ladder and lay it flat on the roof , you use the correct size clips for the cable it’s designed to hold , it’s a party wall so would have to have permission from neighbours to put that among of equipment on it
@@cj-rb8fz and he was doing that because others don't, because, no, on a SolarEdge system, a DC isolator is *not* required. The inverter itself, in combination with the SolarEdge optimizers, is rated and certified as an IEC 60947-3 compliant isolator, which is exactly the same standard that e.g. your consumer unit main switch is designed to, specifically because it reduces the voltage down to below ELV levels when the inverter is not running or when the panels are disconnected from the inverter. Finally, no, you do not require permission from your neighbour to make modifications to a party wall; you only have to tell them that it's going to happen. You can still perform the work even if they refuse.
Good trick with the crimping tool there - I've made custom power supply cables for my computer before, and when you have 24 + 8 + 16 + 16 (minimum) cables to crimp ATX pins to both ends of little hacks like that safe your sanity (and fingers).
Personally I think the DC side needs short circuit protection particularly if you staple the pos and neg in one staple or take both cores through one hole in a tile. Rodent attack could cause a big short resulting in a 🔥
MC : MC is short for “metal-clad,” and this type of cable is sheathed with a metallic coating. MC cable is defined as an assembly of one or more insulated circuits, often enclosed with an armor of metal tape or a metallic sheath. The most popular MC cables today feature aluminum interlocked armor.
absolute bs, standard solar DC cable is not metal clad in anyway. MC4 refers only to the connector which used to be manufactured by Multi-Contact, and this type of connector has a 4mm pin, hence the MC4, they also used to make MC3s...
So I'd love to know the actual (full cards on the table!!) Total materials and install cost and the actual real world payback on it etc....Because I'm still highly sceptical about it. Lovely install, but you're going to be charging a ( deserved) premium and I just wonder if its just a vanity project to make the home owners feel good about themselves in all honesty!
I don't think people who buy these big installations are overly concerned about the cost, or the payback. If I had plenty of money I'd have a mighty solar set up so I didn't have to rely on the grid of wherever I was living.
@@simonsackett exactly. As EVM said recently regarding his air source heat pump "you get these things because it's something you want like a new kitchen, no-one ever wants to calculate how long 'payback' is on a kitchen but when someone does something 'green' the dissenters always want to know how you get your money back." Thought that was a very good point.
@@judebrown4103 In case of heat pumps the question is very valid because when it isn't properly designed or installed heat pumps can lose you a lot of money compared to just a gas boiler. Not only is the install very expensive. If it doesn't reduce heating costs significantly it is not worth it. It is also far less reliable in case of bad winter weather. Ridiculing people for asking about effectiveness of the very intended purpose of heat pumps is stupid. Everybody knows cars these days fulfill their purpose near perfectly eveey time and the differences are minimal, aesthetic mostly. The difference between a bad heat pump and leaving your gas boiler can be financial ruin for some people. The comparison.is.therefore not valid. You don't just buy "a new car" or "a new kitchen". There is no guaranteed functionality. You buy an expensive immature technology home heating system which just doesn't make sense for people in a lot of situations. Many people had huge electricity bills and cold houses.
@@zteaxon7787 yes absolutely, couldn't agree more, it is definitely a case of caveat emptor with these installations. Going into these things without proper research and testing of your particular building would be a mistake although nobody is being ridiculed. I was purely speaking of the fact that the first question people ask is "how long is the payback time", a question which isn't asked of other domestic purchases.
Well, this is a case of learn how to do the install yourself, it's not rocket science, it's mostly labor and following the component's manufacturer's directions, if you have to HIRE two guys to do all the work and it takes them 2 weeks to get it all done, well mate- calculate how much you think each guy is being paid per hour, multiply that by say 2 weeks, add in misc costs related to their working for 2 weeks like taxes, insurance, travel, maybe hotel, meals etc and you'll quickly find it's several thousand dollars for the labor to install the system FOR you, same as it would be to hire 2 men to replace your plumbing, remodel your bathroom, or anything else aroud the house you might hire two men to work on for a couple of weeks. Me, I'd just install it myself, I'd have no problem at all, I've replaced my own entire roof before by myself, did all my electric, plumbing and installed a new gas furnace, water softener etc etc by myself as well, the solar panels would be nothing for me. If you remodelled the bathroom all you did was replace what was already there in use, it doesnt save you any money and cost you money, at least the money spent on the solar is cutting your costs on electric bills and making your house mostly energy independent when there's a power outage- that first time the power goes off in an ice storm and stays off for several days because of broken power poles and worse- you'll be real happy you had heat and lights produced yourself while your neighbors are sitting in the dark freezing LOL!
when its time to repair the shingles on your roof expect the cost to significantly eat into the energy savings contribution your panels provide and expect roof leaks galore.
Why would any connector block (in this case the Wago ones) NOT be suitable for DC circuit connections? I can understand voltage and current restrictions, for obvious reasons, but not a DC restriction! I know that screw terminals can come loose with high voltage AC connections - I have often experienced these, but what does DC do that could be bad for connectors?
Why no DC breakers? and why only one MPPT string, surely 2 would have been better for each roof aspect, only a few more cables into the roof space? You could even have cabled it so you could split them later without needing scaffolding again, big miss in my books!
Cool , thanks , giving me a better idea . Nice to have so much room under the roof . I expect to have 4 strings on a much lower pitch . Time to get more lights up there . During our usual 'load shedding ' , had a look about where to put the batteries /inverter . Just plan for 2x 4.8 and 12 450w panels , maybe add 6 more and another battery later . Whatever , was nice to see .Thanks . Off to get more tracks up on the roof , like the way you used them . Glad am just single storey .
Solar edge recommend not using a dc isolator as it can cause issues down the line. They prefer a straight connection to the unit. As you are just adding another point of failure with it, every mc4 connection is a potential point of failure and there's 2 per panel and 4 per optimiser.
+1 .. 14 panel X 4 MC4 connectors + 2 on the inverter itself .. lot's of connections that can fail . And don't know about the isolator .. wich seems to be for 3 fase AC .. and using armoured cable for DC ....could be confusing ?
Jordan I have checked with WAGO UK and their official pronunciation is VAR-GO not way-go or vay-go!! Get your employees to say it correctly, it is only polite to pronounce names correctly. I know all the US viewers won’t be able to say it correctly!
I thought I was watching Benjamin Button when the before and after clip was shown! Great video as always, shame but completely understandable that you guys can't come to the NW - I'd love to have guys who take pride in what they do!
We don't do the q code thing in Australia. Al our panels are tested for same voltage and amp readings before installation. There is no need for the phone app bullshit.
Do you fit smoke alarms/multi sensor alarms to the areas containing pv equipment and do you use radio links and an alarm controller? Assuming you use Aico gear. Cheers.
