We are considering getting Enphase’s 5p battery as an add-on for our solar system (for self consumption during peak rate time periods between 4-9pm). Installers are quoting between 5.2k and $5.5k to add it on. Is that a reasonable price?

If I wanted to run an rv, with a fridge, washer, and dryer...24/7 on solar power. What equipment do i need? From panels to batteries to inverter etc...I would greatly appreciate and be grateful for a list from smart people who know what they're doing.

If I exercise the PPA agreement option to purchase my solar system will I be eligible for NJ SuSI?

One of my enphase strings is intermittently producing power, but never full power. This string is a series of old M250 microinverters and 280 watt panels (solarworld) on a 240v enphase engage trunk cable. Up until december they had been rock solid then they all went out at the same time. I suspect it's a wiring problem because I saw said trunk cable sitting in standing water (zip ties broke) on my flat roof (that's a separate issue). I'm not quite sure where to look next or how to do it safely.

Thus far--after shutting down the system, breaker and disconnect--I have removed the trunk cable all the way to it's junction box. I tested each socket with an ohm meter (all read 0.0 to their respective wire and infinity between the wires). Afterward I plugged it back in and reconnected the wires, this was yesterday. Today it doesn't seem to want to function at all.

I'm thinking I have water intrusion into the trunk cable (possibly screwing up communications) and need a new one. It's a bit challenging to find the old style engage cables online unfortunately - very little available except a few on ebay. Any recommendations?

I've included a picture of my power production from a microinverter on this string just prior to servicing it. You can see that it comes on later in the day than it should and often all at once. This suggests to me there's a heating or drying effect that is 'fixing' the damaged cable but that it is both temporary and unreliable.

https://preview.redd.it/0gfd56rhktge1.png?width=1828&format=png&auto=webp&s=49b30e375893706965409ab7c8b2cc56a16b49c6

Hello Everybody,

I have a SolARK system that operates at 48v and we have panels in the 400 watt range, 26 of them. What I am trying to do is add another 10 panels of Canadian Solar at 450watt, but the operating v of the panels is 39.5 or so and want to know if that will. 1. Cause any issues with the system or other panels? 2. Operate at a lower efficiency than the capabilities? 3. Will the Inverter system adequately adjust and regulate to produce the most amount of power.

thank you to anyone willing to answer and take their time to respond.

TLDR:

Help for solar system size, 1800 kWh/month, south facing roof (+/-20°), 5.5h sun /day. My thought are ~40x 450W roof panels, 80-90kWh in batteries, and microinverters (IQ8).

Full post:

I am hoping for some feedback and ideas here. I am not looking to install this myself, but I am also OCD enough I want to understand the system, pros/cons, capabilities etc., and not just take the word of someone who is trying to sell to me.

The solar/batteries are mostly for resiliency, but cost savings is a nice bonus.

We live in Puerto Rico and outages are very common (weekly), the last hurricane that missed us was 10 days without power, the last one that hit us was 3-11 months outage.

We are 1600ft above the ocean, climate is 65-85f with 55-100% humidity. Latitude: 18.17579. 5.4-5.6 hours sun / day on average, no shading.

5000 sq ft concrete house/roof.

Largest draws (ACs, Hot tub, Electric stove, Water heater).

We average 1800 kWh a month (+/- 100), weather does not vary a lot.

Concrete roof, mostly south facing (either 159° SSE or 201° SSW), pitch is 8°.

We have a 30k generator on an auto transfer switch, we would want to integrate too.

My thoughts:

I am thinking around

40x 450W panels roof mounted (Microinverters maybe Enphase IQ8?)

80-90kWh in batteries.

I would want something CAT5+ rated, so guess top and bottom rails/racks (also for proper pitch).

What am I missing in my hardware or considerations?

I just closed on a home with about 30 panels "fully owned" and originally purchased from SolarCity in 2011.

After closing, however, we discovered that the house description inaccurately disclosed that information - they were not purchased, rather it's a fully prepaid lease set to expire in September of this year.

I'm looking to understand the associated value so that we can come to a fair solution between us and the sellers.

Has anyone recently had a buyback offer from SolarCity? Or have thoughts on the associated value?

The lease doesn't technically offer buyback, though I understand they commonly offer anyway at the end of the contract. When we reached out to Tesla they said they couldn't confirm if they'd offer buyback come September nor could they tell us what the price point would be if they did.

It is a 33 panel system. Appreciate any help or advice!

I hv a Sunpower system that has never been activated, bc of the bankruptcy. I hv grave concerns that the system will work, if it is ever activated. If you hv Q Cell panels has your system operated as expected? Or … are you plagued by problems, or does the system underperform? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

I hv a Sunpower system that has yet to be activated, bc of the bankruptcy. I hv grave concern about how all will work, if it is ever activated. Is there anyone with a Q Cell system that can tell me what your experience has been? Does your system work as you had expected or are you plagued with problems? Does it work, but underperforms? Any input will be greatly appreciated.

I hv Sunpower system, but Qcell not Maxeon panels were installed. My system has yet to be activated, bc of the Sunpower bankruptcy, so I don’t know what to expect, if the system is ever turned on. Worrying, but maybe Qcell users are happy with their system?

Canada is looking into export tariffs on energy to the U.S. in retaliation for the 25% tariffs imposed on import goods from Canada.

New York, Michigan, Ohio & Minnesota all get substantial amounts of energy from Canada, particularly electricity. It's reported up to 95% is imported from Canada in some places.

In addition, it's reported 2 major oil pipelines (Keystone & another) supply over 65% of the oil transported by those pipelines to U.S. users and refineries.

Since some of these states aren't particularly hostile to solar, it might be a good idea to consider it along with offset (batteries) even with the losses that come with batteries.

What do you guys think?

Hi all, thanks for the advice ahead on this one. I don’t have much of a post history but have lurked here for a while.

I have a 16 panel array (Panasonic panels, enphase microinverters) on an asphalt shingle roof. I’m considering a re-roof with standing seam metal. I’m told by the original solar installers that it’ll be $5k for takedown/reinstall. It seems too much to me as I’m pretty DYI capable. Roof is only 4:12 and single story so not spooky.

I’m considering taking care of by myself with a buddy. Correct me if I’m wrong, the job is:

• Kill power
• Disconnect junction to subpanel line nearest array.
• take off panels one by one, disconnect panel from microinverter, store panels
• take off mount racks, store rack bars, fill holes from mount penetrations
• reroof happens
• use standing seam clamps to reattach rack system, will need to add some new rack hardware to connect to clamps
• mount individual panels, make microinverter connections
• reconnect array to subpanel line

Any unwise or unsafe pitfalls to avoid for a first timer that wants to do the job right and knows it can be done correctly and safely?

We just bought a house that isn't long term for us. We needed more space now so needed to buy.

The house is 20 years old and the roof was replaced about 5 years ago. We're looking into solar because we drive an electric car and because we need to replace the boiler and we're considering going with electric heat pumps for the MassSave (Massachusetts) rebate.

Our roof can generate about 12KW which should just be about sufficient for us (house is about 4300 sq ft).

Considering we're planning to move in 4-5 years (better school district), does it make sense to buy the solar panels? Breakeven I suspect would be about 5 years so we won't actually benefit from buying. But is it likely to increase the house's value when selling? Or does it make more sense to get immediate benefits by leasing instead? Do leased solar panels make the house less attractive? When I was buying, I thought that leased solar panels were a benefit but doing my research now suggests otherwise. Are others more like me?

Appreciate any feedback. Thanks

Thoughts on SMA sunny boy smart inverters .

I am building a small single floor house of 120m2 for a family of 3. I designed the house to have a roof sloped at the appropriate angle facing south towards the sun, we are 5 degrees from the equator. It's a single slope roof with the low side south. So far I have a Victron MPPT 150v/100a charger, 3 panels and 24v epever 2000w 110 VAC inverter. Daily temps range from 8 to 26 Celsius, we are at 6000 feet.

1. I was planning to do a metal roof, but since this is a new roof is there a simpler option considering it will be mostly covered with panels. Not sure on what people would do different on new construction.

2. Given the temperature range here, does it make sense to use flooded lead acid batteries instead of lithium ion?

3. Any reason I can't have some 220 vac appliances? It looks like most inverters are either 110 or 220, is it crazy to have two inverters or would it be better just to standardize on 110 vac?

4. My short term plan was to set up the 3 panels and the 2000w inverter on a 24v system on the storage container or at the water tank/pump to learn about solar and then purchase all new equipment for the house, except probably transfer the charge controller as it's overkill for the remote setup. I would buy a new charge controller, something more appropriate for a 24v system while making the house higher voltage on the inverter circuit. Ultimately leaving the 3 panel set up as a separate system 50m away to provide power for cameras, the water pump and some remote outlets. I have a source for flooded lead acid batteries.

I purchased my new home in 2015. We purchased the "solar system" upgrade, which was installed by SunPower. That company has gone bankrupt.

Of course, my solar inverter is now having a problem (just out of warranty, according to Complete Solar which bought out their contract).

I cannot find anyone to come out and have a look or give me an estimate of fixing the inverter without wanting to charge me more than $100 just for coming out.

I have provided this link here (with plenty of media (photos and videos).

Any idea on who can give me an estimate without an initial up front cost just for looking?

https://preview.redd.it/sz1hfceqxpge1.png?width=2356&format=png&auto=webp&s=7cab46f5a051c444e709450b7fdaf625fb0a9431

UPDATE:

One of the guys I found was able to look up the error code and found this:

https://preview.redd.it/k80occc0itge1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=6808651484be4cc16999d05adc75e594c1885c44

Hi I'm looking for a reputable, local solar company to do business with.

I own a solar company in NJ. And have a customer interested in solar for his properties in CT.

I need a solar company that knows what they are doing with their solar installs, micro inverters preferably, hide conduit or go through attic, and be able to perform a full reroof if needed with quality work.

Please write here any recommendations, if I can speak to the owner directly even better.

Thank you in advance!

Hi, solar noob here. We live in Southern California maybe it's just that we're in the winter, but we keep having an electric bill every month. We have THREE Tesla Power Walls and we're putting in a pool so I really want to make sure our system is performing as well as it should be when we start heating the pool. I can't believe we're using exorbitant amounts of electricity. I'm attaching pictures of my electric utility bill "usage" report from December as well as a screenshot from the Tesla app for December and sunpower's app for December. Can someone tell me what the heck is going on?

https://preview.redd.it/yiq3iz9cymge1.jpg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0384866fa74651a464de39cee99a5c27084c6f12

https://preview.redd.it/rhumg9n4ymge1.jpg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8d68adc3f260d49d5aa26b6d412f756af2c07a30

https://preview.redd.it/yfdlzneaxmge1.png?width=1784&format=png&auto=webp&s=ec7f6248944b3dcab543f2d9c6a4fd3d7cac3b30

https://preview.redd.it/zcfyokibxmge1.png?width=2094&format=png&auto=webp&s=59231c048f02d382ce1af8d5cca63d0b92a6e3b2

https://preview.redd.it/yrx0j5fdxmge1.jpg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=09c1bbb53d98ea7f25da81ddf2b18394dc270a10

Can anyone tell me if there is a bi-directional system where I can use our solar panels to charge the EV, then the EV battery to power the house and sell excess to the grid?

Could I ask the crowd to weigh in on a strange question?

I have a PHEV (Volvo xc60) with a small battery. I usually charge overnight. I also have solar and two powerwalls. I'm wondering if it's better for me to charge during the day using a combination of solar and battery or if it's better to keep charging overnight. In winter I don't usually generate excess and I love in a state without tou pricing so it doesn't matter when I charge.

What does the crowd think?

Has anyone done business with Blue Raven? I just sat through a presentation for a proposed system on my house in Virginia. The numbers were pretty attractive and they are offering no payments for the first 18 months. Proposed system would produce 102% of my demand based off of my bill. Total system cost is approximately $77k. Does Blue Raven do quality work? Any issues with their systems?

EDIT: 12.555 kW for $74.6k. No money down, first 18 months of payments covered by Blue Raven.

We are building a shop/living space in Colorado that will be off grid. The deck/gambrel end faces Southwest due to the site. We will need to oversize our array to meet heating demands on the few coldest days of the year. Rather than an additional Sinclair Skyrack, would it be feasible to mount vertical panels under the deck? I know they wouldn’t be much use in the summer, but we’ll have a huge surplus of power on those days anyway. (Minimal to no cooling load). Installing the Sinclair system faces some challenges with terrain and drilling into rock. It’s not a huge deal to install additional racking, but this would be much easier. The deck posts will be there whether they have solar panels mounted on them or not, so with as cheap as panels are, this seemed like a decent solution. How much production will we sacrifice in the dead of winter due to being vertical, and about 45 degrees west of true south ??

First set of tariffs started now. Guess we will see how it affects solar prices and supply chain.

Trump announces new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China | CNN Politics

https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/01/politics/mexico-canada-china-tariffs-trump/index.html?iid=cnn-mobile-app

They were living together and his name is on the house, but they were legally divorced, which complicates things I’m sure. I have no idea how these solar leases work and he has no clue what to do.

Still waiting for final walkthrough and them to set me up with the Enphase app, but Sense is showing me good results.

28 x REC460 28 x IQ8

Today I installed this SOLIS inverter but grid And load does not show up correctly. Is there a fix?