All I want is to hook up a bunch of 48 volt batteries to a device that will convert it into 6500 watts of 110/220 AC. Every inverter I look at is hybrid, has a touch screen, built in charger, smart features, and brags about how it "integrates seamlessly" with many different brands of batteries and solar panels. The built in charger usually has a limit of 18 amps or so DC input, which could only handle one solar panel, unless I'm mega confused. If I have 20 400 watt solar panels, each putting out 13 amps, how am I supposed to hook them all to one inverter with an 18 amp max input? I can buy 2 100 amp MPPT solar charge controllers, and use those to charge my batteries, so why would my inverter have a puny little built in charger? Also, I have no desire to monitor my inverter with an app. Can't it just, y'know, invert?

I'm looking into purchasing a 10k kwh solar system for my home in MA. The quote is a little over $32k. Sound fair?

I was debating on dropping some money and financing the rest, paying off my car and freeing up $500 monthly and financing the whole amount or just financing everything for 3 years.

While Google Gemini favors paying cash I might go with the down payment as it gives me some liquidity in an emergency. But Gemini is pretty impressive.

Question asked:

I'm thinking of adding solar to my home and have questions regarding the best way to finance it.

I have $30,000 earning 6% in interest. I could use that $30,000 to pay cash for the solar system.

I could also choose to use $10,000 of that money as a down payment and finance the rest with a 8-10% APY heloc loan for 3 years.

Another option is to pay off my car loan of $10,000 at 1.74% which would free up $500 a month and then finance the solar with aheloc loan for the total amount of $30,000 at 8% APY for 3 years.

In each of these scenarios I qualify for 30% of the solar installation cost as a tax credit. I won't see that tax credit for 6 months.

Which option makes better financial sense.

Reply:

Even though you won't see the tax credit for 6 months, paying cash for the solar system (Option 1) is still the most cost-effective option in this scenario. Here's a breakdown of the costs:

| Option | Description | Total Cost |

| Cash (Option 1) | Net cost of solar system after tax credit, considering the interest lost on your savings over the loan term | $21,450.00 |

| Loan (Option 2) | Net cost of solar system after tax credit, plus interest paid on the loan | $23,640.00 |

| Car Payoff & Loan (Option 3) | Net cost of solar system after tax credit, minus interest saved on the car loan, plus interest paid on the solar loan | $28,156.50 |

As you can see, Option 1 has the lowest total cost. This is because the interest you earn on your savings over the loan term outweighs the delay in receiving the tax credit.

Here are some additional factors to consider:

• Impact on cash flow: Option 1 requires a larger upfront investment, but you won't have any loan payments to make. Option 2 and 3 will require monthly loan payments.
• Your risk tolerance: With Option 1, you're not exposed to the interest rate risk of a loan. If interest rates rise, you could end up paying more for a loan in Option 2 or 3.

Ultimately, the best option for you will depend on your individual circumstances and priorities.

However, based on the financial analysis, paying cash for the solar system is the most cost-effective option in this scenario.

I recently had a 16 panel with PW3 system installed. No complaints, if anything it's outperforming expectation. That said, I think I want to add a few more panels. I'm no electrician, but I know how to google, watch a video, and follow directions.

I'm fairly sure I'd have no major trouble mounting the panels on my roof myself and running the wires from the panels to the PW. What I don't know is if I'd be able to connect them to the PW.

Do I need an electrician to make the actual connection?
Would I need the same or similar panels to what's already installed, or could I pretty much take my pick of whatever is best for my needs?
Would I need to get PTO again? I'd think not, since I'm asking questions I figured I'd ask all the questions.
Anything else I should consider?

So my setup is 14 or so years old so my installer is not around to help anymore. I had one microinverter fail M190, so I got an M190240-IQ7-S22-RMAinverter to replace it from Enphase support. I installed it and everything seemed to fit just fine. The next day after the new inverter was provisioned and added to my array map, it works and that one is fine, however the other 3 micro inverters on the array then stopped producing. (2 M190s and one M190240-IQ7-S22-RMA)

I checked with Enphase and they tried to reprovision the old micros, but didnt help.

I chatted up Enphase again and the person said that the 3 old micros are reporting grid voltage of 27V and the new one 249V. So the new one is working but the 3 old ones are not.... They said it is an AC wiring issue. From my thinking, the new one could not be seeing 249V and the old ones not seeing the grid voltage if they were all wired up in order right?

Is it possible for 3 micros to be seeing incorrect AC volts (if it is an AC wiring issue as told by Enphase support) if they are all wired together? (and the other micro inverters on my other 2 arrays are ok down the chain).

Related, I did notice that the OLD M190 Engage connector only has 3 cables/pins in it and the new M190 IQ RMA cables have 4... is that part of the issue? Is there any trick to making sure the Engage connector is all the way connected? seems like you can only plug it in one way, then you twist to tighten... Is there something I could be doing wrong (and if it wasn't in all the way why would the new micro work fine and the other 3 not work?)

Should I plug in the old dead inverter (not including the MC4 DC cables) to see if the other 3 come back online?

Thanks for any help you can provide, I'm on my own here!
Here is how it looks now

https://preview.redd.it/t6xkghqpntrd1.png?width=632&format=png&auto=webp&s=65ef7511104195aee588487a031e3bd4d663df6f

And before the replacement was done

https://preview.redd.it/zqarrq61otrd1.png?width=414&format=png&auto=webp&s=a5c57add75bbba13d8f8a01217e9d7033e23f58f

Here are the Engage wires. New and existing running to the next micro. One with 4 conductors, old one connected to the M190 has 3

https://preview.redd.it/22wf68k5otrd1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4a76c2a4c074e321dbdba1b434571e7d6ebf25f9

And is this as "tight" they should be?

https://preview.redd.it/qs6a5etbotrd1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e2c0221cbfa9cd5156027a4153730b97d8b9e496

Hello,

I'm in Northern CA. Got an EV, might get the second one. Have a large roof. Moving in to a new place which has an old concrete roof that needs repair. Planning on replacing the entire roof and installing solar + PowerWall.

I had a traumatic experience with Tesla's PPA solar plan in another house (still ongoing). Having said that wanted to learn what options do I have? Are there any good installers you could suggest to go with? I like the Tesla's PowerWall hardware. Are there 3rd party installers out there?

New to the power banks. What kind of rebates can I expect nowadays? What should I start with?
Thanks!

My family and I are looking into simple solar backups in the event of losing power due to storms. We are very fortunate that we did not lose power during Helene, but many near us are devastated. Which of these would you recommend for making sure a fridge and freezer stay on while also being able to charge phones? I've looked into a bunch and have settled on one of these, but would greatly appreciate anyone with experience on these two chiming in. Thanks!

I recently was quoted 28k for a 10,000kWh system with Canadian built panels.

That’s 7 Panels and no battery wall.

Quote hasn’t been my highest, and it isn’t my lowest. I’m leaning towards this company but wanted to see if anyone else had any experience with them.

Hey guys. I have a bit of IT equipment in my house that draws a constant ~300 watts all day every day. It's not exactly a huge amount but I would like to offset this with a few panels on the roof. I don't want to go through all the red-tape with a grid tied system that will just leave me without power as soon as the grid shuts off.

I went down the rabbit hole yesterday researching LFP battery modules, inverter/charger/solar hybrid units, and individual modules for each funtion. My general understanding is that there isn't really a small-ish off the shelf unit like an EcoFlow / Jackery that will take solar input until it gets dark / drains the battery then switch back over to mains automatically. I found a few videos where people did this with an EcoFlow, but had to manually switch over to solar every day, and they had it tied into an essential loads panel. The gist of the problem I'm seeing is that you can't set it to run off battery /solar then switch automatically to mains passthru.

I don't really want to go too intense with this thing, but the only equipment I can find capable of this would be like the EG4 6000xp, which would basically beg me to wire in a critical loads panel and go down a whole new level of insanity of backup power for half the house. I just realistically doubt that I can justify the payback period of a setup like that to be within the lifespan of the equipment, and goes into the probably-not-ok by the building department jurisdiction. While a self contained unit in a server rack with a wire going up to the roof to just a few panels probably wouldn't be cause for alarm.

My theory for payback is if I can run the servers off mainly solar all day while the sun is out, then off battery into the evening, I've paid for about half the electricity cost off a potentially sub $1000 system, which would be a less than 10 year payback period while also functioning as a UPS and an emergency battery. I could just turn off the servers if mains power looks like its going to be out long enough to spoil food in the fridge, or if having lights seems preferable to hosting servers.

Was wondering how to convert 10,000 watts per hr in kwh. We've been producing above 1mwh per month for most of the summer and we use around 550-650, now I know this will drastically change in the winter months (in mn) but was curious if this is a feasible option or if I should go with lp instead. I do plan on contacting our solar company (enphase) to see if they have recommendations or opinions. Thanks

We’re by the coast in Bradenton Florida (Tampa area) and are looking to do solar with whole house battery backup and portable generator integration to extend our off-grid capability for hurricane outages. We are with FPL.

I’m trying to weigh different designs and could use help with my early research.

We’ve got the 10k cap here in Florida, where going over means adding additional insurance. On top of that insurance rates are going to sky rocket so I’m avoiding any additional insurance requirements. I will also be doing ground mount solar as solar on the roof here is now a roll of the dice on the insurance side.

I will probably need to do several panel sites to be able to get good exposure so varying run lengths from different areas for the panels.

Working with those constraints, should I go hybrid inverter with multiple string support or DC to DC system?

Also, if my constraints seem misplaced, feel free to advise.

Just a discussion.

I will be adding solar to a new accessory structure and the vendors are suggesting batteries. When I talked to my utility they said adding batteries would make me ineligible for:

• TOU EV Charging over night (as low as $0.058/kWh overnight)
• interruptible rate for my heat pump (about $0.061/kWh)

which makes it a no go for me. I really don't need battery backup as we rarely have outages and most are under 10-20 minutes.

IMPORTANT FOR FELLOW CALIFORNIA SOLAR OWNERS: Did you have an older home solar system and then upgraded to a newer system? You are going to get a NASTY surprise from PGE when the timeline of your original system (20 years) is up.

They consider your new system time-line-wise as being your old system and this is a result of the California Public Utilities Commission changing the rules in PGEs favor. You were probably put into the NEM2 metering category when your new system was installed and told you had 20 years.  You do not have 20 years. YOU WILL BE PUT ON NEM3 WHEN YOUR ORIGINAL SYSTEM REACHES THE 20 YEAR MARK.

It is not the fault of your solar installer (went down that rabbit hole already.) YOUR POWER BILL WILL BE ENORMOUS COMPARED TO NEM2 when you are placed on NEM3. The only solution (as I have learned--but maybe someone knows something I don't) is to install a battery system so that when your solar is not generating (at night) you still have power and don't have to use PGEs electricity.  THIS SUCKS AND WILL EVENTUALLY HAPPEN TO EVERYONE ON SOLAR. The California public utility commission has SCREWED us over BIG TIME.

So I originally installed my own system of 6kw panels and a central inverter, then later added a powerwall+4kw of panels on microinverters. Is there a decent way to add a non-tesla battery to the old panels to make use of those during outage now that there's more options.

Not sure how to do the math!

I’m having solar installed on a flat roof at latitude 19. The installer has batch of panels at a 6 degree angle facing north. Aesthetically, it looks cleaner but how much of an impact will it have on generation?

The aesthetics only matter because the roof is a lounging area with chairs.

Just had some panels installed by local authority. I'm stuck on setting up the Solax Cloud app! Any idea what I should put in this box? Have 8 panels on the roof, but no idea what spec they are... Totally new to all of this.

Thanks ahead of time for any advice. We're looking for high-output solar panels for our south-facing ribbed metal garage roof (in Florida) and are willing to invest in high-quality options.

Had a van come into my job and we were clearing everything out of it. Found 4 of these IQ8+ emphases micro inverters plus a controller. I don’t have solar and was wondering what I could do with them. Maybe a small off grid array to power my home server?

Hey all like many others I've also been impacted negatively by Helene. To avoid issues with the next one me and the wife have decided weare going to invest in some solar power. Figured the Reddit named solar is as a good as any place to start for advice.

Now our needs pretty minimal. A battery/powerbank that's able to charge 2 phones, a couple tablets, a laptop and a portable freezer like so. If it can some how run the router or a TV+ DVD player great, a window AC unit and it's perfect, but we want to keep the setup sub 1K usd.

I'm military so we want to keep it as portable as possible. So if it's on wheels it's fine but it needs to be able to fit into a Uhual every couple years, because I'm not about to an entire solar install on every house.

Home came with solar panels with enphase iq7plus inverters, about 4.4 kW projected power. In California, no PTO yet so no idea yet how much power I will generate in practice.

Asking around my area (Fresno CA) it looks like many of the installers in my area are skewed towards PowerWall3, even when I inform them that this is an enphase solar setup. Looking into it I guess they tend to be suggesting an enphase5 which would seem to need multiple more units to equal powerwall capacity.

Does having panels with enphase inverters create a sufficient advantage for staying enphase? I see there’s supposed to be an enphase10 which might be more competitive with powerwall?

Has anyone worked with North Valley Solar in Northern California? If so, what was your experience?

Hi everyone. We live in Las Vegas and got solar about a year ago thru Arcadia Solar. It was delivering about 50 kilowatts on average a day. All of a sudden, it dropped to about 10 kilowatts a day and it’s now the middle of summer. We tried calling Arcadia to have them come out and look so see what’s wrong but unfortunately they went out of business (I think). Do you have any recommendations on another solar company that could come look to see what’s wrong?

I’ve been a community solar farm developer for 10 years.

Our sites are typically limited to 5MWac by the state, which is about 1,000 residential subscribers.

Do any of y’all subscribe to a community solar project and receive credits on your monthly utility bills?

If so, who did you sign up with?

Bad solar news in Californa. Late Friday night, Governor Newsom vetoed SB 1374 (Becker), which would have restored the basic right for schools and renters to use the solar energy they produce on their own roof or parking lot.