Just finished (and passed) the new EERE Residential PV Solar inspector training program. It’s FREE, for now, at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/sunshot/index.html and it’s very educational. It covers every aspect of a residential solar install and not only instructs on the backing materials, but offers a chapter by chapter self assessment (test) to see if you learned what they were trying to teach! All but ONE chapter was a breeze for me, and the tough chapter was on equipment. I think the questions/answers could be a little more clear in this chapter, but HEY, this is a BRAND NEW TRAINING AID, and I recommend that ALL installers take it and PASS it, just for the sheer value of knowledge!!
Tag Archives: DIY Solar
Back up system going in soon!
I’m stoked! My solar buddy, Brock, is going to help me pull new wires in from the meter outside the house down through, and to, the whole house smart switch, breaker box and Magnum backup inverter & battery bank this coming week! Will take a bunch of pictures when it’s done. Working with 3 other clients now on similar systems. One will even have a generator tie in! I can’t tell you where it is, but maybe I’ll be able to post some equipment pictures of the gear when we get that far. Right now it’s all in the planning stages. He’s going ALL the way off the grid! Me, I just want to get through a couple days of zombie armageddon… (just kidding!)
Mother Earth News Fair 2012 Solar Presentation
These are the slides that backed up my solar presentation at this year’s MEN Fair in 7 Springs, PA last weekend. There’s some text in the basic solar section, but they’re mostly slides. Primarily examples of things you’ll need to do/file/apply for if you are contemplating a DIY solar project. All the things I help out with if you sign up as a DIY solar client!! Also includes some great pictures of a variety of ground mount systems that I researched 2 weeks ago while attending the Solar Power International trade show in Orlando Florida. Please feel free to download and pass this around. No problems with that at all…
Mother Earth News Fair 2012 presentation
What it takes to keep your power UP when the grid is DOWN!
It’s been a long time coming, and I’ve been hesitant to make the investment, but recent power outages caused by the weather, combined with the state of affairs around the globe, have given me the motivation to finally make it happen. Please come back here at least twice a month to check my progress on this project! I’m doing this at my “bunker” in the mountains of Ohio. I’ve already got a 2400 watt system running using the older Enphase M190 micro-inverters along with 12 assorted PV Panels, and it’s covering 90 to 100% of the electric bill. But, I lost a refrigerator full of food when the power was down for too many days… so, I’m adding all the parts to keep the power flowing when the grid is down! Here’s a list of the parts I’ve got on the way:
- Magnum Distribution panel 250/30A-2P
- Magnum MS-PAE 4024AE 4kW 240VAC Pure Sine Inverter
- Magnum LCD Remote Panel (for programming and monitoring inverter status)
- Magnum BP-MMP Metal Mount for MMP enclosure and inverter
- ROLLS 6V 530AH Wet 40000S EKG Battery (X4=24 Vdc)
- Battery Box fan 24volt, 6 CFM
- ROLLS R+ Recombination Caps (X12) keeps battery watering to a minimum
- Outback Spill Control Tray for the batteries – in case of a case crack or acid spill
- #4/0 gauge flex wire with lugs for battery interconnections and inverter hookup
There’s also a whole house SMART SWITCH and some other parts to modify the incoming service wiring…
That pile of parts is worth about $4500 if you’re considering doing this. Well worth the price if the grid goes down for ANY reason! I’ll take pictures as I go and do updates to describe my trials and tribulations!
DIY Solar is affordable and reliable ( and a great way to prepare for Zombie Armageddon ) just kidding… and have a SUNNY day!
POLLEN can reduce your solar output!
I’ve not been on the roof to clean my panels since I put them up last July. This past Spring, I had to wash my car twice to get rid of a sticky yellow buildup of pollen, but it didn’t occur to me that this same pollen could be on my panels. Imagine my surprise when I went up there and found the entire surface of all the panels to be COVERED with pollen – it was like 150 grit sandpaper! This most certainly caused the light to diffuse and reduce the amount of solar energy impacting directly on the solar panel glass!! About 15 minutes with a bucket of soapy water and a cleaner/squeegee made them good as new. Solar output increased immediately by about 5% compared the the day before (both days equally sunny with no clouds). Moral of the story: if you want max power, you need clean panels! If you can reach them with a stream of water from a hose, do this regularly to prevent buildup of dirt and pollen!
Cinci Home Solar DIY Assistance job chosen as Array of the week by Enphase!
I was honored to hear from ENPHASE that one of my recent solar consulting installations was chosen as ARRAY OF THE WEEK! Check out the link and photos at:Enphase Array of the Week Truly an honor – and good demonstration that with my SOLAR DIY assistance you can end up with an array that is professionally designed, installed, commissioned and functional! If you’re suffering from commercial installer sticker shock when getting your special project quoted, just give me a call at Cinci Home Solar! I cover the Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Western Pennsylvania area, and will go farther if the job warrants!!
Working on a 10/12 pitch asphalt shingle roof
Time and Patience needed when working a steep roof like this!
Rich Kappel helping with his solar installation
Oh my goodness!!! The pictures looked like a nice easy 6/12. When I got up on the roof I IMMEDIATELY realized it was more like 10/12. That’s JUST SHY OF 45 DEGREE SLOPE! Almost perfect for our 39 degree latitude in the Cincinnati area, but NOT MUCH FUN to get started.
We set 90 feet each with two 3 1/2 inch lag bolts and a 3 inch spacer (Unirac-I product) and that took from 8AM till 1:30 PM. The feet made navigating the roof much easier, since there were at least some footholds to stop from sliding. Of course, I had my OHSA approved harness and rope line on. It was like cliff climbing!! We managed to get two panels in two rows on a small shade room addition mounted as an instruction area before having all the helpers tackle the 10/12 pitch roof!!
I wasn’t about to go up/down any more than I needed to, so I didn’t get any pictures today, but I’ll be back to finish the job tomorrow, and I’ll come home with some spectacular pics to add to this section!!
17 panels on the 10/12 pitch; one row of five, one row of seven, and the bottom row is five in landscape style to fit the trapezoidal roof section. One row of five panels on each side of a 3/12 pitch shade room roof facing north south, but still exposed to LOTS of sun.
NOT A TREE BLOCKING THE SUN FROM ANY DIRECTION!! This guy will make MULTI-MEGAWATTS of solar power! See ya’ll tomorrow when I get back!
27 Renogy 235 watt panels provide 6345 watts of solar power
North/South roof??
Here’s a real time performance link to this site. Pictures to come tomorrow! https://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/public/systems/f4vW80049
2012 Ohio SREC Pricing Average
Average Weighted Price for Ohio SRECs
If you’ve got your solar system up and running and are getting close to your first 1,000 KwHour mark – otherwise known as an SREC, here’s the latest average pricing from the GATS website. This is where you TRACK and RECORD your energy production on a month by month basis, and when you hit 1MW HOURs, you generate an SREC which you can then transfer to the BULLETIN BOARD where the folks who BUY SRECs look. You can set the price low or high – it’s up to you. Lower sells faster. Higher may never sell… kind of like playing poker…
Bottom line is that there is more SOLAR in Ohio now than ever before and the availability of SRECs is greater than the need, so you’ll have to think hard about how your price them – but thanks to tools on the EIS-GATS website, you can pull up the average for any period and make an INTELLIGENT decision about where to set your selling price!!
Finally, a ZERO Electric Bill!!
My first ZERO ELECTRIC BILL thanks to a DIY Solar installation!
I knew last month was pretty good for solar, but when I got my bill, it CONFIRMED it!! This is a real milestone for me. If you take a look at the attached copy of my bill, you’ll notice that it goes back and includes the amount from last April, before I had installed the 20 panel 4,320 watt system. Duke does not “pay” for the excess electricity I produce – but it DOES make my “NET METER” go backwards, for all practical purposes “banking” the extra energy I produce. Eventually, I’ll spin the digits the other way, either when I run my AC in July and August, or later in the fall when the sun-hours are much lower and the lights are on a much greater part of the day. My home is 1600 square feet, average insulation and construction with double pane windows. I’ve replaced all but a few of the light bulbs with CFL or LED types. We keep the thermostat around 68 in the winter and even lower at night when we’re sleeping, and we open the windows when the weather is nice. Just all PRACTICAL things to do to help conserve energy. I can show you how to do this on YOUR home for about $2.75/watt, including my consulting fee!! Drop me an email and lets get started on YOUR system tonight! There’s lots of summer sun coming our way and the temps are perfect for working on the roof right now!
DIY Solar Install getting great results
March 2012 Electric Comparison from Duke Energy
I’ve been getting great results with the system I installed on our home in Newtown, Ohio. Lately it’s been pretty cool and the days are getting longer. My 20 panel system generates a maximum of 4.3 kilowatts of power and the days are now long enough to pass 30KW Hours in a single day! Sometimes when LENTICULAR clouds go over and CONCENTRATE the sun’s energy, the panels have gone as high as 4,500 watts! No matter how you slice it though, the solar is doing it’s job nicely, as you can see from the info sheet that the power comnpany sent out… it’s funny, the paragraph below the one shown says “you can STILL lower your bill farther!” I don’t think that’s possible!!