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Will Prowse did something similar (much smaller scale) on his YouTube channel last year. He set up a 6000 watt ground mount array in about 40 minutes and discus

by reddog 4y ago

Will Prowse did something similar (much smaller scale) on his YouTube channel last year. He set up a 6000 watt ground mount array in about 40 minutes and discusses the trade offs here: https://youtu.be/71vME5k-oiw https://youtu.be/71vME5k-oiw

rhacker 4y ago
His is more or less temporary. What's great about him though is he already has a link up to the power company, so as he sees fit he can just reduce his bill by flaying them out in his courtyard. That or just mine btc/etc... He's still an awesome dude and has helped me set up my own solar in the number of videos. Even better is his forum: https://diysolarforum.com https://diysolarforum.com
- latchkey 4y ago
  Definitely love me some Will Prowse. I bought one of the LiPo batteries he recommends for my campervan and have been super happy with it.
- blamazon 4y ago
  Temporary solar panels are interesting to me - where I live there's a large chunk of the year where weekly solar output plummets. Stacking them in the garage overwinter is appealing, I might try this soon.
  - cinntaile 4y ago
    I would assume the risk of moving them each year is much bigger than any reduction in loss of function?
    - blamazon 4y ago
      Meh. Throw a moving blanket over it and bungee it on. Could weld up a cart to roll them all at once sideways. Could use spring casters like for gates as a suspension. Or hold them in place with low durometer rubber. Or both. Probably want them sideways for footprint in my garage anyhow. It would be fun to optimize the process more each year.
  - bushbaba 4y ago
    Why bother stacking them in the garage during winter. Are you afraid of winter panel damage?
    - blamazon 4y ago
      My property is very small and I currently use that back space to park my nice car during the winter so the daily is in the garage and the front driveway is easier to plow. Sounds weird to me typing it out, but I promise this arrangement makes more sense when living here.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- ketralnis 4y ago
  Generally if you're grid-tied your setup needs to be approved by the power company and they have a surprising amount of say in what specific equipment by what vendors you can use. If you watch his videos on his specific home setup, he has a separate grid-tied system and his testing system and they don't touch. He even remarks that some of them wouldn't have been his choice.
  - Dwedit 4y ago
    I watched a video from the 8-bit guy about tying solar panels to the grid. He said that if you do that, your power fails at the same time as the grid's power, so you don't get any backup electrical power. For that reason, he recommended against tying your solar to the grid.
    - gorbypark 4y ago
      It’s completely possible to have backup power and be grid-tied. The main issue is your panels feeding the grid during a blackout, which can be dangerous for people trying to fix stuff. All that’s required (requirements will vary widely per region) is an automatic disconnect that disconnects your setup from the grid when the grid goes down. For example, Tthe new Enphase EQ8 micro inverters have an optional controller to do this. AFAIK the Enphase systems are the best selling micro inverter systems out there so new installations should have no issues being self sufficient during outages.
      - rini17 4y ago
        Anything that can be legally connected to grid has to be certified to stop supply back to grid in case of blackout. Is there any region where this isn't the case? I doubt it.
      - deleted 4y ago
        [deleted]
photochemsyn 4y ago
Interspersing standing panels with crops looks to be an effective strategy, some crops suffer from too much sunlight and require a little shading for optimal production (many vegetable-type crops fall into this category). Some strategies employ vertical bifacial panels. See: https://youtu.be/lgZBlD-TCFE https://youtu.be/lgZBlD-TCFE Solar Panels Plus Farming? Agrivoltaics Explained
- thehappypm 4y ago
  Vertical panels strike me as needing quite robust supports for windy days.
  - tomrod 4y ago
    Don't do singular poles, mesh them together?

by reddog 4y ago

rhacker 4y ago

His is more or less temporary. What's great about him though is he already has a link up to the power company, so as he sees fit he can just reduce his bill by flaying them out in his courtyard. That or just mine btc/etc... He's still an awesome dude and has helped me set up my own solar in the number of videos. Even better is his forum: https://diysolarforum.com https://diysolarforum.com

latchkey 4y ago
Definitely love me some Will Prowse. I bought one of the LiPo batteries he recommends for my campervan and have been super happy with it.
blamazon 4y ago
Temporary solar panels are interesting to me - where I live there's a large chunk of the year where weekly solar output plummets. Stacking them in the garage overwinter is appealing, I might try this soon.
- cinntaile 4y ago
  I would assume the risk of moving them each year is much bigger than any reduction in loss of function?
  - blamazon 4y ago
    Meh. Throw a moving blanket over it and bungee it on. Could weld up a cart to roll them all at once sideways. Could use spring casters like for gates as a suspension. Or hold them in place with low durometer rubber. Or both. Probably want them sideways for footprint in my garage anyhow. It would be fun to optimize the process more each year.
- bushbaba 4y ago
  Why bother stacking them in the garage during winter. Are you afraid of winter panel damage?
  - blamazon 4y ago
    My property is very small and I currently use that back space to park my nice car during the winter so the daily is in the garage and the front driveway is easier to plow. Sounds weird to me typing it out, but I promise this arrangement makes more sense when living here.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
ketralnis 4y ago
Generally if you're grid-tied your setup needs to be approved by the power company and they have a surprising amount of say in what specific equipment by what vendors you can use. If you watch his videos on his specific home setup, he has a separate grid-tied system and his testing system and they don't touch. He even remarks that some of them wouldn't have been his choice.
- Dwedit 4y ago
  I watched a video from the 8-bit guy about tying solar panels to the grid. He said that if you do that, your power fails at the same time as the grid's power, so you don't get any backup electrical power. For that reason, he recommended against tying your solar to the grid.
  - gorbypark 4y ago
    It’s completely possible to have backup power and be grid-tied. The main issue is your panels feeding the grid during a blackout, which can be dangerous for people trying to fix stuff. All that’s required (requirements will vary widely per region) is an automatic disconnect that disconnects your setup from the grid when the grid goes down. For example, Tthe new Enphase EQ8 micro inverters have an optional controller to do this. AFAIK the Enphase systems are the best selling micro inverter systems out there so new installations should have no issues being self sufficient during outages.
    - rini17 4y ago
      Anything that can be legally connected to grid has to be certified to stop supply back to grid in case of blackout. Is there any region where this isn't the case? I doubt it.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]

photochemsyn 4y ago

Interspersing standing panels with crops looks to be an effective strategy, some crops suffer from too much sunlight and require a little shading for optimal production (many vegetable-type crops fall into this category). Some strategies employ vertical bifacial panels. See: https://youtu.be/lgZBlD-TCFE https://youtu.be/lgZBlD-TCFE Solar Panels Plus Farming? Agrivoltaics Explained

thehappypm 4y ago
Vertical panels strike me as needing quite robust supports for windy days.
- tomrod 4y ago
  Don't do singular poles, mesh them together?