No video
DIY Solar Install On Metal Shed Roof - Solar on a budget
I'm installing some solar panels on our metal shed roof, and wiring them up to the solar inverter I repaired in one of my previous videos. The idea is to try and have zero or close to zero electricity bill.
This video is for entertainment only, and the things you see me do should not be attempted by you, because I am an idiot!
Also I'm not your dad, well not that I know of, so I can't really tell you what to do either!
The mounting system used was Renusol Metasole for fitting panels in portrait on trapezoidal sheet metal roofs.
The solar panels fitted are Canadian Solar 375w HiKu panels.
Hope you enjoy the video!
installing solar panels on corrugated roofing sheets
diy solar install
installing solar panels on a metal roof
solar on a budget
Пікірлер: 41
1min 41.. it would be at this point where my missus would shout up "will ya be much longer?" 😂 Great video as always 👍
@BuyitFixit
11 ай бұрын
Thanks! 👍
Certainly a bit different to microscope work at the soldering station. Nice vid. I look forward to the next buy it fix it adventure in different wire gauges. Would be good to see an update on how they're performing after a couple of months of data.
@BuyitFixit
2 жыл бұрын
Good idea. Thanks for your kind comment.
Hi there, great short video! I haven't seen that fixing system for renusol before, I thought you had to run full length rails. Yours is much easier. I have posted a few videos of solar installs that i have helped with and I am running an ABB like yours and a SAJ and Solis, to spread the load thin and benefit from different aspects. If only I had a shed like yours!
@bootsowen
Жыл бұрын
And subbed!
@BuyitFixit
Жыл бұрын
Thanks bootsowen. Did you check my video on hacking the inverter password?
@bootsowen
Жыл бұрын
@@BuyitFixit I saw the most recent one. Andy Reynolds put me onto it. I had a ground leak error like Andy has but on a solis. The solis has an option in the advanced settings to disable the various protect modes. Which makes life easy. I have posted videos of this
@BuyitFixit
Жыл бұрын
Nice! Well done. Hopefully it will help someone else with the same problem.
@bootsowen
Жыл бұрын
@@BuyitFixit That's what it's all about. Loads of people want to see solar stuff at the moment just to get a feel as to whether they could have ago or if they need to get help. Not many of us out there chopping the tops off relays. I saw what you did on the samsung washer too. I didn't think those rubber potted boards could be rescued. You've got patience. Most of my videos are about washers, I'm running one of those inverter samsungs now, found with a broken door. Lovely and quiet! Keep fixing.
Since these are transformerless inverters with no galvanic isolation, the panels / panel mounts should have earth wiring. In practice they will be earthed through the building - but likely not up to code.
Just out of curiosity; The other faulty inverter you bought, did it suffer from the same problems as the one you showed us repairing of (burned relay connections and shorted diodes in SMPS)?
@BuyitFixit
5 ай бұрын
Just the relays. The rest of it was fine 👍
I like that you mentioned the product name of the mounting kit. Concerning the whole install, the mounting kit was around 33% of the price of the panels, wasn't it? It looks like they cost around 100€ per panel and the biggest panels I found were less than 300€ in price.
@BuyitFixit
2 жыл бұрын
The panels were around £131 each so £2100 for 16 of them. The two inverters cost £130 including parts to repair them, and the mounting system around £350 and isolators etc another £150. Hope that helps!
@merkatorix
2 жыл бұрын
@@BuyitFixit Did you consider other mounting systems? Or did you have resons not to choose another system? I like the one you choose. However, it seems to be the not one to buy spontaneously (forgot to add the "not". I didn't find it in Germany. It is always "price on request", "unavailable" or something like that). P.S.: Thank you, for answering so many questions in such a detailed way.
@BuyitFixit
2 жыл бұрын
@@merkatorix I was struggling to find any type of mounting system for a sheet metal roof that was in stock and that would be supplied to a non trade person. I even ordered from one company that cancelled my order and said they could only supply if I bought a full system from them due to shortages of mounting equipment. Eventually I found a company called tradesparky who I ordered them from.
@merkatorix
2 жыл бұрын
@@BuyitFixit I thought it was only me or a local problem to Germany. I wonder why that's the case. Maybe, because it is hard to make profit with those things, if they are not sold in bulk or from China. The same is true for some inverters. Everyone talks about MPP Solar Hybrid inverters on youtube, but I never found them in Germany, although some youtubers like Marco Reps apparently got them. And the ones our Electrician recommended like Fronius Solar, are not available this year. For big solar systems they are not even that expensive. But just not available.
@BuyitFixit
2 жыл бұрын
@@merkatorix Perhaps demand is high currently due to increased energy prices and energy security fears? Possibly supply chain or chip shortages may affect supply also.
You mention you are in a windy place. Any plans for a wind generator? Maybe even based on the Washer drum?
@BuyitFixit
Жыл бұрын
Yes. I've got a LG washing machine drum which I've attached a pelton wheel to. Its actually the one in the solar inverter repair video. I need to see if I can get enough pressure from a stream near us to see if I can drive it yet though. If you search washing machine power on KZread there is a guy been running his house using one for the past 15 years!
@chrisbartlett6022
Жыл бұрын
@@BuyitFixit WOW potential of Solar, Wind and Hydro Electric. Can I move in next door please :-) You will be selling it to the Grid next.
@BuyitFixit
Жыл бұрын
@@chrisbartlett6022 I'd like to be fully off grid. We are on our own water supply, have a wood burner and oil boiler. The only real utility bill is electric and internet. It would be good to remove the electric one. I've got some lithium batteries coming so I may change the system yet to an off grid system or both on and off. We'll see how it goes..
I came to this video due to the EEV Blog Video. This is the UK and not Australia, so you experience quite a lot of rain and storm, too, don't you?
@BuyitFixit
2 жыл бұрын
Yes unfortunately!
@maxmustermann2596
2 жыл бұрын
@@BuyitFixit But, it makes the video much more interesting from a north German perspective. You probably have similar problems with detaching roofs due to storms while having similar safety standards we have. In the US they seem to be just fine with rebuilding their houses every now and then and in Australia, they just don't have the constant shit weather. And your environment in the UK doesn't try to kill you every day. I've been on a farm in Australia for a week, and they seem to have a real fear of spiders there, and probably for a reason. Furthermore, I like the trees and nature in many parts of England.
@BuyitFixit
2 жыл бұрын
Glad you found the video interesting, also greetings to you in North Germany! I'm a fan of "the post apocalyptic inventor" who is from Germany also!
@maxmustermann2596
2 жыл бұрын
@@BuyitFixit Thank you, I watch him, too. He seems to live around 150km further inland in an area that has a little less wind, and his solar panels are on a different type of roof, so there is less incentive to copy his approach :).
Is that metal roof standard or did you have to build it to be weight bearing that allows you to walk on it?
@BuyitFixit
Жыл бұрын
Just standard.
How do you isolate the PV panels while wiring them up? Or did you do that bit at night? 😂
@BuyitFixit
2 жыл бұрын
I wired up the DC isolator first, to two mc4 connectors. Then connected all the panels together, and plugged them into the two wires going to the isolator.
Did you use self-tappers to fix it on the roof? I have never used self-tapping screws into metal yet. It feels like it will work itself loose at some point. How many kgs of force would you expect them to withstand per screw? And how likely is it that the connection will start to leak at some point? Does someone have long-term experience with how that works out after 10-20 years? Our electrician recommended us to install something similar, but he told us about a system where you can slot the panels into one side and leave the other side hanging down to avoid internal forces. As we live in a windy place, I wonder if the storm can lift the cells out of that system. Technically I would prefer something exactly like your solution. He claimed that lowers the risk of the construction starting to work loose and to start to leak.
@BuyitFixit
2 жыл бұрын
We live in a VERY windy area also! The screws are stainless self drilling ones that come with the renusol fixings. The screws are quite thick and are similar to what holds the sides onto the metal beams of the shed. The whole system is called renusol metasole+. The rails are the 400mm ones. 4 screws hold each rail and 4 rails per panel, although 2 panels can share a rail if in the middle. If you search metasole+ I'm sure theres a data sheet of the kg and wind resistance etc.
@maxmustermann2596
2 жыл бұрын
@@BuyitFixit I think I found the manual for it. So it is corrugated roofing sheet, then the rails, then the seal, and the screw goes through the whole thing. There seems to be no seal between the corrugated roofing sheet. Isn't there a risk of a leak there or corrosion happening? Apart from that I only find much more expensive offers from that company :/. Probably, I should invest more time in researching them. They are from Germany. Being much cheaper in the UK doesn't make much sense.
@BuyitFixit
2 жыл бұрын
@@maxmustermann2596 The rails have a rubber strip on the bottom and the screws have a seal on them too. Also the solar panels cover the area and the screws are on the ridges not the troughs of the sheets so I think they should be fine for water ingress.
@maxmustermann2596
2 жыл бұрын
@@BuyitFixit Thank you, your description helps a lot. I didn't see the rubber strips when skipping through the manual. The price might be due to the inflation, which we have here. I only find offers of around 250€ to mount three panels, and those offers are not even available right now. The rest is "price on request". At least I know that they exist and how expensive they have been at one point. I should research the system our electrician talked about and compare those. I always get the impression that in Germany, people use fixings like the "Renusol 920008 M10x200 Hanger Bolt Wood" (maybe because of wooden sub construction?). When I search for that item, google leads me to an English page. Maybe there is less panic buying in the UK right now.
Whats the slope of shed?
@BuyitFixit
Жыл бұрын
Good question, and unfortunately I have no idea. I know the shed next to it is 15 degrees and the one I put the panels on is either similar or less, which probably isn't the optimal angle for maximum output, but I still get pretty good results.