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Lots of good advice from someone who is living the dream, even if it gets frustrating at times. Your experience will help the rest of us be less frustrated and probably warmer in the winter. Thanks!

@BrambleBerryHills

28 күн бұрын

Thanks for the kind words! Glad it was helpful.

If you are totally off grid and want a solar system that will provide most of your power most of the time, you need the majority of your solar panels facing south on the roof, assuming your roof is not flat. You also need solar panels facing east and west for morning and evening power. It is best if these panels are installed flush to the roof to prevent wind and snow damage. If you live where the winters are mostly cloud covered like where I live you will also need an additional good size solar array facing south at an optimal angle for winter sun. This array will provide most of your power on cloudy winter days and should be close to the ground so you can clean off snow. It is important to have an inverter large enough to power everything in your house since small inverters that are not designed to be paralleled can not be paralleled with out shorting out . Mine is rated at 16KW and it's true ac 120/240v output is wired to it's own load center. I have had solar power for over 15 years and over that time this is what I have learned.

@BrambleBerryHills

2 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing that insight. I recently have been seeing people using bi-facial solar panels standing on end and oriented so that they pick up the morning and afternoon sun. They say this actually ends up being more efficient because the panels get more sun in the cooler parts of the day and don’t get as hot in the heat of the day. Instead of there being one large peak of production, there are 2 smaller ones each day. I might explore that one of these days…but I would have to order new panels to do so.

@marylandgal5286

2 ай бұрын

Wow this is so helpful! I would love to see your setup. Did you do it all yourself? What do you use for the battery for off-grid?

@foodpornchef6484

2 ай бұрын

Thanks

Spot on. I all ways tell folks, do your homework. Build in a way that allows you to grow in both panels and batteries.

@BrambleBerryHills

2 ай бұрын

Thanks for the words of encouragement!

Thank You this was very helpful I’m relatively new to off grid running on generator now but solar is definitely something I will be doing ASAP in regards to size you confirmed my first thoughts about over sizing the system

@BrambleBerryHills

17 күн бұрын

Glad it was helpful for you!

I’ve got my system in the pass through compartment in my camper. This is under the bed, where I also installed a diesel heater that circulates that has the air intake on one side of the bed and hot out on the other side, keeping the batteries warm

@BrambleBerryHills

13 күн бұрын

Sounds great!

Dig a hole, line it with foam or drop a large cooler in the ground. You only need to go below the frost line. 45-50* year round.

@BrambleBerryHills

2 ай бұрын

Yes, I have thought about this and have seen some others do it. Haven’t ruled out that option yet…but haven’t had the chance to try it out either. I would need to get much longer battery cables to hook to my inverter…just not sure I want that part of my system to be underground. It would definitely need to be protected from water infiltration. Thanks for sharing!

I love the insights! Not too many people get the difference between daily solar generation and battery capacity. I think you got everything like 90% correct. I'll correct some things related to LiFePO4 batteries and also throw in a suggestion for critical systems. -- For LiFePO4 you can basically pull 100% capacity daily. It isn't a problem. The BMS will shutdown on low-voltage disconnect and not allow the battery to be damaged (though you don't want to leave it that way for more than a few days since cell-self-discharge can cause the cells to drop too low). The voltage that actually does damage to the cells is, oh, below 2.5V/cell (about 20.0V for an 8s pack). The BMS in the battery will disconnect either at that point or before it gets that low. If you discharge down to, say, 24.0V, you will have discharged 95% of capacity. That's the sweet spot for me... I set my 24V system to shutdown at 24.0V. Its good to have a shunt on the main system that keeps track of the state of charge ( You can also charge to full daily without an issue (e.g. in summer), as well as not worry too much about where the battery SOC is sitting at regularly. It is a good idea to charge to full every few weeks if it otherwise couldn't on its own just so the battery can internally balance its cells, but that's the only issue. Basically for solar applications you don't have to worry about the battery wear. The cells will vastly outlive the electronics. Treat them kindly temperature-wise (as you said, best for them to be in a temperature-controlled environment of some sort)... treat them kindly and they should last 15+ years. -- I noticed one of your batteries was disconnected... not sure why. You don't have to worry about over-sizing the battery pack. In fact, oversizing the battery pack is good because it lets you get a bit of a buffer when the sun does come out to more easily bridge a cloudy day or two. To reconnect two packs whos state of charge is now vastly different is really easy with LiFePO4. As long as the voltages are relatively close to each other, you can just connect them up. They won't equalize their state of charge on their own but a few charge/discharge cycles for the whole pack will do that, so you usually just don't worry about it. Paralleling batteries vastly increases the amps you can charge and discharge with (within the limitations of the cabling, of course). So, also good. Usually you want to have enough battery capacity to be able to handle all of your needs for 24 hours without any charging sources (generator or solar). That way during the worst of winter you only have to run your generator for a few hours once a day. Not sure but it sounds like you don't have a shunt connected up to keep track of the state of charge. With LiFepO4 it can't be calculated from voltage (the charge and discharge curves are just too flat). So usually people buy a shunt to keep track of it. It will be decently accurate (more accurate if the pack can be charged to full at least once every few weeks)... and its easier to manage life when you know what the actual percentage is. -- Solar generation is never enough in the winter, but it will still vastly reduce the amount of fuel you wind up burning in your generator. There is no need to disconnect panels in summer and connect them back up in winter. Just leave everything connected up... its ok if the batteries charge to full each day. It won't hurt anything. 24V (aka 25.6V average) LiFepO4 batteries should typically have a charge target of 3.55V/cell = 28.4V. And set the float to roughly 3.375V/cell = 27.0V. -- Great job on prioritizing your water system! I can suggest another method to prioritize your water system and internet. Instead of having solar separately charge those systems, I put all of my solar on my main system and then I DC-to-DC to lower-voltage satellite batteries to run critical things (fridge and internet). My home system is 48V. I have one downbuffer to a 24V (well, 25.6V) battery to run the fridge and another tiny downbuffer to a little 20Ah 12.8V LiFepO4 that runs my internet. The router takes 12VDC in so no inverter needed on that second one. This way all of your solar goes to where it is needed and no juggling around is needed. The DC-to-DC's have priority (the main inverters cut-out before the DC-to-DCs do so when the main system is low, the DC-to-DCs have priority to charge the satellite batteries). The proper way to do that is just with a DC-to-DC charger. Victron makes a bunch. It is also possible to do it with certain charge controllers, which is often cheaper. I use a Victron 75/15 and put 48V on its "solar" input and then setup the output for the satellite battery. This does require a proper fuse on the "solar" input side of the charge controller just in case its MPPT tries to pull a lot of power looking for the maxmum power point. My Victron has never done that but they say in the manual that there are circumstances where it might. So I have the fuse there just in case. -Matt

@BrambleBerryHills

2 ай бұрын

WOW. What a wealth of knowledge! Thanks for taking the time to write all that up and share it with us. I love learning about all this stuff and trying to tweak it to make it work better. Great suggestions and definitely some that I will have to consider implementing!

Thanks for doing this video. We have been off grid for about 6 years, now. Up until this year, we have been woefully underpowered. Having to run a generator almost every day for 4+ months just to keep up with the furnace. I just upgraded from 700 watts to 2600, so I hope that takes care of us this next winter. I will be upgrading the inverter and batteries before the end of summer as well

@BrambleBerryHills

2 ай бұрын

You’re welcome! There is definitely a learning curve, but that’s all a part of the journey. I would rather deal with my mistakes and learn to be more self-sufficient!

@WindwalkerHomestead

2 ай бұрын

@@BrambleBerryHills mistakes are great. They mean you're trying...as long as you learn and with homesteading and working towards self sufficiency, you learn every day

A few items. It appears you use a space heater to warm up the shed. If that is the case, suggest you build an insulated box around the batteries and heat the box interior during winter using low wattage (20-30w) terrarium heaters attached to a thermostat. This could cut the draw by 80-90%. Not sure if the Growatt heat range requires somewhat similar type treatment during winter. You don't appear to have a lot of solar panels and more may be needed. If so, you might try putting 1000w of panels on an Ecoworthy tracker costing around 400 bucks. They won't solve the shading issue if present, but they will try to capture AM (very important) and PM sunlight. Many pv suppliers now have new mono panels at the 22-30 cents a watt range and 20% eff. If you don't want to get a new or additional Inverter/Charger/MPPT, there are 60A output MPPTs that can handle 1600 PV watts for 24v bank for around $200 (HQST for example) As far as more batteries- to keep cost down you might go the DIY route with 8 3.2v 280ah lifepo4 with a 150ah smart BMS with active balancing and forementioned heat box for winter. I see Alibaba sites with $90 cost each w free shipping ($720) plus $200 bms- so you would be under $1000. Will Prose has some links in 2 yr old episode.

@BrambleBerryHills

2 ай бұрын

Lots of suggestions! Thanks for taking the time to share. I actually have my batteries surrounded by insulation with RV water tank heaters. That has worked pretty well for us to regulate the temperature when it gets cold out.

Thanks for sharing, it really is helpful

@BrambleBerryHills

2 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful!

I don't live off grid I rent my house. So I went the power station route. Everything you said is spot on. I buy power stations for different areas of my home since I can not tie into the box. You don't want 8000 cables running around your house. I learned very quickly you need overkill on batterys and solar panels and have a backup generator or two. Great video.

@BrambleBerryHills

2 ай бұрын

Right on. Thanks for sharing!

One thing I did learn myself, if you live in an area around 50% solar input averaged yearly on the days....double what you think you will need, both panels and batteries.

@BrambleBerryHills

Ай бұрын

Makes sense! Thanks for the tip!

Thanks COOP ...

@BrambleBerryHills

2 ай бұрын

You’re welcome!

I have a 24 volt solar system also and I have something you maybe interested in charging your system without gas,grid or propane.

@BrambleBerryHills

13 күн бұрын

Always interested to hear about different technologies. What is it?

One thing to think about, if you do not run your generator two or three days in the winter you may have too many panels??? I see some that do not want to run one any at all, but others can use those panels. Just a thought.

@BrambleBerryHills

2 ай бұрын

I would definitely like to not have to run a generator…but consumption and sunlight changes so much throughout the year, that it’s hard not to. Things will continue to change for us as we build out our homestead, so we will just have to keep doing what we have to in order to meet our power needs.

to heat your shed you could just hook up solar panels directly to a resistor(that way you don't lose by going thru charge controller and then an inverter)...any resistor can be DC or AC and if you want a fan motor 12v car blowers are an easy junk yard search...6 panels will give you the close 180-220v DC and a little parallel buck from 48v to 12v can run a blower...anyway thanks for the info

@BrambleBerryHills

2 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing!

I love ❤️ your kitty 🐈‍⬛ 🐾🐾

@BrambleBerryHills

2 ай бұрын

We are pretty partial to them. We got them for rodent control, but we have definitely gotten closer to them since then. They are a lot of fun to have around.

I have a few questions but will ask only this one. Why did you not run power from your generator directly into your inverter? Why use the outboard charger? The way you are doing it is WAY slower to charge and ignores the bypass function of the inverter meaning you can use your ac connected stuff right away on gen power while charging the battery. Also, good idea for you to do some wire management on those wooden solar racks, something is going to snag them and rip them apart probably damaging the panels.

@BrambleBerryHills

2 ай бұрын

Great question! So, the external charger was recommended by the company I bought the inverter from. Yes, I could hook up the generator in the way you are saying. But, when I do, it adds wear and tear to the inverter and I don’t believe the inverter can charge the batteries and power a load at the same time…especially with the size of generator I have. Having the separate charger allows me to power a load and charge my batteries simultaneously. This video has a much better explanation if you care to watch: kzread.info/dash/bejne/amiEusSLgbrRhsY.htmlsi=yswAwjNM5FmMYn4p

@BrambleBerryHills

2 ай бұрын

And yes, wire management is on my to do list. :-)

Look up diesel generators, they are more efficient than gasoline but they cost more to purchase. I have an older military MEP803A that runs awesome. It is more power than you need now, there are smaller versions though.

@BrambleBerryHills

2 ай бұрын

Thanks for the tip!

@user-og9to3iy2j

2 ай бұрын

A small used diesel gen set (10,000w) would work great for you. The beauty of diesel is being able to produce your own fuels from scrap waste such as veg oil, used motor and transmission oils, furnace fuels, kerosene, etc. It is best to make your own custom blends to see what your diesel "likes" at different times of the year. People will literally give you their waste, and you just have to filter and purify it down to 5 micron to run cleanly through the injector system. Will save you a ton of cash!

I live with solar. With grid back-up at the moment. Till I can get a LPG generator. You’re saying just what I tell everyone that ask. You live around solar. It doesn’t live around you :-). I have a gas generator “no go” do to the price of gas. 😢 I can charge my battery bank with the grid “at the moment” for .10 cents. It takes $8 with gas. 😖

@BrambleBerryHills

2 ай бұрын

For sure. We spent a lot of money this past winter on gas…but didn’t really have choice. I haven’t tried our generator on LPG mode yet, but I don’t know if it would have been a whole lot cheaper. When it is in propane mode, it doesn’t put out as much power…one of these days I am going to try it out and make a comparison to see which would be more cost effective. Thanks for sharing!