my solar system

 I installed an off-grid solar system about 4 ½ years ago. Neighbors and others have asked me about it. I've said it is an expensive hobby, because I don't know if it will pay for itself. Maybe in 20 years.

I originally intended it to be backup for my refrigerator and freezer, if there's a power outage. But I kept adding to it solar panels and battery backup, because I determined that I could use it to run my HVAC system and water heater. Our house is all electric. My last electric bill was $43. The highest is around December and January when we have a lot of clouds, and the sun is at its lowest in the sky.

I did save a lot of money by doing all the install by myself. I bought a 5000-watt, single phase inverter (220-240 volts only). The solar panels could be bought a lot cheaper today if you buy them by the skid load, but I bought a few at a time. The Lithium batteries are the most expensive part.

I have an “Off-grid” inverter in that I do not sell my power back to the electric company—I'm the sole user of the power generated. I'm still connected to the grid, and if there is not enough solar or my batteries are too low, the inverter draws power from the grid. The inverter converts the dc current from the solar panels to ac current and outputs to 220 volts only. I use a transformer to get a neutral for the 110 voltages from the 220 volts.

I've had situations where I had more solar power created than I needed to run my loads (HVAC, water heater, refrigerators, freezer, some lights, etc.) and charge my batteries to 100%, so I looked into buying an electric car (3 years ago) to benefit from the excess solar.

If it wasn't for the solar, I would not have gotten an EV. I think a hybrid makes more sense.

Though I don't have to buy gas or change oil, I do pay a yearly fee for the EV which was double the first year, and it will be about a $1000. total for 4 years (it's up to 230. a year now in Indiana).

I do have to charge the car off the grid when there isn't enough solar, especially late Fall through early Spring. I also thought, back in 2023 when I bought the EV, that gas prices could go really high, and I would have my solar to charge my car as an alternative.

There's been a few times that we've had a power outage, and I was able to keep the appliances running and lights on.

There have been some issues with the system over the past few years. There is some communication problem between the batteries and the inverter. I've tried different things, but the batteries will sometimes charge and discharge unevenly. Yet the company recently made a firmware update for the batteries that I was able to get and install, and they have been working flawlessly for several months.

I had to watch a lot of videos by guys on YouTube to make sure I got things correct, like Will Prowse and David Pos. I would highly recommend watching Will Prowse on YouTube if you think you might want to try to install any solar system yourself. You can waste a lot of money really fast if you don't know what you are doing and buy the wrong things. Except as backup that solar can provide in a power outage, it may not be worth the bother and expense. Unless you want an expensive hobby.