Installing solar on our detached garage.
I After searching around on many sites that sell pre packaged DIY systems I decided a micro inverter system would be best for us. Micro inverters like the Enphase one I am using for this project will allow me to tie directly into the Electrical sub-panels 240vac bus bar. They have an automatic shutoff feature when the grid goes down to protect electrical Linemen in case of a power outage and can be integrated into a standalone system with a properly installed automatic transfer switch.
Another cool feature of the Enphase intelligent IQ series is that I can monitor each panel in real-time and get a graphical representation on how the trees in my yard are casting shadows over the array. I plan to later remove any trees that are causing significant loss in the systems output in the future.
Micro Inverters are also not subject to total line loss due to a panel going down or shadowed over like some string inverter systems do. Our yard is surrounded by tall pines and the microinverter system though a little more costly seems like the most logical choice for us. I will attempt to link the exact materials I used off of my amazon associates page as I go.
Another cool feature of the Enphase intelligent IQ series is that I can monitor each panel in real-time and get a graphical representation on how the trees in my yard are casting shadows over the array. I plan to later remove any trees that are causing significant loss in the systems output in the future.
Micro Inverters are also not subject to total line loss due to a panel going down or shadowed over like some string inverter systems do. Our yard is surrounded by tall pines and the microinverter system though a little more costly seems like the most logical choice for us. I will attempt to link the exact materials I used off of my amazon associates page as I go.
We had to figure out how much room we had to install panels on the Roof. We decided on only doing the South facing roof for the time being and with the Micro inverter system it would be easy to add onto the existing system later if we wanted.
-
After measuring the roof it seemed the best fit would be 18 72" commercial sized panels, this would give me room to work along the edges and rear to install, carry and place the panels by myself. When choosing the panels I had to take into consideration the limited amount of space, its better to get nicer panels in the case of limited space for maximum efficiency per square ft.
The Heliene 390 panels would be a perfect fit cost efficient and a good power output per panel.
The panels will be wired in series with 2 strings 9 panels on each for a total of 18 panels. The two circuits will be 240 volts each feeding into a SolaDeck flashing style termination box placed on the underside of the panels covering the Sub-Panel side of the garage. To keep the wiring nice and tidy I installed the DIN rail terminal blocks designed to with with the Soladeck.
After measuring the roof it seemed the best fit would be 18 72" commercial sized panels, this would give me room to work along the edges and rear to install, carry and place the panels by myself. When choosing the panels I had to take into consideration the limited amount of space, its better to get nicer panels in the case of limited space for maximum efficiency per square ft.
The Heliene 390 panels would be a perfect fit cost efficient and a good power output per panel.
The panels will be wired in series with 2 strings 9 panels on each for a total of 18 panels. The two circuits will be 240 volts each feeding into a SolaDeck flashing style termination box placed on the underside of the panels covering the Sub-Panel side of the garage. To keep the wiring nice and tidy I installed the DIN rail terminal blocks designed to with with the Soladeck.
RSS Feed
