part one how to hook up solar panels to micro grid tie inverter

[JesaVega]

Hi Jeff, Thanks for sharing this video. I would like to switch to Solar for my home which is about 1,000 sq ft; how many watts will I realistically need? Also if after they are installed and are producing enough power I turn off my power from the electric company, is there still a chance of electrocution to workman on the line outside?

Thanks again for your help!

~Jesa

[jeffmolly1]

@JesaVega About 2000 watts will work just fine for most apps. No the linemen won't get electrocuted.

Jeff

[vakeleo]

do I have to get any special permits for the grid tie inverter on my house

[hornex20]

jeff, if I will connect the panels to the inverter, and plug the inverter to the wall jack, so when it will make power, my electricity meter will go backwards? will this feed the electric company?

[Contactwkm]

thanks jeff

[osityan]

Supposedly, prices have recently dropped huge on solar panels.

Does anyone have any idea what the price per INSTALLED DC Watt is now?

[osityan]

Awesome video. Thanks for the info.

[jeffmolly1]

@osityan  thank you buddy.

Jeff

[WRH052970]

how much do they cost, might want to buy some

[moomman89]

This is what I have been looking for.So there are two different inverters.One for plug in.So you don't need a charge controller on these small ones.

[jeffmolly1]

@moomman89 That's correct.

Jeff

[thundermonty]

i am wanting to do this. so all i need to do is get a panel, hook it to a grid tie inverter, and plug the inverter into any wall jack? i thought wall jacks only let power out... they let power in too?

[jeffmolly1]

@thundermonty Yes you can feed power into your wall jack, that's called grid feeding.

Jeff

[indman101]

what would be different with a ul approved inverter?is the island protection the same?is there another added safety island protecter I could add on the sun g 250 inverter?havent heard any bad news on the sun g inverters...but power jack seem to have some issues.Thanks

[jeffmolly1]

@indman101 the power jacks are junk, there the green ones. I had 10 of them for testing, returned all 3.

they all have island protection, ul and non ul. no add ons that i know of.

Jeff

[dieselplow]

when you connect more than one solar panel together using the MC4 connectors do you increase the voltage? Or does it stay the same?

[jeffmolly1]

@dieselplow it increases if you put the panels in series.

Jeff

[dieselplow]

@jeffmolly1 In Series - do you mean connecting one panel to another to another than using the positive connection from the first panel and the negative from the last panel? I one panel and a grid tie inverter, but would like to buy more - I just do not understand how to wire them - I thought you could just plug them all together but a friend said this would raise the voltage to high.??

[jeffmolly1]

@dieselplow yes, that is correct.

[webbjello1]

@jeffmolly1 i like your video- very informative- in relation to the grid tie inverter- what extension cables are needed when mounting on the roof- and how many panels are needed to power a smaller home- about 1200 sq feet

[jeffmolly1]

@webbjello1 we sell the pv cable as long as you need it.

power a 1200 sq. ft. you could use 1000 to 2000 watts.

Jeff

[osityan]

@webbjello1

Your question is very vague and you've given no information except the size of you home which doesn't really matter. What matters is what you use in your home. Look at your hydro bill and state your consumption in KW and then you can start to figure out how big of a system you would need. Most people will NOT go completely off the grid as you need to big of a system with furnaces and central air using up loads of power. cheers.

[599891]

Jeff, it looks like you'd have to come through the wall directly to an outlet with the wires being short or can they be lengthened?

[jeffmolly1]

@599891 Yes you can lengthen the wire as long as you want.

Jeff

[shartne]

Does the outback grid tie work when the grid goes down or not?

[TheDudeRulez09]

@shartne typically you have to have a battery back bank that you can switch to when the grid goes down.

[jeffmolly1]

@shartne Yes the outback works when the grid goes down, it switches to the batteries.

Jeff

[indman101]

nice video....Jeff what's your thoughts on enphase grid tie inverters?

[jeffmolly1]

@indman101 havent hooked up one yet but i hear good things about them.

Jeff