Solar grid tied garage setup UK - More panels

I thought it was time for a bit of an update. Since my last upload we have now added a further two 80w panels to the grid tied garage setup and put together our own junction boxes to tidy up the wiring.

We have found that the single wire to the grid tie inveter is giving us about 5% voltage loss but we plan to solve this in future through either a 2nd run of cable or by converting to a 24v system.

Also we found that despite having 320w on tap at peak times the most we see is about 200w, after testing this seems to be the actual limit of the "350w" inverter. The next upgrade will be a 2nd inverter to share the load.

Beyond this the new panels are not as good quality as the last and we may be returning on of them as after just two weeks of use it is becoming discoloured.

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[crsbt]

watched all your vids and was inspired to do this myself.

i have just 2x50w and 2x5w at this time but would like to go upto a kw.

my questions for you is...

1,is the power lost if im not using the power (at the time its being created from panels)

2,can i just keep adding panels and gti's upto a kw.

3,do i need to let my electric company know what im doing.

any help from anyone would be great thx.

[hippyraverocker]

@crsbt

1) The power is not 'lost' instead your meter will either move backwards (depending on the meter) or your meter will slow down and possibly even stop as the power substitutes your usage.

2) Yes

3) You should check with them on a big system, smaller setups they are unlikely to notice but with a large setup they may *think* your stealing power unless you can explain why your meter reading is so low/backwards.

[ditmar11]

that block inside the combiner box is called a groundbar, just saying.. you can also minimize volt loss by using a latger cable such as a 3 or 4 awg from the combiner box to the charge controller. and yes, i dislike the discoinncts from the panel too. i cut em off and extended the wires by crimping and shielding them. you have a very nice system

[hippyraverocker]

@ditmar11 Thanks. I will likely do a few runs instead of one big one due to the cable being specialised solar cable and so better shielded against the elements.

[randacnam7321]

If that discoloration was not on the module when it was new out of the box, then it was probably due to a bad batch of EVA or light reacting with crap in the encapsulation resin. If it was there originally then there was some contamination introduced into the laminate at the factory.

Also, those Chicom crapola GTIs usually top out at a little over half their power rating regardless of the array size. They also die prematurely. Off grid systems tend to be more reliable.

[crsbt]

@hippyraverocker

that helps alot

thankyou for your reply :-)

[hippyraverocker]

@TorchwoodElectrics

In this setup yes, all available power goes straight to the grid and is not stored. The solar shed on the other hand is a hybrid system with some power going to the grid and some power being stored in a battery bank, that way the shed can be powered even without the grid present.

We have thought about trying a wind turbine and may get one in future but at the moment we are foccused on solar due to it being silent in operation.

[madsolar346]

it just a glue in the cell to keep in past

[Jantxx]

Do go 24v..reduces amps and makes it a much better system...As far as your grid tie

inverters, never go more then 50-70% of stated wattage....You can but will over heat the units..

Dennis...

[mrbuki77]

I would increase your voltage to cut your loss, and also change your wiring to a higher braided wiring, like 8 or lower gauge. The ticker the wire and more braiding, the lower your loss will be.