CRITICAL STEPS of an Off Grid Solar Project... TAKE NOTES!
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- Опубликовано: 22 май 2024
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🔷 ABOUT US 🔷
We're a DIY family building our "forever homestead" from 15 acres of raw undeveloped land in Tennessee. All of our content is family friendly and safe for everyone to enjoy.
In today's video we finish installing all the connections needed to take our home off grid and use our solar power system! Topics covered:
How to install a solar disconnect
How to properly ground a solar array
How to install a transfer switch in a home
How to wire up a LuxPower inverter
How to wire up a solar array
Series vs. Parallel Solar Array
Solar Surge Protection Devices
#solarpower #diy #greenacrehomestead
Video Chapters
0:00 - Intro
0:36 - Conduit & Wire Work
3:13 - Connecting Load Wires to Inverter
4:17 - Solar PV Disconnect Box Install
6:45 - How to Cut Conduit with Wires Inside
9:02 - How to Wire Up a Solar PV Disconnect Box
11:28 - How to Properly Splice DC Wiring
14:20 - How to Wire Solar Panels in Series and Parallel
16:40 - How Safe are MC4 Solar Wire Connections
17:25 - How to Crimp MC4 Solar Wire Connectors
19:26 - The Most Important Safety Rule with Solar Panels
20:30 - How to Install a Transfer Switch Box to Your Main Breaker Box
31:59 - How to Wire Up Solar Array DC Surge Protection Devices
34:02 - How to Properly Ground Your Solar Array
37:14 - The Easiest Way to Connect Solar Strings in Parallel
38:56 - Everything is Done!
40:34 - Who We Trust: Langston's Alternative Power
DISCLAIMER*
This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 
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SAM ... you're the BEST. You have NO idea how much I LOVE these videos you do about your solar and everything electrical. You're one AMAZING young man and Angela is an AMAZING young woman. You've come SO far with your homestead. You can be SO proud of ALL your many accomplishments ❤❤❤❣️❣️❣️👍💪
When I was installing a ground rod, I pounded on it for a long time and it was barely moving. I grabbed my small jack hammer, took out the bit, slipped it over the end of the rod, and pulled the trigger. I'm not exaggerating, it took 30 seconds and the rod was in the ground.
Great video! May the Lord bless you and give you peace.
Sam, you were manouvering that grey cable as if it was plastacine!
I'm excited! Let's flip some switches!!!!!
Sam & Angela, very excited for you both. Thank you for the Channel content as all the changes over the past few years has been fun to watch. Congratulations on going off grid!
Good evening Sam and Angela . yes would be good to see your home now .
We have a back to the grid solar system which means we will still get power even on dark days. We have 32 solar panels on our roof and we generate much more power than we use. We have a big swimming pool and the pump is on for 8 hours a day to keep the pool clean. Our power company gives us a credit for the extra power we generate and every 6 months sends us a check for what they owe us. We wouldn’t change a thing as it works perfectly for us. We pay nothing for our power and get around $600 every 6 months for our extra power.
Hi Sam & Angela, this video was extremely informative. Sam I must say, you are very knowledgeable and explain everything you do step by step.
pipe cutters work good as well, you go all the way around the conduit and don't mar the wires
Sam the man! Great to see you and Angela ! Really enjoyed your channel!
Great that you now have solar panels. So good to see you Sam and Angela, you all did a wonderful job. Have a great rest of your week, sending love and hugs, bye!! 😂🥰🤗😻💕💜💜
Great job Sam I like the way you tackle thing and bring us along to watch and learn… keep up the good work 42:29
does not seem to be too much that slows Sam down where it comes to building this family home..good for you
Awesome job brother Sam!
You all did a wonderful job😊
Sam, this was a LOT! I trust you to do what’s right and safe, could you please do a simple solar for dummies video? I want to do solar for my barn, but this is WAY overkill.
You could use an all in one, pre-wired small solar panel directly connected to a light, if it's a tint barn. Under 500sq ft of space could be lite up by one light or two. Connect panel to the roof facing south to southwest, drill hole in wall to run the wire thru. Place light. And then plug wire together. Done.
Nice job using the pipe for the reducers.
In the field (utility substations) I frequently saw crews cut in-service pvc using waste pull cord from multi-conductor cables. Use it like a wire saw. Low risk of insulation damage if you don't go ham on it.
You do a great job explaining everything... Love the ending :-)
The wiring looks so neat. Another great job and making it look so easy.
Great video as usual. Check out Polaris splice connectors for future wire splices.
Love my powerwalls they give me 26 kW emergency backup and nighttime power
Mr Sam , The cable you buried between buildings looks like SER Cable. If so it's not permitted to be direct burial as you did. The ground wire will corrode and you'll loose your ground. Very dangerous! Please check your cable to see if it is rated for direct burial.
I failed an inspection because of using SER underground. I was able to pull in a green thhn ground wire and passed inspection.
@@peterkavan8368 Did you install your wire in conduit?
OMG Congratulations. You have done it. Lanette and I are so happy for you and your family Sam. Can’t wait for you to tell us your first electric bill for a full month off grid. Have you calculated ROI to have it pay for itself. I’m sure you have
The Reliance Pro Tran 2 transfer switch is the best way to go IMHO, I however had to use 2 of them on my solar install due to the number of breakers in my box. I love how you installed it flush with the breaker box. This didn't cross my mind when installing mine so they protrude from the wall. Nice install, well done, now all you have to do is sit back and enjoy self sufficiency :)
I’ve been watching your videos for 😊a while now but my husband has only seen a handful of them. Admittedly, I would LOVE to see them all….right from the beginning. What should I type in the search bar to view them in consecutive order? Love love LOVE your channel and I really admire your honesty, integrity and helpfulness for all us “diy-ers”. Thanks Sam & Angela! God bless you!
That explanation of the transfer switch was easy to understand. I was intimidated, as you mentioned people often are, and now it sounds much more doable. Thanks!
Great to hear!
You folks are amazing doers😊 Sam MacGyver
It appears your solar disconnect you installed is not DC rated, based on the model number. Every solar disconnect I have ever installed breaks both positive and negative. Also it appears the disconnect is only rated for 240 VAC. You have a lot more voltage on each string.
IMO DC switches are much better for PV than the disconnect used here. Specially because they disconnect both positive and negative fast to avoid arcs.
The disconnect used here is actually 600V DC rated.
Love your videos and enjoy watching them every time. May the lord bless and protect you and your family and working on the homestead
One of the most informative videos. I wish I understood half of it. Physically I can do it either. But I love learning.
We used that rubberized electrical tape at the shipyard.
As always so informative with everything you do, I'm wanting to work on going solar. But at this time with as many projects I have on my todo list and $$$ this will be probably a 2025 project.
The mind boogles
Most things solar are pretty basic. But when you connect it to your grid system, it's more complicated.
I am not a technical person at all. But I have managed to be able to install and wire my tiny system and add a side charging station on the wall of my motorhome to charge my cell phone, run the 12V DC fan (no A/C) for hot days, and to circulate the hot air when heating the motorhome. I also charge my USB rechargeable LED 14" kitchen & bathroom light bars, my USB rechargeable 4ft long automotive repair LED light bar, and my USB rechargeable LED flashlight/spot light. (And my tablet & computer before they were stolen.)
Hands down one of the most, if not the most, informative and entertaining videos on the topic. Thank you very much!
Wow, thanks!
Great job as always 🤗
Good video! Very informative!
You have come so far. ❤❤❤❤
I was wondering why you went with this setup, rather than doing a whole house transfer switch that would just interrupt the main power wires coming in from the grid and switch the entire breaker panel over at one time. It looks like you have enough solar capacity to handle the whole house.
While the way you suggest is much easier, the way Sam did it makes it so that they can choose which items/plugs, etc., they want to take off grid. Just as an example, they may want to run all the heavy-duty loads off of their inverter, and use the grid for only light loads. Or, they might want to do the opposite if there have been too many cloudy days for their battery bank to handle. Just my thought.
@@Tumbleweed5150 He did a good job explaining his reasoning in his latest video which was an overview of the project. Later, if he is able to add more solar and batteries, he may be able to supply all his needs with solar, but for now, he is only able to partially cover his total usage. So the individual switches make sense. I made the assumption from his video titles about taking his home off-grid that he was installing enough capacity to cover everything, but now I understand what his plan is a little better.
Wow you are very smart wish I can have just a little bit of your knowledge
Good for you guys fantastic.
Tons of work for sure! I liked that trick with adding a smaller tube over the wires to cut the bigger conduit!! I noticed you installed an auxiliary grounding electrode (ground rod) at your panels, assuming your house has the main ground rod. I am not an electrician but usually the ground from the panels would go to the small ground bar in the inverter which is then connected to your homes ground and ground bar. That 2nd rod allows another route for transients to come into the system or another route for lighting or surges into the system. "They" say to bond ALL grounds to one place. Having the 2nd rod is allowed by code but not needed. I did the same thing on my system in the beginning and then a licensed electrician said its best to remove it. Also watching the Mike Holt videos on RUclips. Hope this helps🤘
Since there is no electrical connection between the solar panel frames and the positive and negative wires of the solar panels, there is no need to bond them to the house ground. Putting the ground rod next to the panels makes more sense to me, because if a lightning strike hits the panel frames, it will be grounded right there, rather than going through the house then to ground.
Excellent work , 👍
YOU are a VERY clever guy Sam, you never fail to amaze me with your ability to do this kind of work and do it with humour .
I did the 👍 for these super nice folks. Did you? ✌️
Thank you for taking it slow and step by step. Knowing what goes next in line is where I get confused.
Also your wire management is amazing.
Awesome job.
Conduit fill is a pain sometimes. The sum of the cable area(s) divided by the area of the conduit should be less than 40%. Not an exact fill Calc by code, but it's a good place to start.
Aluminum house wire is no longer code in Florida, insurance companies won't insure it, make you re-wire
This isn't house wire, this is service wire. All service wire is aluminum - even what is run from the transformer to the home.
Great 👍!
But what about fusing the 2 parallel solar circuits ?
I always thought that 2 parallel circuits should be fused at each or the circuit strings.
I am a person who lives alone in a mobile home. I would like to learn the basics of maintaining it, such as washing it and painting it. fix the skirts. since for anything like that they want to charge a lot, not in conditions for that. I think I can do it. Do you have a video for beginners, the basics? Please.
Just in case Sam doesn't have a video, I recommend watching DIY Solar with Will Prowse, as he has made systems from tiny ones to whole house ones, and does a great job of showing how. He also is well respected for his testing and sometimes even tearing down batteries and solar inverters, etc., to see how well or poorly they are made.
Well I’m sure that was easier seen than done 😳😉😊
That got a laugh out of me. I have done quite a few (much) smaller solar installs at my off grid home, and I know how easy he made a fairly complex and hard job look. Handling those cables and bundles of wire looked easy when he did it, but I struggled to put in smaller cables and wire bundles. :)
Cool intro
Wasn't sure if I had stumbled upon the wrong video when I first tuned in. Maybe a stand=by message would have been helpful. Just a thought
Cute....
Oh! Angela flipped the switch the everything went black ( Did it work?)
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Duct tape = street cred
That was amazing! Just wondering how you attached the copper ground wire to the rod in the ground. Sorry I'm not super electricity inclined.
They sell a few different types of clamps that clamp on the rod and the wire. It is so basic he just probably forgot to mention it.
@@Tumbleweed5150 trade name is acorn clamp. 5/8" or 1/2" should be 5/8 ground rod and acorn clamp rated for direct burial.
@@peterkavan8368 Thanks for the information. I, (and my neighbor, whom I help out a lot and learn a lot from), have used a couple of different kinds of clamps for ground rods, but I never knew what they were called.
I would not earth a ground mount solar system, and it's not required by NEC(2020 and newer) unless your County/City is way behind on adopting newer NEC. Roof installs are different. If you do earth, you should bond your earthing rods to your main house or main earth if it's grid-tied, you don't want a second potential to earth to avoid an earth loop which can be dangerous.....and PV is DC, you can't clear a DC fault with earth. Otherwise, good install and choice of components, it should serve you very well.
Like always, great video! Is the 50 amp transfer switch somewhat limiting? The manual for the Inverter makes reference to having a 60 amp breaker as a minimum. Thank you for your input.
It's within the power draw of our small mobile home and the circuits we have on it. Our battery bank is not large enough to run the largest 240v loads (stove, clothes dryer, water heater) without quickly depleting our battery. So we did this transfer switch in lieu of a critical load panel. The switch allows us to quickly change circuits in the home from grid to off grid without moving breakers. We want to add onto our battery bank in the future so that we can truly run everything off grid.
Hi Sam; I have some concern about placing 2 different gage wire sizes in the same lug? The thinner gage may not get tightened properly. Thanks for the great videos. Frank 😊
The lug used is designed for the range of wires used.
@@GreenAcreHomestead Thanks Sam; I'm not use to seeing it accept different gauge wires. They must be special lugs?
@@wb2ire The lugs looked to have a seperator in the middle, so that each wire is set in place with its own screw. You would just need to screw in the side with the smaller wire a bit more.
@@GreenAcreHomestead neutral wires must be under one lug only. Ground wires can be grouped under one lug but check how many grounds can fit in that lug hole
Curious why you just didnt run your main into the inverter and then feed the main panel from the inverter. The inverter will feed what it can and if you lose power just shut off non critical loads. That 18k wont back feed if you set it to off grid.
The way Sam did this allows him or his wife to choose what circuits they want to connect to the grid, and which ones to connect to their inverter. Much easier to juggle power usage that way.
Do you have any batteries for back up at night? Also can you partially generator and grid?
Yes, we have our battery bank already, there's a link to that video in the description. This inverter allows for Grid input for charging and running, and also has generator inputs too.
🙋♀️🌻
👍🤗❣️
I'm over in Australia an wondering if any at all can just wire up a house factory with or without being licensed, what goes over there????
Some folks who live far out in the country, and in certain Counties in some states are exempt from having to get a licence or permit. Usually, though, one will need to have a licenced electrician come in to inspect the final connections, etc., before the County or State will allow them to turn on the power from the grid.
What kind of Solar Panels are they please?
ruclips.net/video/8UeL4OA-n54/видео.html
Why didn't you ground the panels to the main house ground? An auxiliary grounding rod seems frowned upon
look up "functionally grounded" Inverters say that and it means there is protection like a GF for device.
Are you going to install battery backup for cloudy days ?
We already have our battery installed, the video is in our playlist linked in the video description.
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
I just installed a ground post for my 280ah solar generator at my cabin. I didn't go all the way into the ground. It's sticking about 2" above ground exposing the point where the copper wire attaches. What is the benefit of putting it fully in the ground? I've never heard that before.
ive never seen one drove like that either. big key with grounding is validate the ground, looking for 10 ohms or less, this often is the over looked key point in grounding
Ground rods have to be fully driven that means below grade, so no part exposed above ground don't know why maybe so the clamp can not be knocked around from a lawnmower.
@@peterkavan8368 Makes sense.
😄👍👍👍
I was hoping to learn something about hooking up the components but since you didn’t explain as you went along I didn’t get much from this video😩
ruclips.net/p/PLxVjeL1ZEeUoF_JTOW3UkM3GlPthBOBIy
The transfer switch wiring is not up to code. The red and black, white and green must be I conduit or a close nipple between the panels.. Also the main feed from your inverter needs to remain in its outer jacket all the way into the transfer switch.
Correct Ser needs the gray outside jacket. Thhn or the like must be protected between transfer switch and main panel
So all that work and you went DARK. It didn't work??