Can pv extension cables be longer than 100 feet? My panels are going to be 150' from my inverter, so I was wondering if I'd just attach a 50 to a 100 or if I should have custom 150' single pv extension cables made?
@@CountryLivingExperience awesome thanks so.much for the super fast response, I've been binge watching all your videos since last month when I thought about adding solar to my property to run my well pump
Being a visual person myself, I also draw out plans before taking on a project (sometimes, a little too detailed and/or over-engineered). So, I was surprised that you didn't use a sharpie or something to mark the positive and negative ends prior to install. But, as you said, the excitement of the moment can lead to overlooking the little things, even though they may bite you later. So, helpful hint: mark the top and bottoms of the panels as you unpack them with a + or - sign. Edit: By the way, it is videos like these that make you a good teacher. You show the mistakes you make so we don't have to learn the hard way. Love your channel. Keep up the good work.
I had been planning and saving for 2 years and was just too excited to get them up, lol. The panels had Mc4 connectors on them so I knew which sides I had to connect but I just threw them up there without looking. Thank you for the kind comment. I appreciate it.
Thanks for sharing. Nice to see I'm not the only one who's run the horse over with the apple cart. You are so correct about drawing a plan before starting. Amazing the little things that come up while drawing out the plans that just don't get considered in the exciting moment of the projects. Don't forget to use, Lightning arresters. Surge protection. Proper fuse size.
Good work (a teachable moment !) I too ordered new solar after hurricane Irma removed our old system. I had time during shipping to draw up a panel intallation plan so all went well with no issues. I have to laugh out loud 4 years later tho, as now when I look at the drawing I had made nothing makes the least bit of sense. We were working so hard and in such a rush in those months after storms that my mind has literally blurred everything from those days. My brain seems to be operating at 50% but the solar system is producing just fine - so thats good. Lesson learned - try never to rush. And always be able to laugh at ones self. Great videos, keep up the good work.
Thank you for the truth share. I greatly appreciate your solar videos. I learn more and more information with each video. You are a great teacher through your verbal explications. Currently, I would place myself as a low percentage number, believing solar is right for me living in the city. However, I continue to learn as I work out the decision. Thank you.
Unusual panels. I have 70+ panels of different manufacturers and none of them look like yours. ALL of mine have a common junction box with both the positive and negative wires coming out of the same junction. And the wires are all 4' or so in length, never had any trouble connecting them.
The position of the panels is determinant of where the leads are connected. Panels like yours having one lead one each side require positive to negative stacking on the rack for your series connections. Panels having the leads at one end (the head as it were), require head-to-head placement for the same series connection. In my case, a 6x2 string array will provide 2 times the highest amount I've ever used.
I have a better recommendation for lightning protection. Make the lightning want to go somewhere else before it gets to your array. Get a 100 ft steel pipe and drive it 10 ft into the ground near your array. Problem solved. If you use an excavator you can sink it into the ground in minutes.
PS SPDs are only part of the protection needed ! A direct strike will vaporize a spd & can damage equipment . The pv mount must have a better grounding path than your system .
For me when it comes to lightning which rarely happens in my area, I’ve worked out a plan to just shut down everything on the solar end. That means turn off the breakers to the solar that go into the house, turn off the inverter and flip the off switch to the batteries so everything is off. Like I said this is so rare and I’ve never had any part of my place hit by lightning.
You can use short mc4 extension cables. Extra connections isn't great, but you need to balance against the aggravation of remove and replace panels. My OCD means I'm probably going to be flipping panels. :)
Looking good so far! Planning a super similar system for my house roof, with 10 panels with 5 in series and 2 parallel. Those short wires the panels come with it's annoying but oh well!
?? did you reconfigure your panels for the EG4 (since the max input draw is 18A per terminal, but your two strings in SP would be over 20A)? also, does the voltage in the 8 PV series pose a problem for the eg4 (i assumed each pv terminal had max 250v)? let me know if i sound crazy 😅
Hi,just curious why didn't do 2 strings of 10 1 string to each inverter because you got 20 panels voc 40.99v you are still under the inverters maximum voltage which is 450V. This way you didn't have to use so many wires and combiner boxes. And for your array panels I suggest you should use earthing system, ground Rod driven into the ground # 8 solid copper wire from 1 end of the frame to the other with open lugs to each metal brace/Joinst and then to ground Rod with grounded clamp. Open lug you don't have to cut the wire it just a pass through and you tighten the screws on the lugs. Just a suggestions 🤔
Hello. I appreciate your suggestions. I didn't do 2 strings of 10 because I want to expand the number of panels in the array in the near future when I can afford it. I left that second inverter open for more pv input. Doing it this was leaves room for expansion. The array is already grounded by the steel rack 42" onto the ground. Additionally, the panels are insulated from their frames via the glass and other non-conductive materials. So, lightening is not likely to travel on the wire to the house because it has a lower potential. I will put spd's on the wires in the future to alleviate the small chance of the lightening traveling on that pv wire.
Hi! What voltage and amperage numbers on your panels do you use to find your maximum for your connections? Their is short circuit and open circuit maybe some others. Thanks!
You have to look at your inverter. Ours has a max voltage open circuit limit so that is what we use for calculating how many panels and what number to use on the panel. Check out Will Prowse's channel for deep dives on calculations.
Signature Solar is also and Authorized Dealer for EMP Shield.... Just curious, why did you not add that protection level to your system? EMP Shield is also Lightning Rated for all of those protection levels as well. In my understanding, this would have saved you from having to add the "Surge Protectors".
@@CountryLivingExperience Yes, 100% Lightning Protection including a $25,000 Ins Policy and Solar Flare Protection up to 280,000 AMPS!!!.... Well worth it to me when I get my place and install my Array in the next few months. FYI I'm also looking at East Texas.
Question for you, you said that you got a bigger combiner box for later so my question is are you grid tied and if so you have to have a permit through the electrical company and are they ok with system like it is and down the road you add more pannels with out getting another permit?
These are all steel racks. They are made for commercial applications and some residential. I know they are all engineered. You can look at the company website...powerssolarframes.com/
Last night I was watching another video, and one of the segments showed the damage that can be caused by weather, especially hail. Some of the hailstones were golfball sized, but some were not much bigger than a marble. Yet these hailstones hit with enough force to take out a quarter of a panel (in one hit, it went clean through). My question is what preventative measures can you take to prevent such damage, and how much would such precautions cost in electrical output? I would think that perhaps some Lexan (plexiglass) sheets in a frame that could be quickly mounted might work, say, if a major T-storm was heading your way. But if it isn't secured tight enough, it may cause damage itself. Perhaps, comments from your audience?
As far as I have researched, I nave never some across anyone with storm damaged panels unless they came unsecured from the racking. The glass, at least on the quality name brand panels, is extremely tough. I think some of them have impact ratings on them. But I wonder with the ubiquity of solar panels now, that it is not much of a problem.
Just started watching all of the videos you've done on this(This is number three for me) and I'm unsure why you just didn't do two strings of ten, or four strings of 5.
I see some videos of lipo battery power station.comming out that serve as a UPS and can be charged by solar. Seen One that's supposed to have 3kw. So u could hook up 3 to get 9kw on their own panels so if one goes down u still have 2 left and u don't need to convert anything. And they cost like 2k each. Anyone has experience.with these packs?
They don't just make MC4 short extension cables? I mean me personally I would also just mount them properly because im OCD as fuck, but functionality wise im sure a little 1 foot jumper could solve that issue. electrical engineers out there, would that small jumper have a noticeable effect on the impedance? Also are there ways to make these terminations by hand? I feel like the longer I type this comment the more I realize the best solution is to just flip the panels...
Maybe I heard you wrong but it sounded like you are running PV wire from your array to your inverter. You don’t need PV wire for that. THHN wire will work. You only need PV wire for above ground work.
Several reasons. Racking systems are usually designed for even numbers of panels and solar suppliers sell pallets of panels in even numbers at discounted prices. We got these for $170 buying 20 panels. They are $200 if purchased individually.
@@dogandhisboomer I appreciate the offer but I wouldn't be able to. Email me at the channel email address and I will be happy to answer questions there.
ALL OF OUR SOLAR EQUIPMENT...CLICK HERE: www.signaturesolar.com/?ref=countrylivingexperience
Can pv extension cables be longer than 100 feet? My panels are going to be 150' from my inverter, so I was wondering if I'd just attach a 50 to a 100 or if I should have custom 150' single pv extension cables made?
@@tjmooney4181 You can just attach a 50 to a 100. It will work just fine.
@@CountryLivingExperience awesome thanks so.much for the super fast response, I've been binge watching all your videos since last month when I thought about adding solar to my property to run my well pump
@@tjmooney4181 You're welcome.
Being a visual person myself, I also draw out plans before taking on a project (sometimes, a little too detailed and/or over-engineered). So, I was surprised that you didn't use a sharpie or something to mark the positive and negative ends prior to install. But, as you said, the excitement of the moment can lead to overlooking the little things, even though they may bite you later.
So, helpful hint: mark the top and bottoms of the panels as you unpack them with a + or - sign.
Edit: By the way, it is videos like these that make you a good teacher. You show the mistakes you make so we don't have to learn the hard way. Love your channel. Keep up the good work.
I had been planning and saving for 2 years and was just too excited to get them up, lol. The panels had Mc4 connectors on them so I knew which sides I had to connect but I just threw them up there without looking.
Thank you for the kind comment. I appreciate it.
All panels have a specification sticker on the back, so I orient them based on the sticker, which is reliable for a given manufacturer.
I used micro inverters on my solar system, I like the fact you can easily expand your solar array.
That is my favorite things about these modern systems.
Thanks for sharing. Nice to see I'm not the only one who's run the horse over with the apple cart. You are so correct about drawing a plan before starting. Amazing the little things that come up while drawing out the plans that just don't get considered in the exciting moment of the projects.
Don't forget to use,
Lightning arresters.
Surge protection.
Proper fuse size.
You're welcome. I am a huge proponent of drawing things out for sure.
Every day we learn something new.
Gotta keep learning.
Good work (a teachable moment !) I too ordered new solar after hurricane Irma removed our old system.
I had time during shipping to draw up a panel intallation plan so all went well with no issues.
I have to laugh out loud 4 years later tho, as now when I look at the drawing I had made nothing makes the least bit of sense.
We were working so hard and in such a rush in those months after storms that my mind has literally blurred everything from those days. My brain seems to be operating at 50% but the solar system is producing just fine - so thats good.
Lesson learned - try never to rush.
And always be able to laugh at ones self.
Great videos, keep up the good work.
Thank you. Yes, I always learn from mistakes. That is very important. Go slow and be methodical.
I appreciate the kind words.
Cheers!
Thank you for the truth share. I greatly appreciate your solar videos. I learn more and more information with each video. You are a great teacher through your verbal explications. Currently, I would place myself as a low percentage number, believing solar is right for me living in the city. However, I continue to learn as I work out the decision. Thank you.
You're welcome. I really appreciate the kind comment.
It's amazing how smart you are
Unusual panels. I have 70+ panels of different manufacturers and none of them look like yours. ALL of mine have a common junction box with both the positive and negative wires coming out of the same junction. And the wires are all 4' or so in length, never had any trouble connecting them.
This is how many newer panels are constructed. This is a US company.
The position of the panels is determinant of where the leads are connected.
Panels like yours having one lead one each side require positive to negative stacking on the rack for your series connections.
Panels having the leads at one end (the head as it were), require head-to-head placement for the same series connection.
In my case, a 6x2 string array will provide 2 times the highest amount I've ever used.
I have a better recommendation for lightning protection. Make the lightning want to go somewhere else before it gets to your array. Get a 100 ft steel pipe and drive it 10 ft into the ground near your array. Problem solved. If you use an excavator you can sink it into the ground in minutes.
A good, long flag pole...
Way too expensive.
Metal flagpole
Just go outside with a kite during a thunderstorm. Way cheaper and more fun. Untill it strikes though
I did a dry run for my system. Easy mistake to make. I will refrain from any MSU jokes. Good on you for helping others avoid that mistake.
i was so excited to get the thing up after 2 years of planning.
Dominating win yesterday by the way. Nice job Wolverine.
@@CountryLivingExperience gonna run into a buzz saw in the playoffs, but we have today, so I will keep smiling
You got it. Knock Saban off that perch.
Aside from the Sparty gear, good stuff.
Lol. Go Green!
You need PV lightning arrestors & old school lightning conductors at the highest points with ground rods !
PS
SPDs are only part of the protection needed !
A direct strike will vaporize a spd & can damage equipment .
The pv mount must have a better grounding path than your system .
For me when it comes to lightning which rarely happens in my area, I’ve worked out a plan to just shut down everything on the solar end.
That means turn off the breakers to the solar that go into the house, turn off the inverter and flip the off switch to the batteries so everything is off.
Like I said this is so rare and I’ve never had any part of my place hit by lightning.
That's cool. We get a bit of lightening but not much. I just wanted cover all my bases.
You can get combiner boxes with built in fuses!
I know. Thanks.
You can use short mc4 extension cables. Extra connections isn't great, but you need to balance against the aggravation of remove and replace panels. My OCD means I'm probably going to be flipping panels. :)
I already flipped the panels. I only had to do 5 of them and it did not take long.
Thanks for explaining this, I love how indepth your solar system videos are.
You're welcome. Glad it was helpful.
Great information. I recently ordered a system from signature solar. I went ahead and got the EMP/ lightening surge protector just in case.
Glad it was helpful. Have fun with your install. Doing it yourself?
How sturdy is the ground mount ... hows it holding g up to wind does it move alot...
Has not moved a millimeter.
Looking good so far! Planning a super similar system for my house roof, with 10 panels with 5 in series and 2 parallel. Those short wires the panels come with it's annoying but oh well!
Cool. Yea, I have seen some panels with long wires but they are rare.
Thanks for the information…especially the SPDs!
You’re welcome
?? did you reconfigure your panels for the EG4 (since the max input draw is 18A per terminal, but your two strings in SP would be over 20A)?
also, does the voltage in the 8 PV series pose a problem for the eg4 (i assumed each pv terminal had max 250v)? let me know if i sound crazy 😅
Neither has been an issue with the EG4's.
@@CountryLivingExperience thanks!
Hi,just curious why didn't do 2 strings of 10 1 string to each inverter because you got 20 panels voc 40.99v you are still under the inverters maximum voltage which is 450V. This way you didn't have to use so many wires and combiner boxes. And for your array panels I suggest you should use earthing system, ground Rod driven into the ground # 8 solid copper wire from 1 end of the frame to the other with open lugs to each metal brace/Joinst and then to ground Rod with grounded clamp. Open lug you don't have to cut the wire it just a pass through and you tighten the screws on the lugs. Just a suggestions
🤔
Hello. I appreciate your suggestions. I didn't do 2 strings of 10 because I want to expand the number of panels in the array in the near future when I can afford it. I left that second inverter open for more pv input. Doing it this was leaves room for expansion.
The array is already grounded by the steel rack 42" onto the ground. Additionally, the panels are insulated from their frames via the glass and other non-conductive materials. So, lightening is not likely to travel on the wire to the house because it has a lower potential. I will put spd's on the wires in the future to alleviate the small chance of the lightening traveling on that pv wire.
Hi! What voltage and amperage numbers on your panels do you use to find your maximum for your connections? Their is short circuit and open circuit maybe some others. Thanks!
You have to look at your inverter. Ours has a max voltage open circuit limit so that is what we use for calculating how many panels and what number to use on the panel. Check out Will Prowse's channel for deep dives on calculations.
Signature Solar is also and Authorized Dealer for EMP Shield.... Just curious, why did you not add that protection level to your system? EMP Shield is also Lightning Rated for all of those protection levels as well. In my understanding, this would have saved you from having to add the "Surge Protectors".
I am not worried about an emp that is why I didn't add one. I was unaware that they also added surge protection too.
@@CountryLivingExperience Yes, 100% Lightning Protection including a $25,000 Ins Policy and Solar Flare Protection up to 280,000 AMPS!!!.... Well worth it to me when I get my place and install my Array in the next few months. FYI I'm also looking at East Texas.
Wow, that's cool. You will enjoy East Texas. It is nice.
Question for you, you said that you got a bigger combiner box for later so my question is are you grid tied and if so you have to have a permit through the electrical company and are they ok with system like it is and down the road you add more pannels with out getting another permit?
This is an off grid system. No permit required.
Curious what the wind uplift design is on the racks...will it withstand a strong wind storm? Racks are light aluminum?
These are all steel racks. They are made for commercial applications and some residential. I know they are all engineered. You can look at the company website...powerssolarframes.com/
Last night I was watching another video, and one of the segments showed the damage that can be caused by weather, especially hail. Some of the hailstones were golfball sized, but some were not much bigger than a marble. Yet these hailstones hit with enough force to take out a quarter of a panel (in one hit, it went clean through). My question is what preventative measures can you take to prevent such damage, and how much would such precautions cost in electrical output?
I would think that perhaps some Lexan (plexiglass) sheets in a frame that could be quickly mounted might work, say, if a major T-storm was heading your way. But if it isn't secured tight enough, it may cause damage itself.
Perhaps, comments from your audience?
As far as I have researched, I nave never some across anyone with storm damaged panels unless they came unsecured from the racking. The glass, at least on the quality name brand panels, is extremely tough. I think some of them have impact ratings on them. But I wonder with the ubiquity of solar panels now, that it is not much of a problem.
Ok kool
put plywood to protect it
@@CountryLivingExperience so what the impact talk you left that out
@@onlythewise1 I was thinking of Lexan (plexiglass) as it would allow light in and still protect. Plywood would essentially shut of the power.
Just started watching all of the videos you've done on this(This is number three for me) and I'm unsure why you just didn't do two strings of ten, or four strings of 5.
The inverters could only handle up to two strings of 8. I could have done 4 strings of 5, but this way I can add 8 more panels for my second inverter.
Have you ever done a big project and figured out your supplies accurately?
I have not.
It always bug me out how the little details are skippled sometimes
Yes, I have occasionally. This equipment was calculated by the solar supplier without making a trip to our property physically. So, I blame nobody.
I see some videos of lipo battery power station.comming out that serve as a UPS and can be charged by solar. Seen One that's supposed to have 3kw. So u could hook up 3 to get 9kw on their own panels so if one goes down u still have 2 left and u don't need to convert anything. And they cost like 2k each. Anyone has experience.with these packs?
Sorry, I do not have any experience with those large power packs. I only have a small 500w Bluetti for camping, etc.
They don't just make MC4 short extension cables?
I mean me personally I would also just mount them properly because im OCD as fuck, but functionality wise im sure a little 1 foot jumper could solve that issue.
electrical engineers out there, would that small jumper have a noticeable effect on the impedance?
Also are there ways to make these terminations by hand?
I feel like the longer I type this comment the more I realize the best solution is to just flip the panels...
That is why I just flipped the panels.
You also didn't read the module manufacturers mounting specs.
How do you assume that? You’re wrong
Maybe I heard you wrong but it sounded like you are running PV wire from your array to your inverter. You don’t need PV wire for that. THHN wire will work. You only need PV wire for above ground work.
PV wire can be direct buried per the NEC and that is what I was sold by a reputable solar dealer.
I didn't say you can't use PV wire that way, just saying it wasn't necessary.
@@BrianLeeWho What I got is cheaper than THHN I believe.
I just bought a 500 foot spool of #10 wire for $139 at Lowes. If you were able to get PV wire for less than that you got a very good deal.
Why not just get 1 more panel and do 3 strings of 7?
Several reasons. Racking systems are usually designed for even numbers of panels and solar suppliers sell pallets of panels in even numbers at discounted prices. We got these for $170 buying 20 panels. They are $200 if purchased individually.
What part of Texas are you in? It looks like east Texas. I'm in Ft. Worth.
We are near Tyler
@@CountryLivingExperience that's awesome I'm 15 miles east of Sulphur Springs
@@CountryLivingExperience i’m tyler and if i got all the components from them , could I pay you to install it ??
@@dogandhisboomer I appreciate the offer but I wouldn't be able to. Email me at the channel email address and I will be happy to answer questions there.
Ohms law....not watts law.
Doh!
Lol
🙂👍
I just made this mistake :\
bummer
Lethal voltages.
Don't ever plan anything out. Just go to home depot 500 times. Be a man.
lol