How I installed solar panels on my shed using the Renogy 400 Watt Kit.
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 18 сен 2024
- #solarsystembuild #solar #greenenergy #solarpower #diysolar #solarshed
I added solar panels to the shed! I used four 100 Watt panels, one 1,000 Watt inverter, a 12V battery and a ton of silicone! Let me know what you think.
Instagram: AlansInventions
TikTok: AlansInventions
Materials Used:
Renogy Discount Code: 73renogy.refr.c...
Mounting Rails: amzn.to/3HkI8td
Battery: amzn.to/3giWpKV
Power strip: amzn.to/3L5y8X9
Camera: amzn.to/3rj60aY
GoPro: amzn.to/3rjHvKP
Tripod: amzn.to/3od8AgT
Microphones: amzn.to/3HpiO5a
The rest of the stuff was from home depot. leave a comment and I can answer any questions.
Thanks for taking the time to create and post the video.
Just a thought - - if you move that battery from the floor up to a shelf underneath your inverter you would not only free-up floor space but you could make the cables feeding the inverter shorter which will improve efficiency.
I started in November 2021 with four hundred watts of panels and four marine batteries from Autozone. Now I have sixteen 100 watts panels and twenty batteries. I used a 24 volts Aims Power inverter charger. I added a 600 watts wind generator in March. I have enough power out here in the barn now. I used two panels to make around 34-41 volts coming in because the 4215 BN charge controller is 2% more efficient on 33 volts than it is at 63. So I had to overpanel because of the distance to the panels. I made some frames out of square tubing, two panels in each. Sometimes I have to bring some of them in because of hail. I didn't mount the panels on the barn, and last night I was glad of it. Lightning hit the barn. I have eight of them outside leaning on the barn facing East. Four on rhe West side, and four that I kind of move around on a longer cable. I put those in the barn last night. It storms a lot here, so they're safer like I have them. When I started, I didn't know much, so I was buying the 85 amp hours battery and saving for the inverter. One went bad so I have seven of those, and thirteen 105 amps ones. I replaced the bad one with a bigger one. My system works pretty well with twenty. I have 977 amp hours @ 24 volts. This barn actually has grid power but its so far from the pole that it can only run a light bulb 💡, so that's the only thing I have on grid, and I hardly ever use it.
I just ordered a 200ah battery and a 2000w inverter. I’ve had the 400w panel kit for a while now without setting it up and I’m just doing a bunch of searching and hoping my gear matches up it’s all Renogy. I’ve been living fully off grid for 2 years with a small battery bank and panel and also a generator I run sometimes for bigger stuff. Thanks for the video.
Nice! If it's the same as the one I used, I'd recommend wiring the panels in parallel vs serial. Also, nice move on the 2kw inverter! I've maxed out my 1kw a few times already.
I like that you didn’t use cheap hardware like most. It shows what a better product looks like. I didn’t see that you said that you ran the panels in series which would have been good to start with.
Thank you 😊 I ran them in parallel, at some point I will be rewiring them in series.
alan thanks so much learned a lot now i can install mine
It genuinenly makes me feel like making the video was worth it when people say they learned something. I wish I had the time and resources to make more videos.
Rhenogy was a good choice; my Rhenogy equipment is very reliable. If you're going to replace the lighting with LEDs, you'll get much more efficiency by using 12 V panels and running them directly from the battery, rather than using 120 VAC and the power hungry inverter all the time. P.S. You're going to need more batteries.
Yes, but batteries are expensive 😂
It's wise to go led bulbs in my house we had 10 x 100 watt bulbs = 1000 watts I originally used the Florence at 13 watts each =130 watts now I have 9 watt led so 90 watts less than the power of one bulb when I go solar I'll be changing again to 12 volt 9 watt led bulbs I watched a utube video on using 12 volt bulbs as he pointed out why convert the 12 volt battery into 110 volts ac when you can just stay at 12 DC in his case because his house was wired for 110 220 volts his lights were on different circuit and tied to plugs as well so he's running.wires to new light's he's hung in every room looks hocky in my case all my lights are on a separate circuit so I just have to disconnect it from the panel box and hook it to the battery also both my sister and I are on cpap machines and they have a transformer that convert them to 12 volts and I can buy a 12 volt plug for them so I'll be running 12 volts to each of our nightstands and our chairs in the living room so we can charge our phones and tablets and only using 110 for what we can't run on 12 volts fridge freezer washing machine dryer furnace stove as well as our well pump since in a lot of instances you'll only be using the lights that saves you inverter losses only turn it on when you need 110
Thanks. Came here from reddit link and I have a small cabin this will be perfect on.
Nice! 👍 The upgrades I would recommend are more batteries and more panels. Of course you would also need a higher capacity charge controller and inverter. Lol gets expensive quick!
Hi Alan, I set up a Renogy system about the same as yours. The only thing I added were reset breakers for all three legs of the power, solar inverter and battery with a couple bus bars one for negative and one for positive connections between them all. Wish I could leave you a picture...
Would love to see it! If you have Instagram my username is also AlansInventions there. 😁
Nice manicure on that third arm!!
😂 😂 😂
At about 13:00 you said the sun was directly hitting the panels but I think you want the panels to be perpendicular to the sunlight to have it direct. I thought you would take reading at noon or when the sun is more direct.
Good catch, due to the position of the panels that's not going to happen for a few months unfortunately :(
Nice job, good video
Thank you
12v won't kill you. now if its over 50v you get dangerous but 12v you can just touch like its nothing its a very safe voltage to work with.
72v off the solar panel wouldn't be too safe
yea i would just say put the inverter closer to the battery and you should have got a Victron Charge Controller better bt phone software
Thinking about getting this kit myself for my shed. Just a thought about your installation, are you worried that the sun and elements are going to dry or corrode your exposed wires shielding so they'll eventually start making contact to your metal roof? Just an observation.
Not really, I ran most of the wiring under the panels and they aren't too exposed. If I remember correctly the wires I used were also UV and outdoor rated.
You can get some cable shielding at a salvage yard pretty cheap. It's on car wiring. I used it on the exposed part of my wind generator cable. It will keep the wire cooler. One more reason not to roof mount solar panels.
Great video! I’ll be doing a similar setup on my shed. Can you provide the links to the specific spacers you used and the name of the conduit thing to run your wires from the outside in?
Thank you! Yes I can see below. Regarding the spacers, I got those at home depot, unfortunately I don't remember the exact part numbers or details. I believe it was the ones I also linked below.
amzn.to/3nyiPeY
www.homedepot.com/b/Hardware-Fasteners-Spacers/Zinc/N-5yc1vZc2fdZ1z0vs17
I know you said your panels are now wired in parallel. What other parts did you need in order to run in parallel and all 4 panels laid out horizontally on your shed?
Hello, I used a variation of these Y adapter cables and made extensions where needed. (Affiliate links) amzn.to/4cN99nU
All you have to do is tap into the powerline thats running above the shed
Ha! Exactly.
Great video. Question, how did you wire the solar panels? Series or parallel?
Hello
Initially it was in series, now in parallel
@@AlansInventions I have the 400 watt renogy system. If in parallel do you know if i still need the inline fuse from the positive panel? i know in series i need the fuse.
Hi I'm pretty sure you do but I don't know if it's the same one. If in parallel your voltage will be lower but higher current. If you are using adapters to wire in parallel some have a fuse built in.
You need the battery type to be on sealed or agm not flood or fld
Why is that?
Because you are using an Agm battery which is a type of sealed battery so it has a different charge curve than a regular flodded battery
He’s using a flood acid battery!
Can this be used to supplement electricity usage in a small house?
If setup properly yes, however this isn't a high power system. It's more for powering lights and charging a few batteries in my shed.
I have this same kit with a 3000W inveterter and 3 100AH lithium batteries. What would i need to add to be able to run 2000W of power for 5hours a day?
That is a bit more complicated question, are you planning to run it during the day or off batteries? The simple answer is more batteries and more panels, both of which are expensive.
@@AlansInventions I appreciate your response. I will be running it during the day. Just trying to get an idea on what is needed based on my current setup. I am getting almost 6hrs of direct sunlight here in FL.
Can I just use a marine battery and not worry about the inverter or do it half to have the inverter..
Inverter converts dc to AC power
Ok thank you what size do you think I would need
Well it depends on what you want to power
A shop light and a fan maybe a mini fridge
The first two could be easily handled by the 1000 watt inverter I used however the mini friedge not so much. If you already have it I'd recommend checking the label to see how many watts it pulls. You may need a 1500 or 2000 watt inverter.
I don’t see any fuses installed inside the shed. Did you wire panels in series or parallel?
I did install fuses just didn't show it, also they are in series
Great question. Unfortunately my answer is not a good one. Simply because I don't have the adapters and wiring to wire them in parallel. At some point I want to add four more panels and convert it.
Yeah I saw that, unfortunately I had already put my system up. Do you have any feedback you could share with me regarding my video? I am trying to see what I could do next. Also, any chance you saw my last drone video?
Oh okay! Cool. Thank you
Do you have to ground the inverter?
Ideally yes
@@AlansInventions Thank you
Did you wire the panels in series or parallel?
Both actually. I did some re-wiring after the video went up.
@@AlansInventions reason for asking is ,I have seen and read conflicted articles, I wired my panels in series because the kit manual says the control panel knows how to convert it to 12 volt charge for the battery.
It depends on the input voltage and current range, as long as you are within those limits you should be okay. There is some negative effects to both series and parallel. That's if the input levels aren't the same, but for the most part usually okay for small setups.
@@AlansInventions they included a 40 amp in line fuse with the kit, do you think I should install it before the control panel? They didn't include the the terminal connectors on the wire coming from the positive panel, I'm not a big fan of just cutting the wire and wrapping the wire around the posts.
I would put the in line fuse where it's recommended. Is it a kit that you have? You can buy a terminal / lug kit and use that so it's not just wire wrapped around the post.
you move to much makes me dizzy
Sorry about that. I'll keep that in mind for future videos.