In snowy climes Solar panels can get up to 2X as much light from refraction from the snow. In Alaska it's not uncommon to tilt panels past vertical to a slightly down angle to better catch the sunlight from the snow for 6 months out of the year. This also inhibits snow accumulation on the face of the panels. So you not only need to watch the direct sunlight shading, but also try to avoid any shadow on the snow for at least 2X as far in front of the panels as they are high, for optimal output.
Panels wired in series can almost drop to zero even when one cell is shaded. Wire in parallel and I bet you will get a consistent double the amps off that lower set.
Two of the most important things in snow country for solar is to insure you have a safe place to walk below the panels to be able to clear the snow enough the sun can melt off the rest and that is right behind insuring you have a storage space under the panels for the snow that comes off them so you can run a snowblower or tractor with bucket between storms to clear the storage area. Thats not to say you can't roof mount them in a place that is hard to reach but if you do you want a way to remote clear them with ether a sprayer or a heating loop as you just need them above freezing during the storm. Are you going to keep the batteries out in the shed or move them into the crawl space under the house?
Thanks for the tips. Not sure where we're gonna put the batteries yet. We might move them into the house or build a small box near a ground mount. We'll have to see.
@@MartinJohnsonOffGridLiving The batteries will be more efficient if you can keep them at their recommended operating temperature, which is probably around 20°C. If they are lead-acid cells, you'll need to vent them outside. (You don't want hydrogen gas floating around in a box or indoors!)
you have to try to avoid any shading on any panels in series , because just shading one cell will almost knock out all the panels in that series . so no output.
Duel enrollment is a great thing. We don't gamble either, next time we are in Bonners Ferry we are eating at the Casino buffet.Watching your channel is my weather station, while my channel only gives septic system info and yes my cool dance moves "Perk not Twerk". Snow is nicer to see. Be Blessed
Thanks for the quick tour of the area......still jealous of the snow and tree. Glad your solar is cranking out power. Makes me feel better about going solar.
The Mechanic below listed exactly, your problem is any shading on the panels will knock them out you have just proved it the fitting instructions should have told you this, they are fitted in series. Cheers . All panels must be in full sun to gain optimum performance.
I'm new to solar. I think, if you want to know what your panels are producing comparing the ones on the ground to the ones on the house, measure their open-circuit current (there is a more correct technical term that escapes me at the moment) with a meter that can handle it. Where you are measuring is dependent (I think) on what the charge controller thinks your batteries need based on the state of charge and load (not what your panels are capable at that moment). If you don't have the ability to measure the current, plug in a couple of hair dryers or an electric heater and see if the current you are monitoring at your charge controllers goes way the heck up!
I use the same bracket when I mounted a panel on the chicken coop roof and the lower amp renogy charger. works great to have lights and coop door automation with a wifi security camera. Now to step up the game and get my garage off grid. Thanks for the links!
Such a beautiful area!!! I think after watching your videos i have changed my mind on where I'm moving too next. Thanks for the videos and can't wait for more.
What kind of lighting are you useing in the house with your batteries? Do you feel you have enough power each day? How long do the batteries last? Your frig and water pump must be the main draw. Oh, do you have a 100 mesh pre-filter on the pump so it will last longer? Doug, Movin2Maine.
you can just do a test on one old and one new panel by covering just one cell with a towel or something. most mainstream panels have cells in series - 10 for your old and 12 for your new it seems. if shading is just over 1 of those cells, it will knock power for the entire 10/12. so if you do a test covering the all the bottom cells with a towel and get no output then you know how those cells are wired. higher end panels have more connections and are less affecting by shading. of course more connections cost more since silver is used.
If your batteries are full, the amerage going into them would be low, the difference is because of shading, I am guessing that your panels are connected in series, any shading on one panel will affect the others in the string, been living off grid since 2000, basically you cannot put more power into full batteries, that is just your float amperage, 👍👌❤🇨🇦, put a load on the batteries, then show us the difference between the two sets of panels, then you will know the true difference
Pocket Change I wanted to ask a question. How many years do the batteries last? And are you still using the original panels? How are cleaning them? I am asking because here in the Tampa Bay Florida a lot of people are putting solar on their roofs. Thanks in advance.
@@joemc111 I stll have the origianls panels, and have added to them, people say that solar panels degrade over time, the originals are 20 years old this year and when I do a voltage test and amperage test on them, they are the same as when I bought them, so I don't know why some people say their panels don't last. The first set of panels where from Shell Canada, a very high quality panel back then, and they no longer make panels anymore, like the last 15 years, and my added on panels , are made by Canadian Energy, another high quality panel.
Thank you. If we could only have sunny days like that every day. But then we wouldn't have all the beautiful snow. I guess you can't have your cake and eat it too.
Beautiful Canada ❤️ Australia where I live on the nth east coast is beautiful and Ireland is where we are from .My dream is to go to Canada and travel the whole country it's so pretty.
The Province of British Columbia and Alberta are by far the most dramatic scenery. Banff(Alberta) is awesome and just north of Idaho in Canada. Canada is huge and difficult to traverse, there is a train that is a great way to experience that country.
I would if I were you use the power in excess like washing clothes when you are in high amp mode...that way you don't waste the overload to the battery fill...js..and here in bama...we can sell our excess to local power companies..just a thought..I know you are off grid but we have a coop situation here...excess power not used can be sold back to the power provider in your area....its an in kind situation
I have 520W of panels just for testing and design at home. I had no projects going and just did a test in December for 31 days of total power generated into a load at power point. It was about 560WH a day average. That's only about 1X panel power a day. Be grateful you don't have clouds.
Sorry let be be clearer. We have 4 panels rated at 30v 275w each and 4 panels at 30v 345w each. Each set of 4 is wired in a series/parallel configuration.
@@MartinJohnsonOffGridLiving Would that be easier to do now... rather than wait until the house is finished, and you have the garage built? Or would you be looking at moving to a different class of battery for the 48volt setup?
That snow wave is awesome! Be sure you get still shots of it. Do you see why I called the paths for Tux tunnels now? 😝 Just in case you haven’t been informed of the dangers of icicles let me. They are cool looking, but they are also deadly. In Alaska you hear about a death due to them more often than you’d think. They will stab right through a person when they break off. Make sure to never ever stand or walk under them. Clear entrances and exits diligently too.
Gobuilditbetter - Thank you for sharing that info. I hate that the two you mentioned lost their lives, but your telling this will save lives. Bless you as well!
@@PaullaWells Is there a better way to go than doing what you love and happy? We all go someday, after deciding where you want to spend Eternity, enjoy life and as many to the light by example. Sadly the preacher left 2 kids that will never know him.
I believe you're wrong...again. Your assumption about the readings on the solar controllers is incorrect. Rather than tell you what you're doing wrong, I suggest you read the information you got with the controller(s) and not try to tell us all about information that's wrong. The solar panels are not putting out what you profess they are.
☀️ *NEWEST UPGRADES TO OUR SYSTEM SEPTEMBER 2021* ruclips.net/video/MeaANzjzwf0/видео.html
Cold not for me.
In snowy climes Solar panels can get up to 2X as much light from refraction from the snow. In Alaska it's not uncommon to tilt panels past vertical to a slightly down angle to better catch the sunlight from the snow for 6 months out of the year. This also inhibits snow accumulation on the face of the panels.
So you not only need to watch the direct sunlight shading, but also try to avoid any shadow on the snow for at least 2X as far in front of the panels as they are high, for optimal output.
Panels wired in series can almost drop to zero even when one cell is shaded. Wire in parallel and I bet you will get a consistent double the amps off that lower set.
Two of the most important things in snow country for solar is to insure you have a safe place to walk below the panels to be able to clear the snow enough the sun can melt off the rest and that is right behind insuring you have a storage space under the panels for the snow that comes off them so you can run a snowblower or tractor with bucket between storms to clear the storage area.
Thats not to say you can't roof mount them in a place that is hard to reach but if you do you want a way to remote clear them with ether a sprayer or a heating loop as you just need them above freezing during the storm.
Are you going to keep the batteries out in the shed or move them into the crawl space under the house?
Thanks for the tips. Not sure where we're gonna put the batteries yet. We might move them into the house or build a small box near a ground mount. We'll have to see.
@@MartinJohnsonOffGridLiving The batteries will be more efficient if you can keep them at their recommended operating temperature, which is probably around 20°C. If they are lead-acid cells, you'll need to vent them outside. (You don't want hydrogen gas floating around in a box or indoors!)
Had the cold 30+ years ago. Moved closer to the tropics. Now have the humidity and heat. Would like 2 places to live in in summer and winter.
you have to try to avoid any shading on any panels in series , because just shading one cell will almost knock out all the panels in that series . so no output.
Thank you for your input. I'll work on it. Give you an update in a future video.
Duel enrollment is a great thing. We don't gamble either, next time we are in Bonners Ferry we are eating at the Casino buffet.Watching your channel is my weather station, while my channel only gives septic system info and yes my cool dance moves "Perk not Twerk". Snow is nicer to see. Be Blessed
Thanks for the quick tour of the area......still jealous of the snow and tree. Glad your solar is cranking out power. Makes me feel better about going solar.
Cool road trip, what a beautiful area. Thumbs up on the new solar panels, 100% and producing, turn something on lol. Yeah that wave looked awesome!
The Mechanic below listed exactly, your problem is any shading on the panels will knock them out you have just proved it the fitting instructions should have told you this, they are fitted in series.
Cheers . All panels must be in full sun to gain optimum performance.
Glad to see that you are using both charge controllers.
That snow curl looks like a wave curl for surfers.
A pause in the speedy rd way and a lil conversation would've been a great key point i think imo js
I'm new to solar. I think, if you want to know what your panels are producing comparing the ones on the ground to the ones on the house, measure their open-circuit current (there is a more correct technical term that escapes me at the moment) with a meter that can handle it. Where you are measuring is dependent (I think) on what the charge controller thinks your batteries need based on the state of charge and load (not what your panels are capable at that moment). If you don't have the ability to measure the current, plug in a couple of hair dryers or an electric heater and see if the current you are monitoring at your charge controllers goes way the heck up!
diatas gudang ..dipasang aja panel surya dgn tracking manual .. kemiringan panel bisa diubah-ubah pake dongkrak /katrol /lainnya
Mate, lift your bottom panels up off the ground ! I’m in total envy mode, enjoy life. 👍👍👍👍
I use the same bracket when I mounted a panel on the chicken coop roof and the lower amp renogy charger. works great to have lights and coop door automation with a wifi security camera. Now to step up the game and get my garage off grid. Thanks for the links!
You're welcome. I hope you find them helpful.
Awsome video guys, glad to see the panels working great for you. Now you get to spend the day chasing amps lol 👍 😃. Seriously, great system setup 👍 👍
Such a beautiful area!!! I think after watching your videos i have changed my mind on where I'm moving too next. Thanks for the videos and can't wait for more.
Love your place, brother.
Thought you were going to mount the four older panels on the house between the windows.
Waiting for the mounts like I said in the video.
What kind of lighting are you useing in the house with your batteries? Do you feel you have enough power each day? How long do the batteries last? Your frig and water pump must be the main draw. Oh, do you have a 100 mesh pre-filter on the pump so it will last longer? Doug, Movin2Maine.
Holy cow, you are almost in Canada!
Almost. It's only about an hour or so away. Are you from Canada?
you can just do a test on one old and one new panel by covering just one cell with a towel or something. most mainstream panels have cells in series - 10 for your old and 12 for your new it seems. if shading is just over 1 of those cells, it will knock power for the entire 10/12. so if you do a test covering the all the bottom cells with a towel and get no output then you know how those cells are wired. higher end panels have more connections and are less affecting by shading. of course more connections cost more since silver is used.
Cool insights. I'll have to do a test in a future video. That sounds like it will be really interesting.
That's a crazy amount of snow . I live in the UK . Not a single snow flake this winter 😥
Indah sekali pemandangan disana
If you have a lot of wind you need to look into a solar wind generator, 24 hours a day power as long as the wind blows. stay safe.
Hello friend, you have to make a structure to put all the solar panels where it is 100% illuminated with the sun so that it can have maximum power.
Dear Friends
Good work ... Solar PV Panels Generating 23A
can you hook two of them to the water tanks just wondering to get more sun flow
WELL POWER IS ROCKING....SO WHAT ALL DO U POWER ON YOUR SOLOR??????? THINKING MAYBE I COULD DO THIS HERE...ON MY HOUSE...
If your batteries are full, the amerage going into them would be low, the difference is because of shading, I am guessing that your panels are connected in series, any shading on one panel will affect the others in the string, been living off grid since 2000, basically you cannot put more power into full batteries, that is just your float amperage, 👍👌❤🇨🇦, put a load on the batteries, then show us the difference between the two sets of panels, then you will know the true difference
That's a good idea. I'll do it after I get the other panels mounted on the wall.
Pocket Change I wanted to ask a question. How many years do the batteries last? And are you still using the original panels? How are cleaning them? I am asking because here in the Tampa Bay Florida a lot of people are putting solar on their roofs. Thanks in advance.
@@joemc111 I stll have the origianls panels, and have added to them, people say that solar panels degrade over time, the originals are 20 years old this year and when I do a voltage test and amperage test on them, they are the same as when I bought them, so I don't know why some people say their panels don't last. The first set of panels where from Shell Canada, a very high quality panel back then, and they no longer make panels anymore, like the last 15 years, and my added on panels , are made by Canadian Energy, another high quality panel.
Pocket Change great information. How about the batteries,still have the same set?
..great to have more power....good vid..
Thank you. If we could only have sunny days like that every day. But then we wouldn't have all the beautiful snow. I guess you can't have your cake and eat it too.
@@MartinJohnsonOffGridLiving ..some times you can enjoy making a cake as well as eating it...
Can't remember if you said it but why not hang the old solar panels on the house also...at least most of them!
Saw the end of the video with your explanation regarding the brackets and then hang. thx
Beautiful Canada ❤️ Australia where I live on the nth east coast is beautiful and Ireland is where we are from .My dream is to go to Canada and travel the whole country it's so pretty.
That sounds nice. However, we are not in Canada. We are in Idaho, United States of America.
The Province of British Columbia and Alberta are by far the most dramatic scenery. Banff(Alberta) is awesome and just north of Idaho in Canada. Canada is huge and difficult to traverse, there is a train that is a great way to experience that country.
@@MartinJohnsonOffGridLiving my bad please forgive me I thought you guys were in Canada ❤️
What camera are you using for your vlogging the quality seems very good in this Vlog today.
I would if I were you use the power in excess like washing clothes when you are in high amp mode...that way you don't waste the overload to the battery fill...js..and here in bama...we can sell our excess to local power companies..just a thought..I know you are off grid but we have a coop situation here...excess power not used can be sold back to the power provider in your area....its an in kind situation
Partial shade will dramatically reduce your panel output. Need to have them in full sun.
Thanks I'll work on it and give you a update in a future video.
I have 520W of panels just for testing and design at home. I had no projects going and just did a test in December for 31 days of total power generated into a load at power point. It was about 560WH a day average. That's only about 1X panel power a day. Be grateful you don't have clouds.
Was that water pump working?
Sorry, what pump?
👍🇰🇷👍 한국은 오늘 부터 설 명절 입니다.
복 많이 받으세요.
Please wear a seat belt. I enjoy your videos and want you to keep making them!
I thought I was.
@@MartinJohnsonOffGridLiving I just "assumed" you may not have been by watching starting at 2:06. You may had put it on later. My bad.
Sarah switernya bacaanya "GEMBIRA", buatan Purworejo ya 😂😃
Pak martin! God bless u, and ur fam!
Thank you you too.
it's my dream 10 years ago.. all electricity in my house generated by solar power... but it;s still expensive for the components in ID..
Did you connect it in series or parallel?
Both.
Now you need to test them out. " maybe on the new fridge ?
What voltage are the other panels? Your new panels were producing 30V, giving 600+W. So the old ones were 6 x ?? W?
About 30v and 275w
Martin Johnson - Off Grid Living So you’d expect 1/2 the amperage!
Sorry let be be clearer. We have 4 panels rated at 30v 275w each and 4 panels at 30v 345w each. Each set of 4 is wired in a series/parallel configuration.
I made it with Avasva handbooks !
HOWdy JOHNSONS,
exploring a 5 KW Grid-Tied system that will totally eliminate my Electric UTILITY Bill
& give me Power during outages
COOP
...
Hi! Are you planning on maybe doubling your battery bank to increase capacity?
Yep. I’d like to go to a 48v system.
@@MartinJohnsonOffGridLiving Would that be easier to do now... rather than wait until the house is finished, and you have the garage built? Or would you be looking at moving to a different class of battery for the 48volt setup?
Different batteries and inverter.
@@MartinJohnsonOffGridLiving Gotcha! Thanks!
keep up the good vids
Is there any way you can post a link to the new solar panels that you have because I seem to be working amazing and I would like to buy set
There is a link in the description to Where we got our solar panels. We bought the 345 W astrology panels.
@@MartinJohnsonOffGridLiving thanks
Looks like you need to cut a few trees to allow more sun.
What if I want to huge them?
Wow your close to pavement good...
Ha ha ha it's so cool at the last part.
Why not put panels on the shed?
Snow
Snow ❄️ look cute
@0:55 "GEMBIRA" mean happy in Bahasa
Comment 11 , btw i'm live in indonesian sir😊 (sorry i'dont very understand english:( )
I'm glad you're here. Have a great day and keep smiling.
Martin speaks American, not English. ;)
Greeting beatiful family
Mexico
Hello Pak Marten, sometime in your new video, please speak bahasa with englih subtittle..
I want to be on solar pretty bad
SHADE!!!!
Better you than me.
Which part?
Mengapa channel pak Martin jarang upload
Pak Martin kenapa gak pake subtitle indo
L 8 ... good vidio
bu julie tambah cantik... tambah muda aja... salam dr sby...
The study of psychology tells how little we know about ourselves.
😯👍👍👍👌
halo pak martin
Like ke 5,from indonesia
Evrning🥰
That snow wave is awesome! Be sure you get still shots of it.
Do you see why I called the paths for Tux tunnels now? 😝
Just in case you haven’t been informed of the dangers of icicles let me. They are cool looking, but they are also deadly. In Alaska you hear about a death due to them more often than you’d think. They will stab right through a person when they break off. Make sure to never ever stand or walk under them. Clear entrances and exits diligently too.
Paulla, we just lost a climber when an icicle dropped in Ouray, Colorado just over the hill from us. A preacher past last year, same way. Be Blessed
Gobuilditbetter - Thank you for sharing that info. I hate that the two you mentioned lost their lives, but your telling this will save lives. Bless you as well!
Are you in Durango?
@@PaullaWells Is there a better way to go than doing what you love and happy? We all go someday, after deciding where you want to spend Eternity, enjoy life and as many to the light by example. Sadly the preacher left 2 kids that will never know him.
@@MartinJohnsonOffGridLiving Creede, Colorado we left Ponderay just before it started to snow.
I believe you're wrong...again. Your assumption about the readings on the solar controllers is incorrect. Rather than tell you what you're doing wrong, I suggest you read the information you got with the controller(s) and not try to tell us all about information that's wrong. The solar panels are not putting out what you profess they are.
Psychology class may be a passable subject for a girl but what job will it get her? Or is she going to rely on some other income
'
Cut the stupid music. Rather hear the car exhaust.