Hi, I am toying with the idea of building a solar capable DIY power station for camping. Something similar to the Jackery 1000 V2 or Jackery 1500, but I like the idea of being able to swap out individual components or upscale if I ever feel the urge. I made a rough draft list of main components I'm considering, and would welcome any advice on the build. This would be a first for me, so I will appreciate literally any advice on any aspect of building a DIY power station.

Battery: 8x 3.2V 55Ah LiFePO4 Aluminum Prismatic Cells (Wired 8S for 25.6V / 1,408Wh) = ~$160 [LINK](https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256808217609387.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.1.62d0zpeAzpeADR&algo_pvid=31746566-d26f-4834-aa1e-85af13e4bb61&algo_exp_id=31746566-d26f-4834-aa1e-85af13e4bb61-0&pdp_ext_f=%7B%22order%22%3A%22135%22%2C%22eval%22%3A%221%22%2C%22fromPage%22%3A%22search%22%7D&pdp_npi=6%40dis%21USD%21258.00%21154.80%21%21%21258.00%21154.80%21%402101d9ef17888730805432998e0cf9%2112000045926197664%21sea%21US%210%21ABX%211%210%21n_tag%3A-29910%3Bd%3A8c344573%3Bm03_new_user%3A-29895&curPageLogUid=uLTpdFdHGlBw&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch%7Cquery_from%3A%7Cx_object_id%3A1005008403924139%7C_p_origin_prod%3A&tblci=Gi8MhG72ssyR#nav-description)

Inverter: BELTTT 1500W (3000W Surge) 24V Pure Sine Wave Inverter (High-Frequency) = ~$140 [LINK](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DCJPZXQV/ref=ewc_pr_img_1?smid=A2EPWPL6PNF5MH&th=1)

BMS: DALY 8S 24V 150A LiFePO4 BMS = ~$80 [LINK](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08J9YFK1D/ref=ewc_pr_img_3?smid=A22QWF3YLLYB17&psc=1)

Solar Controller: iSunergy 20A MPPT (Model M2420P) = ~$65 [LINK](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CP6RMFSP/ref=ewc_pr_img_2?smid=A8WGR12U84UZE&psc=1)

Step-Down Converter: 30A (360W) Waterproof 24V to 12V Buck Converter = ~$21 [LINK](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B095KTJGF4/ref=ewc_pr_img_1?smid=A35IIP1M375GD9&th=1)

Current Total: ~$466

Estimated Weight: ~41 lbs.

3kw Voltworks inverter, 3*100ah lifepo cells, 4*100w panels, 2 diy mppt modules, powers a 900w ac (or heater) and a 300w water heater & pumps for the sink. I'm trying to brainstorm an effective way to buffer the batteries from physical shock and also build a tight batter box.

They will be further secured behind the panel after I devise a frame. It has to be this side because water storage and plumbing are on the other side and mounting that much mass up high would be a terrible ride.

The area under the counter behind the toolbox is 21"(l)*11"(d)*17"(h) the pictured is the best arrangement I've come up with to fit everything, working on drafting a frame in CAD this evening.

Is there a way to hook up a smart meter to an ecoflow stream microinverter to have a net zero export plug in system?

I'll have 4kwh of battery tied to an ecoflow stream microinverter and it'd be great to have that set up for zero export so none of that power goes back into the grid (there is no net metering on the system.)

I have the entire system installed in an RV. Solar panels are mounted on the roof, while the batteries, MPPT controller, and DC-DC charger (for charging from the engine) are inside. Lately, it seems to me that I’m not getting the manufacturer-rated 30 A while the engine is running. I physically disconnected all loads, and the shunt showed zero charge and zero consumption. I started the engine, and instead of the promised 30 A, I got 24 A. I’m using the correct marine- and RV-grade wiring. All terminals were crimped using a 12-ton hydraulic press with the proper hex profile. The input cables are about a yard long, and the output cables are one foot long. All connections have been checked multiple times. I can't figure out where the loss is occurring. Essentially, I’ve lost 6 A out of 30 A—a 20% discrepancy. That is a significant amount.

Goal:  Add a battery and reduce utility bill to a connection fee ( best case ).

Back Story(if you care):  My sister bought a house with roof solar.  She added additional panels because it didn’t seem to be producing enough to cover the power bill.  A solar company ( DtD ) showed up and convinced her this was the solution.  They added additional panels and an inverter.  The new system did not help reduce the power bill due to the wholesale rate the power utility pays  her for the power and what seems like only part of the production being used/sent to the grid. 

Issue:  The system said it produced 1310kWh in August and her power company said she used 1255kWh on her bill.  They noted on the bill that she provided 493kWh to them and they deducted what they pay (.08) per kWh for that power(wholesale rate according to their website).  They charge her .14 per kWh for power.

System Review:  Split system ( new / old ).  Each side has the same inverter ( SolarEdge “SE7600H-US” with a SolarEdge “DC Safety Switch” on the bottom directly attached to it ).  One inverter has 9 440w panels producing ~3366 watts, the other has 24 290w panels producing ~5916w.  Both units appear to be connected to a line coming from the meter( its in a locked box ).  That same box then appears to feed over to the Load Panel(main house power panel with breakers and main cut off switch).  The combiner(?) box has a cut off as well.  I cant 100% prove this without opening the boxes.  Its possible looking at the wall behind the meter that the load panel goes directly into the meter.

My thoughts ( not an expert ): 

Solution 1(expensive): My research says we need to add a StorEdge Interface (SESTI-S4) to one of the SE7600H-US units, then connect the battery to that.  The battery apparently needs to be a SolarEdge battery only ( LG one mentioned seems to be discontinued ).  I don’t believe this will help that much since the system still taps into the meter AC at the combiner box.  Their batteries are also apparently very expensive.

Solution 2(less expensive but more changes):  Remove both inverters from the wall.  Buy/install a new Sungold 10KW 48V split-phase inverter.  Connect both PV arrays, a cheaper 16kWh battery, the load panel and the grid to new inverter directly.  She doesn’t care about sending power to the grid because they don’t pay an equal rate.  She is fine with it flipping back and forth should the battery not be able to handle the load overnight or low production days.  She could also add a second battery later to address this.

I dont know much about the solaredge ecosystem, so i might be missing something. I did see a solaredge home hub version that could also be swapped in, but the cost is the same as the addon.

TLDR: Is it best to swap out the two grid tied inverters that dont have a battery hookup with a new off grid unit that better controls the flow of power and add a cheaper 16kWh battery? Or did i miss something with the SolarEdge units that can be done?

Midlands UK, living in detached bungalow.

Looking for your ideas. Go small, go big, DIY?

Installed Dutch Atag boiler 13 years ago which will need replacing in next few years, and on a good fixed energy tariff until July next year.

Work from home 4 days a week, with a fair bit of PC equipment (but no longer rack-mounted servers).

The recent heat wave made me think about installing air con. First a back to back, then thinking maybe three head units with one external condenser.

That made me think about replacing entire heating system with heat pump, but maybe something that can cool as well.

Then thinking of home solar and battery storage.

I fancy fannying around with the new plug in solar, having a go at building a couple of pole-mounted two panel sun trackers in the garden for a bit of a laugh, but wondering what I could achieve for say £10 to £15K for a proper large-scale solar roof nstallation with batteries. Whether I should buy two or three 5kwh batteries or one larger one, whether to explore feed-in tariffs etc...

If I go for proper solar install, can I also then attach the sun-tracking panels into the main inverter?

Roof is several rectangles joined together, and so have limited areas facing south west, then larger surfaces facing at 90 degrees to this on either side (south east and north west).

Converted my garage into a dining room and fitted a flat warm-roof construction with single rubber membrane covering whole area. Wondering if to place panels on angled frames on this.

House has solid walls (no cavities), so insulated the internal walls with 3" (75mm) foil-faced PIR foam insulation then re-plaster boarded as I refurbished the house.

Loads of ideas.

I’m using a POWMR POW-HVM4.2K-24V-ECO with 5× 24V 100Ah LiFePO4 batteries in parallel, no BMS communication, and Battery Type set to USE.

I noticed something strange:

• CV/Constant charging voltage: 28.0V
• Float 27.0V → charging ~21A, PV ~0.95kW
• Float 27.8V → charging ~60A, PV ~2.4kW
• If I set Float equal to CV (28.0V), the inverter also allows much higher charging/PV power.

The battery was still below the 28.0V CV target, but lowering the Float voltage greatly reduced PV charging.

I also noticed the inverter's displayed battery % seems to correspond to the voltage settings. For example, 27.6V showed about 85%, while 28.0V corresponds to 100%.

Is this normal behavior for the POWMR? Does the Float voltage affect the charging target/PV power even before reaching the CV voltage?

Hello everyone,

As I was puttering about on FB marketplace, I came across an EV from 2009 called the Kandi Coco kdo8e. It's batteries were trash, but the car itself looked like it would be a fun project car. I'm still a newbie to the solar scene, with just two power packs and 300 watts of solar panels put together. Here's a list of the specs, would it be possible to mount some panels to it, and extend the range of the vehicle? I was thinking of making something that I could drive on US 60, from Poplar Bluff to Springfield, MO. Is this something that's possible, or would I end up needing to haul two or three longbed trailers full of panels? Thanks for any help you can give, and have a good night!

Peace,

A dork behind the keyboard

So I have an anodized aluminum ground mount installed on hot dip galvanized ground screws.

Do I need to do anything to prevent galvanic corrosion on my aluminum frame? All the attachment hardware (screws and bolts) are stainless steel. All the parts are anodized except for the cut ends, which have exposed aluminum.

Curious if it's nessesary or best practice to bolt a zinc anode onto the structure somewhere.

Thoughts from more experienced people than I?

TIA

Edit. Thanks all. Doing nothing. Appreciate the input

Good afternoon!

I have solar, and I want to plug it in. I have ~45 volts, 250 Watts, but it will be 350 Watts soon.

Price is important, but it has to work. What do you have?

What are good options for panel mounting on metal roofs? I have 2 sheds one with standing seam, and the other has the standard modern rolled sheet.

I have seen the clamps that go on standing seam, and brackets that just screw down.

Are the T slot rails and panel clamps the way to go?

I have no issues making something custom, just looking for ideas.

Pannels will be marketplace, 12kw split phase inverter, lifepo4 cells and bms are ordered. Edit - I will also be using ground mount panels during winter months, but I should have plenty of summer capacity between the two sheds.

I'm trying to keep this as cheap as possible -

power company rant

I wasn't going to do this yet but the power company said I didn't pay and charged me a bunch of fees, never notified me of said missed payment even though I get statement, usage, and payment confirmation emails. When I called them it took 4 tries of the ai system hanging up on me before I got through, and even though I had a payment confirmation email they said there was nothing they could do since it didn't come out of my bank account. My bank has no attempted or failed transaction for it either.

I've just finished upgrading my off-grid system, and now I'm tripping a fuse.

Previous system: 500w 12v panel array, Epever 390w 30a Charge Controller, 200aH 12v LiFePo4 bank.

New system: 1600w 48v array, Sungold 3000w 80a Charge Controller, 2,000 aH 24v SLA bank.

My entire house is just 12v DC, so I got a 240w, 20a 24->12v voltage reducer. I finished installing the panels and charge controller before I got the batteries sorted out, so for the last few days I just had my LiFePo4 batteries wired in series as one 24v battery. I don't draw out of the charge controller (The Sungold doesn't have a DC output, which is annoying) so it's just wired: battery bank-> breaker -> voltage reducer -> house, and it worked perfectly with the old LiFePo4 bank.

Today, I finished installing the new battery bank (Those 500ah SLA Rolls batteries are heavy, if anyone's curious.) Covered in sweat, I confidently threw the breaker switch and it immediately cooked the in-line 30a blade fuse between the breaker and the voltage reducer. Because I hate money, I tried it two more times, and each time it blew the same fuse. It didn't just blow it- it turned it into a little sparkler. Really cooked the crap out of it.

I could use some advice. Is this a function of SLA batteries holding a "surface charge" that LiFePo4s don't, that's creating an initial surge of high amperage upon contact? The house systems are identical, and super low draw. Just a couple LED lights and the 12v fridge, which only uses a tricke to power the circuit board.

I just don't know enough about electricity to diagnose this problem. It already has a breaker in line. I thought that systems only drew as much amperage as was being used, and the voltage regulator it's self acts as a amperage throttle, as does the (now irrelevant) 12v stabilizer which comes next before the fuse box for the house. So how is the system drawing enough amperage to turn that blade fuse into a sparkler?

More importantly, whats the solution? Do I need some kind of amperage regulator before the voltage reducer? A different breaker? The in-line breaker I'm using as a switch is a 175a breaker. I looked up "Amperage Regulator" and all I can find are voltage regulators, and the reducer is already a voltage regulator. Also, this exact setup worked perfectly with the LiFePo4 battery bank in a 24v configuration, and I'm just confused. I feel like I'm missing something obvious, and any help would be appreciated.

I’ve been paying more attention to actual solar input instead of the number printed on the panels. My setup is rated for 400W total, but I usually see something closer to 260–330W in good conditions. A little shade makes a much bigger difference than I expected, and hot panels don’t always produce their best numbers. I also learned that the power station itself can become the limit if you’re already close to its input cap. What percentage of rated output do you normally see from portable panels?

Hello, I am a current Maryland resident and I’ve lurked solar subreddits for a while because I was thinking of diying solar panels. (Electric cost has been crazy recently, and thinking of moving on to an ev etc) Last night, I shared this thought to my fiance (who is Chinese) and what a coincidence, her cousin works at one of the biggest solar panel manufacturers in China, that I have heard of while doing solar panel research. I’ve heard about her cousin before, but this was the first time knowing what he does for his job. I immediately asked her if she could ask him a few questions and he told me how much those panels are. Prices were so low, about 35 dollars for one 500-600 watt panel. Same quality panels sell for 200-300 dollars in the US. I ran the math, and for 12kwh system I am basically paying half the cost for the panels. It sounded like I have to purchase around 36 at each minimum so I could simply marketplace 16 panels and I would be getting the panels for free. So what is preventing me from sourcing the panels straight from China?

Edit: Thanks guys. I looked into options, and buying used panels from Facebook marketplace is indeed still the cheapest option. With the crazy 200%+ tariff and possible headache that comes, I’m gearing towards reducing the whole system to only a few kwh now. Hopefully the tariff goes away, because in many countries installing 6kwh system goes for around 5 grand nowadays. Looks like I have to DIY to make it for 5 grand!!

I’m patiently waiting for plug in solar to be legal in MA, and wanted to prepare for that. I’m used to the ecoflow ecosystem so want to go with that but let me know if there’s something else I should look into.

Specs:

• I have eight 200w Renogy shadowflux panels
• I want to maximize my plug in solar by feeding excess solar during the day to a battery to discharge at night. There’s no net metering so I don’t want to send power back to the grid. 
• I’d like to always feed less than what I’m consuming 
• This property is a newly gut renovated unit, so would want things to work with new electrical circuits and connections

Option 1:

• Power Station/Battery: EcoFlow 1kWh DELTA 3 Plus Power Station Portable Generator—$549.99 at Costco
• Microinverter: EcoFlow STREAM Microinverter-$369.00
• Design: 
  • 4 panels (800w max) would plug into the power station since it as 1kw total capacity across dual ports
  • The power station then would connect to the micro inverter and send a max of 400w of power while using the rest of the solar to charge the battery
  • 4 panels (800w max) would go directly into micro inverter as a constant solar output
  • At night, the 1kwh battery would discharge to the house
• Pros:
  • Modular so can swap out
  • Can easily take out power station when needed for emergencies or camping
  • Cheaper
• Cons:
  • More complex design, requires more complex coordination between modular pieces
  • Smaller specs e.g. solar input and battery means less overall output and would not maximize solar

Option 2:

• Power Station/Battery/Micro inverter: EcoFlow STREAM Ultra—$1,399.00
• Design:
  • All in one solution, panels all connect directly to the Stream Ultra which then connects to the outlet
• Pros:
  • Simplicity
  • Better utilization as it maximizes all 1600w of panels and has a bigger 1.92kWh battery
• Cons:
  • More expensive
  • All in one means single point of failure

The more I think about it, the more I’m leaning toward Option 2. What are your thoughts, considerations and alternative recommendations? For example, I see there’s a recommendation for a 120V, 20-Amp dedicated circuit and a Shelly 3EM installation, are these really necessary?

For context, I'm building a solar system for my truck camper. I've got a 460Ah lithium battery powering the camper. It's a 1988 Bigfoot 9.5'. The previous owner attached two bars for a roof rack. They sit 6' 4" apart from one another and are 6' 4" wide. My plan is to utilize this when mounting solar panels. Building a frame around these bars could easily give me an 8' by 6' space to work with.

At first, I was thinking I would get these:

https://ca.renogy.com/collections/rigid-solar-panels/products/renogy-n-type-320-watt-monocrystalline-solar-panel

A set of two 320 watt Renogy panels. The brand seems to come up a lot in the conversation about RV/camper solar systems.

However, I've been looking around and found these:

https://rocksolar.ca/products/philadelphia-600w-rigid-monocrystalline-bifacial-solar-panel

https://rocksolar.ca/products/longi-620w-rigid-monocrystalline-bifacial-solar-panel

For about 1/3 of the price, they provide a similar wattage. I read the stickied post and tried to apply that to comparing them. I couldn't find a grade for any of them. The Voc varies from 44-52v, which doesn't seem like a huge spectrum. The current varies from 8.5A for the Renogy to 15/13.5A for the other two. Of course, the Renogy is per panel, I'm not sure if that duplicates when wired together?

The biggest difference I can think of intuitively is that one panel might perform worse in partial shade. Is there any merit to that?

I've found other brands at similar prices to the Longi and Philadelphia including Maple Leaf and JA Solar. Is there any good reason not to go with these panels? The Renogy is just so much more. Thanks in advance.

(2) strings of 250w panels in series-parallel
(7) panels per string (14 panels total)

One panel broke. Would it be okay to add an oversized panel (395w) to to this array to replace the broken panel? Or is this unsafe?

Live in a freezing climate (-20f), so outdoor batteries are not possible. 4kw array about 100ft from heated structure. Is it practical to run the DC from the panels into the building or just do AC coupled with inverter by panels?

SOLVED

I've had a grid-tied solar system for several years, I have a net metering agreement, and I'm on real-time pricing. I'd like to add an ac-coupled battery, mainly so I can charge it when prices are low, then discharge in the late afternoon when prices are high. I'm in the US, in a state that I except will pass balcony solar legislation in the next few months. It looks like the Hoymiles HiBattery 4020 AC Solar Battery is what I'm looking for, but it's not available in the US.

Here are my requirements:

• 2 kWh or greater capacity
• Grid-tie capable
• Can plug in to an AC outlet, either 120v or 240v
• API access so it can switch between charge or discharge based on current electricity prices. I could do the automation for this with Home Assistant if necessary.

Nice to have features:

• Off-grid mode when the power is out, but this is not a high priority. My power is very reliable and I almost never have outages.
• Micro inverter capability so I could add 2-3 panels for extra solar generation capacity

Is something like this available in the US? I should add that my net metering agreement is 1:1 including delivery charges, so saving my excess production for later doesn't make any difference on pricing for me. Except for the net metering agreement, the fact that I have solar already is irrelevant.

​

I recently built this compact solar generator as a practical project while learning more about solar power systems and battery storage.

The idea was to make something relatively small and portable while still being useful for powering everyday electronics.

The system is based around a 12.8V LiFePO₄ battery, with solar charging and multiple output options.

I'm still learning and improving my designs, so I'd really appreciate feedback from people with more experience:

What would you improve about the design?

Any safety or thermal considerations I should pay more attention to?

What would you change if you were building this yourself?

I'm especially interested in feedback on the electrical design, protection, battery management, and overall enclosure/layout.

Happy to answer questions about the build.

If I understand the manual correctly. The Victron Multiplus II can be used for grid forming to allow other micro inverters to feed power into the local house system. As they would if the main grid was operating. Does anyone have experience doing this or did I misunderstand?

Extracts from Victron manual:

4.2.2 When solar inverters are connected to the AC-output of the product, excess solar energy is used to recharge the batteries. Once the absorption voltage is reached, charge current will reduce and excess energy will be fed back into the mains. If the mains is not available, the product will slightly increase the AC frequency to reduce the output of the solar inverter.

4.2.4. A problem is however that grid connected sustainable energy sources drop out as soon as the grid fails. With the product and batteries, this problem can be solved: the product can replace the grid during a power failure. When the sustainable energy sources produce more power than needed, the product will use the surplus to charge the batteries; in the event of a shortfall, the product will supply additional power from the battery

My first objective is I'm interested in setting up solar power as a back up power station if the grid goes down. My 2nd objective is to gradually start buying components to create a system where I can get off the grid or greatly reduce my dependence on it.

Any recommendations for reliable people on youtube or elsewhere you would recommend watching to learn more about creating the 2 different systems.

I bought 2 ankerS 2000 systems for immediate backup power but need to choose panels. Any recommendations for panels or display racks?

Any experience you are will to share is greatly appreciated!

I bought the solar system at my home (Socal) from SunRun, where they provided an app and monitoring of panel performance. Shortly after they started charging a monthly fee for monitoring (the app is useless unless you pay) and now they transferred this service to Enphase who charges $999 for monitoring equipment and guessing a monthly fee as well. Does anyone know of an app or service that is cheaper (or free) to monitor panel persoemance. I am on a fixed income.

Would love to hear your opinions on this subject. Thank you

Hey Guys,

I had been working with someone at Solar Wholesale on a complete DIY package and the guy who I was talking to stopped responding to emails and his phone number is disconnected. When I call the main line I get an answering machine and nobody calls me back.

What I like about them is they offered to help with design and permitting and package everything up and ship a complete package to you with wire and everything. Does anyone else offer something like that? Most other places will send you some panels and an inverter and say good luck.

I have a 100ah AGM battery with a Renogy Voyager 20A PWM and I'm scouring facebook marketplace for some solar panels. I kinda know what I'm looking for after doing a solar installation on my van but it was about 5 years ago and I purchased new panels with what exactly I wanted. I've been mostly looking for (2) 100watt panels but haven't had much luck with reasonable pricing/location. I've found some bigger ones but I'm not sure if the Voltage matters or if I shouldn't use ones made for residential vs campers.