Started at 7:30pm last night and finished 4:30am this morning. Drilled mounting holes on the solar panel frames and installed the Enphase IQ 240v AC micro inverter.
A much simplified setup. Got rid of all of the DC string wires. Now there is just one 240v AC trunk line that hooks up to the output side side of the 18kw master inverter inside the house.
See the rest of the solar install photo album here: https://www.crypto-city.com/photo/album/15231/simplified-solar-ac-coupled-system/
Update 11:30am: The efficiency boost on the new setup is a night and day difference in consistency and power production. Less line loss and the lowest common denominator is no longer an issue when panels are partially shaded. Each panel is independently producing 240v AC directly from the panel. Solar cell heating due to other panels pushing power through it is eliminated..
Getting about 4-14X more power pumping into the batteries as compared to the previous setup and today is an overcast day with a chance of rain. Can't wait to get some data on a nice day.
Update 5:40pm: Normally by this time the solar panels would be producing zero power. It's still cranking out 126 watts and it's 3/4 shaded. So without a doubt the new setup is a major improvement.
Since I can't add more panels due to space constraints, I maybe able to add adjustable reflectors to increase efficiency and extend power production a tad longer.
Future improvement additions: Graphene super capacitors? It's definitely on the list.
Update 11:30am Jult 12, 2022
Cooling the solar panels off with a hose easily produced 10% more energy around 11:30am. So, coils underneath solar panels to get free hot water idea certainly have merits.
Would also get even more power and hotter water with reflectors added. Also cooling the micro inverters may also boost the efficiency even further and squeezing out more energy.
Might put up an outdoor shower in the backyard for direct use of the hot water as a result. Then store the grey water for the garden. Maybe even recycle and reuse, but that would also mean building another system.
Looking at the average amount of water showers use, it maybe worth developing.
Update 1:42pm: Confirmation: Cooling the micro inverters does indeed improve efficiency in energy production. A quick and dirty install by placing the cooling fins on top of the micro inverters without any thermal compound. I'm sure, the performance would be much better with a proper implementation such as water cooling. Batteries still at near 100% with household loads. I'd never get that with the previous system setup.
Update 11:57am July 13, 2022: DC-DC Boost Converter Trickery?
In an effort to boost more energy production, a DC to DC boost converter circuit might be worth experimenting with. The idea is to raise the solar panel's voltage and trick the micro inverters into starting up sooner in the early mornings and keep it on longer as the sun starts to set.
The only question is, how much current is produced in the morning, throughout the day and sunset. Those would be some interesting data.
(The one pictured below is a 12-60v to 12-60v constant current 600 watts. Max 10 amps.) If anyone has used the DC-DC converter pictured below, feel free to comment your experience.
Update 6:20pm: Out of the six panels, only one is getting partial sun (half of it). The system is still producing 88 watts.
Update July 15, 2022: Raised the solar panels by a few inches to prep it for 3 more additionional panels.
Update July 16, 2022:
Total overcast today. No sun today at all. Only getting 150 watts from the panels.. Clouds covers here and there. Ramped up 850 watts in the afternoon. Intermittent power production.
Dirt as an energy source? I May have to consider the dirt below solar panels as an additional potential and continuous power source to feed into the system. Just need conducts some experiments to assess whether it'll be feasible or not to implement.
I'm kind of curious to see what kind of voltage and current I'll get from the ground when I test it.
Update August 14, 2022
Have 10 more solar panels on hand and 2 more Tesla Model S battery modules on the way.
Update August 17, 2022
The Tesla battery modules are here. See pics below.
Each module is rated at 24 volts, 5.2KWH.
Configured in a 48V , 3 sets in series and 3 sets in parallel.
The box on top is the Tesla BMS (battery management system) Control module. It talks to the battery's onboard BMS (the green boards in the front) and orchestrate charge / discharge parameters and other safety protocol functions.
*Just a word of caution: if you're playing Lithium chemistry batteries, It's a good idea to ALWAYS use it in conjuction with a BMS for safety and avoid a potential thermal runaway event which will cause it to produce it's own oxidizer.
On the right is an 18KW Low Frequncy Inverter with a surge rating of 54KW for 20 seconds.
Made these busbar connectors from tinned coper lugs and T pipes. 4/0 AWG stranded wires inserted into the pipe fittings and then crimped with a hydraulic press. Drinking water pipes are actually quite pure 99.9% with a litte of silver.
1 down, 3 more to go.
More batteries.
Getting 2 additional tesla batteries for a total of 8 either this week or next.
Bolts came in today. So that means I can start building out the frame work for the additional solar panels tomorrow.
Given that panels in the backyard is boxed in between other houses, there is only 4-5 hours of sun hitting the panels. So, the idea is to pump as much power into the batteries as possble until the next day in order to avoid drawing power from the grid at night.
Update August 22, 2022
Prepping to install another another 4 panels and then another 6. The backyard ispace s limited, so the choice was made to sacrifice a portion of the sun exposed garden space by extending the current solar installation by adding 4 additional panels in andscape configuration. However, in order toretain and keep using the garden space, L-frame construction designed is utilized to keep the space open and not obstruct the garden.
The L-frame design is utilized to transmit the forword weight bias to the rear support and onto the feet that will be buried in the ground.
Here the L-frames are coated with epoxy and allowed cure overnight to protect it from water.
Decided to dig the holes for the feet of the L-frame while it was raining when the ground is a bit easier to work with. Regardless, it was definitely labor intensive.
Dug all four holes. The last was a doozy, mostly hard clay and rocks. All of the L-frames are secured to the posts of the currently existing solar panels posts.
All 12 panels are up and 4 more remains. Just awaiting the enphase 240v AC micro inverters to arrive in a few days or so.
