8 ms·

Does anyone have a good link/step-by-step for doing some sort of home solar system where: - it's sufficiently small-scale that no building permit is required

Does anyone have a good link/step-by-step for doing some sort of home solar system where: - it's sufficiently small-scale that no building permit is required - it looks nice enough that neighbors won't complain - the wiring is essentially plug-and-play The best approach I've been able to come up with is to purchase a medium size battery pack such as is used for glamping (glamour camping), plug it into the wall and connect my refrigerator and a couple of other high-draw appliances to it (basement dehumidifier comes to mind), build a small roof for the back deck, using poured footings with short posts and then attaching the vertical pillars for the roof to that (which should side-step the need for a building permit since it's not a permanent structure), then placing the solar panels on that roof and running a wire to the battery placed in the kitchen.

originalvichy 1y ago
Companies like Ecoflow sell mobile battery packs which you can connect foldable/small panels to by just plugging them in. No roof installation required. Those panels can be bought as a bundle with the packs. Those packs can then be connected to extension cords. It’s a starting point for short term outages.
- WillAdams 1y ago
  That is the company whose products I've been considering --- my idea was to attach the solar panels to the roof so as to not need to fold/unfold, and to be able to take advantage of them all day without any further clutter on the deck (gaining a roofed area on the deck is a nice bonus).
sanex 1y ago
I'm interested in doing something like this as well. Build a pergola with a solar roof instead of just a metal one from Costco. I've seen a few videos online doing a similar sized system with like a Jackert or Anker Solix. Realistically with 2-3 harbor freight panels they're only enough to power like your home office. A fridge will burn through the battery pretty fast. I do believe you can have them do input and output straight into your wall outlet and you don't have to plug right the appliances into the battery/inverter.
- megaman821 1y ago
  I agree, a solar pergula would be good and hardly noticeable. A fidge is only going to use 1.5-2kWh per day. A medium sized pergola would give you more power than that. Since you aren't opening and closing the fridge in the middle of the night, a 1 kWh battery would keep it running all day on normal days.
brk 1y ago
There is a ton of DIY solar info online, but it is very much regionally dependent. Both for permits and system design. Here in Florida, I can get high output from an average panel, but there are a lot of permit issues (and rightly so, a poorly installed panel can become a severe hazard in a hurricane). Where I lived in Michigan, there weren't many permitting or zoning issues, but I'd need 3-4x the number of panels to get usable output in the winter time. Most truly small scale solar systems don't provide enough output/value to be worth the effort, unless you're living a very low-power lifestyle.
- tencentshill 1y ago
  True energy independence in even a small capacity has a value beyond just money.
  - cjaackie 1y ago
    True [x] independence in even a small capacity has a value beyond just money. ..water.. ..food.. ..housing.. ..information.. I get what you are trying to conveying, I just wanted to highlight the semantic generality of the statement if it stands alone.
    - zdragnar 1y ago
      If you have a house in the countryside, then water and food are relatively easy. You've got your own well and septic system for water, and plenty of room to stock up on food, plus you can supplement your diet by growing your own vegetables and raising chickens, fishing or hunting as seasonally appropriate per your local regulations. The well and septic system require no real effort on your part once installed, though you may find harvesting your own food to be too time consuming or labor intensive to really be actually independent.
      - nradov 1y ago
        Lol. I grew up in a house in the countryside. Dealing with the well, water storage tank, and pressure booster pump were far from "easy". They required frequent maintenance and occasional large expenses. The well got clogged with sand. The pump motor burned out. The tank float sensor got stuck and caused an overflow (several times). The tank had to be emptied and cleaned. An earthquake caused a pipe to shear off and dumped thousands of gallons of water out of the tank. The pressure booster pump burned out. The pressure booster tank corroded and leaked. The water was hard and required a softener to prevent mineral buildup. Etc.
wccrawford 1y ago
That actually sounds like a pretty good plan. I did something similar with my lawn mower. I bought a battery and a single solar panel from Harbor Freight, along with the controller and wires need to hook it all together. I'd set the panel in the yard when I needed to charge the mower's batteries. The whole thing, including the mower, cost less than half a year's fees from a yard crew, and I ended up saving money overall. After the experiment was done (and I realized the mower was too low for my grass and was harming it) I sold the mower and gave the rest to my father-in-law for his shed. We then got professionally installed solar panels for our house and a full-house battery. (It isn't strong enough for the air conditioner, but oh well.) If I had it to do over again on the small scale, I'd buy an Ecoflow battery (which I have actually bought) and a solar panel made for it, and your fridge idea is a good one. It'd probably also power a fan, a light, and some light entertainment, I think. Edit: Might go with "Anker" or "Jackery" instead of Ecoflow now, as it might be cheaper for the same thing.
- ethan_smith 1y ago
  For comparing those brands (EcoFlow, Anker, Jackery), you might want to check the wh/$ ratio - it's basically the best way to compare power station value (for newer LFP systems). I went through this same analysis recently - gearscouts.com [1] has a pretty good comparison table that tracks actual street prices vs capacity. I've found the sweet spot is usually in the 500-1000Wh range for emergency backup. Enough to run a fridge for 8-12 hours but not so big that the solar panel costs get crazy. The LFP (LiFePO4) models tend to last way longer than the regular lithium ones - worth the extra cost if you're planning to use it regularly. Your lawn mower experiment sounds like it was a good learning experience! Those small Harbor Freight panels are great for tinkering. I started with something similar before going to a full house system. [1] https://gearscouts.com/power-stations https://gearscouts.com/power-stations
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
kccqzy 1y ago
In Europe it's somewhat common to have a small solar panel just on your balcony (i.e. not permanent attached to the building) and simply plugs into a nearby wall receptacle. https://www.theverge.com/24150901/ecoflow-powerstream-review-diy-balcony-solar-microinverter https://www.theverge.com/24150901/ecoflow-powerstream-review... For those wondering, the article did discuss the safety matter of using a power outlet as an inlet. And the article also points out that while this is allowed in several countries in Europe it's not allowed in the U.S., but I suppose you could always plug appliances directly into the battery instead.
- rtkwe 1y ago
  Wild. I wonder how they deal with the back feeding issue. Is there something about the home wiring in those countries that prevents it? (or do they just not care and line workers know to check if a line is truly dead?)
  - kccqzy 1y ago
    The device detects that and prevents back feeding. So in case of a power outage it completely shuts itself down.
    - bryanlarsen 1y ago
      So when the power goes out it no longer powers your fridge or whatever else you need powered. But it's easy enough to unplug the fridge from the wall and directly into the battery.
  - thmsths 1y ago
    I feel the real danger of back feeding is not that american line workers can't be bothered to check if the line is truly dead before starting to work. It's that the line could be reenergized at any time.
    - Symbiote 1y ago
      Lineworkers will ground/earth the line with a very good connection (e.g. metal rod into the ground) before working on it, as far as I know. (At least, this is what electricians working with 33kV in industry in Europe do, e.g. if doing maintenance on a cable to a datacentre.)
Rebelgecko 1y ago
Depending on where you live, that you can buy solar panels+battery kits that plug into the wall and feed the circuit that way, no need to run extension cords to plug in individual appliances. However I don't think those types of setups are legal in the US, they don't trust the backfeed protection
vhodges 1y ago
Some resources: * https://www.mobile-solarpower.com/ * https://diysolarforum.com/ Note: You'll probably need a permit for the electrical work if it's more permanent and/or grid tied. But watch the video at https://www.mobile-solarpower.com/mobile-48v-system.html https://www.mobile-solarpower.com/mobile-48v-system.html for something similar to a Goal Zero or Jackery
rtkwe 1y ago
> no building permit is required This will be the main issue. No matter what you're going to be doing work inside the main service panel on your house adding new feeds and you'll need to install a transfer switch to disconnect your house in case of a power outage. Most electrical work inside a panel like adding circuits will require a permit in the US. Seems like your plan doesn't involve any of that though so you should be ok permit wise except maybe needing one for the pad and structure.
- tclancy 1y ago
  It would also be nice to think of your neighbors in terms of not starting a fire and someone capable of doing permitted work will be handy when you go to sell the place and bright red flags show up during inspection.
bryanlarsen 1y ago
In my jurisdiction, you don't need a permit if you're doing it yourself, and it's on your side of the panel. So the plan I came up with is essentially the plan you have, but I connect my refrigerator to the battery by the panel rather than running an extension cord from my kitchen to the battery. I disconnected the fridge and 2 other circuits from the panel, and terminated them with a nema 5-15p inlet receptacle like this: http://www.levitonproducts.com/catalog/model_5278-CWP.htm http://www.levitonproducts.com/catalog/model_5278-CWP.htm I then put 4 solar panels on a 45 degree angle on the ground leaning against a south facing wall, anchored to the wall and ground. The "solar generator" I used is this one: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/apex-300#/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/apex-300#/ It's similar to the glamping batteries you refer to, but is more targeted to home backup / off-grid / RV use than glamping.
bparsons 1y ago
The glamping approach is probably your best bet if you want to avoid paperwork. The equipment has gotten very good and quite cheap in the last few years.
bryanlarsen 1y ago
Before buying a "glamping battery", you'll want to ensure that it can be run unattended in your desired configuration. I previously had a Bluetti EB70S and while it almost did what I wanted, it could only charge from AC or Solar, but not both and didn't have a way to set desired levels. Now I have a Bluetti Apex 300, and I can set it to charge to X% off AC during overnight off-peak rates, and never drop below Y%.
aeyes 1y ago
Hybrid Inverter. Main power and solar power go in, house power goes out. No feeding of solar power to the grid so no permits. You can add a battery if you want to reduce your reliance on the grid. Or use it with a battery but without solar panels as a whole house UPS.
- potato3732842 1y ago
  >No feeding of solar power to the grid so no permits. If it becomes popular the slimy solar farm developers and the utility will join hands to hire a lobbyist who will ensure the rules get changed to close the loophole.
turtlebits 1y ago
Depends on your jurisdiction, but roof mounted solar installs generally don't need building permits. Electrical permits on the other hand are almost always required. If you actually want to offset cost, don't buy a portable battery pack. Get an AIO solar inverter and a server rack battery. They're generally plug and play - wire the panels to it, connect the battery. If you want to run your home loads, the cheapest/simplest way (without going grid-tie) is to have an electrician add a critical loads panel supplied by your inverter output, then plug your inverter in to the grid for backup (in case no solar or batteries are low).
- tiahura 1y ago
  cheapest/simplest way (without going grid-tie) is to have an electrician add a critical loads panel supplied Cheaper way is have electrician wire a manual transfer switch at the existing panel. When you loose power, turn off non-essential breakers and then flip transfer switch.
  - acomjean 1y ago
    Does that work? Our solar inverter uses the 60hz AC from and grid to do the DC->AC conversion. The inverter stops functioning if the power is out. I thought they all did that for safety. Those home batteries mush have some solution.
    - lesuorac 1y ago
      They don't all need the grid - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44023226 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44023226 https://eg4electronics.com/categories/inverters/eg4-18kpv-12lv-all-in-one-hybrid-inverter/ https://eg4electronics.com/categories/inverters/eg4-18kpv-12...
  - turtlebits 1y ago
    You lose all benefits of solar/battery except for during a power outage and you have to flip all your breakers? (you also won't immediately know when the power is back). Might as well save money and not install anything- use an extension cord for those rare times.
dylan604 1y ago
How is "using poured footings with short posts" not a permanent structure? Are you pouring the footings into buckets and not into the ground?
- foobarian 1y ago
  Guessing that code doesn't mind the footings if they don't stick out, and then whatever is on top is removable.
caseysoftware 1y ago
I have a massive array+battery (20kWh generation, 19kWh storage) and while it's great, some things to pay consider: - if you need roof repair/replacement, do it before you get solar. Alternatively, make your array free standing - prioritize the circuits you want to cover. Not every one is critical but health & safety (water, fridge, cooking capabilities) are key - MOST jurisdictions won't require permitting for the grid (especially if it's not connected to your house) but MOST will require an inspection if you want to connect to the grid - if you connect to the grid, make sure you understand how your electricity provider addresses net metering. I wrote about it here: https://geekamongthetrees.com/what-is-solar-net-metering-or-net-billing/ https://geekamongthetrees.com/what-is-solar-net-metering-or-...
nandomrumber 1y ago
Pretty much exactly what you’ve described. Where I am ya don’t been a permit for a shed if it’s under a 18 square metres, so 6x3m sheds are common. You could look in to off-grid / caravan appliances, thereby saving on a smaller inverter, but they tend to be around 3x the price of regular appliances. Highly recommended going for 48v system if you’re starting from scratch to save on ridiculously large diameter cables and stupidly high amperage you’ll be dealing with with a 12v system. I did a repair this week on a poorly designed 12v system that had a 12v to 230v 7amp (1600 watt) inverter powering a 230v 10amp cook top in a camper van. That cooktop was pulling 235 amp from the battery through a very hot 175amp slow blow fuse. Which is great if you want to melt the fuse post and the supply cables and… I found the fault before the fire started.
ChuckMcM 1y ago
The answers here have been pretty solid, a lot of what you want depends on where you live. For example, it is very likely that this is not possible if you're property is covered by an HOA. The definition of "it looks nice" is super hard to pin down (neighbors will complain at everything), and unless you're doing something really small, there is going to be some wiring involved. None of that should discourage you however. "Zero emission generators" (aka battery boxes) are pretty easy to build, and even a 2kW inverter is relatively easy to hide/disguise. If you're doing this in a home situation (vs a camping situation) the 6V "golf cart" lead/acid batteries are really solid. A couple of those will give you 240 AHrs of 12V that can run a bunch of stuff. 240W panels can be stored at night and brought out during the day so keep them 'temporary.' Etc. Victron[1] makes nice chargers and monitors and are popular in the RV / Vanlife communities. Lots of online resources for hooking them up. And generally things you can roll around your property to different places are pretty easily defined as 'not a building' so immune from the permitting process generally. [1] https://www.victronenergy.com/chargers https://www.victronenergy.com/chargers
drivebycomment 1y ago
https://craftstrom.com/how-it-works/ https://craftstrom.com/how-it-works/ is closest to what you want. You don't need permit, and you don't even need new wiring.

originalvichy 1y ago

Companies like Ecoflow sell mobile battery packs which you can connect foldable/small panels to by just plugging them in. No roof installation required. Those panels can be bought as a bundle with the packs. Those packs can then be connected to extension cords. It’s a starting point for short term outages.

WillAdams 1y ago
That is the company whose products I've been considering --- my idea was to attach the solar panels to the roof so as to not need to fold/unfold, and to be able to take advantage of them all day without any further clutter on the deck (gaining a roofed area on the deck is a nice bonus).

sanex 1y ago

I'm interested in doing something like this as well. Build a pergola with a solar roof instead of just a metal one from Costco. I've seen a few videos online doing a similar sized system with like a Jackert or Anker Solix. Realistically with 2-3 harbor freight panels they're only enough to power like your home office. A fridge will burn through the battery pretty fast. I do believe you can have them do input and output straight into your wall outlet and you don't have to plug right the appliances into the battery/inverter.

megaman821 1y ago
I agree, a solar pergula would be good and hardly noticeable. A fidge is only going to use 1.5-2kWh per day. A medium sized pergola would give you more power than that. Since you aren't opening and closing the fridge in the middle of the night, a 1 kWh battery would keep it running all day on normal days.

brk 1y ago

There is a ton of DIY solar info online, but it is very much regionally dependent. Both for permits and system design. Here in Florida, I can get high output from an average panel, but there are a lot of permit issues (and rightly so, a poorly installed panel can become a severe hazard in a hurricane). Where I lived in Michigan, there weren't many permitting or zoning issues, but I'd need 3-4x the number of panels to get usable output in the winter time. Most truly small scale solar systems don't provide enough output/value to be worth the effort, unless you're living a very low-power lifestyle.

tencentshill 1y ago
True energy independence in even a small capacity has a value beyond just money.
- cjaackie 1y ago
  True [x] independence in even a small capacity has a value beyond just money. ..water.. ..food.. ..housing.. ..information.. I get what you are trying to conveying, I just wanted to highlight the semantic generality of the statement if it stands alone.
  - zdragnar 1y ago
    If you have a house in the countryside, then water and food are relatively easy. You've got your own well and septic system for water, and plenty of room to stock up on food, plus you can supplement your diet by growing your own vegetables and raising chickens, fishing or hunting as seasonally appropriate per your local regulations. The well and septic system require no real effort on your part once installed, though you may find harvesting your own food to be too time consuming or labor intensive to really be actually independent.
    - nradov 1y ago
      Lol. I grew up in a house in the countryside. Dealing with the well, water storage tank, and pressure booster pump were far from "easy". They required frequent maintenance and occasional large expenses. The well got clogged with sand. The pump motor burned out. The tank float sensor got stuck and caused an overflow (several times). The tank had to be emptied and cleaned. An earthquake caused a pipe to shear off and dumped thousands of gallons of water out of the tank. The pressure booster pump burned out. The pressure booster tank corroded and leaked. The water was hard and required a softener to prevent mineral buildup. Etc.

wccrawford 1y ago

That actually sounds like a pretty good plan. I did something similar with my lawn mower. I bought a battery and a single solar panel from Harbor Freight, along with the controller and wires need to hook it all together. I'd set the panel in the yard when I needed to charge the mower's batteries. The whole thing, including the mower, cost less than half a year's fees from a yard crew, and I ended up saving money overall. After the experiment was done (and I realized the mower was too low for my grass and was harming it) I sold the mower and gave the rest to my father-in-law for his shed. We then got professionally installed solar panels for our house and a full-house battery. (It isn't strong enough for the air conditioner, but oh well.) If I had it to do over again on the small scale, I'd buy an Ecoflow battery (which I have actually bought) and a solar panel made for it, and your fridge idea is a good one. It'd probably also power a fan, a light, and some light entertainment, I think. Edit: Might go with "Anker" or "Jackery" instead of Ecoflow now, as it might be cheaper for the same thing.

ethan_smith 1y ago
For comparing those brands (EcoFlow, Anker, Jackery), you might want to check the wh/$ ratio - it's basically the best way to compare power station value (for newer LFP systems). I went through this same analysis recently - gearscouts.com [1] has a pretty good comparison table that tracks actual street prices vs capacity. I've found the sweet spot is usually in the 500-1000Wh range for emergency backup. Enough to run a fridge for 8-12 hours but not so big that the solar panel costs get crazy. The LFP (LiFePO4) models tend to last way longer than the regular lithium ones - worth the extra cost if you're planning to use it regularly. Your lawn mower experiment sounds like it was a good learning experience! Those small Harbor Freight panels are great for tinkering. I started with something similar before going to a full house system. [1] https://gearscouts.com/power-stations https://gearscouts.com/power-stations

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

kccqzy 1y ago

In Europe it's somewhat common to have a small solar panel just on your balcony (i.e. not permanent attached to the building) and simply plugs into a nearby wall receptacle. https://www.theverge.com/24150901/ecoflow-powerstream-review-diy-balcony-solar-microinverter https://www.theverge.com/24150901/ecoflow-powerstream-review... For those wondering, the article did discuss the safety matter of using a power outlet as an inlet. And the article also points out that while this is allowed in several countries in Europe it's not allowed in the U.S., but I suppose you could always plug appliances directly into the battery instead.

rtkwe 1y ago
Wild. I wonder how they deal with the back feeding issue. Is there something about the home wiring in those countries that prevents it? (or do they just not care and line workers know to check if a line is truly dead?)
- kccqzy 1y ago
  The device detects that and prevents back feeding. So in case of a power outage it completely shuts itself down.
  - bryanlarsen 1y ago
    So when the power goes out it no longer powers your fridge or whatever else you need powered. But it's easy enough to unplug the fridge from the wall and directly into the battery.
- thmsths 1y ago
  I feel the real danger of back feeding is not that american line workers can't be bothered to check if the line is truly dead before starting to work. It's that the line could be reenergized at any time.
  - Symbiote 1y ago
    Lineworkers will ground/earth the line with a very good connection (e.g. metal rod into the ground) before working on it, as far as I know. (At least, this is what electricians working with 33kV in industry in Europe do, e.g. if doing maintenance on a cable to a datacentre.)

Rebelgecko 1y ago

Depending on where you live, that you can buy solar panels+battery kits that plug into the wall and feed the circuit that way, no need to run extension cords to plug in individual appliances. However I don't think those types of setups are legal in the US, they don't trust the backfeed protection

vhodges 1y ago

Some resources: * https://www.mobile-solarpower.com/ * https://diysolarforum.com/ Note: You'll probably need a permit for the electrical work if it's more permanent and/or grid tied. But watch the video at https://www.mobile-solarpower.com/mobile-48v-system.html https://www.mobile-solarpower.com/mobile-48v-system.html for something similar to a Goal Zero or Jackery

rtkwe 1y ago

> no building permit is required This will be the main issue. No matter what you're going to be doing work inside the main service panel on your house adding new feeds and you'll need to install a transfer switch to disconnect your house in case of a power outage. Most electrical work inside a panel like adding circuits will require a permit in the US. Seems like your plan doesn't involve any of that though so you should be ok permit wise except maybe needing one for the pad and structure.

tclancy 1y ago
It would also be nice to think of your neighbors in terms of not starting a fire and someone capable of doing permitted work will be handy when you go to sell the place and bright red flags show up during inspection.

bryanlarsen 1y ago

In my jurisdiction, you don't need a permit if you're doing it yourself, and it's on your side of the panel. So the plan I came up with is essentially the plan you have, but I connect my refrigerator to the battery by the panel rather than running an extension cord from my kitchen to the battery. I disconnected the fridge and 2 other circuits from the panel, and terminated them with a nema 5-15p inlet receptacle like this: http://www.levitonproducts.com/catalog/model_5278-CWP.htm http://www.levitonproducts.com/catalog/model_5278-CWP.htm I then put 4 solar panels on a 45 degree angle on the ground leaning against a south facing wall, anchored to the wall and ground. The "solar generator" I used is this one: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/apex-300#/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/apex-300#/ It's similar to the glamping batteries you refer to, but is more targeted to home backup / off-grid / RV use than glamping.

bparsons 1y ago

The glamping approach is probably your best bet if you want to avoid paperwork. The equipment has gotten very good and quite cheap in the last few years.

bryanlarsen 1y ago

Before buying a "glamping battery", you'll want to ensure that it can be run unattended in your desired configuration. I previously had a Bluetti EB70S and while it almost did what I wanted, it could only charge from AC or Solar, but not both and didn't have a way to set desired levels. Now I have a Bluetti Apex 300, and I can set it to charge to X% off AC during overnight off-peak rates, and never drop below Y%.

aeyes 1y ago

Hybrid Inverter. Main power and solar power go in, house power goes out. No feeding of solar power to the grid so no permits. You can add a battery if you want to reduce your reliance on the grid. Or use it with a battery but without solar panels as a whole house UPS.

potato3732842 1y ago
>No feeding of solar power to the grid so no permits. If it becomes popular the slimy solar farm developers and the utility will join hands to hire a lobbyist who will ensure the rules get changed to close the loophole.

turtlebits 1y ago

Depends on your jurisdiction, but roof mounted solar installs generally don't need building permits. Electrical permits on the other hand are almost always required. If you actually want to offset cost, don't buy a portable battery pack. Get an AIO solar inverter and a server rack battery. They're generally plug and play - wire the panels to it, connect the battery. If you want to run your home loads, the cheapest/simplest way (without going grid-tie) is to have an electrician add a critical loads panel supplied by your inverter output, then plug your inverter in to the grid for backup (in case no solar or batteries are low).

tiahura 1y ago
cheapest/simplest way (without going grid-tie) is to have an electrician add a critical loads panel supplied Cheaper way is have electrician wire a manual transfer switch at the existing panel. When you loose power, turn off non-essential breakers and then flip transfer switch.
- acomjean 1y ago
  Does that work? Our solar inverter uses the 60hz AC from and grid to do the DC->AC conversion. The inverter stops functioning if the power is out. I thought they all did that for safety. Those home batteries mush have some solution.
  - lesuorac 1y ago
    They don't all need the grid - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44023226 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44023226 https://eg4electronics.com/categories/inverters/eg4-18kpv-12lv-all-in-one-hybrid-inverter/ https://eg4electronics.com/categories/inverters/eg4-18kpv-12...
- turtlebits 1y ago
  You lose all benefits of solar/battery except for during a power outage and you have to flip all your breakers? (you also won't immediately know when the power is back). Might as well save money and not install anything- use an extension cord for those rare times.

dylan604 1y ago

How is "using poured footings with short posts" not a permanent structure? Are you pouring the footings into buckets and not into the ground?

foobarian 1y ago
Guessing that code doesn't mind the footings if they don't stick out, and then whatever is on top is removable.

caseysoftware 1y ago

I have a massive array+battery (20kWh generation, 19kWh storage) and while it's great, some things to pay consider: - if you need roof repair/replacement, do it before you get solar. Alternatively, make your array free standing - prioritize the circuits you want to cover. Not every one is critical but health & safety (water, fridge, cooking capabilities) are key - MOST jurisdictions won't require permitting for the grid (especially if it's not connected to your house) but MOST will require an inspection if you want to connect to the grid - if you connect to the grid, make sure you understand how your electricity provider addresses net metering. I wrote about it here: https://geekamongthetrees.com/what-is-solar-net-metering-or-net-billing/ https://geekamongthetrees.com/what-is-solar-net-metering-or-...

nandomrumber 1y ago

Pretty much exactly what you’ve described. Where I am ya don’t been a permit for a shed if it’s under a 18 square metres, so 6x3m sheds are common. You could look in to off-grid / caravan appliances, thereby saving on a smaller inverter, but they tend to be around 3x the price of regular appliances. Highly recommended going for 48v system if you’re starting from scratch to save on ridiculously large diameter cables and stupidly high amperage you’ll be dealing with with a 12v system. I did a repair this week on a poorly designed 12v system that had a 12v to 230v 7amp (1600 watt) inverter powering a 230v 10amp cook top in a camper van. That cooktop was pulling 235 amp from the battery through a very hot 175amp slow blow fuse. Which is great if you want to melt the fuse post and the supply cables and… I found the fault before the fire started.

ChuckMcM 1y ago

The answers here have been pretty solid, a lot of what you want depends on where you live. For example, it is very likely that this is not possible if you're property is covered by an HOA. The definition of "it looks nice" is super hard to pin down (neighbors will complain at everything), and unless you're doing something really small, there is going to be some wiring involved. None of that should discourage you however. "Zero emission generators" (aka battery boxes) are pretty easy to build, and even a 2kW inverter is relatively easy to hide/disguise. If you're doing this in a home situation (vs a camping situation) the 6V "golf cart" lead/acid batteries are really solid. A couple of those will give you 240 AHrs of 12V that can run a bunch of stuff. 240W panels can be stored at night and brought out during the day so keep them 'temporary.' Etc. Victron[1] makes nice chargers and monitors and are popular in the RV / Vanlife communities. Lots of online resources for hooking them up. And generally things you can roll around your property to different places are pretty easily defined as 'not a building' so immune from the permitting process generally. [1] https://www.victronenergy.com/chargers https://www.victronenergy.com/chargers

drivebycomment 1y ago

https://craftstrom.com/how-it-works/ https://craftstrom.com/how-it-works/ is closest to what you want. You don't need permit, and you don't even need new wiring.