The Solar Powered Shed

[British Red]

As people were kind enough to enjoy our "solar firewood" thread, I thought some here might enjoy seeing the step by step process of taking our outbuildings off grid. In this video we look at

Sizing & designing an installation

Selecting a storage & power solution

Buying, installing & wiring solar panels

Safe installation

Seasonal issues

 

[Tony]

Good video Hugh, I've been thinking about getting some panels and setting up some off grid solar, at the moment i've got a 200w panel for charging my bluetti portable power packs. We've got solar on the roof for a mains feed, I like the idea of this though, especially as we had 6 days without power end of last year...

 

[British Red]

Good video Hugh, I've been thinking about getting some panels and setting up some off grid solar, at the moment i've got a 200w panel for charging my bluetti portable power packs. We've got solar on the roof for a mains feed, I like the idea of this though, especially as we had 6 days without power end of last year...

Thanks Tone,

I think power independence is something that is becoming much more viable these days as panels become cheaper & battery technology improves. I feel much more comfortable knowing that we have enough power to do most things now (albeit not at the same time!). I would love to be able to run entirely from our own power, but we aren't there yet!

 

[Pickle]

Interesting video - the title caught my attention because I have a solar potting shed that I built a year and a half ago. I designed the whole shed to take a couple of panels on the roof, and I've since bought a few more panels to go on the roof of another one of my sheds. It's amazing how cheap they are now! I'll definitely be copying your mounting method for the next install as well! Mine is currently grid tied, but I have a collection of reclaimed telecoms batteries ready to go for a part off-grid setup.
Last night (spurred on by your post) I sat and copied a years worth of data from my (grid tied) datalogger into a spreadsheet to calculate how much power I could consistently use, per day, throughout the year, without flattening the batteries too much through winter. I might make a post about it all if there's some interest!

 

[British Red]

. I might make a post about it all if there's some interest!

Yes please! But also keen to know what you use to consume the power

 

[Pickle]

Yes please! But also keen to know what you use to consume the power

I'll have to go through my photos from the last couple of years and gather some together. Regarding loads, it's grid tied at the moment - so whatever the house is consuming will be powered first, and then any surplus will just be lost to the grid. I think of it as a 'negative load'. At the moment I only have a couple of 250W panels up, and today it has been putting out just over 300 watts most of the day - so I know all my 'phantom loads' (fridge, freezers, internet router, etc) won't have cost me anything to run while I've been at work. Soon I'll be hooking up the batteries and setting up a more intelligent control regime, so that the excess energy is caught by the batteries instead and then released in the evening (still grid tied) when I'm in and using power - but there's not much point in doing all that until I have the rest of the panels up!
At the moment it's not much different from a typical residential solar setup with battery storage (albeit on a much smaller scale) but when completed I will be able to run off grid for a maximum of 4 days with no sunshine as I have one of those hybrid inverters which can be either grid-tied or standalone on separate circuits.
Ultimately I'd love to go off grid full time - and I think it's achievable - but it's nice to have the grid to fall back on especially when the freezers are full and I'm still experimenting!

 

[British Red]

Ultimately I'd love to go off grid full time - and I think it's achievable - but it's nice to have the grid to fall back on especially when the freezers are full and I'm still experimenting!

Same here, I've learned loads but gave a lot more to learn. Did you install your grid tie inverter yourself?

 

[Pickle]

Same here, I've learned loads but gave a lot more to learn. Did you install your grid tie inverter yourself?

Indeed, if the grid failed and we were plunged into darkness I'd like to think I could keep the freezers and a few lights running but it's hard to make the switch permanently! Yes I installed the grid tie, that's if you can call it an 'installation' as it's currently back-feeding through an ordinary 13A socket!

 

[British Red]

Indeed, if the grid failed and we were plunged into darkness I'd like to think I could keep the freezers and a few lights running but it's hard to make the switch permanently! Yes I installed the grid tie, that's if you can call it an 'installation' as it's currently back-feeding through an ordinary 13A socket!

I'm assuming it's grid sensing in some way & shuts down in the event if a powercut?

 

[Broch]

Indeed, if the grid failed and we were plunged into darkness I'd like to think I could keep the freezers and a few lights running but it's hard to make the switch permanently! Yes I installed the grid tie, that's if you can call it an 'installation' as it's currently back-feeding through an ordinary 13A socket!

Derr.. to pick up on BR's subtle point, you have to have an automatic isolator to switch out your solar supply if there's a mains power cut. Without that you could electrocute any grid maintenance personnel.

 

[British Red]

Derr.. to pick up on BR's subtle point, you have to have an automatic isolator to switch out your solar supply if there's a mains power cut. Without that you could electrocute any grid maintenance personnel.

There are commercially available small grid tie inverters for "balcony systems" that provide that protection from companies like EcoFlow which I imagine is what Pickle is using?

 

[Broch]

True, and I hope so
I just wouldn't want anyone thinking it's OK to plug a normal inverter into a mains socket!

 

[British Red]

True, and I hope so
I just wouldn't want anyone thinking it's OK to plug a normal inverter into a mains socket!

These got launched today although there was an earlier version. Clever technology

https://uk.ecoflow.com/products/stream-balcony-kit?variant=50632829894995

 

[Broch]

That does look impressive for the money

 

[Pickle]

Derr.. to pick up on BR's subtle point, you have to have an automatic isolator to switch out your solar supply if there's a mains power cut. Without that you could electrocute any grid maintenance personnel.

It's called anti-islanding protection
My inverter is fully compliant - it just isn't wired in properly yet.
For anyone interested in grid-tie, your inverter needs to be EN50549 compliant (this standard contains all the required behaviour such as grid monitoring and anti-islanding protection).
I'd be very wary of those cheap Chinese inverters unless they really do meet the standards and you can get them from a trusted source

 

[Stew]

True, and I hope so
I just wouldn't want anyone thinking it's OK to plug a normal inverter into a mains socket!

The worrying thing is that there are people that have that set-up. I hadn’t really thought about workers but had more focussed on the bare lugs of the plugs - death plugs!!

 

[Pickle]

Some of the things I have would cause some people nightmares! Mains plug to mains plug leads, mains plug to crocodile clips, three phase to ring terminals..... I'd better stop there

 

[British Red]

Some of the things I have would cause some people nightmares! Mains plug to mains plug leads

Known as "suicide leads"

 

[Tony]

interesting conversation

 

[Pattree]

Known as "suicide leads"

These were common in my African experience as a way to use a 4 way as a three way extension feed by the fourth socket. Got me several times to the amusement of clients!

Not recommended.

I only have Solar on the roof as a mains feed but I have a 13amp extension with a three pin “in line” female connector on the other end. Then I have a number of different sockets attached to short male in line connectors for various tools.
Eg the chain saw would fit into the connector but it’s set up so that the safety clip can be used. Another is a blue outdoor 13 amp socket.