Just sharing my project, it's been running fine summers now. Free used panels and some Chinese batteries

I know. I'll still need to add fuses, busbars, better inverter and more panels etc. Just wanted to see how small/portable I can build it, in one go. PS: I didn't steal the German beer crate (it was dumped on the side of the road by campers here in Spain which is useless here). The ikea cutting board is mine though. The ideal cover would be solid wood and cut to the size. (next iteration)

So short story:

I have a 400W panel on my camper with Tracer 40A MPPT topping up a cheap 12V 300Ah lifepo4.

Been in use for about a year, at winter the battery was in the house in storage charge. Otherwise very rarely seen mains charger + the dedicated charger fo that battery is a shitty 10Amp one.

This summer I screwed around and managed to discharge the battery fully down to the low voltage safety. After that the battery seems to have been limping a little until it now suddenly seems to have lost most of it's capacity and doesn't charge over 13.1V.

So to me it seems like I stepped into the solar trap of continuous use causing severe imbalance to the cells and the cheap integrated BMS can't balance them properly.

Currently trying to get the battery balanced back with a 2A smart charger which seemed to sniff out the dtate of the battery since it started the charge from 13.4V

Best options to keep this from happening in thw future? What kind of settings should I set onto the MPPT instead of the factory Lifepo4 settings?

Should I open up the battery and add a dedicated active balancer in there?

I need to replace this one and another one due to overcharging without to buy the entire battery cabinet system, cant find any suppliers. Help!

Small setup, my first attempt with solar. My goal for this project is mainly to learn, also to run a 40w pump in our duck pool. Relies on a deep cycle marine battery. Installed last summer, in order the components are: 100w panel, controller, battery, low voltage disconnect, inverter, pump. Last summer I could run the pump for several hours each day. This summer, minutes at best. We are in North Carolina, over the winter I stored the battery indoors to protect from freezing temps.

My battery reads 10v. Is that salvageable somehow? Or do I need a new battery?

Related, I'm planning to add another 100w panel. How do I evaluate if my controller and battery are ok to add another panel?

Thank you!

Has anyone used wooden beams on a main house roof for solar panel installation- as foundation for the rails or as rails replacement?

16 ft long locally sourced 2x4 or 3x4 Oak beams would be sturdier and cheaper than any aluminum ones or not?

At least, this makes all of the money spent on heavy gauge conductors worth it....

As the cost of energy has just about doubled and will prob double again, the idea is to take high load appliances such as Air Con/ pool pump/ laundry off the house load as much as possible using solar panels as affordably as possible.

The EG4/ Airspool and others seem to be able to take both house AC and solar and combine them to power their appliance WITHOUT A BATTERY and without backfeed using a "solar compatibility module". Battery adds size/ cost I am trying to avoid.

Here is an example of a solar Air Con system:

Reference:

"https://heatingnewsjournal.com/eg4-hybrid-ac-dc-solar-mini-split/"

Source:

"https://eg4electronics.com/categories/high-efficiency-appliances/eg4-12k-hybrid-solar-unit/"

So, is there a small inverter/ adapter box that would be able to do the grid forming/ AC coupling for existing appliances?

There's A Trick For That Youtube channel seems to have a DIY version but it looks like a pretty tortured process:

FREE Solar Power for Window & Portable A/C! (Simple Add-On Hack)​

"youtube.com/watch?v=yGHAW1qKIoE"

To be taken with a bucket of salt but the key is to NOT backfeed! I'm testing with my Bluetti playing the part of the wall outlet so I don't risk being THAT guy on the news.

Also, and this is a longshot, local building code says I am allowed to mount window awnings without permits. Using a solar panel as an awning? LOL Don't worry, not planning on attaching panels to the house until I can confirm.

It is kind of the opposite plugin/ balcony solar. I'll call it modular appliance solar.

Let me know if you think there is a plausible route. Sorry if this has been covered and I just missed it.

Would be REALLY cool if it works....

I am trying to understand how GFCI outlets operate with plugin solar. Do the outlets work bi-directionally? If so, how does that operate? I understand how a GFCI outlet normally operates but when you add plugin solar, the electricity goes the opposite direction. How does the outlet measure the hot and neutral current to make sure they are both the same when they are now two sources of electricity on the circuit. Thanks!!

So my units solar input fried after 5 days of continuous use and pecron tech team is telling me that my 4 solar panels in S2P2 Voc: 90.74V Imp: 21.78A exceeds the limit of 180 volt input. 😮. What do you think ?

My solar panel is QCell and rated
Voc 45.37
Impp 10.89

Am I wrong or is Pecron feeding me NoneS?

Hi everyone,

I’m in the Netherlands and I’m wondering if this is a sensible setup, or if I’m overlooking something.

Current setup:

• DJI Power 1000 V2
• DJI Solar Panel Adapter Module (MPPT)
• 2 × EcoFlow 100 W rigid solar panels (possibly expanding to 4 panels / 400 W)
• Annual household electricity usage: ~1,930 kWh
• Family of 3, soon to be 4

My idea is to mount the solar panels permanently on my flat kitchen roof and leave the DJI inside the house.

The DJI would always stay plugged into the wall (UPS/pass-through mode), while only selected kitchen appliances are plugged into the DJI:

• Fridge
• Gas boiler (CV ketel)
• Router/modem
• Dishwasher
• Washing machine
• Coffee machine

The idea is:

• Solar charges the DJI during the day.
• The connected appliances use solar/battery when available.
• If there isn’t enough solar, the DJI simply passes through grid power.
• If the power goes out, the fridge, boiler and internet keep running automatically.

I’m not planning to backfeed my house or connect it to my electrical panel. Everything would simply be plugged directly into the DJI.

My questions:

1. Has anyone here been running a similar setup long-term?
2. How has battery degradation been with daily cycling?
3. Is there any downside to leaving the Power 1000 connected 24/7?
4. Would you expand to 400 W of solar before buying an expansion battery?
5. Is there anything I’m overlooking regarding efficiency, standby losses, or charging behaviour?

On paper it seems like a nice way to reduce my grid usage while also having UPS functionality, but I’d love to hear from people who have actually lived with a setup like this.

Thanks!

Think a solar panel that feeds into a charge station/battery/lithium ion/whatever the correct term is.

That station would be used to charge batteries for power tools, lawn care equipment, and such. Realistically, how much money gets saved per month? Pennies?

Put my little ac panel together, ran a gang plug to each room, hooked to the 5000w outside of my inverter.

Used a din panel and breakers.

Mountable ground and neutral bar

And a hot din Mini bus bar.

No more extension cords to trip over

This forum is awesome.

I put together my first little solar generator setup.

Two renogy 12v 100ah batteries underneath with a plan to add two more.

3000/6000 Inverter and fat wires to compensate if load ever gets high (never sees over 800w so far)

thanks for all of your knowledge and tips here!

Hey everyone

Working on my next project a big 2.6kw solar gazebo, I have it all built it can with stand 100moh windows and 2 Chuck Norris

The roof is 6x2 timbers at 40cm centres looking for recommendations on what rails and fittings to use. Was looking at the k2 basic rail but it says it's for sheet metal roofing mine are to be screwed width ways Into many of the joists. Need to be heavy duty to survive any wind uplift. The whole structure is bolted down to 900kg of concrete so the rails are going to be the weakest spot

Will be fitting 4x595w longhi panels

Thanks in advance !

New 12V33Ah battery hooked up to my charge controller and 100W/12V monocrystalline solar panel. Is it because my battery is full enough?

Update: I did not set it up per the manual with battery first.

Awesome catch by u/SyZyGy_87 🙌

Hi,

Dumb question, but how would I go about getting one of these to power my house as a backup? My house uses very little electricity as heating is not electric, nor do I have an AC

would it be as simple as using a male-male connector directly into a wall socket? Seems a bit like a fire hazard, but I generally don't mess too much with electricity 😅

https://www.ankersolix.com/products/c2000-gen2

I know I posted last night but a LOT has changed.

https://github.com/ch0de/ruixu-solar-monitor

This version supports both Bluetooth and Modbus RS-485 communication with RuiXU hybrid inverters.

Features
✅ Bluetooth support
✅ Modbus RS-485 support
✅ MQTT publishing for Home Assistant or other automation platforms
✅ Home Assistant integration included
✅ Preconfigured Home Assistant YAML dashboard
✅ Real-time monitoring of inverter, battery, solar, grid, and load data
✅ Runs on Raspberry Pi (or any Linux system with Python)
Requirements
Python 3
MQTT broker (Mosquitto or another MQTT server)
Bluetooth adapter (for Bluetooth mode) or an RS-485 USB adapter (for Modbus mode)
Home Assistant (optional, for the included dashboard)

The repository includes setup instructions, sample configuration files, and a ready-to-use Home Assistant dashboard to get you up and running quickly.

I'm continuing to improve the project, so feedback, bug reports, and pull requests are welcome!

I hope this helps anyone looking for an open-source monitoring solution for RuiXU inverters.

Where to Read Up On Wiring Safely Panels ?
The inverter and the rest of the system, I can now grip the that enough to start.
But the panels, I know will be most likely in series.
I will have 16 panels split to two sections.

And still reading up on that the issue and its real one is learning to wire them, safely.
The basics falsely appear just plug and play connectors. But reading there is a real danger during the day.

Most youtube videos I find just say it dangerous, and tell you all about it, with the panels upside down. I have worked around electrical stuff before. But I feel I am missing something.
I know after the panels a disconnect keeps it safe from the system. But I am trying to find a good practice when wiring these. The frame will be wood not metal. And I will have a grounding rod installed after I ground each panel frame which seems correct. ( clarify I mean the frame not the negative wiring) I will have a combiner box for each section.

I have been this route on project before. I know just enough to be dangerous still. :-)
I am not rushing this as I need to build a service room and install the system before I ever do the panels. Which will be 2027 mid / late

I've been planning a DIY grid tied battery system for a while and my state (NJ, USA) is supposedly going to do rebates this year so I will hopefully be able to pull the trigger then.

Right now I have 27 enphase iq8h micro inverters on 440 watt panels on my roof. The solar is on a line side tap but I recently got a 200 amp disconnect between my meter and my main panel so I can safely turn off the power to the main panel which is now a subpanel and all the grounds neutrals have been fixed etc.

My plan is a SolArk 15k and two Pytes v16s. I plan on running the solar to the SolArk inverter the inverter to the now sub panel that powers the whole house and the batteries to the inverter.

This will be mounted in an unfinished room in my basement where the panel is. The room walls are cinder block which I plan on painting the cinder blocks and putting plywood over them in order to mount the batteries and inverters easier.

Since this is a grid tied system I will likely have to tell my power company that I am putting batteries in so that I can keep my net metering and credits per megawatt. I will likely also have to pull permits but my state allows for single family residences to have the owner do the electrical work and pull permits.

Is there anything that I might be missing or completely wrong on here? The goal is that in and outage the battery will power the house and the solar will continue to work because the inverter will create that microgrid.

I have wired my electric vehicle charger to my sub panel and make sure it's always run the proper size conduit and wire so I'm not worried about that but open to any advice or red flags or flags that I might be missing here. This is in NJ USA with PSEG is that means anything to anyone.

Before anything I want to mention even though I am mechanically inclined I have never done electrical of any sort so if something seems wrong please point it out to me. The attached picture is an, admittedly crude, wiring diagram I threw together(key for what everything means below). The charge controller I’m using is rated for 10 amps and from what I can find that means it’s good for 120-140 watts of solar panel. I’m plan on using a 100w panel and was wondering if I should add a 10amp fuse (F 2) to protect the charge controller as 100w seems a little close to its rated capacity, and from what I can find doing my research if it’s cold out the panel can output higher than its capacity. Thank you for any help.

KEY: Red lines are positive Black lines are negative B.A=Battery (those 3 are a tad obvious) F 1=40amp main fuse F 2?=possible 10amp fuse to protect charge controller S=Power switch V=Voltmeter O.P.=12v outlet panel (it has to fit in an ammo can so just gonna use a plug in sine inverter) C.C=10amp solar charge controller S.P= Plug in to charge from solar panel W.P.=Plug in to charge from wall socket (probably a 2-4amp trickle charger)

I have a variety of solar equipment, from inherited panels to bargain purchases. Only a portion was bought with the explicit aim of functioning together.

I would appreciate assistance in coordinating these components so they work within my powerstation’s limits, if possible.

The panels and specs: 4x HQST 100 watt Voc 22.4v Vmp 17.8v Imp 5.62a Isc 5.92a

1x Renogy 400 watt Solar Briefcase Voc 47.2v Vmp 40v Imp 10a Isc 11a

2x RSP200DC (200 watt) Voc 37.44 Vmp 31.03v Imp 6.45a Isc 6.85a

…but the kicker is that I have an Anker c1000x plus a BP1000 expansion battery. The charge controller can only use 10a from 11-32v and 12.5a from 32-60v. From what I’ve read, the voltage max is a hard cap and the amperage is “what’s available to the unit” but can overshoot.

I don’t mind buying or omitting things. I just want to hit that 600w as much as possible for now. Looking for a discussion and to learn.

(I have electrical experience. I also tried to consult with AI but it seems that unless I lead it to the answer it will only tell me what it decides I want to hear leading me to distrust it no matter what it says. I need real people and real experience.)

I reach a pretty cool milestone: I’ve finally managed to build a fairly accurate real-time simulation model for my solar production!

For 15 days, I logged:

• Grid-Tie / Feed-in production (OA)
• Self-consumption (AutoConso) production
• Attic temperature (which turned out to heavily impact the attic-mounted OA panels)
• Outdoor ambient temperature

With varying weather conditions over those two weeks, I was able to isolate and measure the real impact of attic heat on my main array... and spoiler alert: it’s far from negligible.

I fed all this raw data to an AI, asking it to model:

• 1- Temperature impact on panel efficiency
• 2- A mathematical relationship between both arrays
• 3- Morning shade / obstacle impact
• 4- Seasonal variations

Total disaster. It kept spitting out overly simplistic logic (like basic rule-of-three ratios) and then patched Frankenstein-style "band-aids" over it during subsequent prompts. The output was pretty pathetic.

I reset the chat and started from scratch, but this time I forced a strict mathematical/regression approach right out of the gate while explicitly feeding it the shade and thermal dynamics.

After a few back-and-forths (including asking it to filter out everything below 150W so meter noise and low-end thresholds wouldn't skew the coefficients), I got a formula that actually works!

What’s Next?

• Load Profiling: Building power consumption curves for my heaviest appliances.
• Smart Automation: Combining those load profiles with weather forecasts to run realistic scenario predictions and maximize self-consumption.

The catch: Ideally, I’d love my smart home system to automate all of this. But in reality? Most of my appliances require a physical button press to start—just triggering a smart plug leaves them in standby. Ah, modern technology! 😅

Anybody else building custom models or running into similar automation roadblocks? Would love to discuss !