You may be building your off-grid system where it will never have an electrical inspection and the low volt wiring will not electrocute anyone, but this is no reason to not use safe wiring practices, and this includes grounding.
The National Electric Code requires all professionally-installed roof-mounted solar arrays to include a ground-fault circuit breaker and separate grounding wire connecting each solar module directly to an earth-ground. Many grid-connected solar arrays produce over volts, so any electrical short to frame could actually electrocute someone, or the electrical short could arc and cause an electrical fire.
Smaller volt DC solar systems like this and designed for boat, RV, or camping applications do not usually include this added safety device due to the much lower voltage, and I cannot recommend leaving it out of your solar array wiring.
However, if you decide your small solar array has very limited safety risk, it is still important to provide a good array ground to reduce the risk of lightning damage since you are bolting large metal objects high up on a roof in an open area. Every solar module has a predrilled and labeled hole in the frame for a ground wire, and you should use a bare solid-copper ground wire to connect each module.
Do not just connect the ground wire only to the array mounting rack and assume this will ground the entire group of modules.
Aluminum quickly corrodes when bolted to other metals which makes a very poor electrical connection. You also need to add a separate bare copper wire from this same groundrod to the grounding buss bar inside the main circuit breaker panel and array fused disconnect. For a system this small, a 8 or 10 bare-copper ground wire meets code, but the code also requires ground wires smaller than 6 to be in conduit to prevent damage to the smaller wire.
When using multiple 6-volt batteries or multiple volt solar modules, it is very easy to end up with the wrong voltage output, so also check to make sure there is no mismatch of voltages.
However, if you measure over 21 volts, then you have a problem unless you are using a solar charger designed for these higher input voltages. I do not recommend installing a VAC inverter on a system this small due to limited solar and battery capacity, and added complexity of having two separate sets of wiring. Keep it simple and buy a DC powered radio or TV if you must have entertainment.
Now you are ready to turn on each circuit breaker and start enjoying the benefits a little solar electrical power can bring to almost any remote application. A Great read. I live in a cabin that has two seprate systems. One solar and one propane. The propane runs the water heater, fridge, stove and heater.
So far this has worked very well. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Tel: Email: customer-service backwoodshome. Sign in. Forgot your password? Get help. Privacy Policy. Password recovery. Backwoods Home Magazine. By Jeffrey Yago, P. Prepackaged solar lighting kit including solar modules, charge controller, fuses, DC lighting, and sealed battery Any deep-discharge battery contains hundreds of amps of stored energy that can easily melt heavy gauge wire or electrical components if not sized and installed properly.
Battery sizing The first decision we need to make is system size. Solar array The size and number of solar modules needed depends on the capacity of your battery bank and where your off-grid cabin will be located. Wiring safety You need to understand that the same watt size electric loads at volts AC require 10 times the amp current at 12 volts DC.
The 30 amp DC Morningstar solar charge controller also includes load wiring terminals and a low-voltage safety disconnect to prevent battery damage. I thank the author for this succinct article!
Just what I was looking for! Please enter your comment! Please enter your name here. You have entered an incorrect email address! You've escaped the city life and are now the proud owners of your little plot of rural Hogs are raised throughout our neighboring Amish community for Raising quail — A home grown delicacy. Are aliens stealing our honeybees? Finding the best dog for the country life. Raising your own beef. In addition to federal solar tax credits , many state incentives also reduce the financial burden for homeowners who want to go solar.
You may also be eligible for municipal programs and rebates that lower the cost even more. The average cost of solar panels also depends on the size of your system. The time between when you get a quote from a solar energy company to solar panel installation can be anywhere between one and four months.
The whole process can be described in six steps:. Consider hiring a good electrical engineering consultant to look over the proposed system prior to purchase as well. This will help ensure that you get the right system for your needs. Your energy needs determine how many panels you need, which affects the overall price of your solar system installation. Most homeowners need between 25 and 35 panels to achieve complete energy independence. A solar panel typically produces about one kilowatt-hour kWh per day, so if your daily kWh usage is 30, you would need 30 solar panels to generate all of your energy needs.
If you need to generate extra energy to heat a pool or run the air conditioning for most of the year, this adds to your energy costs.
Next, divide your monthly kWh average by 30 to calculate your daily average. For instance, if your average monthly kWh is , then your average daily kWh is Some solar power calculations are based on a satellite photo of your roof and offer an estimate of how much electricity you can generate. Other calculators use your regional solar irradiation to create the estimate, while others use the size of your roof or your typical electricity consumption with no other factors included.
There are two main ways to account for this:. These additional calculations can be difficult, but they are necessary if you want the optimum solar power system for your home. Solar panel costs in the U. Visit the Solar Energy Industries Association website to learn about local incentives and tax credits in your area.
According to our analysis, Washington is the greenest state , followed by Oregon and New Hampshire. The savings you and your family see will depend greatly on where you live, what the climate is like and your particular energy needs.
Many solar energy companies provide a free calculator tool to help you easily estimate the cost and savings of installing solar panels on your home. Different solar calculators may estimate electricity costs in different ways. Numbers can be based on the national average, regional averages or other information you provide. Depending on how much you pay out-of-pocket for the solar panel system, it could take five to 15 years to break even.
To calculate how long it will take you to break even on savings versus the cost of your solar panels, first subtract your incentives and rebates from your costs. Divide that number by the amount you are saving on utility bills per year. However, instead of asking for payments, you will get net metering credits for the month. The average total cost to install a residential system for solar panels before tax credits or rebates is comparable to the price tag on a new car.
Each panel had an electrical connector as well that pig-tailed them together. As an added precaution, we used a silicone sealer on the back of the wood to help keep any water out as the screw went into the metal roof and the studs below.
Since the Inergy units are plug and use, we simply ran the heavy duty charging cord from the panels into the cabin. The generator pack has 6 standard outlets, 2 USB charging ports and even a 30 amp outlet. And it has worked beautifully in the cabin. We use it nightly to power our outside lights, and we have used it inside for everything from lights to making coffee.
It has even helped to create an instant pot dinner in the cabin with ease! As always, feel free to email us at thefarm owgarden. To receive our 3 Home, Garden, Recipe and Simple Life articles each week, sign up for our free email list that is located in the middle of this article.
This article may contain affiliate links. Installing off-grid solar power to our tiny cabin at the farm turned our to be much easier than expected!
The solar panels installed on the metal roof of our tiny cabin at the farm.
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