Recent content by pembol

I don't think there is any rule or reason that you can't back feed solar into a breaker in a sub panel. I have 400A service, which feeds two 200A panels, so both of these panels are technically sub panels. My 10kW solar system back feeds a 50A breaker in one of these sub panels. I also...

It looks like your base load is on the order of 1.5 - 3kw depending on season. Plug in solar (or even a larger system) may be a good idea for you, as you don't need to worry about net metering, the 1200W from the system would just offset your usage, reducing your base load while the sun...

I am no expert on the rules and regs for VA, so you would need to read up on those. But from a purely physics perspective, plugging in to an outlet in the barn would be fine. That also looks like an ideal roof for solar. I think you are also finding out one of the other benefits of these...

I am not sure what sort of phone you have that needs a 180W charger (!!!). A 180 Ah/ 2kWh battery backup would run my 10W phone charger for a full week, or my critical loads (network gear and server) for about 20 hours. Again, this is depends on your needs - if you need to keep the...

It looks to me like your electricity rate is closer to $0.16/kWh (the distribution fees are typically per kWh), which makes the payback a bit shorter. For a 1200W system, you should be in the $1000 - $1500 range. Basically you need one of these , three 500W panels of your choice (~$0.50 / W)...

Plug in solar has now been approved in Utah, Maine, Virginia, Colorado, Maryland, New Hampshire, and Connecticut with more to follow. Ant-islanding is a safety requirement, but as you mention a hybrid inverter can still provide power to loads on the output side from solar and battery.

I am not sure about the specific ones the OP posted, but in general I don't think these are a scam. You just need to know what the appropriate application is. I stumbled on one while looking for a UPS for some critical loads. For the same price as a 'traditional' UPS that would back up my...

I can't say whether a battery/solar solution is the right thing for you. But I can say is that there are far better and more established vendors if it is the right thing for you - for example: https://us.ecoflow.com/ https://www.ankersolix.com/ https://www.jackery.com/

Yes it is. Depending on if/what your state adopts for plug in solar, this could make a small system like your are describing make a lot more sense. You can use a hybrid inverter both to charge a battery and back-feed the grid at what every the specified maximum power. If the grid goes...

In Colorado it is up to 1920W if you have a dedicated 20A outlet. Does it make financial sense? Maybe. You can figure it out for yourself using PVWatts: https://pvwatts.nlr.gov/ For my location 1900W system would yield about 2700 kWh per year - or about $300 per year, if you could use all...

Most consumer grade lawn tractors are going to need some work to make it to 2-3000 hours. I know my Husqvarna certainly did. I don't know about the EGO, but at least you don't have to do the 'regular' maintenance like oil changes.

Our neighbor has the EGO one, and they love it - no gas, no oil, no belts and super quiet and surprisingly fast. They went all in on EGO after they got this as the other tools are pretty cheap if you don't need to buy batteries. I also love how quiet it is, as their teenager likes to mow at...

I am not an HVAC tech, but I have installed or helped install a few minisplits. I have access to UHP nitrogen so I have done a positive pressure test, but I have also never found a leak this way that didn't also show up on the vacuum test. I think my sample size is about 4, so I am not...

If you have time, you can probably skip the micron gauge and even the nitrogen test. You can spend some time vacuuming the lines to get them as evacuated and dry as possible, then leave them under vacuum for at least 24 hours (or preferably longer) to make sure you have no leaks. A micron...

To me, the 2nd option is likely the easiest. You can use slightly smaller wires from battery to junction - and is you ever need to remove or isolate a single battery, it is easy. You can also use premade cables of the same length, which could save some time/money.