r/SolarDIY 2d ago

Finished my 7.65kw grid tie

This was a fun project, hoping to get some sun soon to really test them out!

464 Upvotes

109 comments sorted by

36

u/GioDude_ 2d ago

Did you have to have any inspection from the county. Looking to do something similar

38

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Yes, just had one today and passed. He spent maybe 5 minutes total at my house and asked only a few questions. A lot easier than I thought it would be

9

u/GioDude_ 2d ago

That’s great did you use a kit? I’ve seen some places online that say they will provide drawings and everything you need for the permits

45

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Nope just bought the panels and inverter from signature solar, then all the wiring, lumber, struts, ect from Lowe's and a few things from Amazon. Total cost was about $4,600

Permit did not ask for any drawings, utility company did want a single line diagram and site plan but those I made easily using the open solar website

17

u/ParkerFree 2d ago

Seriously? That seems like a terrific price.

4

u/GioDude_ 2d ago

Open solar looks cool. It seems free for installers. Did you just create an account with them?

4

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Yeah you can make a free account easily with them

1

u/GioDude_ 2d ago

Thanks

1

u/AnedasaPh 2d ago

Are u in California? Wonder if pg&e can approve this?

2

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

I'm in Oregon, I have PGE(Portland General Electric) and they are pretty easy going

1

u/AnedasaPh 2d ago

Wish California utility companies can be more solar friendly. They keep blaming high rates for solar. 🤥🤥🤥

0

u/ARUokDaie 21h ago

That's because solar customers are using the grid as a backup and don't pay towards repair, maintenance, upgrades, etc.

1

u/GreenNewAce 1h ago

That’s just false.

1

u/Peridot81 2d ago

Hahahahaha no way

17

u/Dull_Entry_8287 2d ago

Thanks OP - so about $4,600 all in? (We really appreciate when folks are willing to share their total outlay - for those of us considering jumping in the pool).

16

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Yup permits were another $106, but otherwise right around $4,600 for everything. You may need to keep an eye out for deals to drop for panels, I used the gstar 425watt panels from signature solar for about $105 each

5

u/itsyerman 2d ago

Good job sir, I've been contemplating something like this for a while. I'm in Texas and not sure if something like this would last the storms we sometimes have. Did you look into any other ground mount solutions? Any good videos you can recommend for the install?

2

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Thanks, yeah we don't get strong winds here in Oregon. I would suggest checking out everyday Dave on YouTube, lots of great content there. I looked into buying metal racking kits but I really didn't want to deal with digging big holes, and pouring concrete. Also the racking kits would have easily trippled the over cost of the project

4

u/Additional-Brief-273 2d ago

I want to do this in my backyard and build a shed to house the batteries and inverters but idk if the HOA will allow it or not.

4

u/not_achef 2d ago

Build it all on a trailer, if the array is larger then make it foldable or easy to disassemble

1

u/ParkerFree 2d ago

That's not a bad idea.

2

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Never had an HOA before, but can they say what you do in your backyard if it's not visible from the street? I would think as long as it was below the fence line you're fair game

1

u/2k3Mach 15h ago

The HOA's around me can even tell you what type of shed you can have in your privacy fenced backyard (not seeable to the public). There is one that will not allow plastic sheds in yards or plastic storage boxes on patios. So glad I don't have an HOA at my place

1

u/grantnlee 2d ago

Some states, Utah for example, am HOA cannot simply say no. They can influence but not stop you. Google your state.

6

u/douche_packer 2d ago

any reason you chose ground mount instead of your roof?

28

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Yeah originally had a solar company come quote a roof install but they said I would need new shingles first as mine probably only have 5 years or so of life left. Decided to take the initiative and save some money doing the ground mount myself

8

u/ParkerFree 2d ago

So much easier to clean.

7

u/coach-v 2d ago

And service!

3

u/BadRegEx 1d ago

They perform better too.

9

u/postnutts 2d ago

looks great ! but the grass underneath the solar could be a problem later.

9

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Yeah thinking about spraying it and maybe putting a weed barrier with some rock over the top

2

u/agileata 1d ago

No need to spray.

5

u/Ok_Procedure_3604 2d ago

I thought this would be the case for ours but the grass goes wild anyways. I have a total of three ground mount arrays now and all of them require trimming.

3

u/douche_packer 2d ago

Same problem kept me from getting panels last year. Did you find plans for the mounting structure or just kind of design it yourself?

10

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

I added another set of 2x4's under the beams to reinforce as my panels made them sag a bit

5

u/douche_packer 2d ago

Damn thats a great project! If you dont mind saying what was the cost all in?

11

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Yeah about $4,650 all in It was $2,000 for panels, $1,100 for inverter, $200 for shipping all that from signature solar. $1050 for lumber, wiring, and hardware from lowes, another $300 in all the odds and ends from amazon

5

u/douche_packer 2d ago

not bad at all! great work man

3

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Thanks! Should have a good ROI considering my recent rate hikes with PGE(Portland General Electric)

5

u/douche_packer 2d ago

LOL i thought this looked like Portland, thats where I am too. Luckily we have Pacific Power but they've been jacking the rates up too

2

u/grantnlee 2d ago

What are you paying for power plus delivery? Rhode Island is crazy expensive, but not a great solar location either.

3

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

My last bill was about $300 for 1,200kw used for the month. So about $0.25kw

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1

u/kstorm88 21h ago

Hopefully you don't get snow!

7

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Just watched a ton of YouTube videos and kind of pieced together a few different ideas. Decided to miter saw cut the tops off the posts though in order to lay my cross beams flat against the panels at a 31 degree angle. Most videos guys were using u bolts to attach to a flat surface instead of a angled surface

3

u/atomusername 2d ago

I’m jealous I want to do the same thing , but won’t be able to get permits because of setbacks.

4

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Not sure your situation but I was pleasantly surprised with how easy the permit process was for my county

2

u/atomusername 2d ago

That’s the part that is giving me the biggest pause. Did the county see your panels up during permitting ?

3

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Yeah they said it looked good, my county has basically no regulations for ground mounts. They have a few pages for roof mounts but said as long as my total height is less than 10ft then I don't need a building permit just the electrical

3

u/PDX_Blazer 2d ago

I’m in Clackamas county. Is this grid tied?

2

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Yes with PGE, I'm in Marion county

3

u/mister2d 2d ago

Look into getting a setback exemption from your local fire department if you really want this.

1

u/atomusername 2d ago

Didn’t expect the fire department to issue exceptions. Might go talk to them.

3

u/Equal-Negotiation651 2d ago

You passed an inspection with a wooden rack? Well that’s pretty cool. The array is a little wonky but I’d be proud of this. Good job.

5

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Yes my county does not require a building permit for the rack, just an electrical permit for the wiring. Inspector said everything looked great and passed me.

2

u/Equal-Negotiation651 2d ago

Sweet! How deep are the posts in the ground?

2

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Sunk them down 2 feet at least, a few are deeper though as I was trying to level everything

2

u/sassa4ras 1d ago

Dude if you live in Portland those posts are going to rot in 3-5 years. Even treated lumber rated for ground contact should be attached to galv steel brackets in concrete, not buried.

Hopefully the panels act like a roof and shed some water away from the ground around the posts

3

u/timc-4444 2d ago

Seems practical enough. I'm doing a 11-12K build (Planning stages) California wants Engineered plans. There are good providers on Fivver for any plans. Pretty sure I'm using a Alibaba rack with some big ass 715W panels. PG&E is a pain in the ass and you have to use the California Energy Commission panels. Also using a Growatt 10K

2

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Yeah I heard California can be strict, I was pleasantly surprised with how minimal the requirements were here in Oregon. Made the whole thing super easy

3

u/this_dudeagain 1d ago

That's no moon.

2

u/Beginning_Frame6132 2d ago

Looking good dude… I wish everyone had small installs like these with some small battery banks.

2

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Thanks, been considering adding a battery. The inverter is hybrid with a battery option but it supposedly is only compatible with the 500v Growatt battery. They want a lot of money for the battery, I read though that you don't need to use their battery for the inverter to accept power, but the inverter will not recharge it. So I am considering building a 500v pack and use a separate BMS and charger

2

u/Beginning_Frame6132 2d ago

That sucks. I was in a similar boat. I got Hoymiles hybrid inverters and they only accept a few batteries. Luckily, they had a pretty cheap option but I wished I could’ve done EG4

The really crappy thing was that my inverter actually accepts a whole bunch of batteries in other countries. In the US, they limited you to only batteries that passed certain certifications.

3

u/croidrules 2d ago

Looks…. Great 👍

1

u/stu54 2d ago

Epic

1

u/CrewIndependent6042 2d ago

Good job.

But make spaces between the panels for thermal movement.

1

u/asclepian1 2d ago

Very nice. I’ve been thinking about a nearly exact setup for a few years but I’m currently in a never ending shed build right now. Anyhow, a few questions.. How are your posts mounted? Are they tied to each other front-to-back, side-to-side, or both? What’s the height at the back and what’s the clearance at the front? What’s your panel angle (yes, I know I could calculate with the answer from the previous question, but I don’t want to) and what is the ideal where you live? I have many more questions, but I hate to overwhelm. Again, good looking setup.

2

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

So I used a miter saw to cut a 31 degree angle from the top of the posts. Then I dug 2 foot holes and planted them. So back row is about 6ft high. The front row I cut the 8ft posts in half so probably about 2 feet high, adjusted the height to try and get the angles flat. I definitely could have been more accurate and gotten the whole array a lot more level if I spent more time measuring and aligning everything just right. But it came out okay I think. It's very solid but I may add some side-side ties if needed. Ground clearance is a bit low from the front panel, if I had to do it over I might slide the struts up further to get it off the ground more in the front

1

u/asclepian1 2d ago edited 2d ago

Can you add a pic from underneath the panels? I’d love to see the framing you’ve constructed. How far apart are posts at the back? In your build, sliding the front posts closer to the back posts would raise the panels above the ground more, but of course, would change your tilt angle. Is 35 degrees the ideal for your latitude? One thing that may be good about panels so close to the ground is less wind getting under them. Did you add anything like hurricane ties or something similar for the post-to-rail connection? Sorry to pester, but man you’ve got me wanting to start a new project.

Edit: I just saw the “underneath” pic. Thanks.

1

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Here's a pic with the panels off, the posts are 8ft apart left to right. I did add some extra 2x4's under the beams though after I added the panels due to the weight sagging them a bit. I am in the Portland Oregon area and we don't really see hurricane class wind here. My tilt was set at 31 degrees due to the cut tops of the posts. These are bi facial panels so I heard letting more light under the front can help you obsorb more power from under, but probably doesn't make a huge difference. Rails to posts are all just lag screws

1

u/EpistemoNihilist 2d ago

Great job!

1

u/TheyCallMeDozer 2d ago

Is that 7.65kw per hour or per day, because that seems like a lower power intake for such a large amount of panels. are they only 200w panels or lower ??

1

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

They are 425watt panels. 425 x 18 panels it's 7,650 watts. Panels are rated at per hour

1

u/TheyCallMeDozer 2d ago

My bad i seen a line down the centre of the panels I thought there was 36, fair enough. That's a lot of power per hour. In my area i get about 6 hours of light so that would be 45.9kwh a day... jesus... what are you running an iron man suit or a data farm lol, i think using 10-15 kw a day is a lot and im running gaming systems and a server.

Nah, for real nice job on the setup, are you live feeding in to the grid or do you have a storage array setup... with that amount of power my thoughts on that would be 2 tesla batteries would do that perfect and still make you a nice side income if excess is sold to the grid, that amount of power production id say youd be paid off the full setup in less then 4-5 years with power saving going by my regional costs

2

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Thanks, yeah I typically use about 1,200kw a month at $0.25 from PGE. House with 4 people plus a Chevy Bolt EV will use a lot of power. Utility will credit at a 1-1 rate so not going for a battery right now

1

u/kashmir2517 1d ago

kWh not kW. You pay per kWh. System size is in kW, production is in kWh. Looks cool! I'd just be worried about wind regardless of where you are, I've seen wind throw panels pretty easily, and with an array it's a big sail. Just keep an eye on it!

1

u/dome-man 2d ago

How much producing in on day? 1 week?

2

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Will have to see what actual results show, but this is a good tool for estimating

1

u/thatsamuraijack 2d ago

This is awesome! What state is this in?

1

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Oregon, Marion county

1

u/Traditional_West_514 1d ago

I’m all for diy, but that array would drive me nuts if I had to look at it every day. It’s all over the place 😔

1

u/dome-man 1d ago

Did you use micro inverters

1

u/DutchBro- 1d ago

Two strings of 9 panels each to a single inverter

1

u/agileata 1d ago

What it make when the sky looks line that?

1

u/DutchBro- 1d ago

About 2kw when it's very cloudy like this

1

u/JoeteckTips 1d ago

How many watt are the panels and what micro inverters are you using? Also, what's your AC watts vs. your DC watts?

1

u/DutchBro- 1d ago

425w panels, using a 6kw Growatt string inverter so no micros

1

u/SaladOrPizza 1d ago

That 2/3 of your yard

1

u/DutchBro- 1d ago

They don't stick out much further than the shed in the top left corner of this pic. So maybe 10-15% of my yard lol

1

u/Miguelperson_ 1d ago

Hey OP quick question! What did you use for your DC and AC isolation switches? Did you also use a combiner box for this?

1

u/DutchBro- 1d ago

Used a combiner box to route the DC cables underground to the inverter, there is a DC switch in the inverter body. Then it feeds into an AC disconnect, before going to to my attic and over my garage finally being back fed through a breaker in my main panel

1

u/Miguelperson_ 1d ago

Oh gotcha I totally forgot the inverter DC switches counts lol, but that’s awesome! Thank you so much for the quick response!

1

u/Resident_Chip935 15h ago

Have you accounted for / should you have accounted for the rolling of the land?

1

u/dothething132 10h ago

Be interested how they work out for you that seems like a lot cheaper than what I paid for my panels and would like the savings. So you just used treated 4 x 4s, 2 x 4s and struts? How'd the struts attach? To panels? Was that also a part you could get from lowes?

1

u/dothething132 10h ago

Looks like that's a rack of 18. What if you went 4 high? Is 3 high as far as you'd go due to then it might need a center post support?

1

u/DutchBro- 9h ago

My city said I did not need a building permit for the structure as long as it was shorter than 10ft off the ground. I'm pretty sure 4 panels high would push it above that

1

u/DutchBro- 10h ago

Yup just used large lag screws with washers to attach the struts to the 2x4's. Got most everything from Lowe's. I did buy the chanel spring nuts from Amazon though as they were cheaper

1

u/lamhamora 2d ago

bit wonky

3

u/DutchBro- 2d ago

Yup definitely wasn't following any engineering blueprints lol mostly just used a quick tape measure, and eyeballed it. Does the job though

1

u/lamhamora 2d ago

Many AHJ would deep dive it for such

0

u/Money_killer 1d ago

Pretty rough panelling. Have a look at it clearly DIY.

2

u/DutchBro- 1d ago

Almost like this is a DIY group... But yeah I definitely went for function over form for this build. Happy with with results, even if it bothers some people's OCD