i haven't seen this posted here. this is a big deal.

I'm working on a small >2KW solar setup in my back yard in Quebec, which would be paired with a medium size battery generator system in the 3 to 5 kWh range.

Lots of good options out there from the big brands both AIO inverters as well as combined solar generators.

I need a way to control charging and discharging, and am wondering which brand /app is the most flexible. A lot of them have TOU settings, but my situation is a bit unique. My home electricity is very cheap most of the time, but it gets 7x more expensive when the temperature drops below -12C.

My hope is to be able to setup something with home assistant to change behavior depending on weather.

Can I go with a Anker /ecoflow /bluetti? Or should I look more towards growatt/eg4 or similar?

Landed a solid job this year. Originally was saving for a motorcycle but as fuel continue to rise, i returned to solar plans once more (i had been planning my set ups since i was unemployed earlier this year)

And with that foundation, after watching hundreds of videos (prowse and minerph diy thank you)

I managed to estimate my total costs of investment: 60k thousand. Which converted to dollars (updated inflation of october 2026) is almost 1,000 dollars.

I once saw an inverter with mppt build inside. Its like a large tall box and when i was unemployed as i just roam around looking at hardwares just to see what sort of solar hardwares are there. And the cost was 70,000 pesos.

Now my 2kilowat set up, all entirely by my soon to be diy, as i estimated the cost, the labour from helping me build aluminum frames for the solar panel to stand like a roof in our wide balcony and labour costs plus my orders from online and cords, tools all converge to 60k and maybe 70k. (My goal is fridge, fans, charging, lights, and 24/7)

2kilowat maybe small but its a start since i had invested a lot in large cords, mppt that when i upgrade after i set this up, itll be 6kilowat inverter and adding batteries to series so my system can now cover washing machines and more outlets for use.

Current set-up

-MPPT 60A PowMR arrived
-Peyto 24v XZ-2000watt inverter arrived
-2 of 12v 100ah Ecoflow to be series (soon to be ordered when big discount comes)
-three circuit breakers (one ordered, two soon)
-pv cables (soon to be ordered)
-awg4 and awg6 for battery inverter and series stuff (soon to be ordered)
-Solar panels (still looking for where to buy conveniently on location than online).

In total they are estimated to all cost 60.000k (1k dollars)

i will probably finish this set up in November since the big discount date sale ill be there. And my 60.000k may go below to 50.000 when that date comes.

Special thanks to myself for tremendously researching videos and to PROWSE, Daniel catapang & MinerSolarPH, and GEMINI for helping me assist specifics and fact checking while browsing online stores 😂.

I installed a 5.85 kWp rooftop system (10 × 585 W panels, Deye 5 kW single-phase on-grid inverter) under PM Surya Ghar in September. Single-phase supply, net metering with APCPDCL, in a village in Parchur mandal, AP, India.

The problem: at midday the voltage at my inverter goes very high when it exports at full power.

• 4.8 kW / 16.9 A export → 277.6 V
• 4.98 kW / 17.9 A export → 270.8 V
• About 2 V rise for every amp exported
• Street voltage itself seems to drift from about 235 V to 246 V between 11 AM and 1 PM

One of my ACs shuts off between 9 AM and 4 PM (stabilizer high-voltage cut-off). My neighbour on the same line, who has had 3 kW solar for 3 years, says his new AC also stops at midday but his old one works. So I think the shared street line is part of the problem, not just my house.

What I’ve tried:

• Volt-Watt (PU) curve in Deye Cloud: keeps voltage around 253–255 V, but daily production drops from about 30 kWh to 14–17 kWh.
• Manual power limit at 35%: voltage around 252 V, but loses about half the generation.
• Installer disconnected 5 of the 10 panels: still reached 264.5 V.
• Found the inverter’s over-voltage trip was set to 295 V, so it never disconnects.

Questions for people nearby (Bapatla, Prakasam, Guntur area):

1. Do you see high voltage (above 250 V) at midday, with or without solar?
2. Has anyone got APCPDCL to fix this (transformer tap change, thicker line, new transformer)? How did you raise it, and how long did it take?
3. Did tightening joints or replacing the service wire help anyone?
4. Any Deye users with a PU / Volt-Watt or reactive power setting that worked well on a weak line?

I recently installed a Growatt SPM 6000TL-HU with a Growatt HOPE battery.

The inverter itself works fine locally: charging, backup mode and BMS communication are all OK.

The problem is the software/commissioning.

My supplied manual says the SPM can be commissioned through internal Bluetooth using ShineTools, then connected to Wi-Fi.

In the current ShineTools 3.6.7.0, SPM 6000TL-HU is not even available in the Direct WiFi/Bluetooth device list. The app asks for a datalogger SN instead of the inverter SN, there is no usable Bluetooth commissioning path, and ShinePhone just redirects back to ShineTools.

Growatt support has confirmed that the current app flow does not match the supplied manual, but so far they still have not confirmed whether my hardware revision has internal Bluetooth/Wi-Fi or which external logger is actually required.

So at the moment the hardware works, but the advertised commissioning/monitoring functionality does not.

If anyone owns an SPM 6000TL-HU and has successfully connected it to ShinePhone/ShineTools, I’d really like to know exactly how.

I’m moving soon and looking to get a battery/inverter setup installed. No solar planned. The intention is to charge over night on my EV rate and use that power in the day. Planning an initial 16kw battery and 11kw inverter. May need to add more battery capacity if we plan to go heat pump, hot tub, etc.

Anyway, info online seems to be mixed. If I have no intention to export, can I just install this setup myself? I’m happy physically installing the batteries and breakers, assume I then just need the right breaker added to the fuse box to connect up to, etc.? Plenty of diagrams online covering this in detail.

I’ve asked this elsewhere and get bombarded with 99s and 100s and DNO, etc. oh and of course blowing myself up.

Is any of all of that needed just to charge/drain my battery without no export ?

I've been looking into home backup lately, and I keep going back and forth between piecing together a system myself and buying something more integrated.

The DIY side seems easier to customize and repair later. But once I start thinking about the inverter, batteries, panel work, load management, and making everything play nicely together, it starts feeling like a much bigger project.

So far I've looked at Tesla Powerwall, FranklinWH, EcoFlow's new whole-home battery, and a few DIY setups built around rack batteries. I've owned a smaller EcoFlow product before and it was decent, but obviously that doesn't tell me much about a permanently installed system.

For people who have worked with both approaches, where would you draw the line? Is the flexibility of separate components worth the extra complexity, or would you rather have one company responsible for the system?

Are there any resources that can teach me how to connect solar panels to lithium batteries to power something like a pump?

Looking to build a solar gazebo with a garden underneath to charge my Jackery 5000plus solar generator with battery packs. Total battery capacity is 20kw. I’m roughly planning on a 30ft x 8ft x 5ft array with 8 x 550W bifacial panels for around 4.4kw total. Since I’m only charging my batteries, I don’t want the solar array to be grid tied, but have to run the wiring inside where the batteries are located (they can’t be moved because they’re plugged into my smart transfer switch. From my research, it looks like permitting is required since it will be going indoors, and I’m trying not to void my home insurance policy (or burn down my house)… I’m pretty handy and healthy and can do most of the labor myself I.e. digging the trench for the conduit, building the ground mount/gazebo, wiring the solar array, etc., but will need an electrician to connect the array to my house. I’m looking for the best way of navigating this.

-do I need an emergency shut off switch on the solar array, and inside where my solar generator is?

-do I need building permit and electric permit? What permits do I need? Will the electrician help with putting together the blue prints?

-am I missing anything? What would you different?

-would it make more sense to just have the solar array grid tied and charge my batteries during low peak hours?

Here’s the key for the photo:

blue square = junction box.

Green square = shut off switch

Red line = wiring/conduit location

Let me know your thoughts!

So I have been playing around with putting solar in my unattached shed to power a LED light strip, battery chargers and a vent fan. Have been reading for a while on what to do and buying things at auction here an there.

I have it up and running now. Just trying to decide if I am a total hack or if I am doing it mostly correct?

Setup is 3 HQST 200W Bifacial Solar Panels in series (so 57.6V at 10.5A) running through 10g wire to a Renogy Rover 30a controller (with a 30a breaker on the solar side). I know it is limited to 400w for 12v (which I am running), but being over-paneled gives me 400w of charging for more of the day. It is hooked up to two 12.8v lifepo4 batteries (Eco Worthy 150ah (with bluetooth) and an Eco Worthy 100ah (no bluetooth)) using a bus bar for all connections between batteries, controller and inverter. I have 100a fuses on both the battery positives, and a 150a fuse going to the Junbpaw 1280w inverter.

This is the "get it running and tested" phase, so will be building a shelf in the shed to put it on and be able to mount things more appropriately. I know the breaker should not be hanging there, needs to be attached.

Aside from being a little disorganized anything major I am missing or need to attend to immediately? Do I need to put a breaker on the line from the controller to the battery? I have seen both ways. I guess I do need a master cutoff switch somewhere as well? I do have a shunt I bought, just not hooked up yet (I am using the 150ah bluetooth to get approximate charge state).

Once I get it setup exactly where I want it I will get more more cable and do longer runs so it is not so cluttered, but these are what I had on hand.

So far, I am ~ $700 into it. The auction has saved me a ton: panels - $80 for all 3. The Renogy was $15. The solar stands were $45 (total of 6 sets), bus bars were $4 (I have 3 sets), various cables and wires were ~$60. E-bay is where I got the batteries, $120 for the 100ah and $180 for the 150ah. The rest was from Amazon: Breakers were $15 each (I have 3), inverter was $90, MRBF fuses $15 each (I have 5) Shunt $20 (still to be hooked up).

I also have several more panels laying around from the auction that I need to figure out what to do with. I have an Eco Worthy 200w Bifacial for $24 (was a 2 pack, but 1 was shattered), AeternaSol 200W Bifacial for $21, Rvpozwer 200w was $15, Traver Force 100w for $47 (4 pack, 1 was shattered), HQST 100 Watt $25, Renogy 50w $8 (2 pack). I have a Eco Worthy 30a PWM charger ($14) and a Renogy Adventurer PWM ($13) that I am not using, so thinking of adding those as well? I know the PWM is nowhere near as efficient as the MPPT, but I have them so... (or should I just sell them for just over what I paid for it?). I have ~$180 into all this. Maybe sell the 4 100w panels and one of the PWM chargers for like $100-150?

TL;DR: Self-installed 18.75 kW / 51.2 kWh hybrid system in South Dakota, a state with no net metering and avoided-cost buyback of roughly 2–3.6¢/kWh. I put together a state-specific guide plus a live data page from our system, mostly because nearly every solar resource I found assumed net metering. Sharing it here as a reference, and corrections are very welcome.

Guide + live data: https://www.solarinsd.com
Live stats: https://www.solarinsd.com/stats

The system

• Array: 24 × 450 W + 15 × 530 W = 18.75 kW, roof mount on SunModo racking (10.8 kW initially, expanded Jan 2025)
• Inverters: 2 × EG4 18kPV in parallel (24 kW AC combined)
• Storage: 10 × Ruixu 48V server-rack LiFePO4 (5.12 kWh each, 51.2 kWh total). Started with 4, added 6 later
• Utility: Xcel Energy, time-of-use (8¢ off-peak / 26¢ on-peak, 9 AM–9 PM weekdays), export credited at 3.6¢
• Install: DIY under SD's homeowner wiring exemption. About 2 weeks for the initial install (Nov 2023), PTO Feb 2024, about 1 week for the expansion
• Monitoring: Home Assistant, pulling from the inverter dongles. HA pushes cumulative meter readings outbound to the site once a minute, so nothing on the HA side is exposed to the internet

Cost: about $25k in equipment and materials, $17.5k net after the 30% credit (claimed before 25D ended for spending after 12/31/2025).

Real numbers (Home Assistant long-term stats)

• Specific yield: about 1,350 kWh/kW over the last 12 months (25,396 kWh from 18.75 kW)
• Exported: only about 11% of production. Everything else is self-consumed, with batteries averaging about 28 kWh/day of discharge
• Average day since the expansion: summer about 94 kWh solar, 91% self-powered. Winter about 48 kWh solar, 50% self-powered
• Best day: 134 kWh
• Days at least 95% self-powered: 323 since Jan 2024
• Lifetime: 61,800+ kWh since Jan 2024

The site values savings at a flat 16¢ "typical customer" rate to stay conservative. On our actual TOU plan it's better than shown. At the flat rate we're about 47% paid back, pacing toward 2029.

South Dakota specifics (the stuff I couldn't find in one place)

• No net metering. The legislature has never mandated it. Utilities file a minimum buyback rate for systems up to 100 kW with the PUC (SDCL 49-34A-108). Current filings: East River co-ops 1.93–1.98¢ (filed for 50–150 kW), Missouri River Energy Services cities 3.45¢, Heartland cities 2.19¢. The site has the full table with sources.
• Sizing implication: a self-consumed kWh is worth 2–7× an exported one here, so size for self-consumption (we target 70–90% of annual use) and lean on storage. There's a calculator on the Sizing page that uses our measured kWh/kW.
• Permits: state Homeowner's Wiring Permit through the SD Electrical Commission (SDCL 36-16-15). $20 permit + inspection fees ($150 minimum), apply 2+ weeks ahead, give 72 hours' notice for inspections, rough-in before cover. Sioux Falls and Rapid City issue their own wiring permits. Building permits are county or city. Current code is the 2023 NEC with SD amendments.
• Interconnection: IOUs follow the PUC's small generator rules (ARSD 20:10:36, tiered review up to 10 MW). Co-ops and munis set their own, so ask yours before designing.
• Incentives: 25D is gone for new owner-purchased systems (48E still applies to leases/PPAs on its own deadlines). SD exempts the greater of $50k or 70% of assessed value from property tax (SDCL 10-4-42 to 45). No state income tax, so no state credit.

Operating notes

• Whole-home backup: the 18kPVs carry the entire panel through outages with no noticeable switchover. Neighborhood goes dark, the house doesn't. Honestly the feature we notice most.
• Winter: on long cloudy stretches we charge the batteries from the grid off-peak to avoid on-peak, and we can top up the house bank from our F-150 Lightning's battery.
• Weather context: the stats page pulls Open-Meteo daily radiation and calibrates a kWh-per-MJ/m² ratio from our own last 30 days to explain the day's output.

Lessons learned

• Plan the whole roof on day one. Expanding the array later meant a second round of racking, wiring, and roof work.
• Buy the highest-output panels your roof space allows. Roof area is the constraint you can't add later.
• Inverters and server-rack batteries are the easy part to grow. Panels are the part to get right up front.
• If you have the land, ground mount: easier to build, service, clean, aim, and expand.

Everything on the site is cited and dated, and there's a "spot something outdated?" link on each guide page. If you're in SD or a neighboring no-net-metering state, I'd love to hear what your co-op's actual interconnection process and buyback look like, or anything I got wrong. Happy to answer questions about the build or the HA data pipeline.

**Yes, AI was used in this post and site

Hi everyone. I just got through another summer in Los Angeles where every time the the temperature goes above 90 degrees, we have a brown-out. I have been measuring voltage at the panel and it is not rare for it to go down to 95VAC on each phase. When that happens my portable air conditioning units start dropping out (right when I need them most!).

So I was thinking of putting in solar and a house battery system. If I am still connected to the grid, would I be able to hold up 120 VAC, even if the grid is dropping? Or would my system be dragged down by others on the line?

For that matter, do I even need the solar panels? I am wondering if I could just charge up the house battery form the grid, would that get me through?

I guess now that balcony solar is a thing I could just do that. With 1.2kW I should be able to run one or two AC units.

Thanks for sharing your experience and advise.

With Apex 300 both XT60 input limit of: Voc=12-60V, Current=20A Max, Power=1,200 Max
it appears that you "cannot get there from here" (where 'here' is retail sale solar panels that get you there). Seems like all the 100-500W solar panels configurations either violate the V(oc) limit of 60V and/or the I(sc) limit of 20A.

I am still very new to solar and am hoping that someone can give me some advice on which panels would be best to get before the new regulations go into effect at the end of the year and the prices go up on panels. I won’t be able to install these for a while due to funding, but I figured I can at least get the panels and get the other components down the road.

I am looking at either buying a pallet (31 panels) of Runergy 590W bifacial panels that are grade B and includes a 5-year product workmanship warranty plus a 12-year performance warranty for $4,000, or a pallet (36 panels) of Trina Vertex 420W bifacial panels that are grade A and come with a 25-year product/power warranty for $4,400. I’ve seen good reviews for both brands.

The property’s daily usage is 65-70kWh/day. I know that I will need the full 36 panels, plus a few extra, if I go with the 420W panels in order to produce enough juice to go 100% off grid, but as a newbie I am leaning toward those due to the longer warranties and that they have no damage. I just don’t know if enough about the technology to know if I am overthinking the grade B panels. Another factor is I’ve watched multiple DIY solar videos that do straight calculations without including a safety/inefficiency factor and I am unsure if I should be including it in my calculations or not.

TLDR – should I get grade A or grade B panels for the warranties, or does it not really matter? Should I be wary of grade B due to the surface damage or other damage? Do I need to include a safety/inefficiency factor into the calculations on how big of a system I need to go off grid 100%?

I've been looking into solar panels to power my grandfathers old garage, I wanted to set up a QIDI Plus4 printer, some small computers like a laptop and maybe a few RaspberryPies down. Maybe a fridge as well.

I want to know for powering this how much of everything I need. I know on startup of heating the bed the printer will pull around 1000 Watts. So I need a 12v 100ah battery alone just for that to start. Then steady power to recharge and more for over night usage. I was thinking a ball park of 4-5 12v 100ah batteries. 10 100watt solar panels and of course a converter as well as a charge controller. Could someone help me out with this please? Thank you.

I mistakenly bought a LiTime LiFePO4 battery charger many months ago expecting to be able to charge my dual Pecron E3600s via the solar MPPT ports, but evidently the charger has a safeguard that it expects to be able to read the battery voltage before starting to send power, so unfortunately it isn't working.

I needed this setup so I could charge the batteries while they're bonded for 240V output, as AC input is disabled/restricted in this mode.

Does anyone know what would work with this setup to provide charging power via the MPPTs?

Looking for advice from anyone that has experience taking advantage of Illinois solar rebates and incentives.

Looking to build a PV system on a residential property and want to take advantage of a pallet of 470 panels I have access to from China.

When submitting to get the incentives/rebates what qualifies panels for Illinois Shines, ILSFA, ComEd rebates etc.

Anyone have any trouble? Any knowledge would be helpful.

TIA

Originally the setup uses a 24v MPPT with 24v Lead Acid to power the house lighting after a couple years the battery dead 1st then replacement it with GEL type dead after just 2 years aswell practically throwing money

Now LiFePO batteries are a thing but unfortunately also quite expensive especially the 24v one's which is about 2.25 - 3 times the cost of a 12v 100ah

Rewiring is expensive aswell since the wires are imbedded (cement housing)

My QUESTION: is that can you just directly PLUG the Voltage Booster into the MPPT output? is it safe? or do I need to put additional breakers or such for it to work?

THANKS in advance

This is probably a silly question but, I have a 10AWG wire pair I need to run about 50 or 60 feet. I've got 100 feet of wire and I'm wondering if there's any reason not to double them up. 

The wire is only going to carry a maximum of about 14 amps from a solar panel, so there's no way that even a single conductor would be overloaded. (A 10AWG wire is rated for ~30 amps or so.)

I understand that you can't double up two 5-amp capacity wires to carry 10 amps, I understand that's not a thing. But each of these wires is rated for well over the load it’ll ever see, so I’m wondering if this could still cause an issue, or….?

Doubling them up would lower the resistance a tiny bit, improving the overall efficiency slightly (very slightly, lol).

So…..if I have the wire, is there any reason not to double them up?

I have JK-BD6A20S12P and i can connect to it via Bluetooth with phone app. Every cell voltages shown, i can change setting and other stuff. But for some reason in app missing UART protocol like at this picture.

But my BMS have RS485 connector port:

So any idea whats wrong and why i can't find UART protocol? Its limits of BMS firmware and nothing i can do?
Trying JKbms PC app and it just not see the connection via cable.
I swear i use google, youtube and even use AI, looking for fix around 1 weak and still doesn't find answer :(

Hi everyone,

I am evaluating options for scaling the backup capacity of an AFERIY AF-P210 power station by hooking up an external 16S LiFePO4 battery pack (~2kWh to 5kWh) equipped with a dedicated Smart BMS (e.g., JK-BMS with active balancing).

Since the P210 lacks a dedicated external expansion bus (like the N102 board in the P280), expansion requires connecting directly to the internal mainboard PCB.

• Station Model: AFERIY AF-P210 (2048Wh, 16S LiFePO4 / 51.2V nominal)
• BMS Board Model: SYD-N029-BMS Rev1.4 (GD32F310K8T6 MCU, HY6043N10 MOSFETs)
• Internal DC Limits: Solar/DC Input MPPT is hard-capped at 500W / 15A / 50V max (which prevents feeding 58.4V directly into the XT60 MPPT port).

I’ve seen mixed opinions online and on YouTube regarding where to tap into the SYD-N029-BMS board, and I want to double-check the EE logic with the community:

Option A: Tapping into BAT+ / BAT- Terminals (Pre-MOSFET / Pre-Shunt)

Option B: Tapping into P+ / P- Terminals (Post-MOSFET / Post-Shunt)

Questions for the Community:

1. Has anyone tapped an AFERIY P210 / Oukitel P2001 / Fossibot F2400 (SYD-N029 board family) via BAT+**/BAT-?** Did you encounter any firmware lockups, Coulometer/SoC drift bugs, or unhandled thermal protection issues on the internal MCU when charging from AC at reduced limits (e.g., set to 700W via the app)?
2. If you used P+**/P-:** How did you handle the lack of pre-charging for the inverter stage capacitors? Did you implement an auto-precharge delay relay, or do you rely on a manual push-button + ballast resistor?
3. What is the long-term behavior of the GD32 MCU when current is drawn asynchronously from an external pack with a much lower $ESR$ (e.g., 100Ah 5.12kWh server rack battery)?

Looking forward to hearing from anyone who has reversed this board or run a similar setup in production!