Looking at Solar: questions

[sdingeldein]

I'm in Raleigh, considering the same. What is the ROM on your quotes? What size system are they recommending?

Let me get that and get back to you. The company I like the most so far is out of Raleigh. Sun Management.

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[sdingeldein]

Honestly, I personally would not Take Dukes' offer. I'd want my power for me, NOT to benefit them. I have a 8kw solar system w/2 - 13 kWh SunVault batteries. My average daily power usage for the house is about 20 kWh. In a power failure . .that would leave 6 kWh for my XLT SR lightning. Right now with winter starting my daily power production has been cut in half. I'm in PG&E country, and I try to use them as little as possible. so far since April, my meter is 4000kwh back from when my solar started. My system has a ATS which is VERY convenient, we don't have poser failures for long or often, but when it happens, unless your really paying attention, you'd never know you were on battery b/u.
This is my second system on my home, the first paid itself off in 7 years, and had another 10 years of free power. I paid out of pocket, DO NOT LEASE. It was the best investment I made x 2

Thank you for your info. I will buy and not lease.

 

[chl]

Hi, I've started looking at solar installation at my house. Everyone quotes me putting in two Tesla batteries with the solar panels and other items. The batteries are expensive. I hate the idea of having my lightning and not using the truck to power things since it is equivalent, I'm told, to about 7 Tesla batteries. In NC, however, Duke Energy has a 9,000 payment to allow them to suck off the batteries periodically.

I'm wondering if the same deal exists for the truck? When I bought the Ford charger Duke Energy gave me $1200 with the idea that if set up, the could use energy as needed.

I know the Sun Run system sucks (too bad) and am afraid of putting that in and integrating it with the solar set up. Any updates on how the status of SunRun installations are these days?

How about using a transfer switch with a system that has one Tesla battery (that gets the $9000 and $52/month from Duke Energy). Can there be a mix where the system uses both the Tesla battery and the car battery (via transfer) at the same time?

Thanks in advance.

I am also looking at putting in solar soon.
But I am just going with net metering to reduce my electric bill - no battery storage.

I looked at the idea of batteries, as backup, but...1) the cost is high, 2) they have a 8-10year warranty like EV batteries (to fall no lower than 80% capacity), and 3) we don't have outages that often here.

So I am going to use the Lightning and a Generac 6853 transfer switch or my gas generator during an outage, depending on whether I need to use the truck during an outage for transportation.

Yes, if the HIS from Sunrun worked reliably it could integrate with solar and battery backup if desired. But it is pricey for what you get - and extra 10A, 240V 40A vs the 240V 30A from the Lightning ProPower on-board bed outlet.

If you live off-grid or in an area with frequent outages, a battery backup might be worth the money though.

 

[danchristy]

Hi, I've started looking at solar installation at my house. Everyone quotes me putting in two Tesla batteries with the solar panels and other items. The batteries are expensive. I hate the idea of having my lightning and not using the truck to power things since it is equivalent, I'm told, to about 7 Tesla batteries. In NC, however, Duke Energy has a 9,000 payment to allow them to suck off the batteries periodically.

I'm wondering if the same deal exists for the truck? When I bought the Ford charger Duke Energy gave me $1200 with the idea that if set up, the could use energy as needed.

I know the Sun Run system sucks (too bad) and am afraid of putting that in and integrating it with the solar set up. Any updates on how the status of SunRun installations are these days?

How about using a transfer switch with a system that has one Tesla battery (that gets the $9000 and $52/month from Duke Energy). Can there be a mix where the system uses both the Tesla battery and the car battery (via transfer) at the same time?

Thanks in advance.

I can email you the schematic from the partnership of Ford and sunrun so you can use the truck battery as your house back up in the automatic switch transfers over with a pro charger can solar the transformer and inverter is a Delta inverter which is a great transport and automatic switch is the only one that talks to your truck. Tesla’s power wall will not talk back-and-forth through your truck through RS 485. Unfortunately, we’re stuck with that situation, but you don’t have to use Sunrun to integrate it.

Delta BDI Inverter Installation - INS-SOP-0166
● Delta WHB - INS-SOP-0167
● Delta Accessory Battery Pack - INS-SOP-0169

 

[sdingeldein]

I can email you the schematic from the partnership of Ford and sunrun so you can use the truck battery as your house back up in the automatic switch transfers over with a pro charger can solar the transformer and inverter is a Delta inverter which is a great transport and automatic switch is the only one that talks to your truck. Tesla’s power wall will not talk back-and-forth through your truck through RS 485. Unfortunately, we’re stuck with that situation, but you don’t have to use Sunrun to integrate it.

Delta BDI Inverter Installation - INS-SOP-0166
● Delta WHB - INS-SOP-0167
● Delta Accessory Battery Pack - INS-SOP-0169

Thanks. [email protected]

 

[hturnerfamily]

...6.2kw of solar panels... [which can]....charge the truck at 8 amps (240v) [after] our solar batteries get above 90%.
When our batteries get to 100% ...[then].... 16 amps for maybe an hour.
16 amps is the max charge I can do ...[240v]

...Takes a few days before we are up to 80%. In the winter probably four or five days...

I think this setup/scenario is a realistic confirmation that Solar to charge an EV is not as 'easy' as many might dream... 6.2kw might be 20 300w Panels... that's a BIG setup for most anyone other than those with very LARGE roofs, or those in very rural/acreage areas for ground mounting, AND very expensive, not even including the costs of the batteries and other equipment... it's really just not feasible for the majority of homeowners... and, as said, not as 'fast' as most folks would like, either...
These EVs drink a LOT of amperage, and it is much more than most might initially believe, well, at least unless you are o.k. with 'slow' charging... vERY, Very, SLow....

 

[Tfarrell73]

I have a 6kw solaredge system w/40a ev charger. 15x400 watt panels. I charge at night on utility power at cheapest rate and sell excess power back to utility during day. So far I haven't paid an electric bill since Feb when it was installed and have a credit to cover the winter months with less sun. But this is AC charging and no FSCP bidirectional charger

 

[scoobybri]

I have an 18kwh solar system (45 400w panels) with 20kwh worth of Solaredge batteries. 100% my house uses electricity...no gas, propane, etc. That fact and that I have 2 EVs which are both used for commuting is why I have such a large system. The batteries power a separate critical load panel during a power outage and I have a generator outlet to power everything not on the critical load panel. The nice thing about having the batteries on a critical load panel is that everything important like fridges, well pump, lights, etc. automatically switch to battery power during an outage. So if I'm not home, I don't have to worry about losing food or fumbling around in the dark. The Lightning can power the non-critical stuff through the generator plug. The only issue is that the EV charger is not on the critical load panel (it pulls too much juice) so it can't charge the truck from solar while power is out. (The Solaredge batteries can be recharged via solar though.) So for me, the Lightning is just "gravy" power to run non critical things while the power is out. I likely would still bought the Solaredge batteries since if you are driving your Lightning, it can't be powering your house when you lose power while you are away from home.

That said, my utility company does not have any off peak power program or EV incentives. I just have a simple 1 to 1 kWh credit system. For every kwh I send to the grid, I get a kWh credit on my account to use when my solar system is not producing enough power. Since I produce more than use over the course of a year, I have a nonexpiring kWh "bank" to pull from when I use more power than I produce. I currently have over 7000 kwhs in the bank so until I use 7000 more kwh than I produce, I will never pay for power. Since I add about 1000 kwh a year to the bank, I don't expect to pay for power for the next 25 years or until I leave this mortal coil.

 

[MaintGrl]

I have an 18kwh solar system (45 400w panels) with 20kwh worth of Solaredge batteries. 100% my house uses electricity...no gas, propane, etc. That fact and that I have 2 EVs which are both used for commuting is why I have such a large system. The batteries power a separate critical load panel during a power outage and I have a generator outlet to power everything not on the critical load panel. The nice thing about having the batteries on a critical load panel is that everything important like fridges, well pump, lights, etc. automatically switch to battery power during an outage. So if I'm not home, I don't have to worry about losing food or fumbling around in the dark. The Lightning can power the non-critical stuff through the generator plug. The only issue is that the EV charger is not on the critical load panel (it pulls too much juice) so it can't charge the truck from solar while power is out. (The Solaredge batteries can be recharged via solar though.) So for me, the Lightning is just "gravy" power to run non critical things while the power is out. I likely would still bought the Solaredge batteries since if you are driving your Lightning, it can't be powering your house when you lose power while you are away from home.

That said, my utility company does not have any off peak power program or EV incentives. I just have a simple 1 to 1 kWh credit system. For every kwh I send to the grid, I get a kWh credit on my account to use when my solar system is not producing enough power. Since I produce more than use over the course of a year, I have a nonexpiring kWh "bank" to pull from when I use more power than I produce. I currently have over 7000 kwhs in the bank so until I use 7000 more kwh than I produce, I will never pay for power. Since I add about 1000 kwh a year to the bank, I don't expect to pay for power for the next 25 years or until I leave this mortal coil.

Wow, 45 - 400w panels. Are some ground mounted? you either have a massive house to have that much sq footage of roof plane, or some other area.

 

[scoobybri]

All panels are on the roof! House is 2950 sq ft but it's all on a single floor so we have a large footprint and lots of roof space. Since I designed the house, I specifically designed it for solar production. The roof is at the perfect pitch for maximizing solar production across the entire year and the house/roof face 180 degrees South. And there are no trees close enough to ever cast a shadow. We produced 23.5 Mwh over the past 12 months and that was with a very bad September 2024 for solar production.

 

[tannerk89]

Haven’t read thru everything so sorry if I am repeating. But I’m currently installing solar in my house in VA - waiting for final connection now.

I did a quick search on google and it looks like Duke Energy in NC offers net metering which means you don’t need a battery at all. That will save you tens of thousands in your solar install unless you’re planning to go off grid, which didn’t seem to be the case.

 

[scoobybri]

Haven’t read thru everything so sorry if I am repeating. But I’m currently installing solar in my house in VA - waiting for final connection now.

I did a quick search on google and it looks like Duke Energy in NC offers net metering which means you don’t need a battery at all. That will save you tens of thousands in your solar install unless you’re planning to go off grid, which didn’t seem to be the case.

I'm in VA too. Near Zions Crossroads on the way to Charlottesville. We have CVEC here for power

 

[DaBlue357]

All panels are on the roof! House is 2950 sq ft but it's all on a single floor so we have a large footprint and lots of roof space. Since I designed the house, I specifically designed it for solar production. The roof is at the perfect pitch for maximizing solar production across the entire year and the house/roof face 180 degrees South. And there are no trees close enough to ever cast a shadow. We produced 23.5 Mwh over the past 12 months and that was with a very bad September 2024 for solar production.

I'm basically copying what you did here with my build, but more like 35 x 400W on a directly south facing roof. I'm up at about 45 latitude so I designed the roof at a 1/1 pitch (45 degrees) mostly just so the snow slides off easily but it should optimize production at the equinoxes which isn't bad. I'm think it will be close to net zero but would be nice to bank power like you are.

I am leaning Solaredge Hub inverter/EV charging system and thought they had a EV charger that would directly charge from the solar without converting to AC? That would be nice.

I'm holding out for bidirectional charging vs buying backup batteries ($$$$). In the meantime I'll put in a critical loads panel and use pro power if I can.

Anyways, well done!

 

[Zaptor]

Heard we are showing off our arrays up in here?

76x 320w Panasonic panels w Enphase IQ7s, 24.32kw system. No batteries, but 1:1 net metering means we're still using power from the summer nearly all winter (usually have a small bill or two in the spring, after the snows of December and January kill production for those months). There's a Generac Guardian 22kW propane gen with auto transfer that comes on when power goes out and we can just move power to the truck(s) with extension cords at that point, then manually kill the gen.

Why so big? We are on a deep well with a big pump and 21 separate garden watering, animal watering and pond topoff zones, so use a lot of power watering where other folks might have a large city water bill instead. Wife also plays with clay and the kiln is 11,520 watts, plus we both have Lightnings.

Despite the size, the tilt and location of the array downhill from the house means you can barely see it from the decks

Also REALLY REALLY wish the Ford HIS worked well enough for me to trust spending that money, but I am super reluctant given the bad luck others have had. 2 Lightings w 9.6kw Pro Power on both means we can just run a few cords when power goes down and not spend $10-18k on a dice roll.

Cheers, solar is the way!
Zap

 

[Tfarrell73]

I'm basically copying what you did here with my build, but more like 35 x 400W on a directly south facing roof. I'm up at about 45 latitude so I designed the roof at a 1/1 pitch (45 degrees) mostly just so the snow slides off easily but it should optimize production at the equinoxes which isn't bad. I'm think it will be close to net zero but would be nice to bank power like you are.

I am leaning Solaredge Hub inverter/EV charging system and thought they had a EV charger that would directly charge from the solar without converting to AC? That would be nice.

I'm holding out for bidirectional charging vs buying backup batteries ($$$$). In the meantime I'll put in a critical loads panel and use pro power if I can.

Anyways, well done!

Solaredge has an excess solar charging mode for their EV charger, but you need to have consumption metering to enable it. FYI

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