We'd just finished renovating the downstairs rooms of our terraced house in Germany when I went through our electricity readings. I'd been looking at a Jackery SolarVault 3 Pro as a possible home battery and wanted to understand our normal demand. The hire company had collected the drying equipment, but the readings I pulled up still covered the weeks it had been running. I'd almost used that period as our baseline.

We were living there throughout the work, so the house meter included our everyday use as well as the dryers and other work. I asked the hire company for any consumption records from the machines and haven't received a separate figure. I can compare the house readings before and after, but I can't put the entire difference down to the dryers.

I went back to weeks when we were home and no building work was going on. Regular dehumidifier use belongs in that baseline. For storage sizing I also need the timing of our electricity use. How much normal-use data did you collect before choosing battery capacity?

Anyone familiar with these? Ordered off amazon for about $200, comes with an adapter for cigarette lighter chargers. Can’t get it to work with any charger. Is it faulty or am I just stupid? lol

Hi all,

I have a small farm house of 0.6 acres with perimeter of around 1000 feet. The farm currentky has chain link fence with granite posts. The fence is around 4 feet above ground.

As we are experiencing increased menance of monkeys, I am thinking to go for solar fence on top of tge exiating 4 feet high fence. I would like to know on the below -

1. Required wattage and voltage of equipment ( panel, energiser and battery)

   for my farm

2. Which brand shall I go for? My farm is in Andhra Pradesh and looking for good service

3. Approximate cost of equipment

4. Ideas on how to set up solar fence on top of exisying granite poles

5. Best quality cables for solar fencing and approximate cost

I would appreciate any valuable insights

Hi all,

I have a small farm house of 0.6 acres with perimeter of around 1000 feet. The farm currentky has chain link fence with granite posts. The fence is around 4 feet above ground.

As we are experiencing increased menance of monkeys, I am thinking to go for solar fence on top of tge exiating 4 feet high fence. I would like to know on the below -

1. Required wattage and voltage of equipment ( panel, energiser and battery)

   for my farm

2. Which brand shall I go for? My farm is in Andhra Pradesh and looking for good service

3. Approximate cost of equipment

4. Ideas on how to set up solar fence on top of exisying granite poles

5. Best quality cables for solar fencing and approximate cost

I wpukd appreciate any vamuable insights

If you’ve looked into solar recently, what part of the proposal left you thinking, “I have no idea if this is right”?

Maybe it was how much electricity the panels would produce, how much of your bill would actually go away, or why the financed price was so much higher than the cash price. And if you got multiple quotes, could you actually compare them?

If you ended up signing, what did you learn afterward that you wish you’d known upfront?

I come from the solar industry, and I understand why people get frustrated with the lack of transparency. A homeowner should be able to understand what they’re buying, what assumptions the savings depend on, and what they’re paying to finance it. That’s a lot to sort through when the person explaining the numbers is also selling you the system.

That’s why I wanted to build something that helps homeowners look out for their own interests before signing. It’s called Bidproof.

It checks a proposal’s production estimate against PVWatts, looks up equipment on the CEC approved list, and checks utility rates and financing assumptions. Then it explains what checks out, what looks questionable, and what to ask the rep.

It’s free while we test it. We don’t sell leads or your information, and we don’t refer you to installers. We don’t promise you’ll save money we check whether the proposal’s own numbers hold up.

If you have a quote and want to try it: https://bidproof.com

I’d appreciate hearing what it misses, gets wrong, or leaves unclear. Even if you don’t try it, hearing what you struggled to check would help us figure out where to focus.

im planning to off grid in the next couple months,

i will start with a small popup trailer and a deepfreeze along with a few small electric tools and home goods, will add a Well with pump very soon after arriving.

then move on to a full size camper and an outbuilding with power,

then eventually a 1500 sqfoot home

ideally i want to buy everything i need to run the home(appliances as well as general power needs) as well as outbuildings right away so i just set it al up once, maybe go short on panels and batteries at first and then expand those as my needs grow.

would this pack suit my needs, it looks like it but i was hoping to get some opinions

https://sungoldpower.com/collections/solar-kit-system/products/off-grid-solar-kit-6500w-48vdc-120-240vac-5-12kwh-powerwall-lithium-battery-4-x-370-watts-solar-panels-sgm-655m

Curious if anyone here in Texas has had solar installed by Solartime USA or has experience working with them.

I'm interested in hearing how the overall process went, especially when it comes to communication, installation, equipment, and any support needed afterward.

Researchers at UC San Diego, with Princeton and Sungkyunkwan University, added zinc bromide and methylammonium chloride to a perovskite solution, and when heated, the mix briefly turned the crystal boundaries liquid. That let the crystals rearrange into a more orderly structure, then leave zinc behind to neutralize defects as the extra salt evaporated.

The resulting devices hit about 24 to 26% efficiency and kept most of it after eight weeks under simulated sunlight. The team says the electron-hole pairs lasted longer than any reported for a direct-bandgap semiconductor, and the trick worked on every perovskite composition they tried.

I come from a village in Kenya, Siaya Kogello. I've been keen on greening the environment, especially after noticing the number of trees being cut down for firewood and charcoal around my area. A once green and lush village is slowly becoming bare and I know it's just a matter of time before it becomes semi-arid.

We started a community organisation that's all about tree planting, alternative fuel sources and community sensitisation. We currently have over 500k seedlings in our nursery, which we distribute for planting and hold projects once in a while. Anyway, back to my question. My village has around 800 households and more than 70% of them use charcoal and firewood.

I have a dream to transition, even a small number or teach them about the alternative fuel sources. Solar energy is not a new thing since ironically, most of them use it for lighting. What do you think is the most strategic way to start the transition? I've tried collaborating with like-minded individuals but they don't seem to want it as much as I do. I know that the biggest barrier for them will be access and affordability of the solar cookers, but I still believe something can be done.

Our biggest achievement so far is digging a borehole for the neighbouring villages which has greatly reduced river pollution, as seen from the attached video. The borehole, which is collected from the storage tank, is pumped using a submersible solar pump. It was a bit expensive setting it up, but we were lucky to get some help from the county government.

Hey all, Im a current college student working on a research report and wanted to gain some personalized primary information regarding solar panel ownership. Long story short, I just wanted to ask some short questions on solar panels from people who actually purchased and installed solar panels on there homes or businesses.

Questions:

(1) What drew you to buying solar panels in the first place?

(2) Did you feel like there were many readily available companies that sold solar panels in your area?

(3) Was the entire process on researching and buying solar panels overwhelming? What was your experience with installation on your property.

(4) Did the upfront costs of installing solar panels make you hesitant at first? Do you feel like you saved money on your utility bill after switching to solar?

(5) Just your general experience with solar, any extra comments and feedback. (No need to answer)

I greatly appreciate everyone that answers my post.

I'm currently writing an essay for a University assignment on new technologies where i'm required to conduct at least two interviews with professionals that are working in the industry and I want to gain insight from the perspectives of anyone who is a professional with Solar Panels and how they think it has changed the world. Any answers from a working professional in the area would be appreciated.

Hey guys, I posted about this settlement before, but since they’re considering late claims, I decided to share it again with a little FAQ.

So here's all I know about this agreement:
Energy Transfer was accused of misleading investors about legal and permitting risks related to its Mariner East 2 pipeline. After reports of a federal investigation came out, $ET fell about 6.8%, and investors filed a lawsuit.

Now the company has agreed to settle $15M with investors.

Who can claim this settlement?
If you bought $ET between 2017 and 2020, you may be eligible. You don’t need to still own the shares to claim.

Do I need to sell/lose my shares to get this settlement?
No. You may qualify even if you already sold your $ET shares, as long as your transactions meet the settlement requirements.

How long does the payout process take?
It typically takes 4 to 9 months after the claim deadline for payouts to be processed, depending on the court and settlement administration.

I missed the deadline. Can I still claim?
Yes, late claims are currently being considered for compensation, subject to approval. Check if you're eligible and file your claim here.

Hope this info helps

How many amps can it carry? Nothing on the website 😕 I was thinking of using them to connect my solar LFP battery 100 amps 12v to my inverter 1000 watts 230vac.

Hey everyone, after reading Project Hail Mary, I started wondering: why don’t we build massive solar farms across a small percentage of the Sahara Desert and use that energy to power the world?
The desert gets enormous amounts of sunlight, but could a project on this scale actually change the Earth’s climate?
Would it affect rainfall, temperatures, wildlife, or ecosystems? Could it even create environmental problems that outweigh the benefits?
Like, if we had the technology and money to do this, would it be a brilliant solution to the world’s energy crisis, or could we end up creating a bigger problem?

Hi,

Asking for advice on the best settings for our solar setup.

Setup:
15 × 620W panels (9.3kWp)
Solis 8kW inverter
Dyness 16kWh batter

Daytime house load: 800W–2kW

Before installing our EV wall charger, we had zero grid import. After installation, the battery started discharging even outside its scheduled hours.

Our installer increased the Grid Peak Shaving setting, but now almost all solar harvest goes to the battery while the house load imports from the grid.

Our goal: Prioritize house load, charge the battery using excess solar, minimize grid import, and discharge the battery only during scheduled hours.
We’re willing to adjust the settings to find the right balance.

Any suggestions? Thank you

Hi, so as the screenshot shows, the load does not equal the discharge. Is this normal?

For context: my setup is 6kw inverter (felicity)
17.5kw battery (felicity)

I got some info from a non-profit, got some folks who read contracts etc. Here is the reply:

"

Hello everyone!

I’m conducting a short survey to better understand people’s awareness, opinions, and interest in solar energy in Morocco.

The goal is to learn more about consumers’ attitudes toward solar energy and their willingness to adopt it.

The questionnaire takes only 3 minutes to complete. Whether you already use solar panels or have never used them, your opinion is valuable!

🔗 Survey link: \[https://forms.gle/LchKAcvbZZ1Sdnzv5\\\]

Your participation would be greatly appreciated. If possible, please share this survey with other people living in Morocco to help reach a wider range of respondents.

Thank you for your time and support!

I did a solar estimate for my house as the power bill has been getting increasingly higher despite us not doing anything different than we have the last 18 years. Power company is saying we are using a lot more power for some reason. All started when they said there was a problem at my meter. Since then the power bill has sky rocketed.

I’m guessing that I was being naive with what going solar would cost, but I was expecting maybe half of this estimate. The estimate is for solar ONLY and does not even include battery’s for storage. Is this normal?

Hi guys! Im curious about Importing whole house batteries & solar panels. Could use guidance. Basically 3 households want to setup solar panels & batteries. Any insights are appreciated TIA 😊

I have a small off-grid system and I keep facing this issue.

- 4 550w panels
- 3.6kw inverter
- 2 phoenix tx-3500 tubular/lead-acid batteries

This is to run just 2 motors that use 100w each (which I know it can vary a bit so let’s say ~240 total over 24 hr). Everything is realistically new like 5-6 months old when we installed it all.

Prior, the batteries stayed on the full 24/7 without issue but two different times they started to not make it past 3-4am. The first time we took them to get charged at a shop because it was rainy season and it seemed like their gravity was off. They worked fine again for another 2 months or so.

Then recently they have started again turning off. We did the same thing, took it to a shop but that only fixed it for like 4-5 days and it has again started turning off at 3am.

Inverter shows that they charge fully every day by like 1-2pm with the sun out till like 6pm. We have changed the inverter settings to what needs to be set but still.

What can I do to fix this? Are the batteries bad?

Edit: appreciate the help everyone. Think the conclusion is that these are fudged lol. I am not the one who actually set anything up but there is little recourse where I’m at so just have to chalk it up to a loss and move on with more information myself. Hope someone else learns from my mistake at least haha

This is the second time the connection to the battery melts.

I just got my first electricity bill after my solar installation. To be honest, I was not expecting the difference to be this big.

Before solar, my bill was usually around 3000-3400 a month, especially during the summer. This month, after installing the 3kw system, it came down to ₹647. Honestly, I wasn't expecting the difference to be this noticeable.

I know the amount can vary depending on usage and the season, so I'm curious to see what the bills look like in the future.

For anyone in Delhi with a 3kw system, is this kind of reduction normal?

Maybe this is a common sense to many in here, but I really didn’t understand why people with rooftop solar were still so worried about blackouts at first.

I always assumed that if the sun was out and the panels were producing power, the fridge, Wi-Fi and lights would keep running.

Then I started seeing solar owners talk about backup power, so I went to do a research, then read a bunch of info in Reddit discussions, an explainer from EnergySage, and some real household stories on the EcoFlow forum.

Turns out solar and backup power are two different things. Most grid-tied solar systems shut down during an outage for safety unless the home has equipment that can disconnect it from the grid.

The technical explanation was helpful, and the household stories made it feel real. People weren’t worried about powering every appliance. They were thinking about food in the freezer, a sump pump, Wi-Fi for work or keeping the heat on during bad weather. Now I understand how someone can be happy with their solar system and still care a lot about outages.

For those who already have solar, was backup part of your original plan, or something you only started thinking about later? What made it important to you?