PR3

Hi again, good evening all, sorry for not replying I've been on furniture building duty ????. You are of course right, the most advantageous manner in which to do this would be to go for the full monty so to speak with batteries, a suitable hybrid inverter for our power demands and a large array on the roof. In honesty i have been reading other threads over the last few weeks and really started to lean that way and got totally carried away with my ideas and plans and tied myself in knots over it all. In the end I had a to take a breath and remembered what the initial intention was. ....to keep things simple and use solar to contribute to our daytime usage of approx 15 units. And since it was intended to do this DIY where I felt comfortable to do so the roof was off the cards as I don't like heights. Additionally there are budgetary constraints to consider. Anyways; the items other than the panels should arrive soon. Only thing left to consider are cables, trunking and any other safety devices necessary. On that particular subject; would 4mm twin and earth (outdoor) be enough to connect to the MCB of the house? Also where would be the correct place in the MCB to connect the incoming supply? Thanks Cheers. PR3

Since I've only recently paid more attention to prices of panels I'm not really certain which way they're likely to go or what they cost before. The way the world appears to be heading into an inflationary phase so I didn't want to wait any longer. In the end I paid 42000 for 10 x 420w mono half cuts. Inverter, fitting kits, junction box for another 29000. Hopefully another 9000 will buy the rest, so 80000 plus my labour didn't seem so excessive for a 4.2 system or 3.4ish in reality. Everything may very well get cheaper in the future but like many things in life it's a gamble I suppose. I'm sure more experienced members will know more. Cheers. PR3.

Thanks for the guidance I have a lockable room which will be suitable. They'll be left in the packaging for now. Cheers

I'll bear all this in mind when I go spending in the morning i looked online it says 10.55 amp short circuit and 9.8 nominal so should be okay . They'll likely spend a week or more in store-room before I do anything with them are there any special considerations for storage I have an 8yo son and he's adventurous. Cheers.

That's a very good point, the inverter is for 2x11amp strings. I'll have to check the panels max output, I went to the same shop the other day to do precisely that and forgot my reading glasses..Lol...the joys of ageing. I'll check tomorrow and report back...oh <deleted> I'll be crossing my fingers on this one...eek

Hi Gents, Ordered the inverter and a 12 panel fitting kit, will go get panels tomorrow. I've been looking at the electrical side and seen this product on Laz. I have read in other threads that AC and DC in same unit is unwise though? Anyways here it is. Advice is always well received. Cheers all.

Thanks so much for the clarification. That's looking like the direction to go for me then, 2 strings..1 each side of the house. Thanks again. PR3

Hi Gents, I see this 5kv Sofar inverter has two separate PV inputs, I've looked extensively online and cannot ascertain whether they're seperate circuits i.e.the two inputs can be of different wattage/voltage and one won't affect the other if shaded for instance. Many Thanks. PR3.

Yes I have to agree and I fully understand why it would seem a little pointless given the info i provided. I don't really have the spare money or room to install an all singing all dancing system. So it'll have to be baby steps for now.

Forgot to mention driveway is on the West side

Thanks for the guidance Gents. I have been following the various forum threads going on at the moment in an attempt to garner a little knowledge and to decide what to do. I'll try create a little clearer picture of what I'm up against. We do have a large roof but the house is 2 floor and I'd much rather have the panels in a place I can keep an eye on them. Biggest problem regarding positioning is the unfortunate fact that I have no easy accessible (low down) roof space on the East or South side. Which leaves me with my intended (at this point) installation site which is above the driveway. The area will fit approx 2.7kw of panels possibly more. 6 x 455w comfortably maybe 7 at a push. Our current usage is circa 1000 kwh per month or which the majority is used at night time. The idea currently is to contribute to the load rather than mitigate it altogether; also not starting with the intention of net metering but if it happens ill have to install a means of stopping export on meter reading days. There's a local electrical store here (Khon Kaen) that are having an offer on solar panels at the moment. They're selling 455w mono half cuts for 4600 baht. Or 390w version for 3800 baht. I've never heard of BQ Solartech though, does anyone have any experience with or knowledge of them? Thanks PR3

Hi I am at the moment; considering installing some solar to offset our ever increasing electric bills. I can't fit that many panels maybe 2.7kw or so but every little helps. I see Sofar make a 3.3kw plug and play grid tie inverter. Would this along with the associated safety switching be suitable for such a project? I might add I'm a complete novice when it comes to solar but a competent DIYer. Thanks for any advice. PR3.