Top 7 Mistakes Newbies Make Going Solar - Avoid These For Effective Power Harvesting From The Sun

People make these 7 mistakes over and over again when they decide to buy their first solar panel system. Learn from the thousands of people I have interacted with over the years and my own painful experiences learning the hard way. #top7solarmistakes #solarmistakes #solarpower

****Read the pinned comment below for my responses to frequently posted comments****

If you are interested in a grid tied solar system for your entire house, these are the experts:

Please support my channel by shopping my stores for your solar, battery, and off-grid needs:

If you want to donate and get extra perks:

Support some of my affiliates below that offer great products and services:

[LDSreliance]

FAQ:

Q: Refrigerators do not run 24x7, moron!
A: Yes, I know that. But they CAN run at any point around the clock and that is the point. Because they run on and off all day they will obviously require power during times when the solar panel system is not producing energy and will thus require battery power storage. And batteries are not included with most beginner solar kits that people start with, such as the Harbor Freight 100W kit.

Q: Refrigerators don't use 600W, moron!
A: Not continuously, no. But they can use much higher than that for a split second when the compressor motor kicks on. So a small fridge that only requires 100W when it is running may require 600-1000W to start up and that load may be inductive, which further complicates the requirements on the inverter.

Q: Why can't I just look at a power bill for my energy consumption needs?
A: Because most power bills do not give enough information to accurately design a solar panel system that can completely offset your energy demand and give you energy independence so you are not beholden to the power company or if you want to go off grid.

Q: I don't care about going off grid or energy independence. I only want a net zero power bill! So my power bill is enough.
A: That will work perfectly fine... if you account for the net metering purchase and selling rates AND those rates never change. And that isn't going to happen. Public utilities have proven for many years now that they are less and less willing to pay much for excess solar power in cogeneration relationships and they are in complete, unilateral control over that net metering relationship and can change your rates at any time. But in order to properly do the math, which will be complicated, to achieve a $0 net bill for the year you HAVE to know your energy consumption rates at different times of day. And that information is not available on most power bills. Thus, you will need a device that can data log your real world usage for a period of time so you can accurately forecast.

[ivybeene]

I've seen a lot of what to do/not do vids. This is straight to the point(s). Awesome. Thanks.

[enerzise]

What we did was start with two batteries and a battery charger and small generator. To learn a little and have something to use for power outages during storms. A year later, we now have an 8 battery bank, 2 generators, 4 inverters, lights, fans, a .98 amp fridge, 1.1 amp freezer and our light bill went from $500 to $600 a month to $70 to $80 a month.

We just ordered ten 100 watt panels from Home depot for $109 each. We have two harbor freight 45 watt kits we used for a year. We do not regret buying them. We used coupons and got them for $119 each for learning with. We wanted to DIY this over time and it is going very good. There are great advances in energy efficient technology, and by cutting back here and there, we made great strides so now our energy bill savings is paying for our new panels and laptops.

[RainCountryHomestead]

Excellent reminders in a nut shell to folks adding to their system as well, thanks.

[vickyfairfield]

hybrid is a big learning curve with charge and discharge times and much more give and take. 5kw with 20x 260w panels and 10kw LG chem

[nickdannunzio]

Great vid... 1 comment... you can force control your fridge (or any other appliance) and have them "on line" when you want (or need) with very little loss in performance...   become the boss of your energy loss... and maximize your inductive load vs resistive load draw on your system...

[applesaucemannomadicgarden]

If you speed it up to 1.25, he actually doesn't sound grumpy. And it only takes 5 minutes to watch instead of 7..

[citabria]

Thanks for the post. Being off-grid with solar/battery/generator, your comments on on point and everyone worth consideration.

[cadtoby]

Nice Job! Just watched all the videos in this series - very helpful! I'm going to start with a simple project - 10 Watt Solar Panel into a Charge Controller hooked to a battery, and then into a fan to 12V fan to keep air circulating in my shed. I had no idea where to start, until I watched this series. Now I have a plan and simple project to get started. THANK YOU!!!

[rpinpr]

i live in PR. after hurricane maria in sept. we all lost grid power and water for over 4 months. some here are still out in march!. i got rid of my conventional fridge that burned way too many volts when it cycled daily and got a simple GE $200 top load freezer, added a cheap digital thermostat and set it to chill between 32-37. my smaller solar set up now easily gets me through the night. this style of fridge is dangerous for small kids as they could fall in. but for grownups its super efficient! cold air stays down at the bottom so you don't lose chill like traditional fridges when opened. simply switching to led bulbs, tossing the microwave altogether and being wary of consumption has gotten me through the crazy hard times here in the tropics. if i have major power tool needs i'll bust out the 2000 honda generator...1 gal = 8-10 hrs runtime.

[bretburgess]

You're the first person to mention the issue of heat. It makes a big difference.
Thanks

[johndias]

Thanks for the good video. Good information. I started with an engineered solar well system from RPS solar pumps. 400 watts and 48v battery bank. There's a learning curve and this has shown me what to do and not do. The smoke from the California fires (September 2020) has reduced the rate of charge. I had to use an automotive battery charger to give the batteries a boost.

[PatricksDIY]

Finally I came across a video where the person knows what he is talking about, been getting so annoyed with the people saying " Solar panels suck, the 200 watt Harbor freight panels I bought wont power my 300 Computer" lol Great job!

[guyazbell]

Jim Hofoss thankyou for the encouragment my electric bill runs 200+ every month yes i have gas heat and use efficient bulbs thats 2400+ a year so it would take ten years to pay for itself how long is the system you have supposed to work if its any over ten yrs then its worth every penny i, m almost 60 it sucks being older i spent my whole life making other folks filthy rich and left with scraps of time for myself so i will figure if i should or should not do it.

[mydiversions]

Not many of us are aware of the "dirty electricity" that gets generated by the DC to AC inverters that are used to make the solar power usable by our appliances. There are health problems associated with having these high frequency transients radiating from the wiring of the entire house. The house wiring becomes like a radio transmitter antenna.

[solargenius]

Awesome video. great job. your channel is one of those that inspired me to start my own channel

[poeticsun]

This was extremely helpful in my research of setting up an off-grid system at my garden. Thank you!

[HBS]

i've been looking for this kinda channel for too long. subbed!

[prspect]

Also something to consider when adding up your service calculation. When adding your heating system or cooling system, only add one or the other. Whichever is the biggest. You will only be using one of those systems at a time so you only need to take the biggest one into account.

[johnbroystonjr]

Hey LDSreliance!!! Good information about solar. This is extremely helpful in making novices a little more informed. THANK YOU for sharing.