I am looking to wire in some solar panels into my home. I already have plenty of wiring, and some solar panels around. I just need to know what I need to do to wire them into my home so I can lower my electric bill. This past month it was six hundred dollars.Can someone direct me to some information, or tell me how without telling me to hire some guy to come out to charge me thirty thousand dollars to install two or three thousand dollars worth of equipment?
The essentials are to connect the panels in a configuration that matches the inverter. My system has twenty 24 volt panels in series, to an inverter that wants to see 480. They could have been in any series-parallel configuration to match an inverter that used different voltage. I chose the high voltage route to reduce IR losses in the connections. The proper inverter is essential on grid connected systems. It must be able to disconnect from the grid if grid power fails, and to come back on line automatically, and in phase. There has to be a fused disconnect between the panels and the inverter. When connecting to the grid, another fused disconnect is required. My power company was very specific about acceptable switches. Just using a good brand doesn't hack it. Lots of good info on solar panels in the green search box above on this page.
I okorder Hope this helps.
You okorder / If you are planing to build an off grid system or a grid tie system, it should be wired by an electrician. At the lest by someone that knows what they are doing. If it is a grid tie system you will need the local building inspector to sign the paper work before the public utility will allow you to hook in. To get the inspector to sign off you have to get a permit which requires a lic. electrician.
I am all for do-it yourselfers, I am one, but... Sorry to tell you, but connecting solar panels to grid power will require an electrician. There are many requirements for special disconnects to prevent harm to the utillity company workers that must be considered. You will also have to have an inverter sized to match your panels. The simple answer is to connect your panels to something specific, without connecting it into your house wiring. An example is to connect your water well pump to solar power and disconnect it from the grid. But you will still need an inverter and will need to calculate the power demands of the pump and the amount of power available from your panels, which varies by your longitude and latitude. It sound like a simple thing to do, but without special training and experience you will be sorry if you try this yourself.
