🏡 Better Homes OffshoreDrilling's (mostly) DIY Solar install extravaganza.

[LikeABauce302]

Finally caught up on this thread. This is awesome. I love seeing DIY projects, especially bigger ones like this where you're figuring everything out as you go along.

One thing I absolutely hate when I'm taking on a new project is when someone asks me if I know what I'm doing or even worse tells me I need to hire someone because I don't know what I'm doing. Even if I was still on the fence about the project, that's when I decide that I'm absolutely going to get it done by myself, no matter what kind of OSHA violations I will make

 

[OffshoreDrilling]

Whats the cost on the panels?

I’m $18,426 into the project so far. That’s permits, engineering, lumber, upgrades to attic to make it easier to work, tools I didn’t have, all the solar parts.

I have some wire but not enough to do the whole project. Expecting to be just under $19,000 when I’m done

 

[Jimy Bilmo]

I’m $18,426 into the project so far. That’s permits, engineering, lumber, upgrades to attic to make it easier to work, tools I didn’t have, all the solar parts.

I have some wire but not enough to do the whole project. Expecting to be just under $19,000 when I’m done

Did you ever get a conventional quote?

 

[OffshoreDrilling]

Finally caught up on this thread. This is awesome. I love seeing DIY projects, especially bigger ones like this where you're figuring everything out as you go along.

One thing I absolutely hate when I'm taking on a new project is when someone asks me if I know what I'm doing or even worse tells me I need to hire someone because I don't know what I'm doing. Even if I was still on the fence about the project, that's when I decide that I'm absolutely going to get it done by myself, no matter what kind of OSHA violations I will make

If you have any aptitude in the trades most things are easy enough to google and YouTube what specific knowledge you need.

I don’t know if it was this thread that I said it, but if there’s something I can do myself for cheaper than hiring it out, I get to buy new tools to do it and I have a chance to learn something, I love to do it.

Did you ever get a conventional quote?

$46k for the equivalent system. Without any of the structural work I did.

 

[rdsnake]

Any more details on the company you used to get all the parts? How was that process?

 

[OffshoreDrilling]

Solar wholesale.

They’ve been fucking HORRIBLE on communication. Like 5 emails and phone calls with voicemails and no response. Had to go through their new customer question form to get someone to respond to me. Once I got past the design phase communication got better. I don’t know if it was the person I dealt with or what.

If I was going to do it again I’d go with someone else. Oh well!

 

[OffshoreDrilling]

Solar stuff is all pretty cookie cutter now that I’ve gotten this far along. It only cost me $500 to get all the drawings and have someone hold my hand through the beginning of the process.

 

[JBruno88]

I’m $18,426 into the project so far. That’s permits, engineering, lumber, upgrades to attic to make it easier to work, tools I didn’t have, all the solar parts.

I have some wire but not enough to do the whole project. Expecting to be just under $19,000 when I’m done

What’s ROI Looking like? $19k up front cost, what are you planning to save on electricity monthly and what are you looking to sell back to ComEd? I’d be really curious to see how many months till you “break even” and start putting money back in your pocket vs the warranty period on the panels and components.

 

[Jimy Bilmo]

What’s ROI Looking like? $19k up front cost, what are you planning to save on electricity monthly and what are you looking to sell back to ComEd? I’d be really curious to see how many months till you “break even” and start putting money back in your pocket vs the warranty period on the panels and components.

If my bill was $300/mo, as it's usually around there, it'd take me 64 months to break even, without them giving money back for power back to the grid. Seems well worth it IMO.

 

[OffshoreDrilling]

30% tax credit on $19,000 is $5700

So $13,300 left over. Avg electric bill is about $120

I don’t know exactly what my SREC credit will be from ComEd yet either.

 

[Jimy Bilmo]

30% tax credit on $19,000 is $5700

So $13,300 left over. Avg electric bill is about $120

I don’t know exactly what my SREC credit will be from ComEd yet either.

Saved yourself so much money doing it yourself, badass man.

 

[PANDA]

30% tax credit on $19,000 is $5700

So $13,300 left over. Avg electric bill is about $120

I don’t know exactly what my SREC credit will be from ComEd yet either.

Do you own solar panels? Are you under contract with anyone?

 

[OffshoreDrilling]

My system is estimated to produce 11428 kWh/yr and ComEd cuts you a check for 15yrs of production. Each SREC s for 1 MWh of production.
So 171.42 SREC at the current rate of $82.48

I should get a check for $14,104.44 from ComEd and my outstanding balance is $13,300

I’ll be paid $804.44 to install them all said and done.

 

[OffshoreDrilling]

Do you own solar panels? Are you under contract with anyone?

Own them. Purchased and installed all by me.

 

[OffshoreDrilling]

My system is estimated to produce 11428 kWh/yr and ComEd cuts you a check for 15yrs of production. Each SREC s for 1 MWh of production.
So 171.42 SREC at the current rate of $82.48

I should get a check for $14,104.44 from ComEd and my outstanding balance is $13,300

I’ll be paid $804.44 to install them all said and done.

Oh, this counts as income so whatever tax bracket that’s in too.

 

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

Are there other cons to feeding back into Comed other than the extra equipment to prevent back feeding and permitting?

 

[OffshoreDrilling]

Are there other cons to feeding back into Comed other than the extra equipment to prevent back feeding and permitting?

I really don’t anticipate any. You’re at the mercy of the grid being up for your solar to be online unless you have batteries, that’s it. My power is reliable so that’s not an issue. Power flashing off a couple times a year during storms isn’t worth the 5-6 figure price of batteries.

 

[OffshoreDrilling]

There’s no extra equipment either. Microinverters automatically recognize there’s no mains supply coming in and shut off. That functionality is built into the equipment already.

 

[Lord Tin Foilhat]

I really don’t anticipate any. You’re at the mercy of the grid being up for your solar to be online unless you have batteries, that’s it. My power is reliable so that’s not an issue. Power flashing off a couple times a year during storms isn’t worth the 5-6 figure price of batteries.

ahhh gotcha. I thought you also had some sort of onsite reserve.

 

[OffshoreDrilling]

Same deal with any grid tied equipment.

 

[OffshoreDrilling]

Bent my last piece of conduit between taking care of the baby today. 160’ of 3/4” EMT and only turned one piece into an art project

I’m going to keep knocking out little bits when I can today and tomorrow. Monday should be plenty of time to get wire pulled and things completed enough to be ready for inspection.

 

[OffshoreDrilling]

Annnnd we done. Done enough to call for an inspection at least. Can’t believe I finished this crap and it snows today

I got all my wire pulled yesterday, terminations made at the roof junction boxes to the arrays, combiner panel and disconnect mounted on the wall and put my warning stickers in the wrong spots.

There are a couple tiny things left to do before the inspector shows up. I need to make a panel schedule and hang smoke detectors in every room upstairs. Who the hell knows when I’m going to have time to throw drywall up .

Once it passes inspection or i correct what doesn’t pass, i can submit my signed inspection form to ComEd then wait for permission to operate PTO.


Here are some uninteresting pictures of conduit and wires:


House roof into attic, it cuts to the right and down through top plate and the wall of my master bedroom.

From the nester bedroom wall across the garage rafters along the knee wall that frames out my balcony.

This is the garage roof, tees into a box with conduit from the stuff that came from the house roof then down the garage wall.

Conduit from garage attic goes down the wall here and into the crawl in my basement, then a straight 50’ shot across to my breaker panel.

Borrowed the megafuck MX Fuel core drill from work to pop a 1.5” hole through the brick veneer into the basement.

Disconnect and combiner panel. Squeezing 5 #10s and 3 #8s into a 3/4 conduit was not fun.


One of the roof junction boxes.


THE END?

 

[Gav'sPurpleZ]

Dude,
Amazing

 

[FESTER665]

Annnnd we done. Done enough to call for an inspection at least. Can’t believe I finished this crap and it snows today

I got all my wire pulled yesterday, terminations made at the roof junction boxes to the arrays, combiner panel and disconnect mounted on the wall and put my warning stickers in the wrong spots.

There are a couple tiny things left to do before the inspector shows up. I need to make a panel schedule and hang smoke detectors in every room upstairs. Who the hell knows when I’m going to have time to throw drywall up .

Once it passes inspection or i correct what doesn’t pass, i can submit my signed inspection form to ComEd then wait for permission to operate PTO.


Here are some uninteresting pictures of conduit and wires:

View attachment 139493
House roof into attic, it cuts to the right and down through top plate and the wall of my master bedroom.
View attachment 139495
From the nester bedroom wall across the garage rafters along the knee wall that frames out my balcony.
View attachment 139492
This is the garage roof, tees into a box with conduit from the stuff that came from the house roof then down the garage wall.
View attachment 139496
Conduit from garage attic goes down the wall here and into the crawl in my basement, then a straight 50’ shot across to my breaker panel.
View attachment 139497
Borrowed the megafuck MX Fuel core drill from work to pop a 1.5” hole through the brick veneer into the basement.
View attachment 139499
Disconnect and combiner panel. Squeezing 5 #10s and 3 #8s into a 3/4 conduit was not fun.

View attachment 139503
One of the roof junction boxes.


THE END?

View attachment 139494

View attachment 139498

View attachment 139500

View attachment 139501

View attachment 139502

View attachment 139504

Love those WAGO connectors.... Even use them on the low voltage landscape lighting that I just did, was worth the little extra cost....

 

[Chester Copperpot]

Fuck yeah. Between your thread and Dan texting me the other day and him doing solar on the shed, now I have the itch to do the whole south facing slope of the roof.