Is this a good solar panel for home use?

Here's a review

 

MidNite got back to me. This is what they said:

MidNite Solar does not offer a consulting service nor do we perform installations, sorry. Attached is our DIY Manual to help you understand solar and design your system. Schneider is a good inverter and their supply chain is strong right now. Here is a link to a Schneider pre-wired inverter system that MidNite Solar offers … MidNite Solar Inc. Renewable Energy System Electrical Components and E-Panels. We sell through a retail network and costs can be 80-90% of our full retail price as shown. Link to our retailers … MidNite Solar Inc. Renewable Energy System Electrical Components and E-Panels. You can buy the inverter separately and the E-panel from MidNite and wire it all together yourself to save money.

Attached is the DIY manual they provided.

They provide a link to the prewired unit: MidNite Solar Inc. Renewable Energy System Electrical Components and E-Panels

So now I'm not sure if I need the pre-wired unit, or if all the stuff that I already bought is good enough for what I need.

I'll try to wade through the DIY manual. Not sure that I have the mental horse power and/or time for it. But I'll give it a try...

(The above was a private email they sent to me and I took some of the contents out of it. If it's not appropriate to post a private email, let me know and I'll delete the contents. I think it's pretty straight forward. Like I said, I removed some of the content that might not be appropriate for public consumption as it was addressed specifically to me.)

 

well all the solar guru's are in Arlington WA within 8 blocks .
NAWS sells there stuff. Go 48Vdc min to harvest for a DIY , Im 96Vdc and its for pros ..
Ms Sue sends good info , But they are the Builders , not the sellers ..

 

Midnite solar called me and said that I got the last unit that was usable without a cell phone/internet connection. That was pretty lucky.

 

wow. over my head. but sounds like he likes the harbor freight ones. I'll be mounting them on my roof. I'll need to buy a bunch of them so cheaper would be better.

 

Looks like Harbor Freight is having a 20% off Memorial Day sale, so I might stock up on these.
If I got a bunch of them, like 10, could I somehow wire them up together?

I also see they have batteries. Not sure how many batteries I would need for a bank:
12V, 35 Amp Hour Sealed Lead Acid Battery

This one looks like it's a single panel for $129, but the guy in the video seemed to have 2 in his box:
100 Watt Monocrystalline Solar Panel

Not sure if I'd need any of these gizmos. The guy in the video said he had to switch out wires or something:
Solar Power Connection Cable Kit

This one is like 4 in 1, so I'm not sure if that's a better deal:
100 Watt Solar Panel Kit

Might need 1 or 2 of these if I end up purchasing 10 panels:
400 Watt Universal Solar Connector

 

I have heard of battery banks exploding and/or catching on fire, but I'm assuming all those Schneiders gizmos I purchased somehow prevent that.

 

I need to remember to pick those panels up from Harbor Freight tomorrow during Memorial Day sale. I guess I'll put a sticky note on my car. Gotta love sticky notes.

 

OK - I got all of the Schneider products and I got 8 solar panels from Harbor Freight.

So now I'm wondering what else I need. I'm assuming I'll need roof mountings for the solar panels. I will also need some way to connect the solar panels together. Then I'll need a really long wire to snake from the roof into the house to go to the battery bank.

Then I'll need to purchase a lot of batteries I suppose. Maybe put them or a server rack or something.

Then I'll need to somehow hook up all of those Schneider pieces of equipment.

Does anyone have recommendations for products for any of the above? Thanks!

 

OK - Thanks. I'll look into this. Figure I might as well buy the supplies now. Seems like supply chain is drying up w/truckers and price of gas.

I'm not familiar with welders cable, but I guess this is it. Super thick copper cable:
Welding Cable | WireAndCableYourWay.com

https://www.grainger.com/category/electrical/wire-cable-cordsets/welding-cable

 

I wanted to pull the trigger on this cable before the supply chains collapse. Do you know which type I should get? I see 6 AWG, 4 AWG, ect. That's Greek to me. Do you know which one I'd want? I'll be running it from 8 solar panels. Not sure which one is appropriate. I'll probably pick up 100 feet of it.

Thanks!

 

Also, if I have 8 solar panels, how many batteries should I get for this setup?

I bought one of these already:
12V, 35 Amp Hour Sealed Lead Acid Battery

Not sure if I should buy 7 more. I battery per solar panel?

 

You don't want sealed. You want flooded deep cycle Trojans.

 

each panel gets 8AWG pos and ground run to the combiner box that has a breaker for each one , give panel specks and ill post the breaker and box size .

Sloth

 

Hi Sloth, This is the panels that I picked up. Specs are further down on the page:
https://www.harborfreight.com/100-watt-monocrystalline-solar-panel-57325.html

 

Something like this?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082QWKV1G/?tag=survivalmonke-20

How many would I need for 8 panels? Thanks!!!

 

I ended up picking up 6 of those. set me back 1700.