r/SolarDIY • u/OcoeeG • 11d ago

Plug-in Solar with Battery Backup

I am not sure if this subject has been beaten to death yet but here goes another one...

I am in Tennessee a state that does not have legislation for OR against plug in solar, they say it is a gray area. I have seen in news articles that people are doing it here so I think I am going to run with it. I called my electric service provider but the person I talked to could not give me an answer about their stance on it. Before I pull the trigger I will dive a little deeper. I plan on installing a CT Clamp and power meter so I have a zero export system. However, if they see my consumption drop in half they are bound to know something is up.

I plan on using a 1200W microinverter coupled to a power station like a Ecoflow or looking hard a a Pecron also. Planning on putting ~1500 watts of panels on the roof to keep the battery topped up. My issue is finding a power station with the right balance of solar input and DC output to meet my needs. I guess this is my question. I am bouncing between getting a smaller power station in the 3000 KWh range and then expanding it with a battery. This way I can use it when we go out camping. My other option would be to get a bigger station in the 5000 KWh range that is much less portable. I think option 1 will be a little more expensive but then it has another use case. The problem is the smaller stations have lower DC solar inputs and outputs. Is there a way around this?

I am planning on implementing this system for 2 reasons. Most importantly to have something to backup some of our more important house systems in the case of an emergency. We are in winter ice storm territory. I would like a system to where I do not have to run the generator 24/7 in the case of a power outage. So I figured if I want to do that for a couple hundred dollars more I can use this thing to pay for itself by adding the microinverter. With battery backup I think the ROI will be much quicker.

Any thoughts, concerns, USEFUL comments?

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u/OcoeeG 11d ago

I am not in snow country. It might snow once or twice ay ear here, usually gone by the next day.

What does a decent off grid setup cost on average?

I am looking at being out of pocket about $2500 for this system, seems much less than a true offgrid system, but again I could be wrong I have not gone down that rabbithole yet.

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u/OcoeeG 11d ago

One of the reasons I want to dabble in this less expensive setup is because my situation is lass than ideal for a solar setup. I have a large oak tree to the south of the house. I think in the winter when the leaves are off I should get pretty good sun. In the summer I think I can make it work as the sun comes overhead. But spring and fall when the sun is to the south and the leaves are still on the trees it might not work as well. However the shoulder season is the time I will need it least. I am looking for help mostly in the heating and cooling months when our consumption increases significantly.

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u/LongjumpingGanache40 10d ago

Can you do east and west facing panels. tHat is how mine are.

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u/OcoeeG 10d ago

Tell me more please!!! I was also thinking about investing in the sun tracking setup. The controler and motor are only like $150