I've wanted to install home solar for years now. It's difficult in my area. At first, the salespeople would ghost me after learning I didn't want or need financing. Then they lied about waived connection fees for use of a battery to sell power back to the utility during evening peak hours. Then the Federal incentives vanished. Now... the tariffs.
So our approach is to remain in the bottom 2% of electicity consumption for our area.
Stability in government is something we don't appreciate until it's gone.
That's still a lot higher than what I paid in SE Asia 2 years ago. I got new 550w panels delivered for $65 each.
And of course installation is incredibly cheap here. $50 total in labor for 10 panels on a quite high roof. I don't remember the costs of the mounting hardware, but it was reasonable as well.
Use second-hand panels, hire a contractor to install them, and another contractor to then install and connect batteries and an inverter. Ignore the possibility to sell energy back to the grid, charge your batteries instead.
Now, you would have built not a cutting-edge system, but a relatively inexpensive one, with a minimum of red tape and financing shenanigans.
It is very complicated, but for the countries which are major producers, for most companies, it's between 64% and 430%. China (~85% of production) is 140%.
But even putting aside the tariffs, I'm in the same boat as you - residential/consumer solar in the US is a disaster - everything goes through shady installation companies, the labor and permitting costs are enormous, it's nearly impossible to buy panels yourself at the market rate.
I DIYd this with permits and interconnect in the SF Bay Area. I’ve had no power bill for years now, and I have two hot tubs.
Panels and enphase on Craigslist are so cheap you don’t have to worry about it. Max out what you’re allowed with your main electrical panel size and you’ll never regret it. Don’t even consider doing less than the maximum. You will never meet anybody who believes they added enough solar after a year of ownership
> the liability of a roof install with leaks and servicing
Also expect a dove colony to enjoy the new comfort. All your neighbors will thank you for their homes turning into guano rocks, a sight once reserved to adventurous travelers.
Their nests, which will quickly accumulate under your roof's panels, offer not one but two existential threats for your home: They can catch fire when too dry, but also act as a water barrier, pushing the water into your roof.
Make sure to clearly read your jurisdiction’s setback requirements. Mine does not comprehend solar on a fence, it only clearly defines rules for privacy fences, solar on existing permitted structures, and dedicated ground mount solar installations. Solar on a fence isn’t a configuration it considers so I expect if I would apply for a permit to build a solar fence that I would have to convince my AHJ that it’s a privacy fence in order to use fence setback allowances, which would be tricky and likely not be a quick process.
> The cost of mounting solar panels nowadays is often higher than the cost of the panels.
This fact always surprises me. What goes into a mount that makes it so expensive? Its essentially just a piece of metal, right?
The article goes into the parts for their custom fence project, but for the more typical case, why can't the metal mounts just be mass produced cheaply?
Can someone explain to me what is the point of this? The whole point of mounting solar panels should be to maximize area that is facing the sun. Look at the 3rd picture, some are facing the camera, some are slightly tilted to the right. This way you effectively loosing some of the money you spend for the panels because they are not placed optimally.
If you would live on the equator optimal placing is laying panels on the ground. The closer you are to the pole you should lift panel up more on the north side.
Standing panels would make sense from theoretical point of view on the pole, but then you have freezing temperatures and snow covering the panels which makes them useless.
Which again brings me to the question: why? Why would anybody do that?
Is this an actual boundary fence or just some free-standing vertical solar panels? Is there any reason they should be vertical instead of facing the sun? Where I live, it would be more efficient for them to be at a roughly 40 degree angle (I think)
I'm planning to do the same (without creating too much of an eyesore for me and my neighbors). So great to see him documenting this.
One thing his construction will run into though is his wooden pillars rotting quickly. Always keep a healthy distance between wood or it will be soaked quickly.
I think that is one of the facts that I like about solar. It plays towards tinkers and builders unlike any other power source, can be surprisingly flexible and seems to scale pretty well. Also, besides knowledge about electricity, you don't really need and special knowledge or take additional precautions (besides the usual, safety third and all).
1. The article doesn't say how much power he actually generates from the panels.
2. It would be nice if more were said about the need for bracing. How high can the fence be without requiring bracing?
3. If you want to enclose a space, the which direction do the panels face? Outwards? As close to south as possible? You may end up with a bunch of electrical stuff facing away from your house. I think it's just a matter of time before your local overbearing town/hoa decides this is too ugly.
Based on the photos it's a fence in a fairly private location. I assume it's not viable if the solar fence is right next to a street or a sidewalk, because of potential vandalism and obstructions from trees or street lights.
I'm sorry, but that's not a fence, it's just a vertically mounted array. Would OP really have built a regular fence there?
It'd probably be less labor and material intensive to just build a single structure holding the entire array using much longer rails instead of setting posts and rails every 6-7 feet. To keep costs lower you could also go with a string inverter instead of the ~$1500 you'd need for microinverters.
Pricing conveniently doesn't include the panels, so you just have a set of posts and some horizontal racking.
I'd be concerned about clay heave (where clay shrinks/expands depending on moisture content, which likely varies over the year). If the posts at each end of a panel move out of plane there will be a twisting moment on the panel, and glass doesn't like being bent.
He does not mention getting any, but his panels are high enough above the ground, and above a slope, that wind should clear snow away from under the panels and prevent it piling up. I think.
Does anyone have experience with designing a similar setup but for a locale with snow accumulating on the ground ?
29 comments
[ 4.8 ms ] story [ 62.4 ms ] thread$1100 for mounting $1000 worth of panels does not seem terrible for something that anyone proficient with a hammer could accomplish.
I've wanted to install home solar for years now. It's difficult in my area. At first, the salespeople would ghost me after learning I didn't want or need financing. Then they lied about waived connection fees for use of a battery to sell power back to the utility during evening peak hours. Then the Federal incentives vanished. Now... the tariffs.
So our approach is to remain in the bottom 2% of electicity consumption for our area.
Stability in government is something we don't appreciate until it's gone.
If you're paying someone else to do it, the panels will likely be <10% of the cost.
And of course installation is incredibly cheap here. $50 total in labor for 10 panels on a quite high roof. I don't remember the costs of the mounting hardware, but it was reasonable as well.
Now, you would have built not a cutting-edge system, but a relatively inexpensive one, with a minimum of red tape and financing shenanigans.
(Edited: typos.)
https://www.infolink-group.com/energy-article/solar-topic-it...
But even putting aside the tariffs, I'm in the same boat as you - residential/consumer solar in the US is a disaster - everything goes through shady installation companies, the labor and permitting costs are enormous, it's nearly impossible to buy panels yourself at the market rate.
Panels and enphase on Craigslist are so cheap you don’t have to worry about it. Max out what you’re allowed with your main electrical panel size and you’ll never regret it. Don’t even consider doing less than the maximum. You will never meet anybody who believes they added enough solar after a year of ownership
Offgrid Electric Car (29 points, 6 months ago, 9 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43764598
Aiming at December https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42412256
Ditching the rails and bolting to the panel mounting holes with galvanized angle is a lot cheaper.
I want solar but I don’t want the liability of a roof install with leaks and servicing.
I’ve landed either on a solar pergola or a solar fence . Both concepts seem like a no brainer.
I like the solar fence since it allows you to cleverly avoid setback requirements that normal structures have.
I’m glad people like Joey are doing projects like this.
Also expect a dove colony to enjoy the new comfort. All your neighbors will thank you for their homes turning into guano rocks, a sight once reserved to adventurous travelers.
Their nests, which will quickly accumulate under your roof's panels, offer not one but two existential threats for your home: They can catch fire when too dry, but also act as a water barrier, pushing the water into your roof.
Talk to your AHJ before spending any money.
This fact always surprises me. What goes into a mount that makes it so expensive? Its essentially just a piece of metal, right?
The article goes into the parts for their custom fence project, but for the more typical case, why can't the metal mounts just be mass produced cheaply?
If you would live on the equator optimal placing is laying panels on the ground. The closer you are to the pole you should lift panel up more on the north side.
Standing panels would make sense from theoretical point of view on the pole, but then you have freezing temperatures and snow covering the panels which makes them useless.
Which again brings me to the question: why? Why would anybody do that?
One thing his construction will run into though is his wooden pillars rotting quickly. Always keep a healthy distance between wood or it will be soaked quickly.
1. The article doesn't say how much power he actually generates from the panels.
2. It would be nice if more were said about the need for bracing. How high can the fence be without requiring bracing?
3. If you want to enclose a space, the which direction do the panels face? Outwards? As close to south as possible? You may end up with a bunch of electrical stuff facing away from your house. I think it's just a matter of time before your local overbearing town/hoa decides this is too ugly.
It'd probably be less labor and material intensive to just build a single structure holding the entire array using much longer rails instead of setting posts and rails every 6-7 feet. To keep costs lower you could also go with a string inverter instead of the ~$1500 you'd need for microinverters.
Pricing conveniently doesn't include the panels, so you just have a set of posts and some horizontal racking.
He does not mention getting any, but his panels are high enough above the ground, and above a slope, that wind should clear snow away from under the panels and prevent it piling up. I think.
Does anyone have experience with designing a similar setup but for a locale with snow accumulating on the ground ?