I’m not new to solar power but I come from the Eco-Flow portable solar power station world. Now that the house has been renovated and repaired my journey into DIY solar installation has begun. It’ll be a slow, tedious process to get it all installed.
Eco-Flow Gear
- Delta Pro with 2 Extra Batteries (10.8kWh)
- Dual Fuel Smart Generator
- Delta 2 Max (2048kWh)
- 2 Delta 3 Plus with Extra Battery (2048kWh each)
- 2 River 2 Pro (768Wh each)
- 1 River 2 (256Wh)
- 2 800W Alternator Chargers
The Eco-Flow gear are portable solar power stations that I use for emergencies and in the RV’s. While in the house they are used to power a microwave, an Air Fryer, and charge flashlights, laptops, iPads, and iPhones. The Alternator Chargers are not permanently installed but one had been used to reverse charge a couple of 12V LFP 105Ah Epoch house batteries in the travel trailer. The Dual Fuel Smart Generator is used to recharge the Delta Pro and Delta 2 Max in an emergency when grid and solar power isn’t available.
New Solar Equipment
Batteries: ECO-WORTHY 51.2V 100Ah Cubix Pro Server Rack Batteries.
Inverter: EG4 12000XP V2 Off Grid Inverter.
Rack: ECO-WORTHY V2 Server Rack.
Bus Bars: Victron Lynx Distributor and Lynx Power-In T-Class.
MPPT Controller: Victron Energy SmartSolar MPPT Tr VE.Can Solar Charge Controller (Bluetooth).
Battery Charging: ECO-WORTHY 48V 100A EC100 Battery Charger.
Solar Panels: SunGoldPower N-Type 450w Bifacial Solar Panels.
I’ll be using the new equipment listed above to power our central air conditioning unit only, which is by far our largest expense from grid power. My intention is to add two more full racks that will power the entire house off grid over the next two years.
What’s Next
I’ll begin with getting the 6 ECO-WORTHY batteries charged up to 100% SOC while we wait for supplies and landscaping to be put in place for the solar panels.
Installing the EG4 Inverter and the Victron gear will take additional mounting changes in the house. Mostly this means adding some concrete backer board and aluminum strut channels to the wall for support and heat/fire resistance.
I won’t be posting much solar content until things progress and installation is in full swing. You can always check back later.