Energy I'm looking to install grid tied solar with shtf options

I got the 100 amp indoor 8 circuit, 8 space square d QO subpanel installed coming off the main with 1.5 inch emt conduit, connecting the main to the sub with 4 gauge thhn wire on a 70 amp breaker (because that's what I had) that way I can easily use the main to sub panel conduit as a race way for other circuits in the future if needed.
This allows me to install the proper breaker in the main so I can run a proper 80 to 100 amp circuit out to my ground mount solar panel, well, out building area and install an inverter on the house and run it to the main if I want to later on.

Now I know what these 8 circuit go to.
2 are a split air conditioning units. Bathroom, hall way, bed room, living room ceiling fans and living room receptacles (on 2 different circuits that's how I would have wired it), and bedroom closet. 70 amps is way more than enough.

There are about 2 dozen less wire nuts in the panels now.
I thought there were 4 or 6 wire nutted circuits no that's just what I could see, it was more like 10.
Now almost every wire is landed on a breaker or bus bar.

 

The final solution to my inherited hack wiring job going out to my out building will be to replace the outdoor 8 circuit 100 amp panel with a 125 amp, 12 space 24 circuit panel exactly like what I put on the opposite wall of the main panel.
The 6/2 with ground will be relocated to a RV receptacle box and use it as a welder receptacle.
Then run 1.5 inch conduit under ground from the main to the new 125 amp out building subpanel and probably run 3 gauge on a 100 amp breaker in that conduit.

 

I decided to open the existing indoor 100 amp QO sub panel because I noticed it was on a 100 amp breaker at the main and the sub also had a 100 amp breaker.
Those 100 amp QO breakers are expensive so I figured I would just wire the feeders to the bus bar.
Well this panel has a redundant breaker because it used to be the main panel a long time ago, probably 20 to 30 years ago and it's still wired like a main and not all the wire going into the panel have NM connectors. A few breakers are double wired, I will gain 4 spaces when I pull the 100 amp breaker, so not a problem.
The N and G need to be seperated and NM connectors need to be installed.

 

Instead of serriesing up two or 3 panels of the 72 cell variety for a 48v mppt charge controller, I think I will get 96 or 128 cell panels.
The 128 cell panels run about 90 ocv, so just wire all those in parallel or two 96 cell panels in serries for about 120v.

I have found these panels to be pretty big and cheap, since they are way too big to be used on 12v, most 24v charge controllers and the 128 cell panels will only work with more expensive charge controllers or grid tie systems and they are so big most people don't want to deal with their hugeness.

 

Here in Arizona we appreciate the shade of these giant panels also you'll save a lot of money and waste a lot less energy by buying a more expensive mppt controller. One of my systems is 12 volt and it works great with 2 large panels.

 

Yeah I have a Genasun mppt on my suburban and Morningstar 15 amp mppt in my generator plus power inverter rig.
I have my Morningstar 30 amp pwm for backup.

I was digging through the square D sub, deleting the 4 space 100 amp breaker, moving the feeders to the main lugs, it's obvious this panel used to be the house main. I moved a few circuits around, went to throw the 100 amp and pow! 2 breakers tripped in the sub. WTF!
Turns out some how a 12ga wire and a 14ga circuit on 20 amp breakers got tied together some where in the original section of the house. As long as the circuits are on the same line, it's not evident there is a problem till the house burns down.

That's unbelievably dangerous. I could potentially have 40 amps trying to go through a 14ga wire. Melt, arc, maybe 1 breaker trips, fire.
The only think I could think of to do is connect both wires to a 15 amp breaker.

I hate other people's wiring.

 

Now my out building is all rigged for grid tie solar.
New 12 space, 24 circuit outdoor panel only has 3 spaces used.
I think it's trench time.
If I had done it the last weekend I was off it would have turned into a mote.

 

I was wiring up the last of the new sub and realized something was missing.
The out building doesn't have its own grounding rod. It should probably have 2 but some how it passed inspection with none.
So I got my t post driver and 20lb sledge hammer.
I remember these things being a lot more difficult to drive into the ground on the east coast.
I will drive in a second one on the other side of the building when I start putting solar panels on top of it.

 

In side of three quarter emt conduit running 6/3 with 12ga ground there is plenty of room in the conduit for that wire.
Plenty of room in the pull boxes if using individual thhn wire.
If you are using triplex or a romex style wire in 3/4'' 90 degree pull boxes it sucks, just use 1 inch 90 degree boxes on that 3/4'' emt.
I am using really cheap scrap yard wire, some crack head brought a whole new roll of wire to the scrap yard and I bought it from the scrap yard. Otherwise I would have bought thhn wire to run in conduit.
Can't argue with the price of new wire from the scrap yard.

 

I had a guy from the coop come by and replace the over the wire meter on my house with and over the air meter.
Both are dumb smart meters that only known how to count up.
He was telling me that the coop wants solar power to be back fed on to its own meter. So now it looks like I have to get a second meter box and weather head installed by an electrician, which would cost around $1,000 to 2,000.
This guy goes around and installs all the meters so he knows what's up when it comes to anything that involves the meter.
I think I am going to go to the coop today and see what's going on, because last time I talked to them, about 6 months ago nothing was said about a 2 meter setup.

 

Ok the thing about the solar panels having their own meter and service drop appears to be on large installs.
For residential they want all the solar power back fed through a second meter on to the main panel.
I dropped by the coop and asked their engineer with a nice big picture print out of my meter and sub panel area how they would like it configured.
The engineer gave the perfect engineer answer "whatever the electrician puts in is good with us".

And I got the name of the local electrician who did the local residential install.
I have to have the second meter permitted when installed, or at least get it signed off by an electrician with a contractor license for the coop to put a cogen meter in it.
This substantially drops the price of this portion of the install from up to $2,000 down to a few hundred at most.

Remember this is a for profit install.
I'm not one of those yuppies doing it to "save the world" and just handing the reigns of the entire build off to some contractor.

 

The electrician finally came by and quoted me on the second meter base, disconnect for solar grid tie.
Still planning on going with a sunny boy sps grid tie.
That way I have up to 1600 watts of 120v on tap when the power goes out if the sun is still up.

 

Little did I know when I posted that there were forces working against me.
For the first time, a major US utility has committed to 100% clean energy
Excel energys plan to make energy 100% expensive AF.

 

I ordered 7.3kw of used poly panels for $1,875 shipped to my work.

 

Apparently I have bought enough shit to where now I get ads for equipment being sold off from power plants showing up on my Internet stuff.

No I can't quite use a 34MW steam turbine. Yet.

 

Might make the first phase with a 5kw inverter since a 5 and a 3.8 are the same price.

 

In other news it looks like AP is reporting that the NM energy transition act was written with input from out of state environmental wacos.
No wonder it reads like shit finger paintings you might see on the inside of a padded room.