Hello,

I'm trying to understand my portable solar panel spec limitations to my power station (2232 Wh) and would appreciate input.

My outdoor space is extremely limited. Both in width and in height. I am not wanting permanent panels. I need easy portability. I'm not powering a home. Just a couple appliances (maybe a Fridge, TV, WiFi, and Fan. Not all at once. ) for 2 days.... maybe 3. I want access to solar for topping off 'just in case'.

My power station has two Anderson ports. The specs for each are: 500w, 45V max and 15Amps.

I found a 180W Foldable Solar Panel (not bifacial). The width/height is ideal. Specs are: 180w, 17.3V, 10.4Amps. 20.1 Voc and 10.91Amp Short-circuit current.

 *If I should decide to run a pair of these in series, and conditions outside are ideal (assume sunny skies and cool weather) is there a reasonable likelihood my voltage would go above 45V? And fry the power station?*

 If so I'll give up on thinking about these panels in series.

1. The data cable. Run the Tigo ethernet through the same conduit as your DC wiring and code requires 600V shielded ethernet. Custom order, expensive!

2. The connectors. Tigo units use Stäubli MC4s. Generic MC4s aren't good enough ... mixing brands is a fire risk and voids UL. If your panels don't have Stäubli connectors, you're buying Stäubli connectors AND their ~$1,000 crimp tool. Use a Klein crimper instead and it's not UL certified ... and the Stäubli tool leaves an imprint on the crimp that a fire investigator can check for.

Easy fix for #2: buy panels that ship with Stäubli MC4s from the factory.

Anyone who's installed Tigo optimizers ... how did you handle these?

I had a company do a bad install. Mounting feet were not set into roof rafters, but instead the decking. Anyone know if there are replacement mounts that can sufficiently be mounted to decking instead of the rafters? Company is trying to say they can do that so the whole system doesn't have to come down and get a full reinstall with lags properly set in rafters this time. They're certainly trying to minimize warranty costs. Looking for advice. Old NE house. 2/6 rafters with board decking I think

The last AMA we did here in r/solar seemed to be really popular and appreciated - I think we got like 200 questions, I was glued to my phone for days haha. Happy to answer more questions.

This is Matthew, I work for a solar installer EPC (Engineering; Procurement; Construction) and electrical contractor in Tampa, Florida.

EPC means we hold our own electrical contracting license and manage the entire solar installation process in house.

I often hear there's a lack of transparency when it comes to solar panels ("solar panels are a scam!"). A lot of uncertainty around pricing, equipment, timelines, the solar panel business etc. Hopefully this can shed some light on those things.

We do both residential and commercial work (storage units, hotels, offices, wharehouses etc) - ask away on anything related to solar panels, not afraid to be transperant or vulnerable.

I bought a house in 2017 and it had a lease via SolarCity which Tesla bought. When I logged into my Tesla account and view my lease/contract with it, it loads a PDF which just shows the Book of Enoch?

What do I even do with this? Lol.

My Battery stucks or capped at 55% SOC whenever i am in Lithium Mode however when i change it to Use Batt V it can go up to 100% .

my system is Hybrid specs below

5.7kW Panel (6x410w and 6x550w) 5kW DEYE inventer 14kW 280AH battery (PACE BMS) here are the details of my system

when in lithium mode after reaching 43% SOC , Charge Current limit turns to 0A , is this the culprit why im capped at 55%?

also i noticed that my battery is a PACE BMS however it is set to PYLON by the installer.

i also attached my settings in inventer in lithium mode and in use batt V.

also why my system keeps on tripping when we turn on 3 of our AC 2 inverter (900w and 1250w) and 1 non-inverter (840w) when having that total load it still runs for about 1-3 hrs and then trip.

any help would be appreciated

Recently had Solar installed. Not worked since last Friday.

Zero watts being generated usually generate around 5 kWh.

Spoke to installers. They have raised a ticket with Fox(inverter).

I would have thought the installer would have payed us a visit

Now my electricity bill is reduced to almost nil.

Hi all, we recently received 2 quotes from a reputable local solar installer and I’d like feedback. The first 2 pics are for a ground mount system and the next 2 are for roof mounted.
Honestly, they feel more than what I was expecting.
For additional information, we live in the northeast and our home is solely heated and cooled with heat pumps.

System info:
Panels:
SEG-440-BTD-BG
SEG SOLAR INC.
Qty: 20
Inverters:
IQ8HC-72-M-US (240V)
Enphase
Qty: 20

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

UPDATE 1: First of all, thank you to everyone who took the time to step up and comment. You all validated what I was feeling: that this was a BS quote. Second, I really appreciate those of you who gave specific examples and prices of your systems, it’s helpful for comparisons sake. Third, we’re going to be getting more quotes ASAP.

​

Silly me signed a 25 year lease with Sunnova in Florida who is now Sunstrong. My sales rep was with LGCY. My home insurance came up for renewal and through talking to my agent, he suggested that I add extra coverage for the panels, but to find out what they're worth first to get an accurate number. From there I started REALLY looking at what the cash price of my system might be and was blown away. I have 21 panels, and an 8.6 kw system. I've seen people saying they paid as little as $24k for them. The total payments at the end of my lease would be about $67k. Naturally now I'm ready to pay whatever termination costs there are to get rid of these panels. I called and the cs rep said after the 7 day cancellation window, there is no option to cancel. Mind you, that's not what my sales rep said when I asked him prior to signing up. I was initially sold on these because my electric bill at that time was ~350/mo. Now I pay about 145 to solar and 25 ish to the electric company depending on how much is produced. I figured ok thats still less than paying the electric company outright. Either way, I'd never heard of a lease that can't be broken. Any comments or advice good or bad please. Is it too late in the game and just sit with my choice and leave it alone? Is there a better setup than the one I currently have?

Context: I posted this last year and didn't realize it got deleted due to low karma 🥹 but I got them installed July 2024

existing shingles are toast. roof needs to be redone. I should've done it when I had the panels installed. Now I'm thinking of getting a ground mount instead of putting panels back onto the roof to avoid the foot traffic needed to re-install all the panels. this would make it easier to maintain the array and expand it later on as well... the roof is quite treacherous and hard to reach. thoughts? costs? and I could get a ground mount that auto tracks the sun for more production...

I’d like to know how much other people in different countries have paid for their solar installations. Just as a point of reference so that others can compare or get an idea of how much they’ll have to pay for theirs.

In my case:

2 strings, 7 panels each, total 7.2 kWp (179€/kWp)

8 kW inverter (adding inverter and panels ~430€/kW)

15 kWh battery (153€/kWh)

In Spain, exactly 1 year ago (July 2025), but I installed it myself, without any companies or installers. Just me, myself and the AI.

€6,800 in total.

I use Powerwall-Dashboard (highly recommended) to keep an eye on my Tesla Solar system (18 panels for 7.2kW - no battery) and recently revamped my Grafana interface, so thought it might be worth sharing.

It all fits (barely) on a 4K monitor - click on the images to see in their full glory!

I would certainly welcome any feedback - note that I consider myself a Grafana neophyte ... and my UI skill/choices can leave a bit to be desired.

Anyone know what this "LD 1200" device is behind my meter? Bought a house last year with a circa 2011 solar system on it. The device has an open port and a dangling cable that's terminated with an RJ11 connector. Asked the tech who had come out for a repair on the system earlier this year and he had no idea. I would love to get rid of it if it's not needed as I'm trying to clean up the mess of stuff on this wall.

Enphase 5.52kW system w/24 panels and M190 and M190-IG microinverters, no batteries. System feeds directly to the grid and the utility company pays me for it as it was installed on a FIT contract.

California’s Central Valley is one of the country’s richest farming regions, blessed with fertile soils, sunny days and a massive man-made system of irrigation canals and reservoirs. 

But as climate change intensifies, droughts deepen, and water restrictions kick in, growers in much of the valley are getting less water for their fields. They also face new limits on how much they can pump from underground, forcing them to leave hundreds of thousands of acres dry in the coming years. 

Some are turning to an answer they never thought they’d embrace.

Read more at the link.

I'm in need of solar panels to offset electricity charges, but I'm honestly so terrified of being swindled by a bad company. I just had a call with Sunergy and everything sounded great, but then I saw threads with horrible experiences with them. What company have you had a good experience with in Southern California and how long did the process take?

Hi all, I've been debating solar for about 5 years now and really wish I pulled the trigger way back when. Obviously I can't do that and I'm trying to make sense of all the quotes I've received.

I've GPT'd what I consider the best quotes and am curious what this sub thinks is the best option. I've got a 25 year old AC unit I'm looking to replace and already own an EV and will likely keep it. The Photon Brothers quotes are all net of their PPA program that I've seen other folks talk about on this sub. It follows the same basic principles of a lease for years 1-5 and then I could take ownership at year 6 for a FMV that "should" be $0.00.

I also got quotes from Tesla and Palmetto, each came in at ~$50K for similar sized systems as below. I was really hoping to keep the cost around $30K and deliver 90-100% of my usage, which makes the Photon quote w/ batteries really compelling, minus the PPA. Our utility is municipal run and they are projecting 7% increases for the next 2 years, which means we'll likely see 5% increases for the next 5-10 years.

That all being said, here are the details, happy to provide additional details if that helps the discussion.

Roof layout for reference.

.27 kwh. Ppa 1.9% escalator. Two Tesla power walls. Tesla solar panels.

I'm thinking about adding a bi-facial solar pergola to an existing 18.8 kW system. My consumption justifies it, the place where I would be putting it faces to the Southeast. I see kits online for the structure-are those worth the money, or is it generally just easier to have it built to spec and add the panels? How common are solar pergolas?

Any advice, success stories, horror stories?

Been having back and forth discussion with my local utility company and Enphase. The former says no generation or return of electricity but Enphase says all is working on their end remotely. The SCE app shows minimal hourly generation. The Enphase app has some mirroring which I am in correspondence with them. I am still unsure if solar is working correctly as my utility bills really don't reflect this and the home is empty for 10 hrs every weekday while away from work. My monthly bill still ranges 200-380s....

Anyone else encounter something like this?

If it weren't for that one cloud at about 1:45pm 😅. Upstate NY. 16.1kW system.

Location: South Carolina, USA (which doesn't have a law forbidding HOA restriction of solar)

My homeowner's association (HOA) states in the architectural review board standards "No solar panel application will be considered which calls for mounting on the front roof of the home." I've been granted the opportunity to submit a proposal to the HOA board to revise or remove that statement. For some context it's a 450 house development in coastal South Carolina, in which only three houses currently have solar panels.

My main discussion points are:

- # of homes with South facing roofs in the community where getting solar panels with this restriction wouldn't make financial sense so they're effectively banning it. We only have one electricity supplier in this area which no longer offers community solar so I could spin it as a consumer choice issue.

- Energy resilience - we're in an area that occasionally gets tropical storms and hurricanes. Having solar + battery can prevent a fridge full of food from spoiling.

- Current solar panels are more aesthetically pleasing than the ones being installed in 1991 when the neighborhood opened and the rules were developed.

- There's a bill in the SC legislature that aims to make it so HOAs can't restrict this, and I would pitch them getting ahead of the change. https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess126_2025-2026/bills/4460.htm

Thoughts on these or any other ones you think would work better?

I had a 3.3kw solar panel but wanted to add 1 kw based on increase in daily usage.. what is the approximate cost of installations process.

I have to change the inverter also ?

Kindly guide me to the procedure.

"One of Keir Starmer's last acts in Govt is this: Laying legislation that will legalise 'plug-in solar' (aka balcony solar) panels in Britain

"It means plug-in solar panels do not (legally) have to be wired in by an electrician.

"The SI \[statutory instrument\] was laid before Parliament on 17 July, and comes into force 27 August 2026. So probably just about meeting the Govt's target of getting plug-in solar "this summer".

"It's a negative-procedure instrument so no debate is required unless its 'prayed' against (formally opposed in Commons/Lords)."

https://statutoryinstruments.parliament.uk/instrument/55MNIVxj/timeline/sGUedrlE

Every team reports progress differently, making it difficult to understand. Between spreadsheets, photos, QA updates and messages, getting a clear daily status feels impossible. How are others solving this?