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Solar panels for balcony (slrpnk.net)

submitted 4 weeks ago by cirrokumulus@slrpnk.net to c/technology@slrpnk.net

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I am looking for a small solar panel setup, ideally to be connected to the grid and reduce electricity bill. I have heard of the Ecoflow system but I would like to know if there are alternatives out there.

If anyone has experience and can recommend any products, please comment :)

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[–] eleitl@lemmy.zip 3 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (1 children)

I would go DIY and start with a bunch of panels (I have 2 kWp) and decent microinverters which are daisy-chained and feed in directly, preferably on its own circuit branch with decent wire crossection and a dedicated fuse. You can add a battery solution afterwards. It can get a little complicated.

Notice that if you're not compliant with local law the insurance will use that as a way to weasel out of liability in case of a house fire.

[–] pressedhams@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

I think weasel is an unfair description of not covering something dangerous that wasn’t installed correctly.

[–] eleitl@lemmy.zip 0 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

But the current 800 W feed in legal limitation is based solely on a worst case scenario. You can feed in safely a lot more if you are aware of the technical reasons for the limitations. That insurances always not want to pay out the claims and are highly creative in that regard is an accurate and fair statement.

[–] pressedhams@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

And regulations are written in blood. We didn’t need a warning label on hair dryers until someone died and the family sued for them being complete morons. If something was not installed to code and it fails, insurance should not have to cover the cost of the idiot who thought safety codes are there just because of a nanny state.

[–] eleitl@lemmy.zip 2 points 4 weeks ago

You can of course insist on on installation solely through a licensed technician, which renders the whole idea of small solar completely uneconomical. Rather than a ROI of less than two years.

And I wasn't talking about a house fire as a result of violating the code limiting feed in to 800 Watts. I was talking about a house fire for entirely unrelated reasons, and insurance using that as a pretext of not paying fire insurance.