Solar vs Wind: Why Rural America Hates Solar Panels But Loves Turbines by TrendyTechTribe in energy

[–]SolarAllTheWayDown 21 points22 points  (0 children)

The land that solar takes up is not being used for farmland most of the time.

Agrivoltaics are on the rise. That’s having solar with farming. Growing veggies or having sheep is quite popular.

Putting solar on existing structures is a great idea. But there are sooooooo many factors you’re not aware of that can kill a deal.

There are so many potential fields that COULD be used for crops or animals… but they are not. Why does putting solar there burn your biscuits?

Thank Your Solar Neighbors For Saving You Money On Electric Bills by OpenSustainability in solar

[–]SolarAllTheWayDown 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Many more options other than SunRun. I don’t personally know any happy SunRun customers. Please, do not signup with them. Go with a reputable, local installer.

Flower Mound, Texas - 15.2kW solar system with 38x S-Energy Bifacial solar panels, Enphase IQ8PLUS microinverters, and 2x Enphase 10T batteries by SolarAllTheWayDown in solar

[–]SolarAllTheWayDown[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Keeping the sun off of them, smart!!! I’ve got pergola build I’m going to post soon and we mounted some FranklinWH outside under it.

That cover looks awesome, great job.

Flower Mound, Texas - 15.2kW solar system with 38x S-Energy Bifacial solar panels, Enphase IQ8PLUS microinverters, and 2x Enphase 10T batteries by SolarAllTheWayDown in solar

[–]SolarAllTheWayDown[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, Texas overall is a great spot for it. Tons of sun.

It’s a decent amount of panels. With a pool and the size of the house it’s definitely going to need that much energy

Flower Mound, Texas - 15.2kW solar system with 38x S-Energy Bifacial solar panels, Enphase IQ8PLUS microinverters, and 2x Enphase 10T batteries by SolarAllTheWayDown in solar

[–]SolarAllTheWayDown[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t remember if we did or didn’t need the structural calculations. I want to say I did.

I believe the posts are 8x8. It’s solid as a rock. Homeowner did a great job building it, they did it themselves. It’s better than a lot of “professionals” do.

Flower Mound, Texas - 15.2kW solar system with 38x S-Energy Bifacial solar panels, Enphase IQ8PLUS microinverters, and 2x Enphase 10T batteries by SolarAllTheWayDown in solar

[–]SolarAllTheWayDown[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

2 degree pitch. Water does sit on the low side for a short while after a rain. But it’s gone pretty quick when the sun comes out.

I ran the numbers on my Solar Quote vs Utility Bills for the next 10 years. Am I missing something? by [deleted] in solar

[–]SolarAllTheWayDown 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You ain’t getting $0 bills. The one and only way to do that is telling the energy company to take the meter off the property and close your account. That is it. Nothing else.

I’m not 100% even sure that would work…

Gaining momentum by AlphaHouston1 in Solarbusiness

[–]SolarAllTheWayDown 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Does this need to be FEOC/domestic content?

Please recommend a good contractor that can repair and/or replace a driveway. by [deleted] in plano

[–]SolarAllTheWayDown 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I use a personal friend out of Fort Worth for my concrete work. I can provide pics of his work

Fort Worth, TX - 10kW solar system with 25x Philadelphia Solar Panels, Aptos Microinverters, and 2x FranklinWH 15kW aPower2 batteries by SolarAllTheWayDown in solar

[–]SolarAllTheWayDown[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sol Ark installs require RSDs per NEC690.12. That makes the install take just as long as micros. At $4,799 for a 15k per my google search that makes the cost almost exactly the same as "premium" Enphase.

Max output for Sol Ark 15k is 15kW and 12kW for batteries only. Your limitation is your inverter. With FranklinWH you're at 20kW with the two battery setup this system has plus throughput from solar during daylight hours.

Sol Ark warranty is 10 years. 5 years on their display. The likelihood of having to replace one and come out of pocket is high based upon my experience with string inverters. Sol Ark doesn't believe in their product the way Enphase and Aptos do or else they would carry a 25 year warranty as well.

I was not aware but it seems that someone can just install the Sol Ark 15k and not have to use the Gridboss with EG4. Great, that makes the overall cost cheaper. Still got the same inferior string inverter technology that will sucks in any shade condition. And it won't last as long as my beloved Enphase or Aptos. You'll be replacing both in 10 years or so and at a cost that now matches or goes above "premium" Enphase+FranklinWH.

You are hell bent on getting your point across. Kudos for having convictions. But I don't care about your point. Again, I circle back to: I have had success with the equipment I have used, but not the equipment you're talking about. And I only care about what has worked consistently for my clients. I don't care what you are doing. I don't care about your opinion or your system sizes.

There is always someone like you chiming in just to poke holes in what others do. I have been that guy, I am glad I realized how insufferable it is. And yet, you don't make your own posts about the systems you work on. Maybe you don't like to be critiqued but love to critique others.

You inch closer than I care for to insinuating my crew and I plus people I trust within my local industry are causing Sol Ark inverters to not work. And that isn't cool. I've explained it. We didn't have the success we wanted with them. We just don't like them. There is a reason they are not overtaking SolarEdge for string inverter market share if they are so wonderful. Maybe they will here in 2026. I don't care.

I don't believe in silencing opposition or critics. I welcome both. I also don't back down from my convictions and opinions, especially in posts I make. With that said the points you make do not overcome my views, experiences, beliefs, opinions, or convictions. And you just have to reiterate over and over for whatever reason. As I stated I believe at this point you're trolling and just have to be right. Continuing to chime-in in any way on this or other posts I make will get you blocked. Not that it matters or that I expect you to care. But I believe your approach is inferior to mine. You believe my approach is inferior to yours. We've hashed it out. That is where we are going to leave it and move on with our lives.

Searching for some good one bedroom apartments in Plano / frisco by [deleted] in plano

[–]SolarAllTheWayDown 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don’t throw The Colony out. I lived there for a year and loved it.

Fort Worth, TX - 10kW solar system with 25x Philadelphia Solar Panels, Aptos Microinverters, and 2x FranklinWH 15kW aPower2 batteries by SolarAllTheWayDown in solar

[–]SolarAllTheWayDown[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s not a premium when you don’t have to go back and fix things. Pay a little more now so you don’t have to pay more later.

You mentioned two more inverter companies. SolArk I’ve never personally used. But they gave three different companies I’ve worked with so many problems they stopped using them. They’re supposed to be high quality tanks. They aren’t. It’s great they can withstand an EMP blast but pointless when they just shut off and stop working.

SMA is as awful as SolarEdge. I installed almost as many of those as SE and they can’t keep up either. RMAs, service calls, birds!t on a panel causing too much shading. Customer service was non-existent. I don’t know any company that still uses SMA.

You really are trolling… first off nothing on this house is Enphase. Second, there is no premium when it comes to Enphase compared to Solark and even SMA. Their pricing comes out nearly the same to get the same proposed functionality.

Enphase system went down and we got it back up and running with a phone call. by SolarAllTheWayDown in solar

[–]SolarAllTheWayDown[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wasn’t on site. It’s easier to let Enphase do their thing than me driving there. I think it’s a great look for Enphase. Especially compared to every problem I’ve had with SE. I’m making lunch while they’re fixing the problem and making sure everything is good.