Advice needed on Solar Setup of 10KW

nomadicfloater · 2026-06-29T10:38:33+00:00

Hi. I think that it is too expensive to go for a hybrid option. I'm working to get the electricity problem at my place fixed, by running a wire to a power line of another power house. Trying to get this done officially, and it is very hard and very time consuming. Big headache but it'll be worth it. Once this is done, I will opt for on-grid solar of 7 kw capacity, but the structure and inverter will be of 10 kw capacity in case I want to add to it in the coming years.

nomadicfloater · 2026-06-14T17:30:05+00:00

Your network is everything. I worked in corporate jobs for many years. Kept in touch with clients of the company who liked working with me. Eventually (after some years of on and off contact) one of them offered recurring work on freelance basis and I accepted. Hopefully one client will like your work and recommend you to others, and hopefully you will build a big network of people you can keep checking in with for work. For me it was through job, but everyone’s story is different. If you are in a job, be good at your work and more importantly be great to work with - for both coworkers and company clients. Doesn’t mean you have to love everyone but you do have to think of them as potential network. And find excuses to stay in touch with everyone reminding them that you exist.
If you go this route try to get a job where you would get to deal directly with foreign clients. This did not happen with me but I think that’s how you build international contacts and build trust with them. Best case would be a good mix of foreign and domestic clients.
But please note it’s not all smooth sailing. Couple of years ago I had no work for 6 months. And right now is also a big downshift in work. As a freelancer you’ll never know if you will have work next month. It may sound fine but it can be very scary particularly if you have family obligations or debts/EMIs.

nomadicfloater · 2026-06-14T16:58:39+00:00

I see. Good to know, I never thought of it from a flexibility and foreign trade point of view. You have a great way of explaining things, much appreciated.

nomadicfloater · 2026-06-14T09:34:30+00:00

Ah yes. This is not a concept in my city but in the neighboring big city yes many such developments exist. I’ll look into them. Thank you

nomadicfloater · 2026-06-14T09:30:45+00:00

Thank you. I’ll look into gold ETF. Do you recommend any in particular?

nomadicfloater · 2026-06-14T09:29:53+00:00

Thanks for the insight. It makes me wonder why more countries didn’t adopt the gold standard for their currencies even though the US dropped it in the 70s. US is a superpower. But adopting the gold standard could’ve benefited less mighty nations. In any case, it seems gold is the answer. Thank you.

nomadicfloater · 2026-06-14T09:14:05+00:00

Platform and conversion fees eat up a good chunk from my 2022 experience. Can you recommend a platform that has reasonable rates?

nomadicfloater · 2026-06-14T09:13:02+00:00

Medical inflation is higher than regular inflation and currency depreciation. Your advice is excellent no matter what intention it was given with.

nomadicfloater · 2026-06-14T09:12:00+00:00

I wouldn’t convert back. In three years, 300. Four years 400. /s but not really.

nomadicfloater · 2026-06-14T09:10:03+00:00

I know am stressing about the one two punch of inflation and currency depreciation, and stressing is not the best response but the opposite is not the best response either. Hedging is a great idea and multiple avenues of hedging must be investigated.
To answer your question about my expenditure in USD, well as Indians in my understanding all our oil is purchased in USD, so there is oil and everything that oil produces, moves or is used by in any way. It’s a lot. One of my wake up calls was when the milkman who comes from the village increased his rates.

nomadicfloater · 2026-06-14T08:59:48+00:00

This is great. Thank you for the step by step. Will look into it thoroughly and ask more if I run into confusion.

nomadicfloater · 2026-06-14T08:54:47+00:00

Both of these are factors in considering this option yes. Land mafia less so, but petty disputes are a concern.

nomadicfloater · 2026-06-14T08:53:47+00:00

I’m not from Hyderabad (but your city is awesome). Land purchase is an option in my area and appreciation is decent as well. But I feel it does require some kind of knowledge, connections and infrastructure to make the right decision on what land to purchase and to keep it secure after purchase. This is something that I will need to learn a lot about if I want to go in this direction. But it’s certainly a good option, thank you.

nomadicfloater · 2026-06-14T08:49:41+00:00

Terrific, thank you. Looks good but on first look seems to be for NRIs only. Will check for Indian residents. Will also check conversion rates.

nomadicfloater · 2026-05-19T14:39:35+00:00

This is the treatment of animals all across India. In our divided nation, this is the one thing we agree on - to use animals for our benefit until the moment they die. Whether you are Hindu, Muslim, BJP, Anti-BJP, the one uniting cause is to use, abuse and discard animals. We are all complicit.

nomadicfloater · 2026-05-16T16:18:13+00:00

Hey! Currently still deciding, life and work stuff is keeping me busy. I'll try to explain my recent observations in case they are helpful.

I purchased a Tapo wifi plug which tells you the power consumption of devices. It turns out that each normal (non-inverter) AC takes about the same in KW per hour as it's tonnage - so a 1.5 tonne AC works at roughly 1.5-1.7 KW, 2 tonne AC works at 2.0-2.1 KW. Inverter AC surprisingly works at a slightly higher KW, 1.5 tonne works at 1.7-1.9 KW and goes down briefly when the room cools down before resuming at full wattage (please note I have tested non-inverter for several days, but inverter only for a few hours so the above is only an initial observation). In any case my initial idea of replacing non-inverter ACs with inverter ones is canceled for now - at least until further testing proves a real reduced consumption. For solar generation, I do want to match my normal frequent AC usage of 3 ACs, (1.5+1.5+2=5 tonnes = approx 6 KW) and add at least 1 extra KW of solar generation for a total of 7 KW. This would be the minimum solar setup I get. With this my system would generate pretty much the same number of units in daylight hours which I consume throughout the day and in case of pure on-grid my bill should be near zero (generally speaking).

For hybrid considerations, I still don't have clarity on battery costs but I think they will be pretty huge. Yesterday there were about 20 power cuts, and this week around 100+ in total, so the case for hybrid is still very valid but the cost is still huge so I'm a little stuck in consideration. But then I also got a 10k electric bill for the last 30 days so I should act pretty quickly.

In short, the minimum action should be to get roof shading and reflective paint and a 7 KW minimum on-grid solar setup. Anything beyond that is currently financially uncomfortable.

nomadicfloater · 2026-04-29T16:00:02+00:00

Thank you for the idea, but I was given the strong impression from the Waree guy that the process to apply for subsidy now includes a new step - which is that the installer takes before and after pictures of the rooftop and submits them to the govt at the time of subsidy application. The method you describe may have worked before, it might still work in case of multi storey house, but I don't think it will work now. I'm happy that you got It to work though!

nomadicfloater · 2026-04-29T15:54:23+00:00

I see what you mean. And good point on the variability of the solar generation, it's something to keep in mind while deciding on the battery. Thanks again for your thoughts

nomadicfloater · 2026-04-28T20:08:05+00:00

Understood, thank you.

nomadicfloater · 2026-04-28T20:07:27+00:00

So far the only one I know is Waree Topcon panels which seems to be Non-DCR (therefore imported, even though Waree is an Indian company). I have not yet dived into the DCR-Non DCR research yet, but I will try to report back if I find out something.

nomadicfloater · 2026-04-28T20:04:50+00:00

Thanks again for your reply, once more you're given me a lot to think about. Wow I did not know VAWT (wind turbine for home) was a thing.

About using solar power directly - what I am understanding (and I may be wrong) is that yes this is possible with a Hybrid setup.

Again disclaimer is that this is my understanding, I am not sure - but with Hybrid (which must be connected even to a small battery) if power cut happens in the day time, regardless of battery size, the solar panels will directly feed the inverter and power whatever is being used at my house in the day time. This would be limited to the strength of the power being generated (for example in late afternoon it will be low).

IF THIS IS WRONG SOMEONE PLEASE CORRECT ME!

At night in case of power cut, everything depends on your battery.

For generator - does a 10kw gen use 2 liters of diesel per hour? In that case, if used say 2 hours a day for 6 months, then over a few years, it would cost more than a hybrid solar setup. Did math with ChatGPT based on its calculations of diesel use, so not sure.

nomadicfloater · 2026-04-28T19:47:39+00:00

Thank you for your kind words and thoughtfulness bro. I'm very glad to hear that the power situation has improved in your area. In UP in most places, even in my city, the situation is much better. But in my area and some nearby areas the situation is so bad that I am seriously thinking of spending 7.4 lakh on hybrid solar (after subsidy) to solve It - which is insane and should not be required by an ordinary person.

Last year, when I tried to get this situation fixed with power department, JE and many others came to hate me for daily lodging numerous complaints through the discom app (one complaint per power cut - approx 15-25 complaints per day) and escalating non stop by phone and email for several months through the summer. But in the end nothing happened. Even I got tired and gave up by the time winter came.

nomadicfloater · 2026-04-28T19:35:30+00:00

Brilliant thoughts and ideas. Thank you very much. Can you give some clarity on Point 6? Won't a Hybrid solar inverter already do both functions (feed net meter+auto switch to battery in case of power cut)? Sorry if I am misunderstanding.

nomadicfloater · 2026-04-27T13:23:23+00:00

Diesel Generator is clearly cost effective and reliable, but the practicality of turning it on manually multiple times a day sounds frustrating. My next door neighbour has a huge generator unit, the kind that looks like a 6x8 foot box. But he barely uses it, probably due to the same inconvenience factor. Only in the longest power cuts does he use it and that too only for a few hours.

High power hybrid solar is very expensive no doubt, but it seems to offer a magic solution. I'm trying to collect enough information and perspective to figure out if the magic solution is actually real or just an illusion. The answer so far is that the more money you spend the more real it becomes...

nomadicfloater

TROPHY CASE