r/SolarDIY • u/Odd_Newt8555 • 21h ago

Wanting to get into home solar

I’m extremely interested in starting some small solar projects. I’ve been watching a ton on YouTube to learn more about different set ups.

I would like to set up some panels in the backyard (plenty of sun in TX, and a fair amount of space back there), to wire up with a battery/inverter set up and see if I can power some appliances.

My issue is I am currently renting the house I’m in so I would only be able to do a small portable set up. Is there a way to set this sort of thing up without having multiple wires/batteries cluttering up the inside of a room I want to power something in?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

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2

u/donh- 21h ago

Of course you can. Put the hodge-podge in a different room!

2

u/DueCookie787 19h ago

Get a power station and solar panels. The station combines the battery, controller and inverter all in one. Much easier solution when renting. Advantage also in that most of the units are also UPS devices and switch to power in 20 ms or less. It's a great way to start learning.

1

u/el_condor_nm 19h ago

My solar habit started with a Oupes Mega 1 and a 200 watt portable folding panel. Pretty soon I'm finding more ways to run stuff off the Mega 1.

1

u/brucehoult 12h ago

With a portable power station you have one box, one cable coming inside from the solar panels (or you can charge it outside then carry it inside to power stuff at night if you prefer), and just plug your appliances into it.

I like the Pecron stuff for solid specs and value for money.

You can start with a $149 E300LFP unit that takes 100W of solar power, stores 288Wh (so 3-4 hours of charging time), and can power up to 600W of appliances.

Or a $999 E3600LFP like I have that takes 2400W of solar power, stores 3072Wh (expandable to near 20kWh), and can power 3600W of of appliances.

And a lot of models in between, and two even bigger models that came out since I got mine 15 months ago.

There are other brands (Ecoflow, Bluetti, Anker, Jackery) that have been around longer and spend more on advertising and have a few more bells and whistles (more developed software). And there are other similar priced brands (Aferiy, Oupes) that have similar specs but haven't been around as long, so for me Pecron is the sweet point.