Topic: Solar array starting to look good. (Read 20530 times)

Just to show how innovative miners can be
The only problem now is that there could be an unexpected catastrophe so double check anything, the progress is growing rapidly.

the only thing that powerwalls make sense for while mining;  is if your farm comes online when solar is saturated....   and the powerwalls will "fill in the gaps" due to clouds passing by, etc....    but that still doesn't get around californias insane rules for hooking up power systems that could be linked to the grid.

its pretty sad.

almost as sad as all the solar companies who keep folding year after year.....   yet the "power that be" expect progress.... (they expect you to run with gorilla glue stuck to the bottom of your shoes here in Cali)

powerwalls should be powered with excess solar energy, its probably cheaper to get up to 30kw solar array
using micro inverters rather than a single inverter to squuze more power from the panels that are shaded by clouds

still how can two powerwalls power much equipment?  from what i hear they hold enough each to power a home more normal residential use? mining is a constant draw and would drain the walls within a few hours

Ill write it in its most basic form:

Disconnect main input breaker to separate you from the grid
Fire up a generator, and link it to your internal wiring to feed it;  right at the main panel just after the disconnected mains.  This should have the ability to trick the system into thinking you are connected to the grid still.

another way is to simply wire in the powerwall as if you had no Pv(solar) system installed.... ignoring the solar system in the diagrams...   then once powerwall is installed, enable the standard grid-tie link.

I do not suggest doing any of this though;  because its much more complicated than this.. and I have omitted several key issues that will pop up in the config and wiring of it... you just gotta look at how they hook up and decide for yourself... or get an electrician buddy whom can give you the proper cautions.

As i understand it, there are folks in Australia (and elsewhere in the US) who are doing exactly what I was told I could do by Tesla salesfolks (fill up on grid overnight, and sell solar generated power to PG&E) - but because of PGE, there is some rule in place which prevents the storage (w/solar) from filling up from the grid. This is the precise detail which basically rekt my ROI on this system, and gave me a storage system which is near worthless on consecutive cloudy days.

The Telsa forums are full of folks trying to circumvent this silliness (by feeding other power threw the Tesla transducer / current sensors at night, 'tricking' the Powerwall sw to think there is solar being generated) as well as other methods, but your mention of re-wiring it definitely piques my interest.  I'd love to have that done, if it's actually feasible - can you elaborate at all on that aspect?

from what I understand;  its because you have a solar system.

if you have just a powerwall;  the grid is allowed to feed it.  If not;  it must only receive feed from the solar system to charge; not from a grid-tied feed.

Similar to the reasoning grid-tied systems can't be connected if the grid end gets disconnected (an outage).  So no back feed can injure a lineman.  It just all has to do with the fact that there are requirements for solar systems that are absolute and can not be changed.  Especially in California.


Now;  nothing is stopping you from re-wiring it yourself;  but... are you qualified?   It's a dangerous combination of systems to mess up even a little.   Hope it puts some light to the situation.   All it takes is the operating of breakers in a completely separate panel, along with the main service disconnect breaker, and a gas generator for a friend to be able to use his grid-tied system when the grid is offline....  Why let 15+Kw go to waste when he's got a business to run.....  But again, im not sure how legal the configuration is; or isn't.  I just know that any modifications are done to his systems while the main service is disconnected completely 110%.

I had an >10 KW solar system installed a cpl years ago to help offsite my home mining, and due to California's time of use metering plan I was on, I had to turn them off during the expensive part of the day/evening (not an issue when I solo mined, but for pooled mining, it was sub-optimal.)

This past year I had 2 Tesla powerwalls installed (finally, after ordering them nearly 18 months prior) with the specific intention of filling them up with cheap grid power at night (as I was told was possible by the salespeople), and using that during the day for my load, allowing me to sell my generated power.  Well, lo and behold I only found out after the Powerwalls are installed that Tesla / PGE won't allow me to fill them from the grid overnight, due to .. reasons.

Moral of the story: the devil's in the details.   The way the PGE/incentive system is setup now, a home miner (who is in PGE's service area) is better off on an EV rate plan (time of use) with Powerwalls and NO Solar panels, as screwy as that sounds, it's true.  Even tho Telsa's sales folks swore up and down I would be able to do what I wanted, it wasn't until after they were installed and paid for I realized what bait & switch I was delivered.  "Oh, if you have a solar system, then you can only fill the powerwalls from the PV array, and never from the grid."  This 'feature' makes the Powerwalls neigh worthless on repeated cloudy days.  Meh!

this is a larger system with over 400 panels it is grid tied and does not use batteries at all.

https://i.imgur.com/5em72rF.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/dZLTmCj.jpg

older video from dec 2017

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKlXarvBv5M

What LiFePO4 batteries do you recommend for storage, or what are you currently eyeing as an upgrade?
Very curious as LiFePO4 seems to really benefit smaller setups with near zero discharge, small size, almost no maintenance and massive round trip efficiency.  I don't aim to reach a single S9 in usage, but already can run a tuned Ryzen CPU 24/7 and it is addicting.
I found some marine batteries with 26Ah at 12V for $170 out the door, four of them parallel can keep things running pretty smooth on a small PC.

@ yankees

2 six card 1080ti rigs run  zcash  = 2400 watts
5 Myrig halong's at  ckpool          = 6500 watts
3 Avalon 841's  at ckpool            = 3900  watts
2 and ⅔ s9's   at nicehash           = 3300 watts
1 A3 at sia pool                          = 1200 watts

various other pcs with some gpus = 2000 watts


total mining = 19,300 watts

it also runs buysolar's home  ie A/C oven lighting etc

So phil  how has the array been working for you and buysolar?

How much gear runs on it?

wrong thread  here is a set of  links:


thread 6 = 93 pages with 52,000+ views
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/sixth-alt-coin-thread-i-forgot-to-mod-last-thread-2138550

thread 5 =  52 pages 45,000+ views
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/fifth-alt-coin-thread-last-four-got-too-big-2019146


Link to thread 1 = 44 pages 39,000+ views

https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/my-1-gpu-now-11gpus-5rigs-for-ethereum-45-days-of-mining-photos-thoughts-1429151

Link to thread 2 = 113 pages  144,000+ views

https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/my-1-gpu-now-11gpus-5rigs-for-ethereum-45-days-of-mining-photos-thoughts-1429151

link to thread 3 = 42 pages  40,000+ views

https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/third-alt-coin-thread-last-two-were-too-big-builds-links-thoughts-etc-1799555

link to thread 4 = 100 pages 105,000+ views

https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/fourth-alt-coin-thread-last-three-got-oversized-1877588

new video of gear in the array


 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKlXarvBv5M

I will do so.
poolside gear stats

here are the 3x Avalon 721's



here are the gpus

Well. They are 18 months into a 25 year warranty.

Buysolar is in the business so the install was lower cost for him .

Further back I mention at peak we have 67kwatts to sell.
We actually are producing 110kwatts at peak. Using
Say 11-12 kwatts to mine 4 -5 for his home and business and selling 67 to the power company.

Add that a max of 84 used of the 110 made.

Which means the 2-3 percent age loss is factored in.

I am 60 years old baring a wicked hail storm the array stands a chance of out living me.

Most people don't have 2 acre horse paddock and a barn.
Most people are not in a state that helps solar.
Most people are not solar installers.

So most peopl can not do this.

I sure buysolar will want to maintain the array as long as he is in the business.
He can bring people to see a 2 acre install.
So it helps his business.

On my end I need to balance gpu mining with ASIC mining.  Find safe deals. I do not need high risk as the power side is good.

If gpu stays good we may simply turn off some asics and put in more gpu since it earns more coin per watt.

well we have mixed in pc/gpu mining.

and with winter mining vs summer mining rainy days  this is a 5.5 hour rated farm year round

so 5.5 x 67 = 368.5 kwatts on average.  24/7/365

since it is grid tied and power his home his office and the miners.

we can do  8kwatts year round average for mining for free

dips to       6kwatts for free in the winter
jumps to  13 kwatts for free in the summer

13 kwatts = 120th for free in the summer.
 6 kwatts  = 55th for free in the winter

but we do not do this we mine some gpu as gpu mining give more coin per watt

we have 3300sol using 1.6 k-watts an hour   this  will earn about    .50-.55 btc in a month

we have 70 th using 10 k-watts  10 k-watt an hour as it is a mix of s-9 r-4 s-7 and avalon 721   this earn about .943 btc per month

so     1600 watts an hour with  gpu give us   .55 btc this month
and 10000 watts an hour with asics gives us .94 btc this month

Since all this gear is paid for and provided by me  and the solar array is provided by buy solar it has been working okay.

Of course prices can drop and it is not too good.  but 2017 has been very nice so far.

and with a foot in gpu and a foot in btc we can shift or stand pat as needed.

yeah this array has 1.5 acres on the ground

and panels on the barn and house.

grid tied no batteries

On a long clear june day  it can generate 67 kwatts an hour for 14 hours  940 kwatts for a high day.

on a cloudy short December day it does 50 kwatts an hour  for 4  hours  so 200 kwatts for a low day

solar is on our list. already done upgraded insulation, geothermal hvac, new septic for a proposed addition. we have lots of land so would ideally like ground mounted panels, maybe 2-3 kilowatts grid tied.

so many things to get ready for when we retire we just can sit back and relax as cheaply and as comfortable as possible.

I am a partner on this venture with forum member buysolar.

I am the mining side of it.

He is the solar side of it.


He is in the business solar installs.
You could pm him and refer your question to him.

yeah they are 10 year warranty from home depot

1600 cu ft. 

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Master-Flow-1600-CFM-Power-Gable-Mount-Attic-Fan-EGV6/205924917


 and we are making a  wind tunnel/sound proof/ heat channel  with this

https://www.amazon.com/Car-Insulation-Deadener-Automotive-Lightweight/dp/B016QUSKPE/ref=sr_1_109?


lastly  I have these on order

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HSLI4FG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?

to tidy wires.


if it is to  hot  maybe 2 of these  to blow air  at the   gear

http://www.airkinglimited.com/page/industrial-floor-fans.html