Top 10 Beginner Mistakes When Building a DIY Solar System

Tools mentioned in the video (affiliate links): Best Value Torque Screwdriver: amzn.to/3DEMqwb Torque Wrench: amzn.to/3sEpuH8 (there is an insulated torque wrench out there, but it costs 20X as much (not joking). The options above are great for the price) Basic Electrical Tools that I recommend: www.mobile-solarpower.com/tools.html 0:00 Intro 0:14 #10 1:21 #9 2:53 #8 3:56 #7 5:36 #6 6:54 #5 8:51 #4 9:49 #3 12:15 #2 14:29 #1 Does off-grid solar confuse you? Check out my DIY friendly website for solar system packages and product recommendations, and so much more! www.mobile-solarpower.com/ Join our DIY solar community #1 largest solar forum on the internet for beginners and professionals alike: www.diysolarforum.com/ Check out my Book Best-selling and beginner-friendly guide to 12V off-grid solar! amzn.to/2Aj4dX4 If DIY is not for you, but you love solar and need an offgrid system, check out Tesla Energy! They will price out a system and get your house offgrid: ts.la/william57509 My DIY Solar Equipment Recommendations (Constantly updated! Check here first): 12V/48V Lithium Solar Batteries: www.mobile-solarpower.com/solar-batteries.html Complete Solar System Component Directory: www.mobile-solarpower.com/solarcomponents.html Complete 48V System Blueprint: www.mobile-solarpower.com/48v-complete-system-blue… Plug-N-Play System Recommendations: www.mobile-solarpower.com/full-size-systems.html Complete "Add to Cart" 48V System Kits: www.mobile-solarpower.com/complete-48v-solar-kits.… DIY Friendly Air Conditioner/ Heat Pumps: www.mobile-solarpower.com/solar-friendly-air-condi… My Favorite Online Stores for DIY Solar Products: Signature Solar Offgrid One-Stop-Shop. Best Value 48V LiFePO4, Victron and Offgrid Specific Heat Pumps: www.signaturesolar.com/?ref=h-cvbzfahsek Current Connected SOK, Victron, mr.cool/ Heatpumps and High Quality Components. Fantastic customer support: currentconnected.com/?ref=wp Litime My favorite 12V budget battery!: www.litime.com/?ref=XBIA62RFcalHns Epoch Batteries My favorite high-quality 12V battery: www.epochbatteries.com/products/12v-460ah-lifepo4-… Renogy A classic 12V solar store that has been around for ages! DC to DC Chargers and more! renogy.sjv.io/n1VjXx Rich Solar Renogy's biggest competitor! Similar products, but at a better price: richsolar.com/?ref=h-cvbzfahsek Battery Hookup Cheap cell deals bit.ly/2mIxSqt 5% off code: diysolar Contact Information: I am NOT available for personal solar system consult! If you wish to contact me, this is my direct email: williamprowsediysolar@gmail.com/ Join the forum at diysolarforum.com/ if you wish to hang out with myself and others and talk about solar FTC Disclosure Statement and Disclaimers: Every video includes some form of paid promotion or sponsorship. Some links on this youtube channel may be affiliate links. We may get paid if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these. My videos are for educational purposes only. Information is subject to change/update at any time. Electricity is DANGEROUS and can kill. Be smart and use common sense :) DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, An affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com/

I'm a retired electrician and can say that this was an excellent video. You don't just say what to DO or NOT DO, but, most importantly, you explain WHY. You are also teaching "good practices". I am subscribing just because this video was so good that it will help me explain things to others properly, including being more concise. Thank you for exceptional work. 🙂👍

As a controls engineer - Almost EVERY time I go in the field for construction inspections, the #1 problem is improperly seated and torqued cables. Will hit the nail on the head there. We formally call the pulling a "tug test". Do one after terminating anything - making sure everything is de-energized.

You forgot the two most important ones A) get reacquainted with the basics of (solar) electricity before a project B) find or make a cheat sheet with checklist to keep handy when doing a project. C) start with smaller project that don’t hurt as much financially in case of mistakes. People, including myself need these refresher videos frequently

My first DIY system is working great. I over built everything especially the wire size. I built my system at about 50% of the capacity of my inverters. As a beginner I am one of the old school guys that soldered my battery cables. Used to do that as a heavy equipment mechanic 30 years ago. I never had one failure, but will probably invest in a crimping tool. It took me 18 months to save money and then install my ground mounted system. It was a big investment, but has been working flawlessly for 4 months now. It saves us about 40 % on our electric bill. I am only using about 50% of my battery each day, and in an emergency could probably get about 30 hours out of my small system. Definitely adding more battery backup as soon as funds are available. Since we're retired and with limited income, it's difficult to have enough funds for large projects. Adding 10kw battery backup would be extremely beneficial to our system. At least we have a small emergency backup that we use everyday. I know that if I had the funds I would go completely off grid. This solar power energy is addictive! YOU JUST WANT MORE POWER. Everyone I watch on YouTube has increased their systems at least twice. Will, I appreciate your videos and applicable information on solar system and products. I used several valuable resources and information that you provided in the past 3 years. Even at 71 I'm still learning and exploring new opportunities to be more self reliant and independent Thanks

I've been doing marine wiring for over 25 years and off grid solar for about 15 years, and when I started solar wiring, I used all of my marine wiring experience to do proper jobs. I've seen so many DIY off grid solar installs that are cobbled together and basically fail on every point your made in your video! Honestly, your video is 100% accurate on all points. I can't find a single thing to dispute. You just got another subscriber - me! because we are always learning. Some of my biggest pet peeves - soldering of any kind, on boat or solar wiring. And buying cheap off-brand crap, like breakers, bus bars, fuse panels, wiring. When someone asks me to "redo" their solar setup, or install new, I often will send them an exact list of all the major parts needed, like breakers, bus, fuses panels, cables, cable ends, crimp heat shrink marine connectors, charge controller, etc, and let them review it online and even but it themselves. If they balk at the price and/or look to use cheap alternatives, I may refuse to do the job and I tell them they can find someone else.

please continue these instructional videos....you have helped so many folks and I have no doubt you have save saved many lives .your knowledge &your ability as a instructor a blessing to all of us " newbies " thank you!

I retired from large power plant power generation. There has been more than one transformer fire due to terminals loosening over time due to the thermal cycling. All of Will’s points in this video are worth watching periodically.

Top 10 Mistakes Summary: 14:29 1 - Loose terminals 12:15 2 - Using the incorrect tools (emphasis on wire-strippers, crimpers, insulated tools) 9:49 03 - Improper Wire-Sizing 8:51 04 - Messy, unorganized Wiring 6:54 05 - Solder large lugs (use only mechanical connections) 5:36 06 - Using CCA (Copper Clad Aluminum) cables; Use only pure Copper 3:56 07 - Using low qaulity circuit breakers 2:53 08 - Building a System that cannot be Scaled 1:21 09 - Not enough batteries or solar panels 0:14 10 - Connecting a solar string to a device without checking the voltage

I wonder how many times I'm going to be pausing the video and running out to see if I made any of these mistakes lol Thanks for sharing and as always keep building 👍

I know a mistake that you FORGOT! All beginners should check out your videos and forum. 👍

I am educating myself in solar and off grid living and I'm sure you've heard but just in case I will reiterate the fact that your presentations to me are the pinnacle of educational videos that I have viewed! Very in depth, easy to follow and comprehend as well as confidence building. Thanks for the education!

I totally agree with you on the comments about soldering. For many years , I lived on a boat and did all my maintenance myself. To do things right and stay safe I took a course on marine electrical systems, taught by a professor from the University of Washington, who also taught the Coast Guard, the guys who are inspecting the boats. he said that in a marine environment that soldered connections are extremely subject to mechanical failure from all the motion. The only place for the soldered connection was one that was totally and safely secured against any type of movement. Now that I’m retired and live in a “land boat” (RV) I follow the same practices, thinking that the vibrations from the vehicle can probably do similar damage is the vibrations on the boat. I realize that many of your viewers are thinking of a fixed base, home installation where the only movement may be earthquakes, and I am honestly not knowledgeable about that, so I’m mostly talking to those installing into vehicles of some sort. Regardless, your explanation says why not to use solder are very convincing.

No. 5: As an electrician I totally agree with you! In school they warned us about another point: solder gets soft over time and starts crawling and the contacts get loose and corrosion appears within. So, never solder when you can crimp!

I always use a conductive grease in my crimps, it doesn't take much don't over do it, but it adds a corrosion protection to the joint. I even use it on small stuff, it really helps on outdoor or buried connections.

From what I've seen in my 15 years in solar, #1 should be "Under Sized Cables"

Once you start generating your own power the first thing you will notice is how much each device uses. I replaced several older devices just for the reduced wattage. A watt meter is your best cheap investment and you will be surprised what your use is. If you can conserve it you don’t need to generate it , I’ve been watching the evolution of solar equipment for years and it is amazing how the price and availability make it easier and affordable for you to set up a system. I always research your videos before even considering purchasing any solar equipment . Thank you for the video.

Also: dubble check polarity.. At work a contractor got the polarity mixed when parallel connecting two 400V battery bank, short-circuit the now 800V battery.. The connectionbox exploded throwing the contractor across the rom, and started a fire. The incident took down the server room, effecting the work of 15-20 thousand people.... Due to the safety equipment, the contractor escaped relatively unharmed...

Will... YOU ROCK! Thanks for just keeping it real and teaching us all, sometimes we need a little extra info and you provide it.

Great video! I would only add to the torque point this: Tighten to rated torque, then loosen a bit, then retorque to spec. You'll be surprised how often the connection "snuggles down" a bit more at the same torque once you do this. The screw or nut will often (more often than not) rotate a bit more to reach the same torque than it did during the initial tightening-to-torque. Such double-tightening makes the connection a lot more reliable over time!