Installing all in one Solar Inverter with Battery Backup. The EP Cube from Canadian Solar.
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- čas přidán 1. 05. 2023
- We are installing the EP Cube from Canadian Solar. This system has a 7.6 Kilowatt inverter and 4 batteries, totaling 13.3 kilowatt hours of energy storage.
EP Cube all in one Solar Energy solution: bit.ly/47dLudA
Low Price Per Watt - Solar Panels: bit.ly/3Jx8EmQ
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We live in southeastern Illinois on a 41 acre homestead. We just finished building our log cabin in 2018. Now we are focused on trying to grow our own food and raise livestock. Follow us on our journey we continue to develop our homestead and farm, while becoming more self sufficient.
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I reposted to Correct the Audio Issues.
I glad it was only audio; I was worried it something much worst.
I'm watching again to help the repost get views, thanks for fixing it!
❤ I like your sooler situm
The old version is still up - you should delete it.
The older version is "unlisted," and it won't show up to viewers anymore.
Installing a different system but as a first timer watching the electrical hookups is invaluable.
Very professionally done video and installation! Best installation video I've seen so far. 👍
Great job. Thanks for sharing! 🙏
Good to see you getting something back for all the hard work you put in. Thanks for showing us it all. All the best 🇬🇧.
Looks like a pretty sleek setup and the design is a bit chic too.
You are probably one the best channels they could choose to do an honest review and give an honest opinion on their products.
No wonder you were chosen by them to demonstrate the installation and use. You are a perfectionist and you know your audience in thoroughly explaining each step. I know nothing about it nor in the market, but I wouldn’t hesitate to defer anyone interested to view your video. I definitely enjoy each video that you and or your wife share, sometimes over again in case I missed something.
I'm using Solid State Batteries and having very good success.
Very COOL installation. You did the job all by yourself！！👍
Man! That's a great system. All the connections between batteries and inverter done and dusted. Plus rapid shut down prewired. Really great.
I enjoy your videos so much! A nice neat power room and well done and thought out. The back-up power is great when you live in the country, especially on a well. No electric, no water which means you cant flush your toilets. Nice job Evan. That’ll take stress off if power goes out. You still need to water your livestock too. Thanks for sharing.
Very clean setup. I know some of the equipment was provided at no cost so it would be interesting to see how much it would cost the average customer.
All going to pay off with peace of mind and if selling back to the grid money saved. Nice installation.
Hi u got looking so tidy it is so nice when u don't c the wires. X
very nice and clean installation ! love that "blink" of light to indicate the system had transitioned from on-grid to off-grid and running with just the battery. Thank you for the demonstration.
just the cheap LED lights I installed in the room had a pulse. The LED light behind the camera didn't pulse. And it seemed to go away when the freezer kicked on. So it may also be related to having such a small load on the inverter. We will really see how it effects lights, when we hook it up to the house.
agree Nice and clean installation
I think your explanations and projects are terrific. What a transformation over the past few years ! Beautiful work too. I like it when you discuss a failure or poor performance and keeping it real. That helps us the most I'd say. At some point can you talk about total cost of your solar system so us DIY folks can assess whether it fits for their application ? Thanks and keep up the great work.
I will discuss cost in a later video, after I see the real-world performance.
Excellent
Super great video for us DIYers. Thank you so much for sharing all your knowledge with us. Love your channel ❤👍
You're just amazing Evan ❤
Nice job Evan! You have your electric meter running backwards all the time pretty soon 😊
Thanks for correcting the audio, makes for a much better presentation of the products. It went in well and seems to be what you wanted now if it meets all your expectations things will work out well for both . Stay safe and keep up the great videos. Fred.
I’m a general contractor and I would love to have a system like this but it’s pretty clear you need to be a master electrician to understand and install a system like this!!!
Bravo, You ticked every box, Beautifully installed, very neat outcome, well explained and honest thoughts, it looks like a very well thought out expandable system and almost trendy in its looks. EP Cube 100% picked the right channel for displaying the system. My hope is that the evaluation carries on for years because nearly all evaluation reviews (all products) focus on the first few months. With what is a undoubtedly a substantial investement most people want to see the long term picture. Can I also say, that I walk away from channels that get driven by commercial gain but so far you are not getting to focused on that and what you do do is low key. Been a follower for a long time and enjoy your channel.
Super neat installation.
Evan, you made it look easy and explained the process very well. Here in Ireland electricity can cost as much as .50c per kwh......so ye are lucky at 0.14c. Thankfully I too have solar and it helps reduce the cost.
Very cool storage!
Evan, Thanks so much for fixing audio.
Great setup
Impressive. Well done
You are doing a great job
Nice system !
Fantastic and need: Well done!!!!
I've seen this somewhere before 🤔🤔🤔
Excellent job. Thank you. I plan on using this to install my project. However, I'm going to leave enough extra cable in the wireway to cope with moving the inverter up higher in case I add extra batteries later on.
That's exactly what I did. I have 3 feet if extra wire I. The wire trough, so I can add batteries and make the stack taller.
Even my comments below were meant for Nathan in out of the woods but your channel also gets the tag of one of our favorites for the same reasons so i guess i got a two for one here. my wife and I like everything that you do you're like one of our families. It's so relaxing to watch you do your work whether it be building or just talking or sawing. You are very suited for this gig with a very pleasant personality. We subscribe to over 300 channels, you are one of the best. Up there with AL Lumnah, Mike Morgan, Shawn James, and Josh at Stony Ridge. 😊🎉
Kris Harbour is truly off grid and is amazing at engineering and building. You may already watch him
THAT IS THE SLICKEST LOOKING SYSTEM I'VE EVER SEEN‼️ BEAUTIFUL INSTALL. HOPE IT WORKS OUT FOR YOU, GOOD LUCK GUYS, VERY IMPRESSIVE ‼️ ‼️ Vinny 🇺🇸
👍👍👍👍👍👍👌Absolutely awesome system, very skillful installation great video!!!
I like the Canadian Solar set up. I’m not a fan of the inverter screen on the smart phone. Great system all together. Your work is ultra clean, great job.
Wish I had your smarts..great videos!
Looks Good!!
Nice design system 👍
Very nice setup good work sir
Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe Lumnar Acres does not have Grid power to their property, so they are strictly powered by Solar, with generator backup if needed.
Your system is way different than others I have seen. Love following your videos and your homestead activities and all that you and Robecca do to be self sufficient.
Dude your awesome and im late to see this like usual. Keep doing your thing. This video was smooth and informative.
Neat looking setup. At $13k priced almost same as Enphase IQ10 battery but with better specs and warranty. Spec sheet has no mention of PV to AC conversion efficiency. For half the price you could go with Sunny Island inverter and 2x EG4 batteries but you would need another PV to AC inverter.
Yes, it seems to have a good warranty. It can input upto 15k of solar. I think it will do exactly what I want it to do.
Excellent 🙂
What a great job! This makes it look so simple. Mind if I share this with my group?
Damn! I wish i could build one like this
Very professional installation, Evan. Hopefully your power company will be equally professional when inspecting it and issuing your agreement. A friend of mine had a large array installed on his property and had a lot of push back from our power provider, but he eventually got it done. Now his power bill runs a little over $10; a month which is the grid connection fee. I have no idea how much it cost him for his system but it was substantial. It powers his home, his daughter's home and his cousin's home.
So far my conversations with the power company have been positive. I think it will go fine. 🤞
boy genius nice vid
Good morning! 🌹🌹🌹🌹
I did watch this video last night, but for some reason it didn't show my comment. So if you have another comment from me, you'll know why. Anyways, I like what your doing, you have a lot more patience than I do, and you do such a great professional looking job. Love what your doing, thanks Evan. Have a nice week!
I think I figured out why it showed again, you reloaded the video due to the sound issues! Regardless, loved what you did there! Thanks
my comment went away too but never came back .... there was some truth I mentioned and I have found tubers ... likely at instruction of sponsor ... tells them to remove... bad bad.
Cool💖
Love how you have your coffee with you 😂
Looks good- youll end up needing more panels though!
I still have 12 more panels to mount on the roof.
Not a fan of proprietary setups. Especially in a new to market product but hey if someone is willing to give it to you for free to test it? Yeah I would that. And seeing its coming from a big and well established company that has been in the solar industry for a few decades? Chances are they tried their best...
Evan, can you write all that down, I think I need to lay down, brain overload, but always interesting when you do it.
Interesting I all ways thought that concrete drains batteries. But man that sure looks nice.
That was the old old batteries. Do a quick google search. And you will see modern batteries don't have that problem.
For the last 10 years I have had solar here in VT. My electric bill is $0 even including charging my Chevy Bolt. Would never go back.
All nice if you own a Goldcard
Very nice setup, I really love to see the way you work, may I have the bill of materials I would like to mirror your setup.. cheers for you.
On battery power it appears (on camera) that your lighting has a slow blink. Great system though job well done!
The cheap LEDs I installed in that room, do have a pulse every 1 to 2 seconds. But the LED light behind the camera didn't. Cheap LED lights tend to do that on solar inverters. Also the blink went away when the freezer kicked on. I think it is because the inverter was putting out such a low wattage, since it got better with more of a load on it.
@@CountryViewAcres Thank you for the reply. I'm in the planning phase for my home as well and heavily considering solar. Still trying to decide if I want to sell back to the power company. You've done an excellent job!
Could you please describe or explain how you wired your emergency stop button? Wiring diagram if possible.
That room looks huge I know it’s small but.
I think it is better, cheaper just to pay your normal electric bill. That is a nice hobby.
Looks great, be very interesting to see the follow ups. Do you have an option to buy off-peak electricity at reduced price?
The EP cube can be set to use batteries during peak power prices. Thus using grid during lower prices.
Hi Evan really enjoy the channel been watching for a number of years, wanted to ask about the battery power from your solar system is it “clean“ enough to not damage the electronics on your appliances .. I know with generators it can be a problem, appreciate how the two of you work together you are an awesome couple ..keep on keeping on …blessings to you and yours.Thanks
The output is pure sine wave. It is clean energy and safe for electronics.
Audio is to low, I have everything on high. Thank you I enjoy your channel
Can it keep the central heat pump running during a power outage?
can we configure it to use as complete off grid?
Keep truth out as much as you can ...
Thank u fit this video. I’ve wanted to know more about this unit.
How many minutes does it take to commission it? Thanks
What is the purpose of transfer switch?
What size in dimiminson are your solar panels.thanks jim80
14c per kilowatt is quite cheap
If it ever catches on fire God forbid. Look out!!!!
Good Job! But a all in one machine can be more easier to install and use
If I need to place the gateway on the right side of the inverter/battery stack, is there room on the right side of the inverter (above the internal battery connector) to drill thru and run the two circuits? Is it still installed? You happy with it?
Any updates, problems?
This maybe too much to ask in the comments but, do you have any general tips or things to keep in mind while building a house to make it as easy/convenient as possible to add solar and generator later?
We are actually currently working with a designer and contractor to build our sunset years home but with construction prices the way they are, we won't be able to include everything at first so need to figure out what we can do to prepare. Thanks Evan.
Separate out your appliances and lights on different circuits so you can manage loads or easily move loads to solar. Leave enough space for solar equipment.
Roger - We are in the same situation as you. We’d also love to do it all during initial construction of our retirement house but, $$ are a consideration. My advice is, talk to a reputable solar installation company even if you’re not buying the equipment now. I’m sure most would be willing to share a checklist for preparation. What I’ve learned so far is:
Roof - Your roof must be proven to be capable of bearing the load of the solar equipment in addition to the other usual loads for your area. Mention this to your builder and they will engineer for the future additional load.
Think ahead - You will need wiring chases to connect roof panels to equipment location(s). Building these in during construction will give you a neater finished install.
Coordinate all the trades - Make sure that your designer, engineer, builder and electrician understand that solar may be in your future. Clear expectations now will put everyone on the same page for a seamless solar addition later. Good luck with your home. 🥸👍✅
@@joeromanak8797 Thanks. We have some acreage so the plan would be to put the panels in the yard instead of the roof. We should be able to put them out of the way so they are not that prominent. I'm thinking it will help keep the cost down somewhat. We will also have a walkout basement so I should be able to put in an electrical room something like Evan did in his shop. I don't know if I will be able to do as good a job as he did though...lol.
Looks great. My EP Cube should come in a few days, what software did you use to submit electric schematics for review?
@countryviewacres would also love to know as I plan my build. I would also like to see if you could share your diagram. I get confused on how you wired from service to both the gateway and transfer switch. Also confused on how you grounded your panels in the system… This video put me on my path so thank you for the excellent content.
Excellent video. Can you clarify the requirement for all DC lines to be in metal conduit? Is that only for roof mounted systems?
Any DC solar wiring inside a building has to be in a metal raceway. National electric code 690.31(G)
@@CountryViewAcres So is your system more than 1000 volts DC? Here is my understanding of that code section: In the 2020 NEC, PV system dc circuits were permitted on or in buildings if they were 1000 volts or less per 690.7. In the 2023 NEC, changes were made in 690.7 that point the code reader to new requirements in Section 690.31(G) for installations over 1000 volts where PV equipment and wiring methods are permitted to attach to a building under specific conditions.
The opinion expressed in the public input behind the code change was that the 2020 NEC® language allows PV equipment containing dc circuits rated greater than 1000 volts within mere inches of a building (such as from a nearby ground-mounted array), yet it is not permitted to mount or attach the PV equipment or wiring methods on the building’s exterior wall.
Since the permitted PV equipment and wiring methods would be located outside in open air rather than enclosed by the building, there is less risk than rooftop PV arrays having dc circuits over 1000 volts that penetrate the building envelope.
New Section 690.31(G) permits PV equipment and wiring methods containing PV system dc circuits with a maximum voltage greater than 1000 volts to interface with a building under the following conditions:
(1) Equipment and wiring methods containing PV system dc circuits with a maximum voltage greater than 1000 volts shall not be permitted on or in one- and two-family dwellings.
(2) Equipment and wiring methods containing PV system dc circuits with a maximum voltage greater than 1000 volts shall not be permitted within buildings containing habitable rooms.
(3) Where installed on the exterior of buildings such equipment and wiring methods shall be located less than 10 feet above grade. Wiring methods containing PV system dc circuits connected to this equipment shall not be permitted to attach to the building greater than 33 feet along the building surface from the equipment.
With certain restrictions, this code change allows inverters and associated dc equipment from a nearby ground-mounted PV array to be mounted on the outside wall of a building other than one- or two- family dwellings.
Lastly, what year of the National Electric code is your county up to? Mine is currently on 2002.
@@exploitthechildless1510 you must have missed the part where I had to enter the voltage of the panels. It is 405 volts DC open circuit.
I believe 2008 code is what's required. I have been following 2017 code.
@@CountryViewAcres Yes, I missed that part. My panels have much lower DC voltage and DC optimizers with have various safety factors. Thanks for the clarification.
It looks like you are running DC and AC through the trough. Maybe communication wiring too. Any issues with that? If the insulation rating is 600 volts for everything, probably ok. But, i'm fuzzy on that.
No problems. And Yes, the National electric code 300.3(C)(1) allows AC and DC to be mixed under 1000 volts. As long as all the wire is rated for the highest voltage present.
Are these EMP resistant?
Great video. What is the gateway I’ve never heard of that. Would be nice if it connected like a regular hybrid inverter instead of Canadian Solar making decisions for you. They are trying to govern all their equipment just like Canada does. Good luck with that! DIY solar people want less government control!
The Gateway is where all the AC power sources come together, grid power, hybrid inverters (max of 6), AC coupled solar, and standby generator. The Gateway allows 200 amp passthrough from the grid. So it can be installed right after the electric meter before any loads.
What made you move them to roof ? If you had to do it over would you just start here. Not to be rude this is all new to me but did you waste money going with those delta flow units first?
Very cool, am I correct in assuming you are an electrician?
Not a licensed electrician. I have an electrical degree and have done industrial electric maintenance for 25 years.
EMP proof
Odd how AC 240V doesn't have to be in a metal conduit. Generally, have to use a critical load panel because when the power goes out, they don't want power going back on the grid, so your main panel has to shut off while you're on battery. Anything hanging off your main panel will not be working during an outage. What I did was add a 26KW Generac to a whole house transfer switch that connects between the main and the meter if I need entire house powered during a grid outage.
👍👍
What happened to the EcoPro batteries and how do they fit in to your system?
They are just being used as portable generators now.
This might be a stupid question but will the bottom of the battery system being on the floor impact it?
No. The base is on the ground. The battery is on top of the base.
So... I feel like I saw all of this already. Did you re-edit this thing and then upload it again?
The audio was playing out one side. So I fixed it and reposted it.
Have you done a lot of electric work prior to this setup?
25 years of experience, but first solar setup.
Must be nice getting 20-30k of gear for free. Congrats.
The EP Cube I received is $13,000. And it is a very nice system.
@@CountryViewAcres I bet. Yeah, I just found ur channel while doing some research. Sold my house in TN. Too many ppl from CA have moved here so going deep country.
Gonna stay in my RV till finish house build. So ur channel is really helping with some decisions. Thanks
@gapperX we lived in our camper while we built our house. It was great till winter. Then the tanks froze. Winter was rough, but Living in the countr was worth it. Good luck.
@@CountryViewAcres yeah, I don't have to worry bout that too much here in TN.
I'm pretty much gonna be doing what you did. I have 20ish acres and evacuating outta city life. Retired from my IT job a bit early thanks to bitcoin and stock trading.
So, I know you prolly have all kinds of ppl asking you questions etc.
But if I could pick your brain from time to time, I would greatly appreciate it. I would be willing to barter and offer photoshop, animation, editing and other Adobe skills for your channel in exchange.
@gapperX you can always send questions to my e-mail. Countryviewacreshomestead@gmail.com
How will you deal with a Wi-Fi outage?
It has 4G cellular also. So it still uploads data.
Hi.... Evan, thank you for showing your video homestead 👋 bye 👋 bye 👋 bye 👋 👕🐔🐓🐣🐥🦃🐕🐈🐐🐑🐄🐖🐝🐠🐟🎣 🌱🌻🌼🌹🌸🌺🌷🏡🎥👍👍👍
Fun
Usa? 🇨🇦
My brother has had solar panels for years he is on tariff he gets 45pence sell back and if he uses it still get 45pence he is a retired financial advisor and he is always crunching the numbers etc
He went on holiday for a long break to Florida before he went took readings anyway when he got back he had sold back very little and had a big usage bill . He was phoning everyone up until his wife had to tell him in the rush to leave she left the hairdryer on this blow the solar breaker and eventually burnt the dryer out 6:40
How do you know how to do all this Evan? Are you in the electrical field? Are you an electrician? Because I’m so confused about all this solar stuff!
Yes I have worked industrial maintenance on electrical and controls equipment for 25 years. And inhave studied up on solar for the last few years.
@@CountryViewAcres so if I am having to go all solar what would you suggest I do?
I didn't understand why you needed a manual transfer switch? Shouldn't the EP Cube controller have that functionality if you doing whole home backup?
The transfer switch is so I can work on the EP Cube and still power the house.. Or else the buss on the inside is always energized.
So essentially it's bypass. In normal full backup you won't need it. I am really liking the EP Cube but not sure if I can install it by myself. Did you need permit and inspection?
@sandippatel8584 I didn't need a permit. And only the power company inspected it, so I could sell back power.
I think it is fairly easy to install. No battery cables to mess with. Power in, power out, communication wires, and solar panel wiring.
The only down side is the interface. There is only a few setting you can change. So if you are one of those people that want to play around with settings and customize how it operates, you can't do that.
Thank you so much sir! I will attempt it one of of this week.
@@CountryViewAcres Thanks for encouragement! I am working on getting this from Signature Solar. One question that EP cube themselves are not clear on is if the solar panels will continue to produce during grid outage since my system is AC coupled with existing Tesla inverter. I am assuming you only did DC coupling and no solar is going straight to the EP Cube Controller?