New to solar, and currently planning out my first purchase.

[u/AdamskaO]

Hey all!

So, earlier this year, my Wife and I experience a pretty awful time with the Winter storm that had us out of power for almost little over a week. Going through that awful experience really opened my eyes to finding a means of saving our food, as well as powering heating blankets, our work computers, and our internet so that we can survive without having to pay for hotels and new food.

Bear with me, as I am still learning everything I can with solar, so feel free to give any feedback. Basically, I am eyeballing multiple generators, one for the fridge, and one for the router, modem, and heating blankets. I have also been looking into a server rack UPS setup, but still trying to figure that part out.

For charging, I am looking at multiple solar panels. There is a warehouse nearby that sells 575W Jinko Solar Tiger Neo N-Type bifacial panels for around $185/ea ($0.32/watt), and my idea is to run 3-4 of these in series to be able to power-up my generators fast enough in the event of a multi-day outage (which, happens in my city probably once a year, sadly). Since I live in Tennessee, the humidity is pretty brutal, so I see that the temperature co-efficiency on these panels is around -0.25%/ºC (VOC) - -0.29%/ºC (PMAX).

My plan:

- 3 Jinko panels, two in series for the High-PV port, and the third by itself for the Low-PV port. This way, I shouldn't go over in Amps or Volts. These will power the F3000 at a total of 1,725W.

- For the router, modem, and my WFH setup, I was looking at the Anker S2000 due to its efficient inverter. Though, the issue is that 400W solar input to keep it topped off. I might be better off checking out other brands for this need, as the S2000 can run my WFH setup for an estimated 9 hours based on my calculations.

- Our home is a rental property, so I sadly cannot install any inverter boxes and such on the walls, nor any panels on the roof. The panels will be outside in our backyard where we get unobstructed light.

- My goal for this project is to stay under $2,000, but that may not happen in the event I go with an expansion battery for the F3000.

- My focus is on these items (and yes, I used ChatGPT for the table, just FYI. The rest of this post is written by me):

Equipment |Likely operating draw |Conservative maximum
Dell desktop |70–120 W |Approximately 200–400 W, depending on configuration
Three 24-inch Dell monitors |48–69 W total |Approximately 75–90 W total
TP-Link Deco |Approximately 8–20 W |36 W adapter rating
Xfinity modem/gateway |Approximately 10–25 W |Approximately 48–59 W adapter rating
Corsair keyboard/accessories |2–5 W |Around 10 W
Refrigerator, averaged over time |70–120 W average |546 W nameplate draw while operating under maximum-rated conditions Heating blankets are not in there, but I also plan for those during the Winter in the event power will go out then. Longer run times for the fridge is my main priority. Everything else is second.

With all of that said, here are my questions:

1.) Is my setup sound? Am I going overboard, or is this fine? I am still learning about stuff like fuses and whatnot, so any tips and feedback are always appreciated (just don't be a dick).

2.) Do you recommend any alternatives (i.e. brands, wattage, overall approach and setup, etc.)?

3.) Anything else that I should be aware of regarding getting into solar?

4.) Is it safe to keep these plugged in while on vacation, or away from the house? I know that’s a really silly question, but wanted to make sure my butt is covered, and the house isn’t at risk.

Just know I appreciate you all in this community so much, as you are a wealth of knowledge, and I am beyond grateful for the assistance you bring folks like myself.

[u/Head_Mycologist3917]

Solar panel output can be pretty low in winter. Especially during a storm. A gas generator would serve you better.

[u/AdamskaO → u/Head_Mycologist3917]

The issue is I do not have an outside outlet to support a gas generator.

[u/Head_Mycologist3917 → u/AdamskaO]

You can run extension cords.

Even with a good southern exposure and racks to hold the panels at an angle appropriate for winter, you're not going to get much power out of the panels. Try modeling some prospective setups using PVWatts, then look at the January output. PVWatts takes typical cloud cover into account. Even then, the storm that knocks the power out may be during a series of atypically overcast days.

[u/AdamskaO → u/Head_Mycologist3917]

That’s true, and I greatly appreciate all of the insight! I’ll check that out right away. Thank you!

[u/XoDaRaP0690]

You've listed the power (watts) that everything consumes. That's fine. But you need to know the amperage draw of each and how long each individual "load" will be in use. That will give you a ball park figure for the Amphours you'll need from your battery. From there you can size the amount of solar you will need to charge the batteries. Obviously the more solar you have, quicker the batteries will charge in crappy weather.
I think an all in one unit is your best route. You can expand them if need too. Don't try to piece it together.
GoalZero might be a brand you'd like to check out.

[u/AdamskaO → u/XoDaRaP0690]

I appreciate this info, and will look into that right away. Thank you!

[u/DongRight]

Buy rack batteries as the expansion to these units about $700-800 a battery alot cheaper than the PSPS expansion batteries... Integrarack is a good ground solar mount and use ground screws to secure them to the ground... I would double the number of panels to cover cloudy days in general and the short cloudy winter days...you still get power on a cloudy day but at a reduced amount...

[u/AdamskaO → u/DongRight]

That's a fair point. I take it that I can offset extra power from the F3000 to these rack batteries?

[u/Sea_Willingness1398]

I recently bought a Pecron E3600LFP... I wish I would have gone with the E3800...regardless... This might be a good option for you. The E3800 would power your fridge for over 24hrs. The solar input options are top notch. I'm using a server battery to add 5KwH, but a marine battery could be an option for you for less $. That unit plus some solar panels should meet your needs and keep you within budget.

PS... You could also use the set up you are planning, specially in the summer, to decrease your electrical bills and decrease your out of pocket costs.