Little House

1644 Old Garner Road
Weatherford, TX 76088

Tour Hours: 10am - 4pm

map

I have two Solar systems on my house. The primary one is a battery-based grid-tied system and the Second system is straight grid-tie using Enphase microinverters.

Between the two systems I am producing around 36 kWh a day on a good day of sun.

 

Renewable energy features

Solar PV

kW: 6 kW total:  3 kW Battery-based system and 3 kW system with micro-inverters (mounted on Well House)
Installation Date: Battery-based October 2014, micro-inverter system August 2015
Installer: EcoVantage Energy Inc (http://www.ecovantageenergy.com/)

Equipment

Battery-based system: ten 295 Watt Silevo panels on roof mounted array using Schneider XW 6048 Inverter/charger with 12 Marathon M12V180FT Batteries
Micro Inverter-based system: twelve 260 Watt REC panels with Enphase microinverters

Retail Electric Provider

Tri-County Electric Cooperative – Net Metering

Green features:

  • System energy monitor by EcoVantage Energy
  • LED lighting on all room and outdoor lighting
  • Added 15 inches of insulation to the attic
  • Roof ridge cap and With Solar Fan Blower on intake to provide maximum attic ventilation
  • All appliances, TVs, computers, etc. are Energy Star
  • Programmable HVAC thermostat
  • Solar flagpole light
  • Solar Gate Entrance lights
  • Solar exhaust fan on Out building
  • Solar mole repeller to keep moles and gophers at bay
  • 6000 gallon water tank with booster pump on the well
  • 880 Watt self-contained portable solar backup system.  2500 Watt inverter with 8-L16 flooded batteries
  • 2012 Chevy Volt for all personal driving
  • 2005 GMC Hybrid Truck for work

 

Host Comments

My first system was two trackers, installed in 2001 as part of a backup system for my Mother. The system evolved over the years. It started out with 8 Shell 130 Watt panels and 2 Air 40 wind turbines with a Trace 4024 inverter and 8 Trojan L16 batteries. Later we upgraded to 16 Trojans and after that replaced them with 16 Mastervolt 400 amp AGM 6 Volt batteries. Eventually we added 12 Siemens 200 Watt panels on a Second Tracker and replaced the Shell 130 Watt panels with Sharp 185’s. The Wind turbines were replaced with a Skystream 3.7 Grid-Tied turbine. The Inverter was upgraded to a Schneider XW6048 and the battery bank was rewired from 24 to 48 volt. This system provided backup power for everything but the Central AC heat pump, electric stove and clothes dryer. We sold that place a few years ago.

My new House has two Solar systems on it. Primary one is a battery-based grid-tied system using 10 -295 Watt panels mounted on the South Roof. It has a Schneider XW6048 inverter with one MPPT 60-150 Charge Controller and 12 Marathon M12V180 batteries. The Second system is straight grid-tie and has 12-REC 260 Watt panels using Enphase microinverters.

Between the two systems I am producing around 36 kWh a day on a good day of sun.