Client Success Story: Revamping an Old Solar Installation At Less Than a Third of the Cost
Old solar installations can be frustrating—the components aren’t dead so you don’t want to chuck them out the window. But the performance has deteriorated so much that you must tip-toe around your power consumption.
Chris inherited a 15-year-old high-voltage solar power system with a backup, self-starting generator from his property’s previous owner. The system couldn’t make enough power to run many appliances simultaneously. Air conditioning was out of the question—a big problem when the summer heat hit 102 degrees!
He replaced the battery bank with thousands of dollars worth of lead acid batteries a year ago. However, the investment didn’t solve his problem. The system continued to suffer from output degradation and showed signs of failure.
Chris contacted the system’s vendor, who gave him outdated information that didn’t reflect the capabilities of modern solar equipment. It suggested replacing the current installation with more of the same—an old-school, high-voltage, non-modular system that would cost Chris an arm and a leg.
Although the solution could work, it would be unnecessarily complex and costly. Moreover, the outdated approach was substantially more expensive than how much Chris was ready to pay. He was stuck in limbo.
Meanwhile, Chris also had challenges with the new batteries. Since he had a self-starting generator, he wanted to prevent it from kicking in continuously to minimize noise issues. The old system’s installer set the trigger level very low, so the generator would only start when the batteries hit a deep discharge level.
However, this approach is very detrimental to the lead acid batteries’ lifespan and would require Chris to replace the expensive battery bank within a year or two. Plus, he still saw a lot of generator use despite the substantial investment in the battery bank.
Our Unique Approach
We visited Chris’ property for an onsite consultation. Despite the complex setup, the root cause was rather simple: He didn’t have enough solar panels to generate the power he needed without falling back to the generator, which is costly and noisy to operate.
Changing the battery parameters or upgrading the inverter would not solve the root cause if he didn’t raise the power input.
We implemented a phased solution and modular system to address the immediate issue—running A/C and freezers in the intense summer heat while empowering Chris to understand his power requirements and collecting data to help us right-size the final solution (e.g., to purchase the appropriate amount of battery capacity).
Why a modular system? A modular, expandable system allows us to take a phased approach to growing a solar solution to meet a customer’s evolving needs. We can isolate elements like solar panels, inverters, and batteries to identify bottlenecks and upgrade one piece at a time at a substantially more reasonable cost than a complete overhaul.
Our unique approach means Chris only needed to purchase around $1,000 of materials for phase 1 instead of a ~$15,000 brand-new system to achieve his objectives.
“Bert and Ling are extremely knowledgeable, experienced, reasonable, hardworking, and reliable. Plus, they’re neighbors and understand the unique situation here on a ranch in Caliente!” ~ Chris Haas
The Solution
Phase 1 of the implementation addresses Chris’ immediate challenges.
We started the day to fix his battery settings. We brought 4 solar panels and a charge controller to top off the batteries and worked with Chris to help him understand what the equipment was doing and how he could optimize performance.
He was rightfully skeptical about our approach at first—how can we solve a $15,000 problem with a little blue box and 4 panels? But after an hour of tinkering, he felt so confident and empowered that he decided to purchase not just the 4 panels we brought… he sent us back to grab 4 more!
After supplementing the aging solar panels with 8 newly refurbished ones and adjusting the battery parameters, we raised the available power from 450W to 2,000W.
Not only could Chris run his A/C by late afternoon on the same day. The increased power input also allows the batteries to charge up so they’re not consistently drained—a state that would accelerate their deterioration substantially. Since batteries are the most expensive part of a solar solution, increasing their lifespan will lower the overall cost in the long run.
We equipped Chris with a high-end charge controller to generate and visualize data, empowering him to optimize the setup to meet his needs. For example, he can fine-tune how he aims the panels during different seasons to maximize power output.
Finally, we showed Chris the safety-critical parts and what he can do safely himself. Our low-voltage system and safety review make experimentation and DIY possible so our customers can get to know their systems and collaborate with us to evolve their solutions to meet the household’s shifting needs.
The Plot Twist
Chris’ existing inverter had been having cooling issues (we also planned to fix it for him but were waiting for parts) and stopped working the day after we installed the new system—probably because of the sizable load it was pulling in the heat! Everything went out, including Starlink and the internet phone, and Chris couldn’t call for assistance.
Luckily, we’re just 10 minutes away. They drove over to get help. Bert grabbed our standby inverter and got the system working again in a couple of hours.
The Outcome
Chris spent less than a third of what the old-school vendor quoted him to have his system revamped. It also generates more power than the outdated approach.
Moreover, Chris gets more than solar power from this collaboration. He understands how the system works and is empowered to adjust the panels based on seasonal changes and usage patterns. He’s also gathering the data to evaluate how he can get the most out of phase 2 of the project (e.g., right-sizing the battery bank.)
“We accomplished more in one afternoon than over a year with my previous solar dude at a fraction of the cost. Phase 1 of our plan increased our power from 400W to approximately 1.9KW. Phase 2 will fix our current Outback system and add additional panels and equipment for more power. I’m super happy and have a renewed confidence about off-grid solar!” ~ Chris Haas
Learn more about our off-grid solar services and get in touch to see how we can help :)
