With the existing 100W panel you have it isn't really worth it, but there are relatively cheap mini systems these days that are sold under the term "balcony solar" that can plug into a regular outlet and feed power into your home network.
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It may depend on where you live. I have an inverter that maxes out at 600W and two panels with 400W each connected to it. The inverter is plugged into a regular socket.
Thanks! I’m in California. I’m gonna hit you with a bunch of questions. No need to answer them all.
So you’re getting 600W instead of 800?
You can mix and match panels on the inverter?
What brand you get/where you get it?
Did you work with electric company or city to get reimbursed for overage?
It's capped at 600, 800 would be peak of the panels but rarely reached.
I don't get any money for the surplus (with bigger installations it can make sense, in that case you need to get an electric meter that counts both ways).
I'm not sure what you mean with mixing, I got it as a package.
I don't have the manufacturer of the panels at hand but the inverter is a hoymiles HM600, which is pretty common here.
I'm in Germany, so stuff may differ at your place.
Just to add another side to this - check if you need an LVD - low voltage disconnect. It cuts the connection to the power grid when power goes out.
Thanks! The inverters I have been looking at apparently turn off if no power being pulled. That the same?
I'm in a shared living situation where I only control my bedroom, but there I have a pair of 100W panels outside my window that I just pass the cables through inside via that selfsame window, a shelf next to it with a solar controller and battery, and then run DC to all the lights in my room and my corsi-rosenthal box (which was built with 12V PC fans), plus whatever devices I want to charge like phones and flashlights and stuff. Basically the low-tech magazine approach.
If you're starting small scale anyways I don't think it makes sense to set it up as though it were large scale, and if you evaluate what your actual energy needs are you might find that you don't even ever need to go big.
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