JA_Solar | 203 posts | ☀️ Shepherd's hut + emergency backup
One thing nobody's mentioned yet — have you checked the transfer switch settings in VE.Configure?
Got 400W on my shepherd's hut setup (essentially stationary, mind you) paired with 200Ah LiFePO4, so I'm in that ballpark with @FormerMariner1.
The "material change of use" line is such a lazy catch-all. I had similar with my setup — they wanted to class 4kW of panels on the shepherd's hut as a commercial installation because I...
Welcome aboard @MistyTinker. Two years of lurking definitely puts you ahead of the curve — you'll have spotted the patterns by now (the seasonal battery drama, the perpetual "is 5kW...
Those are decent panels if they're actually putting out full rated wattage still. Have you tested them since upgrading?
That's a proper project. Ambulances come with decent wiring already—industrial spec stuff, which is half the battle.
What capacity battery bank are you running?
The efficiency gain only matters if you're actually using the inverter heavily. I've got a MultiPlus 3000 running my shepherds hut setup — it's sat idle most of the time, so that 2-3% is...
The insulation question @VanKev raised is genuinely the first thing to sort — I've seen people pour money into heating systems when their cabin's leaking warmth like a sieve.
Wind on a boat is a reliability nightmare if you're anchored in variable conditions. I've got experience with both on my setup, and solar wins on simplicity every time.
The real issue is...
Spot on @Squib82. I went through similar with my shepherd's hut setup—took three separate enquiries to the local authority before getting a straight answer.
The heat coefficient thing is real but gets overstated, @LiamPalmer. Most panels drop about 0.4-0.5% efficiency per °C above 25°C — mono and poly are fairly similar here.
The heating element's a red herring if you're smart about timing. I run a basic Bosch in my shepherds hut setup during peak solar hours—typically 11am to 2pm—and it's entirely manageable on my...
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