Electrician to electrician consulting

DiverseEnergy · August 22

I am a licensed electrical contractor in Phoenix, AZ and have been receiving many calls lately from homeowners who want to go off grid. I have installed 100's of grid tied systems over the years. I was a crew lead for Solar City in 2012, lead for Solar Universe, started the solar department for PurSolar & Electric in Cottonwood (formerly Puriton Electric), and have been still installing systems for my own company since 2018. But we all know how easy grid tied is. And I'm certain that once I get it down, off grid will be just as easy. But until I learn more about this, I am in need of someone who knows their s*^t and would be willing to help me with my projects. Not physically, but just over the phone. I am more than willing to pay you for your time and expertise, I'm certain you've earned it. So if you're interested, please respond to this post, and we can figure out what compensation will look like. Thank you in advance.
-Adam

SumPower · August 22

I would just recommend you using the store here. They will give you the support you would need as long as you are purchasing equipment through them. Using solar-electric.com (NAZ) would also limit having to install off brand equipment that has little support already.

One thing that won't work is installing equipment provided by a homeowner. I know this from personal experience.

DiverseEnergy · August 22

I appreciate the response, and I agree with you 100%. And if I had the luxury of being able to pick and choose my jobs, I would do just that, but I don't. So until that time I am stuck installing what the customer already has, and trying to troubleshoot some old systems. So unfortunately, I need to continue to search for someone.

littleharbor2 · August 22

I think you would be better off hiring somebody who was well experienced in off-grid installations. Do some Hands-On with them. There'a a lot more involved in design and much more equipment than Grid tie as you mentioned.
With off-grid systems you've got to get it right. Where if you've got no power you get pissed off customers, unlike grid tie which Is just supplemental power and the grid will always be your dependable 24/7 power source.

SumPower · August 22

Load calculations is one of the important functions of designing an off-grid system. If you use the search function, you will find a good number of posts about load calculations for lead acid battery bank sizing vs inverter sizing for loads. This would also be a primer to understanding C/rate of charge and disharge of batteries.

With the lower pricing now for Lithium iron phosphate its become a lot less complicated as the charge rates are much faster.

Some of the best education here came from BB, read his post carefully and follow the math he uses to make a valid point. Most of the needed knowledge for working with off grid systems can be found here.

Here is a decent load calculator at NAZ in this link. I used it showing several customers what goes into sizing there system, they would buy the equipment from NAZ and I would help with the install.

https://www.solar-electric.com/solar/calc

I know you are wanting someone to consult with you, and I wish you well with your endeaver!

SumPower

Dave Angelini · August 27

I always thought the offgrid client should know just about all of it and only consult for very difficult applications. If the client is totally "needy" I stay away! Too many headaches. Even worse with what I call
"Offgrid Squalor". The last thing, Offgrid is such a small market. Use the store here as was said if you do this!

Good Luck !

DiverseEnergy · August 27

Offgrid may be a small market, but that's where just about 90% of my calls lately have been from. So I will continue to search, thank you for your feedback, wish it was a little more useful, but nevertheless, I thank you for your time.

Dave Angelini · August 27

Tough world out there! Buckle up!

littleharbor2 · August 28

Dave Angelini said:

The last thing, Offgrid is such a small market.

OTOH, Down here in my neck of the woods everyone is off grid and it's a thriving market right now with all the new batteries and inverter options and affordability a handful of companies really doing a lot of work lately.

Dave Angelini · August 28

It always has been offgrid down that way or at least it has been. We first snuck across the border in high school. Later on we lived there for close to ten years floating on both sides of Mexico.

There was a grid in Cabo, La Paz, and Ensenada. Generators (Pemex is its $101 billion debt pile, making it the world's most indebted oil company) everywhere else until solar.

Still have 14 hours of video😉

DiverseEnergy · 1:38AM

The hybrid is the trend now in Phx metro area. Ever since the EG4 and SolArk, the DIY community, or, I like to call it, the “Oh shit I thought I could do this cause YouTube made it look so easy pls HELP!” Community, I literally have more calls from folks wanting a hybrid system, over straight grid-tie all day. And, of course, I’m certain the death of Net Metering ( Moment of Silence Pls……..) played a huge roll in that, and there are other factors too like financial reasons, but off-grid/hybrid is going to BE the market soon, watch.

Electrician to electrician consulting

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