I helped my neighbors install solar! Watch the new video HERE → kzfaq.info/get/bejne/h9eEdKimysjDd30.html Also, WHY didn't I install batteries? The BIG question. It's answered HERE → kzfaq.info/get/bejne/d9GAmK6B2quVhnk.html

As someone who works in the solar industry let me say this guy is a hero. The time and work he put in to do the job is impressive and then share it with all for free on the internet. Bravo. I initially clicked on the video half expecting to see another non code-compliant and shabby installation but instead I found the GOAT of DIY.

Definitely getting my likes for being that guy with no knowledge of doing something, scouring the internet for help, learning, THEN putting out a free guide for other noobs!? Hell yeah, dude!

What’s most impressive is that he was not afraid to hire people for specific tasks he knew he wouldn’t do very well in. Most peoples ego would stop them

Oh man the world needs more people like this man that helps EVERYONE no matter what, giving all the information to the masses.

I can't believe the "Made my own checkbox" thing worked for the permit haha!

I’ve been an electrician for 27 years and am pretty impressed by your craftsmanship. Well done sir!

I won't be installing a solar system myself, but I do what to be educated enough to ask the right questions and your informative video is just the ticket. Thanks for putting the free booklet together. Much appreciation and great work.

Wow - the roof mountings were the most interesting to me - nobody ever shows that part. Many thanks for documenting this whole process - you are helping other people in various countries. In my view - there are too many regulations for solar in each country which restricts it adoption widely.

This guy took DIY to a whole new level.

You're an inspiration and a credit to humanity for making it easier for the next guy thank you

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOU FRUGAL GUY👋

I'm not sure why, but I got a certain satisfaction for you when you said the inspector said he would consider you a professional for any future work/inspections. That's just awesome and he could have easily not given you that recognition.

I love it when guys like you that did all the hard work is willing to share his knowledge and help other people to do it much easier without the struggle. Cool man!!!!

This is a guy you need to keep alive in the zombie wars. He will be one of the people helping us get back to normal lol.

As someone who’s been in Solar for 9 years starting when I was 21 I think you did a great job I’d give this a A- one thing that I thought was really impressive for someone doing it by your self for the first time is your wire management and not running a bunch of conduit between both arrays and running everything in the roof it just looks sleek and a lot better I’ve seen other solar companies run a bunch of conduit and it looks like amateur hour and it looks horrible It reminds me of people that hang up a tv and have the wires hanging down under it so I give u major props. On that the only issue I see I would have done differently is used the enphase micro inverter instead of the solar edge with optimizers with the micros inverters you get both in one with great monitoring it might be a little more expensive but it’s worth it plus you have less components and if you ever wanna add batteries in the future enphase has a nice new battery that integrates with there micros inverters perfectly my other issue was tapping straight into the meter I’ve also preferred to go into the customers main load center into a breaker for the extra protection but other then that you did a great job for a first timer and it will give other people confidence that they can do it themselves also. Great job all around 👍 oh and one other thing I would use a non fuseable disconnect if your local jurisdiction allows it because after a few years them fuses blow out a lot and if you tie into the main load center your already protected by the breaker

I know this is 3 years old but wow. This made me cry thinking about how proud you mustve been to flip the switch finally. Incredible job

I have no plan to install one, but it is Very fun to watch

The fact that you set that entire system up all by yourself is absolutely impressive! Tip of the hat to you, Sir. Respect!

I love the honesty in this video. Absolutely inspirational.

I like how you are not being 'selfish' and let people help you when you don't feel comfortable.

As a solar project manager and engineer, everything seemed very correct. The only thing I would change is not using zip ties. You want everything on the roof to last as long as the warranty. Zip ties have about half the lifespan of the PV module warranty. It’s a small thing but everything else was spot on. Good job.

Finally! Someone with appreciation for details!! Code compliance is paramount!

I love the part where solar panel installation day is literally the cloudiest day in human history, haha! Great video, thank you. Very informative, interesting and entertaining.

I didn't realize you made a video on the whole process! This is awesome! Also props on the time investment.and patience to spend like 2 years making this video to help people out.

For others interested in doing this DO NOT use plastic zip ties. Instead use SunBundlers, which are stainless steel and will last the life of the system.

One of the best videos on KZfaq by a long shot. Congrats man. Nice work.

This SHOULD be taught in public school

There's something super satisfying about seeing a massive solar array. You could charge an EV off that puppy.

The guy whom approved his papers must me like "haha yeah man, I like you, go on!"

Your DIY was far more informative than most I've watched. Thanks!

Nervousness is sometimes a key to success, second guessing yourself actually keeps you from overlooking anything.

Very interesting. I designed and installed my own solar array nearly three years ago now - 14 panels at 350W. Interestingly, I couldn't fit them on the roof due to the roof design, so I designed and constructed a pergola in the garden with the panels on the top. The panels are adjustable for angle, with three possible positions, so there is a winter position (quite steep), a spring/autumn(fall) position and a summer position (quite shallow). Like you I used Solaredge optimisers and a single 5kW inverter. I'm in the UK so the rules are a little different, but overall, a very satisfying project with a great result.

Wonderful video, with clear and concise explanation. I enjoyed watching this and big kudo's to this man for getting it done himself. Thanks for sharing your Solar install adventure. I can't wait until I can start mine. ✔💯

Dude - has anybody told you that YOU ARE AWESOME! Thanks for sharing your journey. And the solar guide that you wrote.

This was such an informative video! Well edited, you didn't go on and on. You gave the right amount of information, was accurate...I can't compliment enough. Great work!

It’s pretty amazing you were able to install this system yourself, but it’s honesty more amazing that you provide resources for people who wanna do the same! ♥️

THANK YOU! For being a TRUE MAN, making YOUR WORK / LABOR & KNOWLEDGE for FREE. YOU are actually trying to help, thank you again.

It’s the making the own box to check for me, genius 😂

This is amazing work, solar is slowly starting to move in Ireland and thanks for being so kind with your knowledge... I've always had a keen interest in this sustainable energy ❤

A little trick for everyone security when you use a disconnect, operate the lever with your left hand so that if it blows you face is not in front of the disconnect

Iv had solar for 5 years. And I started with 2 panels. Now I'm up to 10. So even for the people that can't go that big. You can start small and keep working at it. I'll get there someday. And I'm doing it without a loan so I'm happy

That amount of rooftop real estate is nuts its like perfect for a large panel set up.

Great video. Clear, friendly and lots of detail. Thanks. I had someone do my solar install 4 years ago, mostly due to falling off the roof risk, but I should have done what you did and speed up my ROI by 3-4 years.

The most important takeaway from this video...realize your fears and find a way to overcome them. Many people never do that.

I bought a DIY system via a whole sale company so it should be at my house by the end of the month. Watching this video is very inspiring that I know I can’t mess it up and definitely doable for your average Joe.

Awesome job! Been considering this myself, one thing to note for roof prep is i would use 1-2 leayers of stick on underlayment(such as gaf ice water shield) This way you can encapsulate the attic later and never worry about leaks for the next 50 years

Thank you for making this amazing video. You educated so many of us.

Your install is Amazing. And you said you had fear of messing up at the start, that was the real connect with us fellow humans, and you overcame your fears. Kudos.

When fast learning meets proper execution..

You left my mouth wide open from the second I opened this video. Phenomenal work sir!

That's awesome! The only downside to solar is that if there is a fire, your house burns down quicker. We saw this in California where almost every home with solar in a neighborhood burned down while most of the non-solar houses didn't burn down.

I install solar panels for work and I can personally say if you know the whole process it’s really not that hard and is probably a 3-4 day process with one man.

Moral of the story "Google It" love the internet.

Wow this isnt for the faint of heart! You must be really into this project to tackle this. This is like me climbing mt Everest 😅

Where I live in West Virginia we don't have hardly any building restrictions, you only need a permit. I think most would be happy that you are doing something good to your place, so you're not going to have many problems.

even if a person knows all that permit stuff they won't tell you because they think we already knew it... 😁😁, but you my friend even as a beginner, took a long way to do the same... i really appreciated it... huge respect

Great info for anyone thinking about solar. Now You could start a solar business and make bank. 👍

This is absolutely impressive and inspiring. Thank you for sharing!

Nice rooftop, thanks for sharing that.

Why is there a 1k of downvotes, jesus man, this guy rocks. Content rich, no BS, filler.

Wow! Having installed my own grid tie 8.4 kW system a few years back I'm seriously impressed with how well this relatively short video covers most items involved with an install. While there are lots of details to get right, most parts of the install are relatively straightforward.

Thank you! I have finally found a video for solar that doesn't check the box that's sketchy and not helpful.

It gets me every time , solar show on a cloudy day

As in installer, you did great. However, for those of you reading this, he used discounted panels and thus he needed more panels. I recommend using LG or Hyundai panels with nphase inverters. This is the best for the buck and you would have only needed 12 panels for a your system. Thus less material, time and easier layout. No need for a second roof. Don't let discounted materials factor into your overall time and extra materials list.

This is a really good video. Great quality in all aspects! Nice work.

Thank you so much for making this !!!!

We put solar on our house. Best investment ever. We paid to have it done with a government rebate, it cost $5,900 AUD or roughly $2,800 USD to have 10 panels installed. Our solar rebate is 19c per/kwh generated back into the grid. It saves us about $800 every 3 months. Currently our power bill is $982 in credit, meaning even when our wettest period of the year comes (almost daily torrential rain for 5 months straight) we still don’t need to pay anything towards our bill.

Your inspector is right, you've done an outstanding job. I could tell right away it was going to be good when I saw how conscientious you are.

I’m so glad that guy from impractical jokers got a solar panel for his house.

I used to teach people how to maintain the home and you’re right fear stops people from doing some of the simplest things. Remember this if you got a leak in your roof very easy to fix and there’s a number of different applications where you don’t even have to penetrate the roof to secure panels to the roof.

Great video! Thanks for sharing your journey with us 🎉

I must say, I cannot believe that you did this yourself. I am so impressed that you were able to do this. Great job, and great video. I got burned bad by a solar installation company, and learned the hard way.

I suggest getting a power wall installed, storing energy you’ve produced and being able to power your home during the night or if the street suffers a power loss, is definitely a great feeling.

Brilliant. I've been looking at fitting solar panels to my roof. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

Wow what a great video! Thank you so much for Making it and sharing. As a mason who often has to fix other trades slack, to get my work to be good I'm impressed at the amount detail. I laughed when you said you hired a guy to tie into the meter. I Definitely know that feeling. Also I think your estimate about "a million zip ties" was pretty close to spot on. Lol thanks again!

That roof was made for solar, no vent pipes or anything blocking any spots, just ideal! Glad you took advantage of that clean roof.

Me- installs solar panels by my self. Mother nature- "how wonderful, here's a hail storm to test them out".

Dude. This video was amazing! Very encouraging and inspirational. It's amazing how thorough and professional you were and willing to help others. I wish I could do this but feel like it's still beyond me. One day maybe. But thank you so much for this video. New fan

As a retired Electrician/Technician you did a fine job. The only thing I would have done differently would be the installation of a battery bank in the event you have a long term grid down situation. Then you have power in your home when the moon is out and none coming in. Just a back up to a backup. I am less than 30 miles from a large hydroelectric dam on the Columbia River yet my power bills have tripled in the last two years and are still climbing. I don't know why but personal power generation and backup systems are becoming more attractive and necessary here. Great Job and great video. Thank you.

Not planning to solar a building, but I'm gonna build an auto-watering system for my herb garden. Planning to power it with a couple little solar panels, so this video caught my eye.

Wow, from no experience to that finished product. Amazing!! Testament to executing a well thought out and researched plan, one smooth step at a time. No small feat at all but your killed it!!!

What a legend!!! makes it easier for others for free. Even spends his own time to write it.

I think one big place where you went right was working with the roofer. It’s not unusual to have the new roof installed and then have the solar installed. Installing the standoffs as the shingles were being installed is probably the best way to be able to do it.

Dude! Seriously impressive. I just got my first house and am looking to install solar. I consider myself fairly competent to learn home diy improvements but this was one I am very skeptical in doing myself. Seeing you start from the same area and making it work so well is beyond impressive. Well done.

thanks for sharing your experience

Well my brother, I appreciate that so very much. Thank you and God bless you.

@frugalrepair I served in the military with the owner of Drone Quote. This is awesome to see my brothers company doing great things.

I got solar done this year by a local company. I had an amazing experience and near zero electric bills! Very impressed you designed and did all this yourself! KUDDOS!

You have qualities of a great, clear and thorough teacher. You've now got the skills - an courage! You focused on reproducing exactly that technology, you were not afraid to ask for help, so you made it! People need you now. We have the same questions you've had, and you have most of the answers (or know where to find them). Financing may come up, and anything else that will make it easy for the average joe (like myself) to sign on the dotted line. It's one of the jobs where everybody, the fauna, the flora, Earth, and people's financial scene, all this goes upward. A beautiful win-win solution. My hats to you - you are GREAT at this. Eventually years from now when you're too old to climb on roofs, you can run teams in sales, orders and installations to multiply the goodness. I think we're all wishing you the very best! Cheers.

Thank you I live on a reservation in northern California and this helps a lot!

Nothing but respect and admiration.

Very clean and impressive installation. I would pay extra for someone like you to take their time and do it right rather than get it done as fast as possible. Well done!

If you have sunshine, installing solar is now a "no-brainer"! In my location (coastal, 27 deg South), evacuated tube solar hot water plus 5kW panels reduces power bills to less than AUD400 (US$300) per year for a couple plus two young children with full ducted aircon. Micro inverters, as in this video, are more expensive than a single inverter, but have big advantages in the case of shade, or a panel failure. Batteries are not yet viable on a ROI basis for grid-tied houses.

One of the most honest and informative videos I’ve ever seen

Nice Job ! I envy your patience ,Thanks for sharing

Now. This is the best recommendation from KZfaq! I learned a lot 🥰

2:29 This is what "think out of the box" is all about.

Awesome job! I already have solar on my house and it gives us ~115% of our power usage. Soon I'm going to add more panels when we change over to all electric vehicles. The future is here.

i've been an electric technician for 42 years im impressed sir