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+--- Thread: Off grid solar system: theft target? (/showthread.php?tid=22665)
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Off grid solar system: theft target? - Ccat - 03-20-2022
I am thinking about building a ground mount solar system to power my new house. The easiest location will be near the road. Will it be a theft target? Ie, will thieves strip all the parts off and make it nonfunctional all the time?
How do you secure this kind of thing?
Thanks,
Ccat
RE: Off grid solar system: theft target? - punikahakaiferret - 03-20-2022
Am looking at installing an off-grid solar system as well, though not ground-mounted, but did wonder as well about the security of the other components if kept in a "solar shed" or a garage...are those components known to be targets of the legions of thugs around here?
Don't want to hijack the thread, but also if anyone can give advice on reasonably-priced small-scale solar sales/installs, it would bring sunshine to my day.
I'm not finding anything I can afford, and my needs are indeed very small.
RE: Off grid solar system: theft target? - randomq - 03-20-2022
Personally I wouldn't have anything visible from the road. Rooftop or hidden from view. Also a locked gate and no trespassing sign, so people have no excuse to be on the wrong side.
RE: Off grid solar system: theft target? - Edenrocker - 03-20-2022
Hidden from view is best and higher the roof the better.
RE: Off grid solar system: theft target? - punikahakaiferret - 03-20-2022
Ccat,
Ideas and thoughts,
Is there any way you could mount your panels off the ground, somehow? Up on some sort of platform/carport/etc., and not facing toward the road...something elevated enough that it would take more-dedicated thieves with a ladder or something in order to access, so they might choose an easier target elsewhere (or not notice there are panels up there)?
RE: Off grid solar system: theft target? - kalakoa - 03-20-2022
Thieves stole panels from the big array (ground mount, visible from highway) next to Maku'u market. Chain link fence was not a deterrent.
Advantage to spaghetti lots: long driveway so nothing can be seen from the road.
Advantage to off-grid living: long driveway doesn't cost a fortune in HELCO install.
I like this controller for a small system: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07G35KPXZ -- just add some panels and batteries and maybe an inverter. I believe someone is liquidating panels at the moment, look for a yellow sign posted on telephone poles down around Pahoa. This happens every so often as the panels get bigger -- 400W are available now, so the installers don't want to waste time with 250W.
RE: Off grid solar system: theft target? - punikahakaiferret - 03-20-2022
Thx, Kalakoa for the charge controller link and the tip about panels in the area.
Sucks about the array near Maku'u.
Wretched thieves... used to be they'd take anything that wasn't nailed down, now they'll take the nails as well...and steal your own hammer to get at them.
RE: Off grid solar system: theft target? - Durian Fiend - 03-21-2022
(03-20-2022, 08:28 PM)Ccat Wrote: I am thinking about building a ground mount solar system to power my new house. The easiest location will be near the road. Will it be a theft target?It will certainly be a theft target, especially if visible from the road.
Ccat
(03-20-2022, 08:39 PM)punikahakaiferret Wrote: Am looking at installing an off-grid solar system as well, though not ground-mounted, but did wonder as well about the security of the other components if kept in a "solar shed" or a garage...are those components known to be targets of the legions of thugs around here?How small and what is your budget? To run a fridge, water pump and some lights you could easily make due with 750-1000 watts of panels.
Don't want to hijack the thread, but also if anyone can give advice on reasonably-priced small-scale solar sales/installs, it would bring sunshine to my day.
I'm not finding anything I can afford, and my needs are indeed very small.
RE: Off grid solar system: theft target? - punikahakaiferret - 03-21-2022
How small and what is your budget? To run a fridge, water pump and some lights you could easily make due with 750-1000 watts of panels.
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That is definitely in the size range I'd need. Apartment sized fridge, laptop/phone charger, lights, fans, occasional very small kitchen appliances. Everything else will be propane.
Want to stay in the $5k-$7k range if possible. Just seems everyone wants to only sell me on "bigger and better" but I am just starting out and will need to get a generator as well so need to watch costs.
Probably should start a new "Need info on small solar setups" so as not to hijack Ccat's thread; I'm so sorry!
RE: Off grid solar system: theft target? - randomq - 03-21-2022
FYI there's ba 10-11cuft Magic Chef fridge at Home Depot that uses less energy than a mini fridge and has a true freezer with defrost cycle. I wanna say $400ish.
They also sell a full size Hotpoint oven that is battery ignited, but you have to special order it and convert it to propane. Or just get a camp stove with a full size tank, or a butane stove with $2 cylinders from J. Hara.
Oh yeah, sorry to assist in thread hijacking. You can likely build a 1-2kw solar system for about $2500-$3500 if you do everything yourself. Add $1000-2000 if you go LiFePO4 instead of Costco deep cycles.