I made my blog solar-powered, then things escalated
For those thinking about replicating this: Victron is really popular because it&#x27;s extendable and the management interface is reasonably open, but the zoo of required devices makes the costs explode quickly.<p>Maybe look at Deye instead. I&#x27;m running a 12kW unit (they&#x27;re available smaller) with a 48V battery. The software is in poorly translated to English, firmware updates are made by the manufacturer remote on request and it has no shadow management (meaning it might end up on a local maximum in the MPPT, not the global maximum) - but the unit cost me about 3000€ with 10yr warranty instead of the &gt;7000€ for an equivalent zoo of Victron parts.<p>Of course it can do black starts from PV or battery, and act as a UPS on a secondary output. Pulling data locally can be done using a RS485 modbus interface; so I open my firewall only for firmware updates.<p>The 3.6kW single phase unit (SG05LP1) can be had for less than 1300€. A 5kW three phase unit is only a little bit more expensive, but I&#x27;d worry about standby consumption in low power scenarios with only a few modules (mine hogs 80W, but a three phase Victron setup does so as well). These are string inverters, so you need more modules for them to reach their start up voltage, and then some more to put them into the MPPT zone. The 1 phase starts at 125V and the MPPT tracker works with 150-425V, the 3 phase units 160V &amp; 200-650V respectively. When I browsed the market there were other offerings from other brands with 90V start up; but be careful to get a unit that&#x27;s legal to connect to the grid IF you want to have grid fall back (here in Germany, Victron and Deye are legal - at least the parts I looked at. But you will always need a electrician with a concession to register them with the grid company. Some people don&#x27;t care and just setup their systems though).<p>Important: The voltages depend on the chosen PV module; mine are in the 40V per module ballpark, but iirc I might maybe have seen up to 60V? So for the 3.6kW unit you&#x27;d want at least 3 or 4 modules.