In-depth guides, comparisons and how-tos for power stations, solar and backup power.
NEM 3.0 is the nickname for California’s Net Billing Tariff (NBT). The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) adopted it on Dec 15, 2022 (Decision 22-12-056). It applies to PG&E, SCE and SDG&E customers who submitted an interconnection application on or after April 15, 2023. The utilities call it the “Solar Billing Plan.” Its main change […]
Microinverters vs string inverters is the main equipment choice on most residential solar quotes, and power optimizers sit somewhere in between. All three turn panel DC into home AC. They differ in where that conversion happens, which changes shade performance, monitoring, safety compliance and what fails over 25 years. How Each Works Microinverters vs String […]
Volts, amps and watts explained simply: volts are electrical pressure, amps are flow, and watts are the work done, and the U.S. Department of Energy defines wattage as volts times amps. This guide uses a water analogy, one formula, and examples you’ll actually run into with solar and batteries, so a battery label in amp-hours […]
A DC wire gauge chart needs two numbers for each copper size: ampacity, the current the wire can carry without overheating (NEC Table 310.16), and resistance, which sets your voltage drop (NEC Chapter 9 Table 8). The quick answer: for 30 amps DC at 3% voltage drop, a 10ft run needs 6 AWG at 12V, […]
The Victron MPPT load output lets the controller switch DC loads off before the battery is drained, then back on when it recovers. The small SmartSolar charge controllers have a third set of terminals labeled “load” for this. It’s simple, but the settings confuse people. Here’s what each mode does, which models have a physical […]
Replacing an old RV converter with Victron gear is a popular upgrade, especially when you switch to lithium. Many older converters have fixed charge voltages that don’t suit LiFePO4, and they can’t run loads when shore power is gone. Victron offers two common paths: a Blue Smart IP22 charger for a simple swap, or a […]
A voltage drop calculation tells you how much voltage a wire loses between the source and the load. Lose too much and inverters shut off at low voltage, motors run hot, and chargers never finish. The math is just Ohm’s law applied to the wire, and you can do it with a calculator and one […]
Victron Orion parallel setups are allowed: Victron’s manuals openly discuss systems with several units in parallel, but they flag a few things you need to get right. A single Orion XS gives you 50A, and plenty of van and Sprinter owners want more, so the question of adding a second one comes up all the […]
To program a Victron MultiPlus-II, you need a way to talk to its VE.Bus port and some free Victron software. Victron’s manual lists the hardware as an MK3-USB (VE.Bus to USB) interface and an RJ45 UTP cable. From there you can use the VictronConnect app or VEConfigure on a computer. Here’s what each tool does […]
Are solar panels worth it now that the 30% federal credit is gone? For a lot of homes the answer is still yes, but the margin is thinner. Systems homeowners own and install after Dec 31, 2025 get no federal credit (IRS), so the full price has to pay for itself through lower bills. Three […]
