#LifeWithBLUETTI
Hello Everybody,
I wanted to provide an update to the system that I have put in and posted here in the Bluetti Forums at
#MyAC300afterAyear - My Off-grid Backyard Pond, Hydroponics, and much more…
You can read about the start of my setup there, however, “here” in this post, instead of the same information I posted there, I would like to provide info on what I have added to the system, and the performance when comparing the AC300 vs AC500. Also, now that I have a larger range of data of my power consumption for the past 4 years, I can make better analogies with my usage and energy created. Also, I will share some future expectations within the next 3 years with one final major expansion which will make me almost 85% independent from power with mostly only Central AC being the prime power consumer.
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I. Summary of my Current Setup:
AC500 with 4x B300 Primarily used for entire backyard, breathing machine, and many electronics.
AC300 with 2x B300 Primarily used for Bedroom AC
Also, I have an EB55 and EB3a (which we use primarily for my wife’s side Jewelry Business Tent Sales)
6 x 450 watt Renogy Panels (connected to AC500).
2 x 550 watt Renogy Panels (connected to AC300).
2 x 100 watt WEIZE panels for EB55 & EB3a.
Also, I have 2 AC300’s that are currently NOT IN USE, but I plan to use in a future expansion.
Note, I only use the B300 not B300S because our system is in a climate-controlled environment and will never have use for the heating feature of the B300S or the extra Battery expansion 4 vs 6 batteries on one unit.
Besides the photos that are in the other post listed above, I will provide a side-by-side comparison of several photos below to see any new items running off the system continue to be operating smoothly and how the reliability of Bluetti requires little upkeep once running the way you want.
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II. Comparison of Bluetti footprint in space taken.
I added the AC500 and 2 batteries to the prior setup. Notice that the area taken up did not take up much more space (only vertically). Thanks to the stacking capabilities between the systems.
Figure 1 (Photo of Side-By-Side AC300/500)
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III. AC500 Bluetti Runs Side of House Hydroponics
Here is the progression of the AC500 being used to run two pumps (60 watt and 100 watt) in a 17-gallon Tote which cycles hydroponic solution to twelve 5 gallon buckets that drain back into the tote. The system is monitored via a Yolink water level gauge that communicates to a Yolink Hub that is connected to an always on B300 USB port, therefore, if the tote runs dry, the system texts me a warning and they turn the pumps off to prevent them from running while dry. If these were not plugged into a reliable battery backed up system (like the AC500), then much more attention must be paid to the running this hydroponics.
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Figure 2. (Photo of Side of House Hydroponics in 2023)
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Figure 3 (Photo of Side of House Hydroponics in Winter 2024)
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Figure 4 (Photo of Side of House Hydroponics in Spring 2024)
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IV. Expansion of Hydroponics to a Third Hydroponics system next to other Backyard system
Here is the new hydroponic expansion that the Bluetti AC500 allowed which includes another water pump, an air pump and some LED grow Lighting. In the photo below, the other backyard system (in the original post is still running).
Figure 5 (Photo of Backyard hydroponics New and Older system)
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V. AC500 now runs the Pond 24/7 including a fountain and Air Pumps
The AC300 with 2 batteries is now being used to run the Bedroom AC, while the AC500 with 4 Batteries runs all the hydroponics above and all the pumps in the pond 24/7. Also, all the lights in the backyard, music, and ceiling fans are run via AC500. Photos below.
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Figure 6 (Pond still running 24/7)
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Figure 7 (Pond Lights 1)
Figure 8 (Pond Lights 2)
Figure 9 (Pond Lights 3)
VI. Panel Upgrade and Power Upgrade AC300 vs AC500 Difference.
I originally had 6 x 450watt panels hooked up to the AC300 and on a perfect, cool day, the AC300 could produce 2430 watts for a short time. The AC300 is limited in that it can take advantage of no more than 12 Amps in your panel string. The AC500 allows for 15 Amps. The Renogy panels are 12.89 Amps and by swapping out the AC300 for the AC500 I have been able to produce 2.6 kW on a hot summer day and observed 2.9 kW on a cool winter day. Therefore, I increased my output by just using the AC500 in place of the AC300. Also, I have read that the AC500 inverter uses a few watts less than the AC300. I am unsure if that has been updated in the newer models. The AC300 now runs my Bedroom AC unit which allows me to reduce my Central AC use by increasing a few degrees at night and still keep the bedroom ice cold. Since the two 550 watt panels run on only one PV input of the AC300, I have been able to plug the DC out of my AC500 into the free PV input II of the AC300. Therefore, If the AC300 battery charge is lagging compared to the AC500 battery levels, I simply turn on the DC out of the AC500 and able to bump up power an additional 198 watts (and it can be done via the app while I am not even at home). I do have some Aerial photos at different stages of Panel installation (below).
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Figure 10 (Aerial No Panels)
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Figure 11 (2 x 100 watt and 6 x450 watt panels – 2022)
Figure 12 (Added 2 x 550 watt panels – 2023)
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VII. Roof Angle Change Video
In the original design, I made adaptions that allows for 3 of my 450 watt panels to be adjusted via actuators (since they are quite high up). The others can be adjusted manually by removing several screws. I have included a video below that changes the angle form about 13% to 30% which I do twice a year (Oct & Apr). I use an EB55 to raise and lower the roof. Note: if you do use actuators, disconnect them and store them inside since I had to replace 3 of them already because of water even though they are IP65. It adds about 5 minutes to the process but worth it. Also, I have added reinforcements to keep the roof from moving, it hasn’t budged even with the 2 hurricanes we had in the area.
The video starts off slow, so you can skip a little at the beginning then I speed up to 7x.
Video 1. EB55 Roof Video
https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/YkMIEtxkSjay9U2vVVdPJg.QN2yrOKcuqodMhSOp-_DA8
Figure 13 (Roof Reinforced underside)
Figure 14 (Roof Reinforced above)
Figure 15 (Reinforcement with Actuator)
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VIII. Actual power usage a 4-year comparison study
I started a spreadsheet way back in 2020 because our power company was going to increase costs and they did. From 2020 to 2023, Our Power bill has increased over 60% because of rate increases and add on charges affected by kW usage. In 2021, I did not have solar Panels, yet. I have included my wattage usage and actual bill. Please note that in some cases my bill stayed about the same, although we had huge rate increases which is why I included wattage usage, in addition. I included several months over a 4-year period. You can see my wattage usage has decreased quite a bit. By Nov 2023, I had the extra panels up and running with both the AC300 and AC500.
| 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
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| Nov | 1463kW ($175.09) | 1057kW ($139.42) | 832kW ($136.99) | |
| Dec | 1168kW ($138.76) | 1074kW ($144.57) | 839kW ($140.89) | |
| Jan | 1084kW ($114.52) | 1182kW ($142.74) | 754kW ($116.00) | 596kW ($94.34) |
| Feb | 913kW ($97.44) | 946kW ($115.55) | 666kW ($106.46) | 609kW ($97.37) |
| Mar | 962kW ($98.89) | 907kW ($112.39) | 719kW ($110.89) | 474kW ($78.78) |
| Apr | 1093kW ($115.22) | 941kW ($115.55) | 808kW ($133.65) | 592kW ($93.13) |
| May | 1173kW ($124.34) | 1179kW ($155.29) | 1047kW ($168.71) | 741kW ($113.44) |
| Jun | 1303kW ($138.68) | 1421kW ($186.25) | 1219kW ($197.87) | 1110W ($151.47) |
IX. AC300 and AC500 Extras
Besides the significant advantage of using the AC500 in place of my AC300 because of the higher Amp usage which allows me to utilize additional solar power and it was easy to swap systems. Also, I did like that you can visualize the usage of each PV input on the App when viewing the AC500 which is not an available feature of the App on the AC300. Recently, last couple of days, I just noticed the Daily power profile in the App which is AWESOME feature. I need to research if I can access the raw data somehow, or request how to download it.
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X. Summary and Future
As you can see, a small hobby can turn into a mild obsession, albeit a good one. It all started with an EB55 and two 100 Watt panels which I wanted to see if it would charge all my electronics and Tool Batteries (Lawnmower, edger, powertools, etc.). It worked too well, then I said I could power my backyard if I did this and that. And it exceeded my expectations (after the few bugs I experienced were ironed out). Then after that was successful, I said I have some room for panels to be able to run my Bedroom AC every night on solar. And that helped immensely. And now with the little room I have left in my backyard, I will be able to run one more system that could run my ceiling fans and indoor electronics, network, media center, and Washer and Dryer and freezer with the spare 2 AC300’s that I have.
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Thank you,
William
Below I have included some photos of my recent hydroponics harvest this past year.
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