For using the 200 amp pass through for the entire house, that's all fine if the grid remains up. The inverter produces up to 10 KW, the grid makes up the deficit. If the house needs less than 10 KW, you can export to the grid the excess you can make.I'm talking about pass though to the grid what the inverter can't invert, so in your scenario if you were requesting 20kw ..10kw would be offset by passing it through the relays to the grid.
Because a 200A service really should have two inverters. And with 100a internals you are running 2awg to each inverter vs 2/0 if you are using inverters with 200a switching equipment/breakers.
Good points but my important stuff like computers etc are on backup so for me it would not be a big deal..then I could just tun off the AC, dryer and whatever else I have going until the grid comes back on. Assuming the inverter would just shutdown and it would not hurt it ..it wouldn't be a big deal for me unless I'm missing something. But yes, I can see how having a sub panel can be beneficial. I'd have to go read the specs again but doesn't this inverter have smart load circuits for 120/240V. If so, can you just wire a sub that feeds the big items and if the grid fails the inverter just powers down that circuit to shed the heavy loads?For using the 200 amp pass through for the entire house, that's all fine if the grid remains up. The inverter produces up to 10 KW, the grid makes up the deficit. If the house needs less than 10 KW, you can export to the grid the excess you can make.
If the grid fails, then the entire house could be well above 10 KW and the inverter will then overload and fault out. If that doesn't happen right at the moment of grid failure, it could happen later when heavy loads randomly stack together.
The only treatment is to manually go flip off breakers when the grid fails, then go flip them back on when it comes back. If you are lucky, you can do this before the inverter overloads. If you aren't, you are doing this in the dark and restarting it.
A backup panel does this for you automatically. A backup panel doesn't require a 200 amp pass through, only what the backup panel loads will be.
The other aspect is that putting the inverter in the utility feed to the main breaker is more complex wiring wise. You have to shut off service at the meter to do that and work with heavy cables. A backup panel operates on a load breaker from the main panel which makes it much easier to install due to lighter wires and not having to touch the utility feed.
I'd rather rewire a few branch circuits than deal with rewiring the 200 amp utility feed. Then the system automatically load sheds when the grid goes down. You can, of course, wire the 200 amp pass through capable inverter in this way, but the 200 amps is now way overkill.
Mike C.
Makes sense. There's a dude on youtube that has a business installing solar and he generally always uses solark and I think he stated he liked the 15k due to the 200A relays and didn't have to put in sub panels like he used to which made it a simple install. Just connect the solark/s to they main feed and then the solark/s to the panel. engineer 777 or something like that.Not sure inverters have smart load shed for more watts/amps than inverter can put out. When presented with that they may grunt for 60 milliseconds (enough to fast trip a breaker rated for < 1/5 of surge capability) then shut off.
What I have seen load-shed signals for is derating (over-temp, time to reduce load) and SoC.
I think loads in excess of inverter continuous rating should be on a separate panel. You can then manually turn some off before powering that panel from inverter. This can be done as interlocked backfeeding of main panel, although that can mean inverter doesn't see grid return and can't pick it up automatically.
Engineer 775. I've watched many of his videos.Makes sense. There's a dude on youtube that has a business installing solar and he generally always uses solark and I think he stated he liked the 15k due to the 200A relays and didn't have to put in sub panels like he used to which made it a simple install. Just connect the solark/s to they main feed and then the solark/s to the panel. engineer 777 or something like that.
When you guys move items from a main panel what's the recommended way to extend the wires..wago connectors? I'd rather move the 240V loads minus well pump to a sub panel.
Moving 240v loads to a sub panel could be difficult. Those are typically 10 gauge on up.Makes sense. There's a dude on youtube that has a business installing solar and he generally always uses solark and I think he stated he liked the 15k due to the 200A relays and didn't have to put in sub panels like he used to which made it a simple install. Just connect the solark/s to they main feed and then the solark/s to the panel. engineer 777 or something like that.
When you guys move items from a main panel what's the recommended way to extend the wires..wago connectors? I'd rather move the 240V loads minus well pump to a sub panel.
When you guys move items from a main panel what's the recommended way to extend the wires..wago connectors? I'd rather move the 240V loads minus well pump to a sub panel.
How to manage whole house loads depends largely on who will be living in the house. For my wife and I, it would be simple to just not turn on the larger loads until power comes back on. (And they are all off normally; we turn them on manually.) For a homeowner who never thinks about power, then the critical loads panel makes more sense.If the grid fails, then the entire house could be well above 10 KW and the inverter will then overload and fault out. If that doesn't happen right at the moment of grid failure, it could happen later when heavy loads randomly stack together.
If the power fails with the large loads active, the whole house will go down when the inverter faults out for overload. You can't know when the grid will fail in advance, so this could happen any time.For my wife and I, it would be simple to just not turn on the larger loads until power comes back on. (And they are all off normally; we turn them on manually.)
If you want your backup power to not fail, the the backup panel makes sense even for people who think about power. I don't see a backup panel being the right choice because people are somehow uninformed.For a homeowner who never thinks about power, then the critical loads panel makes more sense.
I have propane for my large loads but can't a stove with a bunch of "burners" on and the oven take nearly 12kW by itself?I have an all electric home in Florida and I have struggled to overload test the EG4 18k. You have to be super determined to have the stove, dryer, water heater and HVAC running at the same time
You can't overload imaginary equipment. lolI have an all electric home in Florida and I have struggled to overload test the EG4 18k. You have to be super determined to have the stove, dryer, water heater and HVAC running at the same time
When you guys move items from a main panel what's the recommended way to extend the wires..wago connectors? I'd rather move the 240V loads minus well pump to a sub panel.
Electric stove and electric water heater together will likely nearly max out 12kW of inverter. That's without anything else running. Heat pump dryer and washer, plus will pump will soon add around 2kW yet. Grundfos well pump alone will be between 600-1500w depending on which specific model you end up with.Now, granted... The stove is currently propane, and the new house will be an induction cooktop. Water heating is a Rinnai tankless in both buildings now, and we're going with an electric HP type in the new house. But we're also switching to a Grundfos SQ well pump and a HP dryer. So... as I see it, if we use modern equipment (heat pumps) and a better well pump, and just avoid having everything on at once, it seems pretty hard to justify more than about 12KW of inverter. Feel free to debate, but it seems much of this just comes down to a willingness to manage loads just a little bit.
It's easy to go above 10kw daily in my all electric house.As we plan out the new house and barn, I'm struggling at finding ways to go beyond about 10KW at any given time, unless my wife suddenly decides to prepare a meal akin to Thanksgiving dinner. I'm pretty sure she'd give me a heads up for that.
At our present property we have a 3-BR guest house and a 3-bay garage with a 1200 SF apartment above it. Mini-splits in both buildings (house has 3 indoor units, apartment has 2). No solar in either of these buildings (my solar system powers three outbuildings). When the power goes out, a 12KW Kohler generator kicks on. That generator powers both those "main" buildings without sweating, even if we turn on the conventional electric dryer that pulls a solid 5-6 KW and are doing laundry, which activates the conventional well pump periodically.
Now, granted... The stove is currently propane, and the new house will be an induction cooktop. Water heating is a Rinnai tankless in both buildings now, and we're going with an electric HP type in the new house. But we're also switching to a Grundfos SQ well pump and a HP dryer. So... as I see it, if we use modern equipment (heat pumps) and a better well pump, and just avoid having everything on at once, it seems pretty hard to justify more than about 12KW of inverter. Feel free to debate, but it seems much of this just comes down to a willingness to manage loads just a little bit.