Sol-Ark 15K grid down question

Tulex · May 21, 2023

With the Sol-Ark 15K, is there a setting so that if the grid goes down, it will still power the house if there is enough solar? This would be without batteries for the moment. I am sending more to the grid than I am using, so I thought if I killed the main disconnect, it should still power the house. It didn't.

Bkord · May 21, 2023

You would need a battery.

timselectric · May 21, 2023

That ?

Tulex · May 21, 2023

Thanks guys.

Skypower · May 21, 2023

?? “this is the way.”

Benzimidazolone · May 22, 2023

Yes, there is a way.

You need to connect a battery and a critial loads panel. A standard 48v server rack battery will work. You can hook them up in parallel to get as much storage as you want (I have 8, so have 40 kwh of storage). The critial loads panel is typically a smaller panel that is connected to the 'load' output of the Sol Ark. All of your important loads can be moved from your main panel to this small panel. I connected everything in my house to my critical loads panel except for stove, dryer, hot water heater and 4 of 5 AC units. The system works amazingly well. I can turn off my main panel now and everything stays on. The lights dont flicker and even the internet router doesnt notice.

Note that the whole reason Sol Ark (and every grid tied inverter works this way is for safety. You dont want to feed power back through the grid when it is down and electrocute some poor worker is out there working on the lines.

Tulex · May 22, 2023

Benzimidazolone said:
Yes, there is a way.

You need to connect a battery and a critial loads panel. A standard 48v server rack battery will work. You can hook them up in parallel to get as much storage as you want (I have 8, so have 40 kwh of storage). The critial loads panel is typically a smaller panel that is connected to the 'load' output of the Sol Ark. All of your important loads can be moved from your main panel to this small panel. I connected everything in my house to my critical loads panel except for stove, dryer, hot water heater and 4 of 5 AC units. The system works amazingly well. I can turn off my main panel now and everything stays on. The lights dont flicker and even the internet router doesnt notice.

Note that the whole reason Sol Ark (and every grid tied inverter works this way is for safety. You dont want to feed power back through the grid when it is down and electrocute some poor worker is out there working on the lines.

With the 15K, main panel is only tied to the grid through the inverter. So, I'm assuming the 15K knows when grid is down and knows to only send power to the main panel, and not the grid when grid is down. I don't kill power to the inverter from my main panel, I have to kill it at the disconnect at the meter.

Benzimidazolone · May 22, 2023

Tulex said:
With the 15K, main panel is only tied to the grid through the inverter. So, I'm assuming the 15K knows when grid is down and knows to only send power to the main panel, and not the grid when grid is down. I don't kill power to the inverter from my main panel, I have to kill it at the disconnect at the meter.

My expeience is with a 12K but they work the same. When the grid goes down, the Sol Ark will not send any power out to the main panel. This is a key safety feature of the Sol Ark (and all grid tied inverters).

Tulex · May 22, 2023

Benzimidazolone said:
My expeience is with a 12K but they work the same. When the grid goes down, the Sol Ark will not send any power out to the main panel. This is a key safety feature of the Sol Ark (and all grid tied inverters).

I don't believe this is the case with the 15K because of how it's wired. The 12K for example is fed via the main panel. The 15K is not, it is connected directly to the grid, and then the main panel is connected to the Sol-Ark.

timselectric · May 22, 2023

Tulex said:
I don't believe this is the case with the 15K because of how it's wired. The 12K for example is fed via the main panel. The 15K is not, it is connected directly to the grid, and then the main panel is connected to the Sol-Ark.

It makes no difference. If the grid goes down. The input of a grid-tied inverter will disconnect.

Benzimidazolone · May 22, 2023

Tulex said:
I don't believe this is the case with the 15K because of how it's wired. The 12K for example is fed via the main panel. The 15K is not, it is connected directly to the grid, and then the main panel is connected to the Sol-Ark.

Sorry but that is how it works. UL1741 is the standard...anti-islanding

timselectric · May 22, 2023

I never liked the term "anti-islanding".
An island stands on its own. Without a connection to the outside world.
"Anti-islanding" suggests (to the layman) that it can't separate from the grid.

Benzimidazolone · May 22, 2023

English can be a funny language (what is the difference between flammable and inflammable?). It is logical to think that the inverter should make the solar system into and 'island' so it is not connected to other parts of the grid. However, I think what 'anti-islanding' means is that the inverter stops the system from becoming a power producing 'island' that could export that power elsewhere (ie via a 'bridge' to the grid)

Tulex · May 22, 2023

I want to make sure I understand. If grid goes down and I have batteries, I should have power to my main panel, no?
If so, what happens to any PV at that time?

Tulex · May 22, 2023

timselectric said:
It makes no difference. If the grid goes down. The input of a grid-tied inverter will disconnect.

What do you mean by input?

timselectric · May 22, 2023

Tulex said:
I want to make sure I understand. If grid goes down and I have batteries, I should have power to my main panel, no?
If so, what happens to any PV at that time?

You will have power as long as the batteries aren't too low.

timselectric · May 22, 2023

Tulex said:
What do you mean by input?

The input to the Sol-Ark.
Grid input.

Tulex · May 22, 2023

timselectric said:
The input to the Sol-Ark.
Grid input.

OK, I understand that with grid down, the Sol-Ark will not send any power to the grid. My trip up is Benzimidazolone's statement in post 8 that with grid down, the Sol-Ark won't send any power to the main panel.

ruralsolar · May 22, 2023

Benzimidazolone said:
Yes, there is a way.

You need to connect a battery and a critial loads panel. A standard 48v server rack battery will work. You can hook them up in parallel to get as much storage as you want (I have 8, so have 40 kwh of storage). The critial loads panel is typically a smaller panel that is connected to the 'load' output of the Sol Ark. All of your important loads can be moved from your main panel to this small panel. I connected everything in my house to my critical loads panel except for stove, dryer, hot water heater and 4 of 5 AC units. The system works amazingly well. I can turn off my main panel now and everything stays on. The lights dont flicker and even the internet router doesnt notice.

Note that the whole reason Sol Ark (and every grid tied inverter works this way is for safety. You dont want to feed power back through the grid when it is down and electrocute some poor worker is out there working on the lines.

I went the backwards route with my design with the 15K. I moved my high loads to a separate panel that is upstream of the Sol-Ark, grid goes down, they go down, but my main panel on the house once I get batteries will remain powered.

ruralsolar · May 22, 2023

Tulex said:
OK, I understand that with grid down, the Sol-Ark will not send any power to the grid. My trip up is Benzimidazolone's statement in post 8 that with grid down, the Sol-Ark won't send any power to the main panel.

Depending on the setup his statement is accurate. In short though like the others mentioned, the Sol-Ark will not export any power via the "Grid" connection if the grid is down.

Sol-Ark 15K grid down question

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