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Both of my arrays are six steel pipes buried five feet deep. Obviously they are one big ground rod. They are also grounded via EGC back to my system ground at my breaker panel. No biggie. Nothing I can do about it.

Don't mean to hijack, but is one 6 battery rack of LLs, and one 6 battery rack of LP4s paralleled to an external bus bar a problem?

Use another bus bar to tie them together, and use the same length & gauge wire for each.

+1 to what robbob2112 said. Anything with a metal frame is bonded by the grounding conductor to one main earth ground rod, usually at the main AC breaker panel.

Here, we DO NOT ground the DC voltage. No conductors carrying DC voltage are connected to earth ground. Edit: Like you, my Solar property has no governing authority either, but I still follow National Electrical Code for safety. Some things I bend the rules on, but not on valid safety concerns.

You need to find someone from Australia to help you with the grounding (earthing) questions. Your code requirements may be completely different from American, or European standards. Hopefully one of your countrymen will see this thread, and can help out.

I use 600 amp bus bars on a 200ish amp system. No such thing as too big if it fits in the enclosure.

The only advantage I see is starting the solar production earlier, and ending it later. The total daily amount of PV produced will not change either way. There is no gain, it always averages out.

You asked me the question, I answered.

Just piggyback the wires to any 2 pole breaker.

Black wire to L1, Red wire to L2, Green wire to ground. You can attach the wires where the main panel wires tie into the panel, or piggyback them to any 2 pole breaker.

Midnite Solar SPD. It takes up no breaker spaces. Comes in different voltages as well. AC, or DC voltage available. Edit: Signature Solar has them for 92ish bucks on sale.

My 48V is AIO, I never thought about component systems : / My 12V system is component. The inverter would have to back feed AC to the PV charge controller (through the battery), which would have to back feed it to the PV panels. Don't know how likely that is.

It DOES matter to the NEC. I'm assuming you made a typo, or I am misunderstanding you. Any equipment connected to AC power and the PV wires can potentially back feed AC voltage to the PV panels. Rare, but happens occasionally. The only way a breaker (or fuse) would trip is if you run a ground...

You may or may not know it, but a ground wire from the panels to the house main ground is required by the NEC. Not trying to tell you your business, but it can keep bad things from happening to anyone who touches your PV panels in a fault condition. It is possible for your inverter to back feed...

This is payola to the green donors. Just like Obama gave Solyndra over half a billion dollars. It doesn't matter if it works or not, only that the "right" people get the money. Of course, don't forget 10% for The Big Guy.

Yes it should.

If both inverters are the same, and allow paralleling, they will provide double the power output. If you have 2 ea. 6000 watt inverters, you will have one 12000 watt output system. If each inverter is capable of 25 amps of 240VAC output, your paralleled system would output 50 amps of 240VAC. The...

As I understand it, ANY new PV equipment can be claimed in the year it is commissioned. If you add PV every year, you can claim the new equipment each year that it is added. It does not have to be for your primary residence, but can be for a weekend property. Anyone who OWNS the real estate...

I have 2ea. 16 panel arrays of the Blue Sun 460W bifacials, and a 4 panel array for my PV direct mini split.. I got them because they were around the size I want, and they were in stock. I have no complaints with them, they are working as expected.

The one thing you need to realize is that you will almost NEVER get full power from a panel. Bifacial boost does help some in some conditions, but you will not get 8,102 watts in almost any situation.

+1. The 1 ton unit runs off of 120V as well, so you can plug it in if you feel the need when the sun goes down. Much more efficient than a portable.

+1 with exceptions.

I have 2 EG4 6000EX low frequency inverters. They have a LARGE idle consumption. I generally only run on 1 inverter, and have 12 ea. 5.12 kWh batteries, but they basically eat a battery per day just on idle consumption. That's a lot.

I prefer ground mount as well. I spent enough of my working life on roofs. I can see the need for roof mounts as a last resort.

That's why I said: "Edit: my advice is for a cord for chargeverter only."

If all you want it to provide is 240 volt, wire it like wpns' photo, minus the neutral wire. You do not need a wire going to the neutral terminal for either 120 volt, or 240 volt. Edit: my advice is for a cord for chargeverter only.

Were it me, I would go with option 1: "split my current load and grab a 6000xp and indoor power pro battery And a second subpanel." If you went with the 86 option, you could keep the old inverter as a backup. Both valid options.

Wasn't saying replace, said supplement.

Have you considered a PV hybrid mini split. They can run off of PV directly, or household power if there is no sun. Put one in the area you want to cool, and it will supplement the whole house's cooling. They would PV cool the target area during the day, and use much less power than the central...

I would vote for the solar death ray from The Man With the Golden Gun. It's fun for the whole family.

I used Iron Ridge rails mounted on a welded drill pipe frame. They are not cheap, but they are a very good racking system. You can also buy parts to make a bolt-together rack if you don't weld.

It got pretty dark. I would not have driven hundreds of miles to see it. Back to work.

I accidentally deleted my member "block" list. Guess I need to start over....

Totality here is at about 1:40 central, but it is getting darker outside as the minutes go by. I was looking forward to seeing the eclipse, but at this rate, it will be too dark to see it by then.... ; )