Yeah I would like to add a larger array. Your right panels are cheap now but I have partial shading issues if I install on the house so I think I would need to use optimizers, which adds a significant cost in comparison to just panels. With the sun angle this time of year in Ohio the trees are shading the house until nearly 11am. Once the leaves fall a little more sun will get through in the morning. The other factor is we will most likely be moving within a year or two. I definitely still want to at least size the inverter for future expansion.
What about Magnum? any idea which of these would be most EMP resistant?
None of the inverters on the market are really EMP resistant.. Even the Sol-Ark's claim of EMP resistant is a gimmick.
EMP's come in two flavors: 1) Conductive and 2) Radiative
When companies selling consumer products claim some type of EMP protection, they are referring to the conductive component. They are referring to an EMP coming into the house through your grid connection.. IE: Being "conducted" down the wire feeding electricity to your home. They might even claim resistance to the EMP being coupled right through your own home's wiring. These claims are probably legitimate as its not difficult to provide conductive surge protection in any device.
This type of protection is provided by a fast surge protector.. not fundamentally any different than the surge protector in your little power strip on the floor with the glowing red power switch, just a lot better.
Siemens makes a very high quality whole house unit called an FS140 that has a 1 nanosecond response time. I have one on my home myself.
But unless your electronics device is sitting inside a completely sealed Faraday cage, no inverter or EMP protection device can stop the radiative component from directly coupling into the printed circuit boards.
There are two basic kinds of EMP: 1) Solar and 2) Nuclear.
Solar is easy to stop and you don't need special equipment, you just disconnect your home from the grid.. easy.. done. You only need some kind of warning so you have time to do it.. and we watch the sun 24/7 now.
Nuclear EMP is almost impossible to stop without a Faraday cage rated for the type and power of the EMP. Noticed I said "rated for".. that's because technically, being inside a metal building provides some protection. The trick is to have enough attenuation that the EMP doesn't blow out your electronics..
A sealed galvanized trash can, with the cover taped closed with conductive tape, will provide about 40db of attenuation. 40db happens to be a 100 fold change in signal amplitude.
A standard fission bomb detonated at the optimal altitude will induce about 50,000 volts per meter into all conductive surfaces. 50,000 divided by 100 = 500 volts per meter.. or 5 volts per centimeter. Now imagine your electronic device has a wire inside that is 6 inches long and connecting one circuit board to another.. that 6 inches = 15 centimeters x 5 volts = 75 volts under ideal circumstances which favor the EMP. Its not too bad..
But remember, that's a sealed trash can.
Thing is, those numbers apply consideration to standard nuclear weapons.. In order to change a nuclear weapon into a specialized EMP bomb, you simply change the neutron reflector (called a tamper), to something less reflective to gamma.. and presto! You have a Super EMP Weapon capable of a theoretical 200,000 volts per meter.. Not a single item in that trash can is going to survive.. and that Sol-Ark, as well as every other device not in a special Faraday cage, is going to be a paper weight.
It's a win-win for the companies claiming EMP protection because 1) they have your money and 2) Your warranty claim won't mean squat after it happens.
Your only hope for having a working solar system after an EMP attack is to have spare components protected in a Faraday cage, and a good one at that.
I keep a Radian 8048, FlexMax charge controllers, etc, behind 4 layers of steel-aluminum-aluminum-aluminum. Most items are behind two layers, the really critical stuff is behind 3 and 4 layers. Each providing 40db of shielding.
Solar panels only need 1 layer.. if not connected to anything, they are naturally very resistant to EMP's.
Magnum is a good inverter.