hoping someone can help me here or at least lead me in the right direction. i'm getting pretty confused.
background:
electricity usage: approx 11kw/year
live in southeast michigan
original plan:
mount solar panels on my detached garage. one side of the roof points directly south. run PV array wire to house (already have conduit in ground connecting garage to house so either fit extra cables in the conduit or replace current cables in the conduit with the pv array cable).
use a subpanel in the house and slowly, as my array grows, move more from the main panel to the subpanel to reduce my electricity usage.
planned main equipment:
growatt 5000 (US model).
growatt transformer
six 375 watt REC solar panels to start.
one 48V 100Ah server rack battery to start.
possible plan update:
after some reading and research, i'd like to do what i believe is called "Grid backed up self consumption". using the same equipment above, i'd like to connect the growatt in such a way that it utilizes solar first, then batteries, and then grid. i've read the growatt can handle this. however, I have no idea how i would connect the AC out on the growatt to a main service panel to feed power to the house.
My electrician previously installed an interlok kit on my panel b/c of grid blackouts, and it works well with my generator. however, that is a manual switch that requires turning off the main power from the grid first to avoid back feeding the grid.
with the solar, i believe the growatt handles all of this automatically with no backfeed to the grid and prioritizes based on the settings.
My electrician is great. However, i do not believe he is very knowledgeable about solar products. however, if i'm able to explain to him what i'm trying to do with some specifics, it would not be a problem for him. trouble is, i am so confused in reading about the connection to the service main panel that i can't explain it, and he also might be nervous about back feeding the electricity and might need reassurance.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you have any suggestions about equipment changes, please let me know. six of the REC panels in series had a VOC greater than allowed by many other all-in-ones, which is one of the reasons why the 5000 is what i'm looking at. Thank you!
background:
electricity usage: approx 11kw/year
live in southeast michigan
original plan:
mount solar panels on my detached garage. one side of the roof points directly south. run PV array wire to house (already have conduit in ground connecting garage to house so either fit extra cables in the conduit or replace current cables in the conduit with the pv array cable).
use a subpanel in the house and slowly, as my array grows, move more from the main panel to the subpanel to reduce my electricity usage.
planned main equipment:
growatt 5000 (US model).
growatt transformer
six 375 watt REC solar panels to start.
one 48V 100Ah server rack battery to start.
possible plan update:
after some reading and research, i'd like to do what i believe is called "Grid backed up self consumption". using the same equipment above, i'd like to connect the growatt in such a way that it utilizes solar first, then batteries, and then grid. i've read the growatt can handle this. however, I have no idea how i would connect the AC out on the growatt to a main service panel to feed power to the house.
My electrician previously installed an interlok kit on my panel b/c of grid blackouts, and it works well with my generator. however, that is a manual switch that requires turning off the main power from the grid first to avoid back feeding the grid.
with the solar, i believe the growatt handles all of this automatically with no backfeed to the grid and prioritizes based on the settings.
My electrician is great. However, i do not believe he is very knowledgeable about solar products. however, if i'm able to explain to him what i'm trying to do with some specifics, it would not be a problem for him. trouble is, i am so confused in reading about the connection to the service main panel that i can't explain it, and he also might be nervous about back feeding the electricity and might need reassurance.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you have any suggestions about equipment changes, please let me know. six of the REC panels in series had a VOC greater than allowed by many other all-in-ones, which is one of the reasons why the 5000 is what i'm looking at. Thank you!