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But 480 VAC would be okay? Why is that somehow "safer"? Why would anyone expect to be able to touch energized wires in conduit just because the conduit is plastic? Mike C.

The power supply warranty almost certainly excludes consequential damage and only covers materials and workmanship of the power supply itself to the value of the power supply. It isn't the power supply's fault the user had a fire suppression system that damages all his equipment. They could...

Or geothermal heat pumps? They don't fall down on cold days and are vastly more efficient than air to air. My GSHP in the house have only rarely hit the strips, and it was like -10 F that day. My GSHP in my office building don't even have strips and never have any problems on any cold day...

I expect 160 ft of Cat6 cable will handle a CT extension nicely. Just make sure you use a twisted pair for the signal, the CT leads have to be twisted together or the signal will pick up electrical noise. Mike C.

What purpose does this PV disconnect serve? If you pull it, everything in the diagram is still hot except the few wires from the disconnect to the inverter. The inverter will run the downstream power from batteries and solar. If you leave the disconnect in place but hit the RSD, the inverter...

https://store.solarcellzusa.com/Solarever-455W-Split-Cell-Mono-PERC-Solar-Panel-Silver- Claims 1295 in stock. $281/each. I found a few other places claiming they have stock. Seems like you can find them if you look around. Mike C.

I am very close to buying this inverter, the N3H-10K-US. Seems ot have the features I need, seems to work well enough, the price is definitely right, etc. But I have these concerns: 1. What batteries can it talk to? It seems to be limited in the protocols it can handle and I haven't seen...

Then, this one? https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/SPH-10000TL-HU-US-growatt-120_1601062029478.html $1450 plus $82 for shipping. Or this one? https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/2024-New-Version-Growatt-10kw-SPH_1600945672123.html $1528 plus $340 for shipping. Both list the model as...

It seems most DIN stuff is not UL rated. The European stuff all looks so much nicer than what we can buy here in the USA. Seems so. Seems just a tad risky to depend on the Tigo TS4-A-S RSD devices on a sunny day to be able to disconnect the PV inputs and not have 400 volts available there...

The air right next to the plywood is not 80 F. That boundary layer air is basically the same temperature as the plywood. Air heated rises, so there will be little to no convective heat flow upwards since the air is already there. The heat flow in the air totally dominates this system. Mike C.

Okay, so if battery comms are not a thing you need, then maybe you can buy cheaper batteries that lack comms altogether. For example, 4 of these in series: https://www.amazon.com/jsdsolar-Bluetooth-LiFePO4-Battery-Built/dp/B0CN4LBKZ8 $900 each. For $3600, you get 51.2V, 400 AH, 20.5 KWH...

Now there's a useful and clear answer. The 18KPV has its own RSD transmitter for the TS4-A-F RSD modules (over PV powerline). For the TS4-A-S or O modules, you do need the CCA and TAP units to do that. Got it. The inverter will stop using the battery before the battery BMS will shut it off...

The inverter can be a load to the grid and a source to the backup panel at the same time. This is such a basic thing that it is freaking me out you aren't seeing that. Maybe you are doing some magic semantic handwave that a device with TWO 240 VAC connections is somehow ONE circuit. I just...

Another issue I have noticed is insane readings on the Solarman logger. Here is an example: This is the AC output current. The blue spike is 46 amps that is almost entirely on one phase. There is nothing in the house that draws that much power (5.5 KW) from a single phase. These spikes...

Are you willing to share those so I can see what that looks like? Where in FL? Mike C.

My AHJ says I need a structural engineer to design my structural plans. The house has concrete tiles that are several tons on the roof and the solar system is basically nothing compared to that, so that defies common sense. I went to Ironridge and used their design tools. The tool said, with...

What are they? Don't be vague. Also, what if I use EG4 rack batteries instead, which is basically the same idea. Does your opinion change if I switch to EG4 rack batteries, that is, your brand? Is that user error or a deficient product? Will seems to be high on them: He suggests they...

There is no interlock in the main panel. If your backup panel has all loads on one phase, then the neutral will have 60 amps in it. There are two breakers feeding these combined neutrals. The neutral from main to backup can have both the backup panel loads (in grid mode) and the inverter...

Geothermal (aka ground source) heat pumps are not like that. They work well in the winter. You can get water to water GSHP. You want vertical wells if you can find the right driller. This is particularly true in northern climates where earth temperatures are cold even quite deep. My office...

It is possible my inverter is broken in some subtle way, say the grid AC power supply isn't working. It got abused during shipping. But I inspected it and found nothing visually wrong with the internals. Mike C.

I downloaded the CSV this morning. Only the last 2.5 minutes were 1 second resolution of the the 1SEC.CSV file. The rest of the file was 60 entries for every minute with the same reading. Here are the last ~6 minutes of the 1SEC.CSV file for the main power (the rest of the file prior is all...

Seems like a great value. The 30 mm frame is a little thin for that size module being almost 8 ft long, and the 2.0 mm glass would be worrisome in any area that gets hail. Mike C.

Having to anchor rails to every rafter is wrong. It just is. Maybe that's needed at the start or end of the array, but not every rafter in the middle. The span tables Ironridge provide say XR100 should be good to 6 ft, and XR1000 to 10 ft for the wind rating needed in my area. Their tables...

But a south facing array would hold off battery need until later in the day so you would have more charge in the morning. You aren't needing less battery with you go SSE versus S, you will actually need a bit more overall. The key is to line up the array with the demand. My parent's house...

Do I need this Tigo system? The 18KPV has its own MPPT units, so I don't need PV optimizers. It looks like added complexity and parts for what could be a simple disconnect. If the PV feed lines are okay to be energized from panel to manual PV DC disconnect, then the manual disconnect is good...

Is no battery an officially supported operating mode? Is that written down somewhere? This comment was made in another thread: https://diysolarforum.com/threads/my-new-diagram-please-check.80025 "Apparently it’s not possible the moment for the 18kpv to function as a grid only inverter." I'd...

Seems to me that if you wanted to put the equipment inside the structure, you would go with string inverters. Lower cost, fewer roof penetrations, higher efficiency, more flexibility, etc. I don't see UK having the stupid rapid shutdown requirements we have in the USA which basically force...

I don't think that is right. Let's analyze PV directly to grid: A string inverter going from PV input to AC output is way better than 87-92% efficient. EG4 18KPV (just as an example) is 97.5%. That is a DC coupled system. This makes sense because whatever circuitry you can put into a...

In Florida, outside means corrosion. Inside is hard enough to keep equipment healthy. I was intending to put the battery and inverter in the garage next to the breaker panels. One downside to that is the garage is warmer than outside, but outside would be in direct sunlight (south wall) which...

I'm another solar newbie, so all of my input comes from research and no actual experience. I'll take a stab at your questions none the less, such is the empowerment of ignorance. It will be hard to complete your project without some part made in China. Even the supposedly "made in USA" stuff...