spacemancw
New Member
Hi, I'm sure this question has been asked before, apologies. I have read a lot, googled and you-tubed. I seem to get bits and pieces, but not the whole picture.
I have 28 solar panels, I believe the panels are 305 w each (HANWHA Q CELLS Q.PEAK-G4.1 305 305W MONO SOLAR PANEL).
That's over 8000W. The inverter is a grid-tied SolarEdge. We use the solar power, and send excess to the grid. We then use Grid power at night.
When the Grid goes out, the solar goes out.
I have a 6500W gas generator. I have that coming into the main panel on a 30amp breaker. There's a manual interlock, such that I turn off the main breaker from the Grid, slide the interlock over, and I can turn on the generator breaker. When the generator is on, I can see the Inverter trying to start up but then fails with a startup error. I'm sure the power generated by the generator is unstable and the inverter doesn't like it. Wrong frequency.
So I want to install a battery for night use and backup. I want to make sure I understand how this works and and what exactly (roughly) I need.
I will need a battery pack connected to an additional Inverter. That Inverter will then be connected to the electrical panel. (just going to use main panel for simplification, no critical-use panel at the moment).
What I hope will happen : with solar power generated during the day, the house will be powered, the batteries will be charged, and excess, if any, goes to the grid.
At night, no solar generated, so the new Inverter draws power from the battery, then from the grid if needed. Hopefully no grid needed as power consumption should be low at night.
When the grid is down, the new Inverter detects it, draws enough power from the battery to tell the grid-tied inverter that power is up, and the grid-tied inverter comes back on (after the timeout) and continues drawing power from the solar panels, powering the house and charging the batteries. If there is excess power, what happens to that if the batteries are charged and the grid is out? At night, we'd use the battery power.
So if this is all correct, I am looking for advice on what I need to buy. I will not be touching the grid-tied inverter, so for the new Inverter, I don't think I need a hybrid inverter, just an off-grid converter, correct? What size? I was thinking 10,000W. Maybe 12,000W? Any brand recommendations?
Also I would like to tie my gas generator in to the setup. I reckon it would go into the new Inverter first.
What kind of battery and what size? I guess battery power should match the Inverter? My main objective is to use the battery at night instead of paying the Grid electrical company., or at least reduce what I use from the grid at night.
Below are my simplified diagrams for how this is wired now, and would be wired.
I have a sump-pump and a well-pump. I would want them to run. Also air-fryer, microwave, waste-disposal. The rest would be normal lights, TV, fridge, wifi.
Thanks in advance for any help, advice and/or corrections.
I have 28 solar panels, I believe the panels are 305 w each (HANWHA Q CELLS Q.PEAK-G4.1 305 305W MONO SOLAR PANEL).
That's over 8000W. The inverter is a grid-tied SolarEdge. We use the solar power, and send excess to the grid. We then use Grid power at night.
When the Grid goes out, the solar goes out.
I have a 6500W gas generator. I have that coming into the main panel on a 30amp breaker. There's a manual interlock, such that I turn off the main breaker from the Grid, slide the interlock over, and I can turn on the generator breaker. When the generator is on, I can see the Inverter trying to start up but then fails with a startup error. I'm sure the power generated by the generator is unstable and the inverter doesn't like it. Wrong frequency.
So I want to install a battery for night use and backup. I want to make sure I understand how this works and and what exactly (roughly) I need.
I will need a battery pack connected to an additional Inverter. That Inverter will then be connected to the electrical panel. (just going to use main panel for simplification, no critical-use panel at the moment).
What I hope will happen : with solar power generated during the day, the house will be powered, the batteries will be charged, and excess, if any, goes to the grid.
At night, no solar generated, so the new Inverter draws power from the battery, then from the grid if needed. Hopefully no grid needed as power consumption should be low at night.
When the grid is down, the new Inverter detects it, draws enough power from the battery to tell the grid-tied inverter that power is up, and the grid-tied inverter comes back on (after the timeout) and continues drawing power from the solar panels, powering the house and charging the batteries. If there is excess power, what happens to that if the batteries are charged and the grid is out? At night, we'd use the battery power.
So if this is all correct, I am looking for advice on what I need to buy. I will not be touching the grid-tied inverter, so for the new Inverter, I don't think I need a hybrid inverter, just an off-grid converter, correct? What size? I was thinking 10,000W. Maybe 12,000W? Any brand recommendations?
Also I would like to tie my gas generator in to the setup. I reckon it would go into the new Inverter first.
What kind of battery and what size? I guess battery power should match the Inverter? My main objective is to use the battery at night instead of paying the Grid electrical company., or at least reduce what I use from the grid at night.
Below are my simplified diagrams for how this is wired now, and would be wired.
I have a sump-pump and a well-pump. I would want them to run. Also air-fryer, microwave, waste-disposal. The rest would be normal lights, TV, fridge, wifi.
Thanks in advance for any help, advice and/or corrections.
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