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Yes, I am planning to use something like a Bluetti AC300 for AC200Max for this, a portable unit that I can just plug in, not permanently bolted into the building. So if grid is out, I would turn off the SE main inverter (so it doesn't auto restart when grid is back up), plug the secondary PV...

I actually have a pretty unusual setup. I have 45 panels connected in 3 strings through SolarEdge optimizers to a SolarEdge grid tie inverter. The grid tie inverter shuts down when grid is lost and the optimizers shuts off at the panel. This is normal and all good. Rapid shutdown, no issues...

Note that I am not shorting an entire 600V string to ground. I am looking at a few individual panels wired separately with Isc 10A and Voc 42V.

Given that, if I only have panels that are not connected in series with Voc around 42V, can I satisfy the rapid shutdown requirement by having a shutdown switch that effectively shorts each of the panels out? Note the switch will be installed quite always from the panel, but once it is engaged...

How come? The Isc is only 10% higher than Imp, if the panel can operate indefinitely at say 9A what would make it catch fire at 10A?

Does the regulation say it must be under 30V? In the US it is 80V which is somewhat more reasonable.

Wow, 30V is a pretty low voltage requirement. Pretty much it would prevent even a single normal sized roof panel (Voc 40-45V) without a disconnect switch located right there from working. Harsh... As per the wording of the document, would it be possible to have a device that literally shorts...

I don’t have a Bluetti unit, but 20w with no output on seems like a lot. What is that thing doing? My laptop consumes 20w when it is on and doing light duty work. I have a Jackery 1500 unit and there is no on/off switch, I can turn AC/DC on but the units otherwise is off (or on). I have it...

Is that 15w burn with DC and AC output on or off? If it is with DC and especially AC on (even with no load), it is actually pretty good. I have heard stories of 30-40w consumption when DC and AC are on with no load.

I am considering a different approach to get power off a grid tied PV system when the grid is out. Instead of fooling the grid tie inverter with a local grid, I am trying to hook up another off-grid inverter to the some of the panels in parallel. For this to work, the parallel connection point...

What is the method of operation behind this?

I am aware of that, hence it is in the "Danger Zone" forum. To discuss concepts that may not be compliant with the rules as they are today. I don't want to debate NEC2017+ rapid shut down rule set, while it was ostensibly for fire fighter safety, it was heavily pushed by SolarEdge at that time...

Most of us in North America have setup that conforms to rapid shut down requirement, where the grid tie inverter would communicate with shut down devices or optimizers and shut off the power pretty much right at the panel. This prevents our solar setup to provide backup power when the grid is...

Are there grid tie inverters with a no export mode where it won’t try to push back into the grid? In that case, would a small sine wave inverter allow it to turn in safety and power local loads when the grid is off and disconnected?

How close does a nuclear detonation has to be before EMP becomes an issue? At the at distance, would the thermal or pressure wave cause concern?

Maybe I am not knowledgeable in this area, but where does the danger of EMP comes from? Solar flares? How often these occur and what can they do to solar/battery equipment? If they will harm solar/battery stuff, then won’t the things we want to power with them also be damaged even if the power...

Did you tie the output of each 200p to each of the two 120V split phase rails? Why only 90V?

Note that early jackery 1500 only supports a max input of 6.25A, so if you want to get close to the max rated 300W solar input per MPPT input (there are 2 total), then you will need a panel operating at 48V (but under max Voc of 51V). I connected 2 Canada Solar HiDM 340 panels to each port in...

As long as you do not exceed the Voc limit, it is fine. You can have all the current and the MPPT will just ignore it. Over powering it (while staying under Voc limit) will allow it to generate max power for more of the day. Think of it this way, a typical household plug can supply 15A at 120V...

24/7 What about at night? Will the phone internal battery last overnight?

If you are running 2500W, stop may want to consider using a 24V setup to reduce the need for super thick wires that can carry 250A.

I used a jackery 1500 with an interlocked backfeed breaker into the panel, then flip on any circuits I want to power after the panel is disconnected from the grid. Have to watch the watts since the jackery is only capable of 1800 watt continuous, but can surge to 3000 watts for up to 30sec sec...

Got this info from Jackery for surge capacity for the Jackery 1500. It looks like this can handle up to 3000w for 30 seconds, which is very good to handle surge or even temporary large loads such as a sump pump.

About 40 degrees would be ideal year round, but usually you would lean towards better production in the summer when there is more daylight hours, so something around 30 degrees? Consider this: https://unboundsolar.com/blog/solar-panel-azimuth-angle

You will need a charge controller for that. Generally, you can get away with 2 watts per 50Ah for a 12V battery. So the max you can run without a solar charger for an 100Ah battery would be 5 watts panel (it generally will produce 4w or so). Otherwise you risk overcharging and damaging your...

My sump pump backup has a very simple 100Ah lead acid battery with a AC trickle charger connected to it. It is connected to a 12V DC sump pump that is installed in the same sump pit as the primary 110V AC pump but positioned a few inches higher. Normally this would never turn on as the AC pump...

A charge controller is always recommended, and you can get a small PWM one for very little money. If your panel is very small for the battery and of the right voltage, then you can get away without one as the charge current will be in the overcharge allowance so it won’t damage the battery even...

If you are to connect them in parallel with your newer Canadian Solar panels and the voltage is the same then it should work and would give you more current and power overall, as long as your charge controller can accept the additional current. However, you will need to check the voltage they...

Automotive relays for up to 40A are very common and only a few dollars a pieces. But they typically have a max switching voltage of only 30V, likely will work OK for single panel of up to 40V or so as current won’t be high. Have you considered those? Or do you really need ones rated for much...

I actually am using an Goal Zero Yeti400 units as UPS for my home networking modem/router/wifi points. The networking gear runs off the inverter and pull about 40w of power. The Yeti400 is charged via the AC adapter with max power around 90w (though power input hovers around output). So...

It was correctly noted earlier that if you connect the jackery or a single phase AC source of a two pole breaker by using a jumper wire to short the poles together, it maybe possible to overload the neutral before any single pole of the breaker trips as both hots are in phase and neutral current...

You sure about that? It seems like a much harder thing to build rather than just measuring voltage & voltage drop across a known shunt right after the battery to measure total output. You either measure before or after the inverter, measuring both and deciding which one to show base on state...

I contacted Jackery support and confirmed that there are 2 forms of the 1500 unit. The early versions, they call 1500A have 1488wh capacity with a DC input that can accept up to 51V but max at 6.25A. The current versions, called 1500B, have just over 1.5kwh capacity and a DC input that takes 24V...

Very true, but if your inverter is only rated for 15A, the inverter will shut down when it puts more than 7.5A into the red, 7.5A into the black and 15A into the white. This isn't ideal as the inverter is protecting the circuit, not the breaker. Effectively, you want the wire to be sized to the...

Well I see how one tries to save on wires by essentially sharing the neutral line of a 4 conductor wire on two circuits, instead of using 2 x 2 conductor wires. Normally, this doesn’t matter as the red and black hits are opposite in phase so the neutral cancels out, and will never be higher than...