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  1. Ampster

    Limitation to AC coupling with EG4 18K, help required...

    The the question at the beginning of the thread and in the title of the thread has been answered? There is no limitation other than the overall capacity of the main breaker.
  2. Ampster

    Limitation to AC coupling with EG4 18K, help required...

    And if the loads are low enough all the AC coupled solar plus some of the 12kW from the inverter that doesn't have to cover remaining solar gets exported. Is that correct?
  3. Ampster

    Charging my EV without draining battery

    My approach is even simpler. I control when and how fast my cars charge from one app on my phone. I then let the Emporia manage the rate after that based on solar production.
  4. Ampster

    Charging my EV without draining battery

    That is a good idea so that the Powerwall can be charged as well. Years ago, I heard of delayed PTOs with Powerwalls and the Powerwall lost energy during that waiting period.
  5. Ampster

    Battery DC circuit breaker

    Thanks for that. I did not notice that initially and will return it because I do need it to be bidirectional.
  6. Ampster

    California PCS

    I thought you already had GT solar under a NEM agreement? Is this a new or additional GT solar installation? It it under NEM 2.0?
  7. Ampster

    California PCS

    I have a GT system under NEM 2.0. I have a building permit for a SolArk with Pytes batteries. I do not intend to ask PG&E for permission to install the SolArk and storage so I am not concerned about the concept of whether I am exporting grid power or solar power. I did look into a SGIP funding...
  8. Ampster

    Charging my EV without draining battery

    I would guess so. Without a PTO your solar is not supposed to be on. I would guess your Powerwall is not turned on either. My PTO was delayed and I turned it on but got no credit for export. That was before I got the Emporia and had to manual adjust the charging rate to optimize the benefit...
  9. Ampster

    Your preference, DIY or rack?

    After eight years with ihree iterations of DIY batteries and three different inverters I finally went with Pytes rack batteries. A lot of my motivation was the fact that I had been running those systems without a building permit and I finally wanted to have a UL listed system so I could pull a...
  10. Ampster

    Solar powered ebike

    A complete new battery might cost that much. I found some small capacity ones online for a lot less. I keep one fully charged one in my saddle bag as a spare in case I am on a long ride and need a litle extra to get home. You may need some connectors but you would need those to connect your...
  11. Ampster

    Solar powered ebike

    A solar panel and charge controller are going to cost more than a small replacement battery. I would get very nervous riding an ebike with a solar panel above me or even on a trailer behind me.
  12. Ampster

    Charging my EV without draining battery

    I use the Emporia to do the same with the Emporia EVSE. I have two Teslas and also the Tesla Wall Connector but the integration comes from the Powerwall so I have to use the Emporia to charge from excess solar. The Wall Connector or the Teslas have no way of knowing what my solar production is...
  13. Ampster

    Solar powered ebike

    48 volts at 2 Amps is 96 Watts which is close to the 89 Watts consumed at 238 volts. I would expect charging loss to reflect more Watts to be consumed than goes into the battery but the devices measuring those numbers may be inacurate.
  14. Ampster

    Battery DC circuit breaker

    I just bought this one: 125A, 240V AC, 60V DC, 1 Pole, DIN Rail Mount Miniature Circuit Breaker, Trip Curve: C, UL1077 https://a.co/d/6fRHHJG I have not received it yet so I can't speak to the quality. EDIT: I just realized, thanks to some other posts here, this this one is not bidirectional...
  15. Ampster

    Solar powered ebike

    I don't know if I am smarter than your but my ebike has a 250 Watt motor but at 10 MPH on flat ground it does not take that much power to move me. If it were not raining outside I would ride around the block and give you a more acurate number.
  16. Ampster

    Solar powered ebike

    Not to mention the effect of a cross breeze and the surface area of the panel and its affect on balancing a bicycle.
  17. Ampster

    Growatt Shine WIFI-x

    The next communications from the seller will reveal how the scam works if it is a scam. I do not know how the UK post works but in the US you can mark it, "return to sender" and drop it off at the post office.
  18. Ampster

    Solark + Orion = SUCCESS (couldnt have done it w/o DIY Solar Forum!)

    There is no concern about frying thr Orion Jr BMS since no current flows throught the BMS itself. The limit is on the control circuit and it will simply not provide enough current to operate the contactor. My solution was to simply use an inexpensive relay that drew less than 150mA. Then the...
  19. Ampster

    State Farm insurance offering Ting electrical monitor

    I have been a State Farm customer long before this article was published in 2021 and this is the first I have heard of it.
  20. Ampster

    Limitation to AC coupling with EG4 18K, help required...

    That sounds like a good solution and consistent with what my SolArk does, subject to the limitations of total throughput determined by the breaker serving the inverter. Thanks for the update.
  21. Ampster

    Limitation to AC coupling with EG4 18K, help required...

    One reason would be to answer the OP's question. He said he cannot AC couple his existing GT inverter and also get the benefit of the proposed DC coupled array through his proposed 12kW inverter. It would be nice to hear from @Vince Mex if what was suggested is an alternative. It is not a...
  22. Ampster

    Limitation to AC coupling with EG4 18K, help required...

    I agree, and that is why the solution that @BentleyJ proposed could work when the grid is up.
  23. Ampster

    Limitation to AC coupling with EG4 18K, help required...

    This is the answer to the OP's question. He will get all the benefits of AC coupling when the grid is up and the generation of the AC coupled solar will pass through the EG4 and be exported after covering loads. When the grid is down he can alway disconnect the AC coupled solar if there is not...
  24. Ampster

    Limitation to AC coupling with EG4 18K, help required...

    How could one port have a different frequency than another port when there is only one inverter? I don't know the details of the EG4, but if it is like my SolArk, the Gen Port is used for AC coupling so that when the grid is down and the loads shift down signigficantly, the Gen Port relay can...
  25. Ampster

    Limitation to AC coupling with EG4 18K, help required...

    I understand the Gen Port is bidirectional and that the recommended connection configuration is to connect AC coupled solar to the Gen Port. Do you know if the load port is bidirectional?
  26. Ampster

    Limitation to AC coupling with EG4 18K, help required...

    Are you saying the Load side is not bidirectional and that is why it would not work when the grid is up? Or are you saying that when the grid is down the Gen port is the preferred way to ensure the inverter can cut off the AC coupled solar quickly? I do not know the particulars of the EG4 but...
  27. Ampster

    My Pytes battery install with my SolArk 12k, AC coupled to Enphase micros

    This morning my pack was down to 45% SOC at which point the SolArk is programmed to no longer discharge it. I used the USB cable to poll the pack via the Console port and see how it was doing. Every cell was within 0.003 volts of each other. The average cell voltage was 3.317 per cell or a...
  28. Ampster

    Seeking Advice: Low Voltage vs. High Voltage Batteries for Home Energy Storage

    I think in terms of kWh capacity so there is no difference between a 19.2 kWh high voltage battery and a 19.2 kWh 48 volt battery. A 192 volt battery would be 100 Ahrs to have a capacity of 19.2 kWhs A 48 volt battery would be 400 Ahrs to have the same capacity. In terms of other differences, it...
  29. Ampster

    Solar mission creep.

    My first system was 2.8 kWs and I actually had a credit at True Up. Rates and NEM was such that I was a Net consumer because I charged my EV overnight and got credit for solar production during the day. I used the grid as a battery with no cost. The credit balance washed out my consumption and I...
  30. Ampster

    Seeking Advice: Low Voltage vs. High Voltage Batteries for Home Energy Storage

    Yes, I have two EVs, an electric dryer, electric heater pump for heating and cooling. Soon, converting water heater to electric. The heat pumps will run off batteries. The dryer and EVs run off excess solar or low cost grid overnight.
  31. Ampster

    Seeking Advice: Low Voltage vs. High Voltage Batteries for Home Energy Storage

    I am using 35 kWhs of nominal 48 volt batteries and have plenty of capacity and power. I installed it myself and not sure one can do that with anything higher than 48 volts nominal.
  32. Ampster

    Confusion on meaning of Off Grid vs Grid-tie vs Zero Export

    Later you said, grid tied was the most optional for you and mentioned how much your sent back to the grid. How did you do that with an off grid system?
  33. Ampster

    Confusion on meaning of Off Grid vs Grid-tie vs Zero Export

    It all depends on your consumption patterns and the Net Energy Metering plan and the energy rates from your power company.
  34. Ampster

    My Pytes battery install with my SolArk 12k, AC coupled to Enphase micros

    Seven for a total of 35 kWhs, Four in a V-BOX-OC external enclosure and three in a V-BOX-IC internal enclosure..The engineer said we would avoid lengthy review by the Fire Marshall and a quicker permit process if we only went with 20 kWhs externally. That is why I am using two stages, one for...
  35. Ampster

    My Pytes battery install with my SolArk 12k, AC coupled to Enphase micros

    I did not expect the Pytes IC enclosure to arrive for another couple of weeks but since it was here, I assembled it and put the other three batteries in it to test. I only have a permit for the four batteries which are running in the external enclosure but since the internal enclosure has wheels...
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