100amp House Service

[ab_oilpatch68]

We are looking at putting in a solar hybrid system into our house, Our monthly usage is 2100 to 2500 Kw/h a month. The panel in the house is a 100amp panel and what would be the best way to set up the hybrid inverters to feed the 100amp panel?

 

[Ampster]

what would be the best way to set up the hybrid inverters to feed the 100amp panel?

It will depend on the size of the hybrid and its breaker size. There is a bus bar rule that may limit the size of the hybrid breaker into the 100 Amp panel and that will depend on whether your 100 Amp panel has a 125 Amp bus bar. I only know the concept and will leave the calculations to others. See if you can find out the bus bar size for that panel to inform that discussion.
There are a number of other options including whether you set up an essential (critical) loads panel. That is how I did it to separate the circuits I wanted to use during a power outage and which I wanted to use the hybrid to run them off the hybrid battery during peak rate periods. Your monthy figure of 2500 kWh amounts to an average of 3.5 kWs per hour but a look at your bill or your data from your utility can tell you what the actual peaks are. That will inform the discussion about what size your hybrid should be. Battery size is a different discussion related how much capacity you want in terms of backup or load shifting.

 

[740GLE]

Do you use your oven to heat your house?

At that kind of usage have you considered a service upgrade as well?

I’m guessing that 100a panel might be over loaded depending on exact load.

 

[Kenny_]

Yeah, something doesn't seem right. I currently have 100 A service (looking to upgrade to 200 possibly) and my monthly usage for the past year was around 400-500 Kwh.

 

[zanydroid]

We are looking at putting in a solar hybrid system into our house, Our monthly usage is 2100 to 2500 Kw/h a month. The panel in the house is a 100amp panel and what would be the best way to set up the hybrid inverters to feed the 100amp panel?

I don't know how Canadian code works for this. Answers below for NEC. Also, panel is ambiguous to the point of omitting critical information. Is it the main panel connected to the meter ring? Is it a meter/combo? Is it a distribution subpanel that is separate from that?

Really really need pictures of your panel to provide help of any meaningful sort. I'll try to give some flavor but we're really firing blindly without high quality data, which those pictures are the most direct way for a layperson to provide.

Hybrid is also ambiguous. Do you want whole home backup or do you want to move some loads over to Critical Loads Panel?

There are important differences in execution, though none of them tank the project for DIY. Some of those will be outside what basic solar installers are willing to do. Some of them tank the easy way of doing things (for instance if you decide to go with CLP instead of whole home, while also having local consumption or zero export config. In most cases it's an easier install. However some Meter/Combos are arranged such that the necessary hardware is impossible to install on the customer side of the meter combo.

If you buy a SolArk 15K or EG4 18kpv then you would wire the inverter ahead of the distribution subpanel.

 

[Steve_S]

Simply put, you currently have a 240VAC/100A Main Panel, to replace that capacity in its entirety will require a 240VAC Split-Phase Inverter capable of delivering at least 24,000W (uncorrected) + Surge above & beyond.

2500kWh per month ÷ 30 days = 83kWh per day. (that does not seem right.)
Have a look at your power bills, take the 3 Highest Months (likely mid-winter & mid-summer) and work out what your real "Daily Usages" are during the heaviest periods, ultimately that is what you want to be able to deliver "at minimum" because people always get new stuff and power usages can be expected to remain the same or increase over time.

ALSO, consider & clarify if you have any intentions of sending power to the grid because that whole process at present may not be a viable or practical option. Smitty has a major hate on for Renewables and that does not bode well for "humans" living in Alberta.

Ideally, such a setup (Standalone offgrid) would use 2 paralleled inverter systems with the smarts to automatically put 1 inverter into sleep mode (reducing consumption) to service standard loads and that awakens the 2nd inverter when demand requires it. NOTE THAT NOT ALL DO THIS, Generally this type of functionality comes with Tier-1 High Quality products. There are now a few Premium AIO's (All in Ones) that can accomplish this BUT there are also trade-offs. AIO's typically have a higher standby power consumption and the majority are HF (High Frequency) to keep costs down.

An additional point on AIO's: These are a Good Value because it simplifies installation and eliminate many "balance of system components" because Solar Controller(s)/Inverter/Charger are all in one modular unit. TBH they make for nice & tidy installations that can be done quickly. They do have drawbacks compared to "component" based systems with independent SCC, Inverter/Chargers and the components in between Component systems do cost more (many parts & more labour) but they have several advantages, including fault tolerance & fail over.

Now the GOTCHA's !
* Insurance Co's are a royal PITA as we all know, any excuse to disallow a claim works for them, as you know. They will insist on inspections, UL/CSA Certification for the batteries, inverter system and all attached which also have to meet our Federal & Provincial codes.
* On Grid with Feed-In absolutely demands permits & inspections and that has costs too... expect to pay 30% premium there.
* Off Grid with No Feed In But Grid Power still available as backup, can be done but inspections can get wonky, simply because many "inspectors" are actually solar clueless... it is a universal problem everywhere. Most don't really grasp that DC is not AC and has different rules.
* Off Grid & No Grid to house can be done and that eliminates "regulators" but for insurance.... NOTE & CHECK because I have recently seen a few townships in Alta decide against allowing Offgrid - I think Cardston was such, could be wrong.

-- Turbulent Times in Alberta for Renewable energies, especially after Sh*tty Smitty pulls her stunt today (not-withstanding clause nonsense) as there will inevitably be more fallout after that and with what she did earlier this year with suspending all the projects, I strongly urge you to pay close attention to what comes out and how that will affect your hopes & plans.

Last but not least. Please understand that Power generation & storage cost a lot more than conservation. That fridge you inherited from grandma that holds your cold beer in the garage and that old coil electric stove/oven are NASTY ! Hot Water tanks are also terribly evil when it comes to power use, you can get new appliances & even a Heat Pump Hot Water Tank from RHEEM that has 3/4 of the cost repaid by prov & fed grants etc... You'd be surprised to find out how much rebate bucks are available ATM. Have a look, link below.

Hybrid Electric Water Heaters for your Home - Rheem

Rheem hybrid electric water heaters are the most efficient water heaters on the planet - browse our entire line today.

www.rheem.ca

Hope it helps, Good Luck