120v grid tied solar inverter?

[darrenbeau1]

I live in the United States and have been having trouble finding a grid tied inverter from large brands that are 120v ac output. All of the inverters I have found over 3KW are 240V. Am I looking in the wrong places or do 120v inverters not exist for larger capacities. Also am I looking at this from the wrong perspective, would a 240v inverter work in a 120v power grid? My utility company has transformers spread throughout the grid, so would my 240v feed into the transformer and be converted to 120v? New to the forum/ solar space and all information would be appreciated. My ideal start system would be 5KW (10X500w 24V panels)

 

[gnubie]

Is there any reason why you need only a single phase 120v? I'm not in the USA but from what I've seen on this forum and elsewhere when you get up in power you have to move to split phase inverters, ie L1 / L2 / Neutral. 220v is available across L1 / L2 and two 120v circuits are available across L1 / Neutral and L2 / neutral.

 

[darrenbeau1]

the simple answer is that I didn't understand enough to understand what split phase inverters were, I didn't specifically want a single phase, i just didn't understand that multiple phases would allow higher power. so to make sure I understand, most inverters in the us that advertise 220v are split phase to where I could have multiple 120v circuits? Thanks for your help!

 

[gnubie]

You'd really have to check the particular inverter to see if it does have split phase output but at least I've pointed you in the right direction. I'm sure as the clock ticks forward people in the USA will start posting and someone might even give you a list of inverters.

 

[Steve_S]

When you say "Grid Tied Inverter" you have to be more clear.
1) An inverter that is attached to Grid AC and a Battery Bank which outputs 120VAC to your panel ?
2) A Grid Inverter which is used to send power back to the grid without a battery bank ?
3) A Micro-Inverter attached to solar panels that convert DC to AC for transmission ?

240VAC Split Phase @ 60Hz, is the standard for power being delivered to homes in North America, it consists of 2, 120VAC "legs" with a single common providing you 120V circuits from a single leg and 240V when both legs are used (double pole breakers).

If your looking for an Inverter that fits #1 above, look at the link to Samlex in my signature.

Hope that helps
Steve

 

[darrenbeau1]

Thank you both for your responses.
I'm considering both 2 and 3, Ultimately whichever I can find cheapest/best deal, which most sites I've seen have stated to be 2, not 3.