Hi all,
I'm looking for help with component selection. I am in the US, and have our typical split phase power. I tried specing out a system myself, but became overwhelmed with the differences and options, particularly when looking to the future for expansion. Is this the right place to ask for help with component selection? I have a write up of what I want so far (see below) but don't know if I need to provide more, or different information. What I really need is help with is the larger ticket items, inverter/charger, transformer? battery, etc. so I don't have to buy twice.
Problem:
Frequent power outages ranging from 1 sec to hours to days. Far enough out to be less than priority to power company.
Power needs:
Total electric house. Energy audit indicates power usage on (primary) work from home circuits to be 17KwH per day. Peak demand is just over 3100 watts in bursts but sometimes as little as 350 watts.
I’m sure as I build this the requirements will go up. I would like to add water heating to the above, even if that has to be manual and careful with other simultaneous use.
What I currently have:
Manual transfer switch for the circuits included in the above power needs. Power comes from one or two paralleled “suitcase” inverter generators. This semi-works, but requires attention and planning for longer outages, and does noting for the far more frequent and irritating “blink” outages.
Goals in order of importance:
Provide backup power to eliminate refrigerator and freezer wear and tear due to short outages.
Provide some buffer time for slightly longer outages so power stays on while I prep the generator(s)
Provide a power buffer for load spikes that a single generator cannot handle; allowing for running a single generator that can handle the average load during multi-day outages, rather than running both that are overkill for most of the time. Victron’s power assist is very attractive for this. Do any others do this too? Is Victron viable for modification to US power?
Future Plans:
It looks like time-of-use rates will be coming in 3-5 years. I would like to be ahead of the curve on that with solar panels and batteries. This will have to be much larger though to power the entire house (total house usage is 2000+ KwH in peak months.) I’m not ready to buy for that yet, but don’t want to buy now and have to replace because what I have doesn’t work for the future use.
Budget:
As little as possible, but as much as necessary. I will pay more for quality equipment that I don’t have to modify, adjust, or otherwise work on after the install is complete. I will also pay more for larger than necessary equipment now that is compatible with future expansion.
I tried to include everything I could think of, do I need to do anything else for planning?
I'm looking for help with component selection. I am in the US, and have our typical split phase power. I tried specing out a system myself, but became overwhelmed with the differences and options, particularly when looking to the future for expansion. Is this the right place to ask for help with component selection? I have a write up of what I want so far (see below) but don't know if I need to provide more, or different information. What I really need is help with is the larger ticket items, inverter/charger, transformer? battery, etc. so I don't have to buy twice.
Problem:
Frequent power outages ranging from 1 sec to hours to days. Far enough out to be less than priority to power company.
Power needs:
Total electric house. Energy audit indicates power usage on (primary) work from home circuits to be 17KwH per day. Peak demand is just over 3100 watts in bursts but sometimes as little as 350 watts.
I’m sure as I build this the requirements will go up. I would like to add water heating to the above, even if that has to be manual and careful with other simultaneous use.
What I currently have:
Manual transfer switch for the circuits included in the above power needs. Power comes from one or two paralleled “suitcase” inverter generators. This semi-works, but requires attention and planning for longer outages, and does noting for the far more frequent and irritating “blink” outages.
Goals in order of importance:
Provide backup power to eliminate refrigerator and freezer wear and tear due to short outages.
Provide some buffer time for slightly longer outages so power stays on while I prep the generator(s)
Provide a power buffer for load spikes that a single generator cannot handle; allowing for running a single generator that can handle the average load during multi-day outages, rather than running both that are overkill for most of the time. Victron’s power assist is very attractive for this. Do any others do this too? Is Victron viable for modification to US power?
Future Plans:
It looks like time-of-use rates will be coming in 3-5 years. I would like to be ahead of the curve on that with solar panels and batteries. This will have to be much larger though to power the entire house (total house usage is 2000+ KwH in peak months.) I’m not ready to buy for that yet, but don’t want to buy now and have to replace because what I have doesn’t work for the future use.
Budget:
As little as possible, but as much as necessary. I will pay more for quality equipment that I don’t have to modify, adjust, or otherwise work on after the install is complete. I will also pay more for larger than necessary equipment now that is compatible with future expansion.
I tried to include everything I could think of, do I need to do anything else for planning?
