Converting solar install to semi off grid system

[yourballoonman]

I have a solar system professionally installed and I hare that I'm tied to the grid in a way that makes our solar useless when the power company is down.

I want to upgrade to (ideally) a battery banking system that also connects to the grid. So, if we get extra beyond what our batteries hold they can do the whole sell to the grid thing.

In a perfect world I would consider being off grid altogether, but not sure I want to take that leap yet.

Since I'm ignorant of the process, I had no idea where to find this as a thread elsewhere and I'm unsure what to call this specifically, nor do I know what info is needed.

Here is what know of my system:
22 panels
Microinverters
IQ control panel (?)
Looks like my app has a section for adding devices (like car battery charger), but unsure if there is a physical way to do that.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Glock24]

You could add an inverter/charger for your critical loads on a separate panel, the inverter/charger would charge the batteries from the "grid" while during the day while your grid-tied system is producing enough power, when batteries are full the excess production would be fed back to the grid. During an outage your critical loads would get power from the batteries.
If you want you could power critical loads from battery at night and save power, but you'll probably need an ATS or a programable inverter/charger.
Then in the future you can also add a charge controller to charge your batteries directly from solar and get (partially) offgrid with grid as backup.

 

[wpns]

Tell us exactly what you have, and I'm sure you'll get lots of options. AC coupled batteries are certainly the most direct solution, but they come with a few gotchas of their own, and can add significant complexity.

Is this something you want to ask your professional installer to upgrade you to, or is this going to be a DIY (with appropriate assistance from the professionals) project?

Enjoy!

 

[Quattrohead]

You have an Enphase system that probably uses the iq3 control panel and the micro inverters will either be iq7 or iq8. If they are IQ 8 you could add the batteries that Enphase have which would be quick and convenient but they are very expensive.
Alternatively you can AC couple that system into a new inverter that also has a battery backup, this will then allow the Enphase system to continue to produce during an outage and provide power to your home.

 

[wpns]

You have an Enphase system that probably uses the iq3 control panel and the micro inverters will either be iq7 or iq8. If they are IQ 8 you could add the batteries that Enphase have which would be quick and convenient but they are very expensive.
Alternatively you can AC couple that system into a new inverter that also has a battery backup, this will then allow the Enphase system to continue to produce during an outage and provide power to your home.

Or you can clean the whole thing up by starting over with the panels and mounts you have, and installing Tigo RSD, EG4 inverters and batteries, and then you can have a real backup with a clear route to off-grid, and still take advantage of grid-tie sellback while it lasts. Also not inexpensive. I'd wait a while (and do an energy/power survey with something like an Emporia Vue) as the new EG4 inverters and GridBoss are supposed to be pretty all-encompassing.