Do I need a Hybrid inverter?

[blerpaderpa]

Hello all-

I considered posting this in the hybrid forum, but I really just don't quite know what type of inverter or system I should be looking for.

I currently have a ~6kw local power company approved net-metered, grid-tied system consisting of older (rebuilt) Enphase M190 microinverters and ~225W panels, and I have just started scratching the surface on energy storage systems, but I'm not sure which direction I should be going towards based on my needs:

- I'd like my solar panels to continue to *safely* produce power in a multi-day 'grid down' scenario and not back feed the grid (while the grid is down). This is the most important thing. I believe I have a newer 'smart' meter that is very sensitive to small backfeeds, and I imagine it is able to record those minute backfeeds during power outage events, which I would like to avoid.
- I'd like to have (expandable) battery backup for something like an auxiliary electric panel that is powered via the grid normally.
- The solar panels should charge the batteries in a grid-down scenario
- If the batteries are filled up in grid-down scenario, I guess the panels will be turned off by the hybrid inverter? Do loads in the house that are upstream of the hybrid inverter still function if there is solar being generated in this scenario?

I *think* the product I should be looking into is a hybrid inverter system, but the feature set on these products seems to vary quite a bit. I saw something from Enphase (IQ 5P?) that seemed interesting, but I don't want to have to call up my installer or Enphase and have them enable or disable the ac coupled feature. It also doesn't sound like it will interface super well with my older Enphsae products.

Are there any products or systems that I should be looking at? I DIY-ed my rooftop system and have built some more standard inverter LiFePO4 packs in the past, so I'm familiar with this technology, but the hybrid and microinverter stuff just seems a lot more non-standard and is a little more puzzling to me.

 

[12VoltInstalls]

Others more knowledgeable than myself may have better ideas. Probably will.

If it were me I’d eliminate the microinverters and buy a UL 1741 listed AIO “inverter.” These are approved to disconnect from grid (stopping any backfeeding of the grid when grid is down) to meet most AHJ requirements.
And as you know, they are native to typical LiFePo batteries and will fully function offgrid.

But no; you don’t ‘need’ a hybrid inverter. It is likely that a number of venders will offer an RSD and “power wall” solution for your microinverter system. But the cost might be as entertaining as buying a new porsche.

 

[blerpaderpa]

They seem to work very well for optimizing production, but they don’t seem to be compatible with some of the enphase off the shelf battery solutions. My wallet isn’t compatible either

Might switch things up and try out an AIO at some point but I’m thinking now of just focusing on emergency backup and production, which is the most important need for me right now.

I think my gut right now is to buy a heavily discounted Schneider xw pro, add in an emergency loads panel and move the line coming out of my combiner box either directly into the emergency loads panel or into some kind of transfer switch and let the Schneider box just pass thing through or generate a micro grid when the grid is down.

I’ve tested the capability with the Schneider SW with these inverters and it (frequency shift) to work well. It’s unfortunate how much more complicated battery backup is with micros though.