Does panel voltage have to match inverter voltage

[roadrunner]

ok,lets hope i can explain this right,cant find an answer yet,
I want a grid tie inverter to try and lower electric bill,cant get caught if it runs backwards.
I was thinking of a 12 volt bank,and a 12 volt inverter.,
My panels would be 2x240 watt,open c volt, 37.2 volts, amps-pmax-7.8
then have a 30 amp charge controller, 60 cell panels
so, it would go panels, to charge controller,to batteries,then to inverter then to mains.
Here is my thought,if i could get it just to lower my swamp cooler use during the day by 20 bucks a month,
my swamp cooler runs at 220 watts on low, double that on high,most of the time we run on low,
so,if i can put out enopugh to cover the swamp cooler running, without the meter going backwards to alert the utility co, i think it is feasable,people used to do this with a suicide cord plugged into a wall socket until the util co decided toput a stop to this with smart meters.
since i am using a charge controller, does the panel voltage matter compared to the inverter since the bank is inbetween the panels and inverter
i am also thinking of making this for an emergency grid down but i will need an off grid inverter

 

[Bobert]

ok,lets hope i can explain this right,cant find an answer yet,
I want a grid tie inverter to try and lower electric bill,cant get caught if it runs backwards.
I was thinking of a 12 volt bank,and a 12 volt inverter.,
My panels would be 2x240 watt,open c volt, 37.2 volts, amps-pmax-7.8
then have a 30 amp charge controller, 60 cell panels
so, it would go panels, to charge controller,to batteries,then to inverter then to mains.
Here is my thought,if i could get it just to lower my swamp cooler use during the day by 20 bucks a month,
my swamp cooler runs at 220 watts on low, double that on high,most of the time we run on low,
so,if i can put out enopugh to cover the swamp cooler running, without the meter going backwards to alert the utility co, i think it is feasable,people used to do this with a suicide cord plugged into a wall socket until the util co decided toput a stop to this with smart meters.
since i am using a charge controller, does the panel voltage matter compared to the inverter since the bank is inbetween the panels and inverter
i am also thinking of making this for an emergency grid down but i will need an off grid inverter

What you are suggesting sounds dangerous on several levels however what you want to accomplish is frequently done with a much higher degree of safety using an All in one solar inverter. You put power into your AIO and it passes through to the circuit(s) wired after it. The settings you program into the unit determine how you feed power from the grid or solar or battery to the items on the circuit(s) wired to the output of the AIO. Most AIO units can take a significant amount of solar input and charge a good sized battery bank. This will accomplish the supply of solar to the devices of your choice without being dangerous by completely separating the power you make from the power supplied to you. Don’t mess with the power company’s supply of power to you. You can kill a lineman doing that I wouldn’t want you to go to jail or the hospital for $20 a month.

 

[Superwhizy]

Seems like a rather elaborate arrangement to produce a theoretical 480 watts of power on a 12V system. Good news is that we can simplify a few items right off the bat:
Firstly, many off-grid all-in-one systems (AIO) now offer energy input/output prioritization between Solar/Battery/Utility in the user interface without having to reinvent the wheel. Secondly, may of these same AIO systems have built-in disconnect transfer switch to keep from energizing (back-feeding) the utility grid. Thirdly, Bobert is a much faster typer than me.... so everything he said.

A standalone swamp cooler in the desert just to run during the daytime seems like a great idea. Too bad these evaporative coolers don't work as well in Swampy places like Florida.

 

[roadrunner]

What you are suggesting sounds dangerous on several levels however what you want to accomplish is frequently done with a much higher degree of safety using an All in one solar inverter. You put power into your AIO and it passes through to the circuit(s) wired after it. The settings you program into the unit determine how you feed power from the grid or solar or battery to the items on the circuit(s) wired to the output of the AIO. Most AIO units can take a significant amount of solar input and charge a good sized battery bank. This will accomplish the supply of solar to the devices of your choice without being dangerous by completely separating the power you make from the power supplied to you. Don’t mess with the power company’s supply of power to you. You can kill a lineman doing that I wouldn’t want you to go to jail or the hospital for $20 a month.

if the grid goes down the inverter is off so no danger to line man,and my little 2-400 watts wont hurt a lineman anyway, if hes dealing with morwe voltage than that

Seems like a rather elaborate arrangement to produce a theoretical 480 watts of power on a 12V system. Good news is that we can simplify a few items right off the bat:
Firstly, many off-grid all-in-one systems (AIO) now offer energy input/output prioritization between Solar/Battery/Utility in the user interface without having to reinvent the wheel. Secondly, may of these same AIO systems have built-in disconnect transfer switch to keep from energizing (back-feeding) the utility grid. Thirdly, Bobert is a much faster typer than me.... so everything he said.

A standalone swamp cooler in the desert just to run during the daytime seems like a great idea. Too bad these evaporative coolers don't work as well in Swampy places like Florida.

ok, ill look into that,the reason im thinking this is because im fighting cancer and only have a ss xcheck to pay everything,,and on chemo right now so cant work from side effects,20 bucks a month is help,but ill lookinto that, still have some or most of my stimulus check money so im not out anything really

 

[roadrunner]

I forgot to mention in a mobile home also, so my main panel is in my house, and it is not a bonded system because its actually a sub panel since the main is on the pedestal under the meter,maybe i can make myself an installer since i was a solar installer and i can tell the electric copmany i want to do something but they dont have to pay me back, just lower my bill

 

[Bobert]

the grid goes down the inverter is off so no danger to line man,and my little 2-400 watts wont hurt a lineman anyway, if hes dealing with morwe voltage than that

I’m sorry to hear about your situation. You especially need to think this through. What happens when you back feed the grid with any thing is that if you actually are physically disconnected from the main line ( tree ripped off wires or that sort of thing) your power will energize the transformer that feeds you and possibly others. The back of the transformer can develop a lot of voltage and at high voltage Even a very small amount of watts can electrocute someone. The sad reality is that solar almost always takes a minimum of 10 years to start making a profit unless it is subsidized. I pay roughly .15 cents per k at my house that means that if I put up 400w of solar the max I could expect to see over a month is About 60 k of energy if I am using lead acid batteries I can expect no better than 70% efficiency from the batteries and 90% efficiency from my inverter. If you get 60% of the energy you capture from your solar and are actually able to utilize all of it which is unlikely. You will produce just over $5 a month in electricity at 15 cents a kilowatt hour. You may need 4 times as many solar panels as you have suggested and equipment and batteries that are much more expensive than the panels. You can get better efficiency than I have mentioned but it requires more expensive equipment and will increase the payback time for your system. I don’t think that a solar will make financial sense for you unless you are going to live in the same place for 10 to 20 years. In my situation I am using solar to offset the use of a generator That I have to use very carefully to get the price under $1 per k. That changes the payback time in a real hurry.

 

[roadrunner]

I’m sorry to hear about your situation. You especially need to think this through. What happens when you back feed the grid with any thing is that if you actually are physically disconnected from the main line ( tree ripped off wires or that sort of thing) your power will energize the transformer that feeds you and possibly others. The back of the transformer can develop a lot of voltage and at high voltage Even a very small amount of watts can electrocute someone. The sad reality is that solar almost always takes a minimum of 10 years to start making a profit unless it is subsidized. I pay roughly .15 cents per k at my house that means that if I put up 400w of solar the max I could expect to see over a month is About 60 k of energy if I am using lead acid batteries I can expect no better than 70% efficiency from the batteries and 90% efficiency from my inverter. If you get 60% of the energy you capture from your solar and are actually able to utilize all of it which is unlikely. You will produce just over $5 a month in electricity at 15 cents a kilowatt hour. You may need 4 times as many solar panels as you have suggested and equipment and batteries that are much more expensive than the panels. You can get better efficiency than I have mentioned but it requires more expensive equipment and will increase the payback time for your system. I don’t think that a solar will make financial sense for you unless you are going to live in the same place for 10 to 20 years. In my situation I am using solar to offset the use of a generator That I have to use very carefully to get the price under $1 per k. That changes the payback time in a real hurry.

thanks, im not trying to get my money back,i really dont even care about that,i just want my bill lower so my payment is lower but i see your point,utiliyu doesnt even have to change my meter and read it,i dont care,like your saying, 5 bucks a month isnt worth it,to much hassle, i was thinking a plug and play, maybe a micro inverter hooked under panel,390 watts, enskys, with a shirt trunk cord so i will hae 110 coming from panel and just plug into wall outlet with a gfci plug as my circuit breaker,theres you tube vids on this, and a company missouri wind and solar has a vid on doing it and it operating,thanks for the replay,plus i am on a resi9dential option as we have to choose one so from 3-6 pm,i charged more,maybe double

 

[roadrunner]

looking at my bill, mostly i am getting chsrged $2 kwh all the time unless from 3-6 pm when it is 2.25 up to 3$ kwh,some days between 3and 4 dollars kwhwhen the cooler is on longer,or my wife turns it to high speed,thats why ithought a little boost from a panel might help

 

[Bobert]

I think that’s 20 cents per kilowatt hour otherwise if you use the average amount of an American household your electric bill would be a bit more than $1800 per month and your swamp cooler alone would cost $150 per month to run on low.

 

[roadrunner]

my mistake, maybe 2 dollars a day, i was looking at dollar usage, ill have to checkmy bill to see if it shows kwh usage

 

[roadrunner]

ok,kwh daily runs between 15 to 20, off peak
and then about 5 kwh at on peak,higher cost, from 3pm until 6 pm,hottest part of the day so to speak here in az,plus my sons ac is running off and on in his bedroom since hes home,hes looking for work,which is higher i understand that
but if i could offset the cooler and his ac,by about 20 a month would help

 

[roadrunner]

quick video on what im talking about

 

[Bobert]

quick video on what im talking about

I have never used micro inverters before but I do know that the method of using a cord to connect to an outlet does not meet code of any kind. Those types of connections are referred to as suicide cables because 120v ac can be lethal at very small wattage. Others could chime in if this type of grid tie setup is allowed in certain areas or not but at the very least a safe connection system should be used.

 

[Wavery]

ok,lets hope i can explain this right,cant find an answer yet,
I want a grid tie inverter to try and lower electric bill,cant get caught if it runs backwards.
I was thinking of a 12 volt bank,and a 12 volt inverter.,
My panels would be 2x240 watt,open c volt, 37.2 volts, amps-pmax-7.8
then have a 30 amp charge controller, 60 cell panels
so, it would go panels, to charge controller,to batteries,then to inverter then to mains.
Here is my thought,if i could get it just to lower my swamp cooler use during the day by 20 bucks a month,
my swamp cooler runs at 220 watts on low, double that on high,most of the time we run on low,
so,if i can put out enopugh to cover the swamp cooler running, without the meter going backwards to alert the utility co, i think it is feasable,people used to do this with a suicide cord plugged into a wall socket until the util co decided toput a stop to this with smart meters.
since i am using a charge controller, does the panel voltage matter compared to the inverter since the bank is inbetween the panels and inverter
i am also thinking of making this for an emergency grid down but i will need an off grid inverter

Why not just run an extension cord from your inverter to your swamp cooler and call it a day?

 

[roadrunner]

Why not just run an extension cord from your inverter to your swamp cooler and call it a day?

exactly what i was thinking also, i can get rid of the battery since the grid is up,Duhhhhh,just hook 1 or 2 panels to grid tie inverter,then use the cord from inverter to go to plug that cooler is plugged into, also, i dont know if the panels will have enough power to start the capacitor or motor

 

[roadrunner]

I have never used micro inverters before but I do know that the method of using a cord to connect to an outlet does not meet code of any kind. Those types of connections are referred to as suicide cables because 120v ac can be lethal at very small wattage. Others could chime in if this type of grid tie setup is allowed in certain areas or not but at the very least a safe connection system should be used.

actually a true suicide cord has a male end on both ends,this would be very dagerous,but if i used a standard extention cord from inverter side,the cord would be safe, no batterys used now, so no back feading grid when its down so no electricuting anybody, thanks for posting, i just realized i dont need any batterys until the grid goes down, so i can have a low wattage inverter grid tied, and then a bigger one for backup when grid goes down, and still use same panels, so no lose of money on panels at all

 

[Bobert]

actually a true suicide cord has a male end on both ends,this would be very dagerous,but if i used a standard extention cord from inverter side,the cord would be safe, no batterys used now, so no back feading grid when its down so no electricuting anybody, thanks for posting, i just realized i dont need any batterys until the grid goes down, so i can have a low wattage inverter grid tied, and then a bigger one for backup when grid goes down, and still use same panels, so no lose of money on panels at all

Isn’t the video suggesting that the micro inverter have a male end on the power wire? Then the male end of the extension cord would be live when the panel is in the sun.

 

[roadrunner]

Isn’t the video suggesting that the micro inverter have a male end on the power wire? Then the male end of the extension cord would be live when the panel is in the sun.

no,it shows him connecting a femaile plug and using an extension cord,since it is 120 volt only, micro inverters have a trunk cord with no end or a facotory adaptor

 

[Bobert]

Yes but he plugs a male end into the house outlet

 

[Bud Martin]

May I ask which grid-tie inverter you are getting?
Something similar to this?

https://www.amazon.com/Inverter-Stackable-DC16-28V-AC90-140V-Output/dp/B08YNR44LX/ref=sr_1_6?