EG4 6500EX-48 capabilities vs. Sol-Ark 15k

[RTL44]

Hi,
I'm new to the forum, but have been watching Will's videos for years. I live on the Caribbean Coast in Mexico and have been wanting & planning to put together a backup system for a while now. I know enough to be dangerous, so I need advice to find out what is best for my needs/wants.

For the time being, my electricity is included with the land lease at my home. But, I still want to prepare for the day it no longer is included because electricity is very expensive here. We also live in a hurricane region and have frequent power outages - not always weather related. When we lose power due to hurricanes, it can be for several days.

We consume a lot of electricity right now - even with using Inverter mini-split a/c's. But we have a 3000+ 3 story home with a pool and lots of electronic gadgets. I hooked up a Sense unit in January to monitor our electric consumption - even though we don't pay for it. We don't even get a bill, so this is the only way I can see how much we use.

Currently, we use between 50-70 kWh per day.

What I thinking is this:
1) Install 500-600W PV panels totaling 8kW-9kW
2) Split-phase Inverter(s) - I really like the Sol-Ark 15k because it seems to meet all of my needs, but is expensive.
3) 6 - LiFePower4 Batteries (to start)
4) Stay connected to grid
5) Add a DC generator to charge batteries as a failsafe in the event of extended bad weather. In particular, this: https://solarbuildermag.com/residen...gement-device-and-whole-home-nanogrid-vision/

Would 2 of the EG4 6500EX-48's together provide roughly the same as the Sol-Ark 15k or would I have to omit the grid or generator from that setup?

Anyway, I know this was long, but I wanted to supply as much info as possible to make it easier for those in the know to answer more easily and completely.

Thanks in advance!

 

[OffGrid]

If it were me I would definitely go with the solark. Most people would agree that it is much better for grid tie with battery backup .

 

[timselectric]

Sol-Ark is a grid tied inverter.
EG4 is not.
Apples and Oranges comparison.
You have to decide what type of system you want.

 

[RTL44]

If it were me I would definitely go with the solark. Most people would agree that it is much better for grid tie with battery backup .

Thanks. I'm definitely leaning that way if I can get one down here.

 

[RTL44]

Sol-Ark is a grid tied inverter.
EG4 is not.
Apples and Oranges comparison.
You have to decide what type of system you want.

OK - I wasn't sure. The diagram showed utility and I assumed that was grid-tied. I'm a newbie.

 

[timselectric]

OK - I wasn't sure. The diagram showed utility and I assumed that was grid-tied. I'm a newbie.

It's a steep learning curve.
Grid tied inverters can export power to the grid.
Off grid inverters can't.
Variations of both can dip into each other's categories features. (Hybrids)

 

[RTL44]

It's a steep learning curve.
Grid tied inverters can export power to the grid.
Off grid inverters can't.
Variations of both can dip into each other's categories features. (Hybrids)

Excellent explanation. Thank you.

 

[ncsolarelectric]

A grid-tied inverter is utility-interactive, meaning it can send power back to the grid.
The EG4 is not utility-interactive, it received power from the grid to charge the batteries or to pass through to the load while in bypass or standby mode.

 

[hornsan]

Hijacking OP's thread a bit here. So if you had no intention of selling back any power to the grid but wanted it available to supplement solar/battery, multiple eg4's would be a more cost effective solution?

 

[ncsolarelectric]

Hijacking OP's thread a bit here. So if you had no intention of selling back any power to the grid but wanted it available to supplement solar/battery, multiple eg4's would be a more cost effective solution?

By a long shot! Just don't try to run it in parallel with the grid. It's a load, not a source as far as the grid is concerned.

 

[hornsan]

What could I use for automatic failover? I suppose an easy manual solution would be to run seperate load stations.

 

[Quattrohead]

The inverter handles failover, depending on your settings. Nothing else required.

 

[Timcarson]

Hijacking OP's thread a bit here. So if you had no intention of selling back any power to the grid but wanted it available to supplement solar/battery, multiple eg4's would be a more cost effective solution?

This is exactly what I am considering doing, does any one know if the sol-ark smart load 14 could be integrated into a off-grid system like this? when it becomes available anyway.

 

[Balthazar-B]

This is exactly what I am considering doing, does any one know if the sol-ark smart load 14 could be integrated into a off-grid system like this? when it becomes available anyway.

It was stated in one of the Sol-Ark February webinars that the SmartLoads-14 will work in both on-grid and off-grid scenarios.

 

[byteharmony]

#guess

Sol ark 15k has charge controller built in, I think standard 120v ac cheap generators connected to sol ark generator would be better than a dc generator and automatable.

For burst loads the batteries would take the hit, after the hit the sol ark would recharge with excess generator power.

 

[629658]

Sol Ark 15 would give you lots of flexibility in any solar/utility environment. Grid tied or off grid. If you incorporate a generator it will manage that too. We have similar kWh usage and our 15k works perfectly. We have 13.2 kW solar, 460 Ah battery, standby generator. We are off grid 22 hrs a day and use the 2 hrs a day on grid to charge our batteries in the early AM when our TOU rates are often 2-3 cents per kWh. We also sell back to our utility at peak rates but all could elect no grid sell. The peak shaving is also a nice feature.

 

[byteharmony]

I confirmed with Sol Ark, using a 48v 1200W charger connected to a 120v generator will work as long as I'm in Voltage mode (under battery settings). Given that I'm planning on having so many 48v toys and I have a 2500W generator I'm considering getting 2 1200w chargers so that I can push 40 AMPS into the battery when I run the generator and then turn it off. They're only $200ish. If one fails I have a backup ? .

 

[byteharmony]

Sol Ark 15 would give you lots of flexibility in any solar/utility environment. Grid tied or off grid. If you incorporate a generator it will manage that too. We have similar kWh usage and our 15k works perfectly. We have 13.2 kW solar, 460 Ah battery, standby generator. We are off grid 22 hrs a day and use the 2 hrs a day on grid to charge our batteries in the early AM when our TOU rates are often 2-3 cents per kWh. We also sell back to our utility at peak rates but all could elect no grid sell. The peak shaving is also a nice feature.

What are the victron units the batteries are hooked up to for?

 

[629658]

I have 460 Ah of battery and the Sol Ark can charge them up in 1-1.5 hrs. You can only charge at a rate the BMS will allow.

 

[byteharmony]

I have 460 Ah of battery and the Sol Ark can charge them up in 1-1.5 hrs. You can only charge at a rate the BMS will allow.

What are the blue boxes on the wall between the battery and the sol ark?