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Growatt 3000 SPF Floating Neutral (Solved for Now)

Growatt has been all over the map on whether this is supported, so it is hard to say what they deem acceptable.

By reports from others and even from Growatt in one isolated instance, it appears to be OK.

Other brands of very similar models say it is OK.


Meanwhile: I thought we decided your inverter does do the bonding internally....???
Lol- I have three inverters now . Two growatts and the lv6048. Funny, since I'm the guy who had decided against solar just a month ago

I'm confused on the danger of tying the neutral from inverter to grid. What are the potential dangers? I know some transfer switches tie the neutral from generator to grid so I'm guessing it can't be that bad but I just don't know the risks
 
I'm confused on the danger of tying the neutral from inverter to grid. What are the potential dangers?
I assume you mean the danger of tieing Neutral-in to Neutral-out.

The only problem I am aware of is getting the manufacturer to allow/support it. The bit problem with that is that access to someone at Growatt that knows anything about this stuff is nearly impossible.... and if you do contact someone you instantly hit a language barrier.

I have studied this quite a bit and have not been able to identify either a functional or safety issue with it. I have even written papers showing why I don't think it is a problem. However, just because I can't find one does not mean there is not one. The only people that can say definitively are the engineers that designed it.... and that takes us back to the access problem mentioned above.

I can not tell you what to do. All I can do is say what I would do if I had the problem: I would jumper the neutrals together.
 
I assume you mean the danger of tieing Neutral-in to Neutral-out.

The only problem I am aware of is getting the manufacturer to allow/support it. The bit problem with that is that access to someone at Growatt that knows anything about this stuff is nearly impossible.... and if you do contact someone you instantly hit a language barrier.

I have studied this quite a bit and have not been able to identify either a functional or safety issue with it. I have even written papers showing why I don't think it is a problem. However, just because I can't find one does not mean there is not one. The only people that can say definitively are the engineers that designed it.... and that takes us back to the access problem mentioned above.

I can not tell you what to do. All I can do is say what I would do if I had the problem: I would jumper the neutrals together.
thanks for this info. puts me at ease. I will be using the growatts to power 240v only loads so under normal conditions, current should never flow on the neutral wire. I'll tie them together(input and output)
 
for stationary systems.
I only recommend common neutral.
But it requires the AIO to not have internal bonding.
 
After seeing a few videos by a local electrician, explaining TN-S and TN-C-S earthing systems, I think that common Neutral is the best way to go.
It solves many problems and is simple.

If I understood correctly, even earthing systems that have a PEN connection coming from the grid supplier (power company), may benefit from this, as they are usually earthed again at the premises. So even if the PEN from grid gets cut at the power lines, you still benefit from the local N-G bonding.
Having said that, you need to check to make sure my assumption above is correct.
And, unless your Neutral is bonded in your consumer unit (A.K.A DB- distribution board) , you need to connect the inverter BEFORE the main RCD. That's because if the main RCD opens, you loose the Neutral connection altogether. At least that's how they wire up things here (Middle-East):
Main MCB (phase/or multiple phases) -> Main RCD (here is where the Neutral comes in) -> Circuit MCBs.
Of course it would be wise to add an RCD on the output of the inverter.

The only thing I'm concerned of, which really doesn't have to do with common Neutral is blinding of the Main RCD by some sort of DC leakage.
This could happen regardless of if the inverter is connected before or after the Main RCD, I suppose.
But I haven't seen anyone address this in regards to inverters.
There are some YT videos explaining what RCD blinding is and how even small DC currents could cause it.
As I understand, most of the HF inverters we are talking about here are Non-isolated, so there is a risk of DC leakage on to the AC input. Either from battery or PV.
 
@FilterGuy I have this unit and am installing it in an rv. I have determined that it is in fact the old version which does not have the NG bond, so I am going to wire it up as per your diagram, specifically like the one here where the ground wire is connected to the rv chassis. 1655411465764.png
I have one question though. I will also be powering the rv's dc circuits (through a 12v converter) from the same battery that powers the inverter. The dc circuits also connect through the rv chassis. If both ac and dc side connect to the chassis then the inverter's battery negative terminal will be connected with it's ground and also neutral with NG bond in place. Do you know if this has any possibility of damaging the unit? Or should I remove the dc connections going through chassis at all? I do see ~20v across negative terminal and neutral when the units on so I'm not sure if this would cause a short.
 
@FilterGuy Awesome. Mine has Option 24, but I have absolutely no interest in the relay. Will just keep the neutrals bonded as I do now which seems to be supported by Growatt, which is even better news.
I know this is years old but this is the best description of my problem so I was curious if you could send me a picture of your solution. Is it just as simple as a small piece of wire connecting the two neutral terminals together along with the normal in/out cables?
 
I know this is years old but this is the best description of my problem so I was curious if you could send me a picture of your solution. Is it just as simple as a small piece of wire connecting the two neutral terminals together along with the normal in/out cables?
That's exactly what I did, system isn't running now but I had a 10awg white wire from Romex white inserted in IN/OUT neutral along with the actual neutrals for in/out. Not much room to work with so I would recommend using a longer wire and having loop out and back in the inverter with the other input/output AC cables.
 
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That's exactly what I did, system isn't running now but I had a 10awg white Romex white inserted in IN/OUT neutral along with the actual neutrals for in/out. Not much room to work with so I would recommend using a longer wire and having loop out and back in the inverter with the other input/output AC cables.
Thank you so much!
 
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