How are you guys wiring up a single phase 240 with dual 120 legs?

[Bleedingblue]

To my eye I also agree that this is NOT 240V/60HZ Split Phase for North America but rather 200-220/50Hz Single Phase.
I'm with the electricians and solar installer, this is only going to result in something completely unpleasant.
Get a PROPER 240V Split Phase output system and work with that and make it right.

MPP-Solar, Growatt, and several others are available for North American standards as well as European Standards,
Three of the more popular ones used by members here.

usamppsolar – Solar Made Easy!

usamppsolar.com

Growatt USA | Global Leading Distributed Energy Solution Provider

Growatt is a global leading distributed energy solution provider that designs, develops and manufactures PV inverters, energy storage products, EV chargers, smart energy management system and others.

www.growatt-america.com

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Is their a growatt distributer on the board here that has U.S. prices?

 

[schmism]

Is their a growatt distributer on the board here that has U.S. prices?

Watts247 Wholesale – Worldwide Shipping!

watts247.com

Is who I and many others in the US have used.
He is US based, Ian offers good support and will warranty units. (ship back to him not china)

As previously mentioned if you want to get 120v out of your current unit it will require use of an autotransformer. However as you have likely already determined the cost of these transformers are often the same cost of a new Growatt unit so just sell what you have, and buy US spec equipment. (i have Growatts) Your also not the first person to get "duped" into thinking your unit will work out of the box in NA

 

[Bleedingblue]

Watts247 Wholesale – Worldwide Shipping!

watts247.com

Is who I and many others in the US have used.
He is US based, Ian offers good support and will warranty units. (ship back to him not china)

As previously mentioned if you want to get 120v out of your current unit it will require use of an autotransformer. However as you have likely already determined the cost of these transformers are often the same cost of a new Growatt unit so just sell what you have, and buy US spec equipment. (i have Growatts) Your also not the first person to get "duped" into thinking your unit will work out of the box in NA

I already have bought a transformer lol
It is the supplying current to it from the grid that is the problem

 

[derekisastro]

I'm pretty new here and to the field of solar and batteries but I have done a hell of a lot of research and it's very clear that you initially bought the incorrect hybrid inverter unit.

As has been said, you have a single-phase input and output unit (at the listed voltages). You are not going to get them to work out of the box in the USA. You can input 120V but not 240V from the USA in your current hybrid inverter. Unless you have a specific transformer (I ask below) you can do very little with the output voltage of your current hybrid inverter.

I already have bought a transformer lol
It is the supplying current to it from the grid that is the problem

When you say you have a transformer do you have a transformer that SPECIFICALLY is designed to take a single-phase 240V input (what is coming from your current hybrid inverter) and convert it to a split-phase 240V/120V output? If that is the type of transformer you have I am not sure you will be able to use it from the grid in the USA. The grid-supplied 240V in the USA is a split-phase 240V, not a single-phase 240V. It matters.

I could be incorrect in some of the information I have provdied but I am pretty sure I am at least, very close to correct or behaving in a "best practices" mindset.

 

[DThames]

I'm pretty new here and to the field of solar and batteries but I have done a hell of a lot of research and it's very clear that you initially bought the incorrect hybrid inverter unit.

As has been said, you have a single-phase input and output unit (at the listed voltages). You are not going to get them to work out of the box in the USA. You can input 120V but not 240V from the USA in your current hybrid inverter. Unless you have a specific transformer (I ask below) you can do very little with the output voltage of your current hybrid inverter.



When you say you have a transformer do you have a transformer that SPECIFICALLY is designed to take a single-phase 240V input (what is coming from your current hybrid inverter) and convert it to a split-phase 240V/120V output? If that is the type of transformer you have I am not sure you will be able to use it from the grid in the USA. The grid-supplied 240V in the USA is a split-phase 240V, not a single-phase 240V. It matters.

I could be incorrect in some of the information I have provdied but I am pretty sure I am at least, very close to correct or behaving in a "best practices" mindset.

You should watch this video.

 

[derekisastro]

You should watch this video.

Yep. Been there, done that.

As has been suggested above, seems wasteful to have to buy another $350+ device to turn your $700 device into another $700 device you should have initially bought.

 

[Bleedingblue]

I'm pretty new here and to the field of solar and batteries but I have done a hell of a lot of research and it's very clear that you initially bought the incorrect hybrid inverter unit.

As has been said, you have a single-phase input and output unit (at the listed voltages). You are not going to get them to work out of the box in the USA. You can input 120V but not 240V from the USA in your current hybrid inverter. Unless you have a specific transformer (I ask below) you can do very little with the output voltage of your current hybrid inverter.



When you say you have a transformer do you have a transformer that SPECIFICALLY is designed to take a single-phase 240V input (what is coming from your current hybrid inverter) and convert it to a split-phase 240V/120V output? If that is the type of transformer you have I am not sure you will be able to use it from the grid in the USA. The grid-supplied 240V in the USA is a split-phase 240V, not a single-phase 240V. It matters.

I could be incorrect in some of the information I have provdied but I am pretty sure I am at least, very close to correct or behaving in a "best practices" mindset.

I had someone help me out and was able to instruct me to hook this up.
On YouTube he goes by Hightechlab.

I used the neutral as a hot as well and it works just fine.
My transformer is a 37.5kw transformer and takes 240 in and provides 2 legs of 120v out.

He also drew up a diagram in no time and it worked correctly the first time. When I called Eaton I had 3 different tech women tell me 3 different ways to wire up the transformer and all 3 were wrong.

My only problem I have now with the units is they have a problem communicating with one another. Throws communicating error codes and do not share loads evenly. For example just using 2 units the master will be producing 5700 watts of current and will be beeping because it's overloaded. The slave unit will only be producing 2100 watts and be just fine.
Both units will have the same watts in panels hooked up to em.

 

[Bud Martin]

I had someone help me out and was able to instruct me to hook this up.
On YouTube he goes by Hightechlab.

I used the neutral as a hot as well and it works just fine.
My transformer is a 37.5kw transformer and takes 240 in and provides 2 legs of 120v out.

He also drew up a diagram in no time and it worked correctly the first time. When I called Eaton I had 3 different tech women tell me 3 different ways to wire up the transformer and all 3 were wrong.

My only problem I have now with the units is they have a problem communicating with one another. Throws communicating error codes and do not share loads evenly. For example just using 2 units the master will be producing 5700 watts of current and will be beeping because it's overloaded. The slave unit will only be producing 2100 watts and be just fine.
Both units will have the same watts in panels hooked up to em.

So can we see the wiring diagram?

 

[Bleedingblue]

So can we see the wiring diagram?

 

[Bud Martin]

That is BIG transformer.

 

[Supervstech]

For clarification, the output of the inverter is on the right, circled in red, and the transformer output is on the left circled in blue.
All done correctly.

 

[Bleedingblue]

For clarification, the output of the inverter is on the right, circled in red, and the transformer output is on the left circled in blue.
All done correctly.View attachment 47229

The case is also grounded that is not in the pic. I have a good size copper wire going from chasis leg to a ground rod.

 

[Bleedingblue]

That is BIG transformer.

The first transformer that was shipped to me was even bigger. A mistake was made and they shipped either a 150kw or 175kw transformer. I called them up and told em they give me the wrong one.

They swiftly sent a truck to pick it up.

These units are not light in weight. Several hundred pounds

 

[Bleedingblue]

If their is anyone here who uses a lot of current using machines I'd highly suggest getting a bigger unit and not the small autotransformers.

If it is just a house or smaller get the autotransformer. You can buy the much cheaper euro style hybrid inverters and have plenty of power when stacked.

Sometime soon Dexter will do some videos on using these type of machines. If you don't want to fool with that type of setup get the solark.

SolarEdge SEAUTO 5kva Autotransformer [Discontinued by Manufacturer] – Current Connected

store.currentconnected.com

Autotransformers – Current Connected

www.currentconnected.com

Sol-Ark All-In-One Hybrid Inverter | Off Grid & Grid Tie | Solar ~ Current Connected

“The Swiss-Army Knife” of inverters Features: Two Built-In 500V Charge Controllers 1 – 6 PV Strings Battery Disconnect 48V Battery Input Auto-Generator Start, works with any generator that has 2 wire start. Rapid Shutdown Signal Built in Arc Fault and Ground Fault detection Current Sensors...

store.currentconnected.com

 

[derekisastro]

If their is anyone here who uses a lot of current using machines I'd highly suggest getting a bigger unit and not the small autotransformers.

If it is just a house or smaller get the autotransformer. You can buy the much cheaper euro style hybrid inverters and have plenty of power when stacked.

Sometime soon Dexter will do some videos on using these type of machines. If you don't want to fool with that type of setup get the solark.

SolarEdge SEAUTO 5kva Autotransformer [Discontinued by Manufacturer] – Current Connected

store.currentconnected.com

Autotransformers – Current Connected

www.currentconnected.com

Sol-Ark All-In-One Hybrid Inverter | Off Grid & Grid Tie | Solar ~ Current Connected

“The Swiss-Army Knife” of inverters Features: Two Built-In 500V Charge Controllers 1 – 6 PV Strings Battery Disconnect 48V Battery Input Auto-Generator Start, works with any generator that has 2 wire start. Rapid Shutdown Signal Built in Arc Fault and Ground Fault detection Current Sensors...

store.currentconnected.com

What's the cost breakdown? It would appear as the system size gets bigger, that you would reap more benefits as you stack the 'cheaper' EU style inverters but as a 1-off, is it really worth it to buy the EU and the auto-transformer versus just buying the US version style inverter from the start? Given that the transformers are $350+?

 

[Bleedingblue]

What's the cost breakdown? It would appear as the system size gets bigger, that you would reap more benefits as you stack the 'cheaper' EU style inverters but as a 1-off, is it really worth it to buy the EU and the auto-transformer versus just buying the US version style inverter from the start? Given that the transformers are $350+?

You can buy the big transformer for around 1200. You can buy reconditioned transformers about half that price. My transformer is a 37.5KW unit waaaayyy bigger than a 5k transformer. It all depends on your power demands and mine is much greater than your average Joe.
The euro style hybrid inverters are way cheaper. Around 800 for a 5k unit on average.

Get 4 of those and a transformer and that's around 4200 bucks. Able to handle 18kw in solar array and 20kw with a peak of 40kw in loads.

How you gonna beat that price wise?

I have close to 60kw in lithium to put in.

The big panel feeds my other subpanels I have in other buildings and house.


in the future I'm going to add more panels on the roof and get some bifacial panels on the ground mount. Like to have around 36kw in panels. Why? Because when it's cloudy you don't produce much power so more panels the merrier. My 18kw array will only produce 1500 watts when it's cloudy.

 

[derekisastro]

You can buy the big transformer for around 1200. You can buy reconditioned transformers about half that price. My transformer is a 37.5KW unit waaaayyy bigger than a 5k transformer. It all depends on your power demands and mine is much greater than your average Joe.
The euro style hybrid inverters are way cheaper. Around 800 for a 5k unit on average.

Get 4 of those and a transformer and that's around 4200 bucks. Able to handle 18kw in solar array and 20kw with a peak of 40kw in loads.

How you gonna beat that price wise?

I am not sure ... I was hoping for an actual comparison with your costings of going for the US-style inverters ... from what I can see the Growatt/MMP style seem to be more or less a wash, even with the size of the system you have and that's where I would assume you would actually start to see the savings?

I'm sure I am missing something ... but aren't 2 of these units comparable to what you have? And ultimately a much easier set-up?

Growatt 250V Dual PV Input – 48V 12000T MPV 12kW Split Phase 120V/240V output (100A at 120V ,50A at 240V) – here in Dec – Watts247.com

watts247.com

 

[Supervstech]

I am not sure ... I was hoping for an actual comparison with your costings of going for the US-style inverters ... from what I can see the Growatt/MMP style seem to be more or less a wash, even with the size of the system you have and that's where I would assume you would actually start to see the savings?

I'm sure I am missing something ... but aren't 2 of these units comparable to what you have? And ultimately a much easier set-up?

Growatt 250V Dual PV Input – 48V 12000T MPV 12kW Split Phase 120V/240V output (100A at 120V ,50A at 240V) – here in Dec – Watts247.com

watts247.com

He has nearly 40KW capability with his transformer, so he can add in more inverters as he increases his loads.

 

[derekisastro]

That's cool.

Helps me to have the perspective of sizing ... it seems that he's now at the line of increasing savings as he goes bigger ... but where he currently stands is a wash? I won't be going anywhere near as big so I'm pretty sure I can't save money by going the cheaper EU route+transformer right?

 

[Supervstech]

Idk, my eu 3K was 299...
I'm an electrician, so transformers are easy for me...
I see them all the time for $100ish... 5K, 25K etc...