How to wire Jackery 1000 to MOES ATS

[patfinegan]

The MOES Dual Power Controller 50A 5500 Watt Automatic Transfer Switch has four inputs: Public Power, Output, Inverter and Battery. I purchased the unit to supply backup power from Con Edison (my electric company) to some security devices in a vacant home (modem, router, POE injector, cameras) that I power using solar. The solar panels are two Renogy 100 W panels in parallel, and the battery/inverter/generator is a Jackery Explorer 1000. The back panel of the Jackery has the following sections: Input (for the solar panels or other off-grid energy sources), AC Output (three 3-prong 110 V outlets), and DC Output (USB-A, USB-C and 12V,10A car outlet).

The battery has never run low, but I have not yet encountered multiple days without sun. Also, because the Jackery is the backbone of a vacant home's security, I want automatic backup power. Before proceeding further, however, I want to wire the MOES ATS correctly. Public Power is self-explanatory. So is Output. But I want to make sure that I wire the Inverter and Battery inputs correctly. My hunch is that the AC Output from the Jackery is the Inverter input for the MOES, and that the DC Output from the Jackery is the Battery input for the MOES, but these are just hunches. Can anyone with genuine experience or expertise corroborate this? Also, the battery input should be 12V10A or USB? Thank you in advance for helping a complete newbie.

 

[timselectric]

The Moe's is dangerous, don't use it.
If one of the contacts becomes stuck, both sources will be tied together. It's not designed safely. (No mechanical interlock)

 

[patfinegan]

The Moe's is dangerous, don't use it.
If one of the contacts becomes stuck, both sources will be tied together. It's not designed safely. (No mechanical interlock)

Please point me to a safer ATS with a mechanical interlock, whatever that is, and verify whether my wiring hunches (the reason for my post) were correct. Thanks.

 

[timselectric]

Any UL listed transfer switch will have both mechanical and electrical interlocks. Which keeps a second source from connecting, until the first source is physically disconnected.
There are probably also non UL listed transfer switches that are made correctly, available.
You just need to verify that both provisions are incorporated into the product. For it to be safe to use.

 

[patfinegan]

I'm not sure how to determine whether an online product is "UL listed" or has both mechanical and electrical interlocks? Is there a directory somewhere?

I was able to determine from its stated design specifications that the Xantrex 8080915 PROwatt SW Auto Transfer Switch ($70.20 on Amazon) is "ETL listed to UL 1008", whatever that means. Would that product be a safer alternative? It is certainly within my budget, if yes. Thank you, again, for your assistance.

 

[timselectric]

I'm not sure how to determine whether an online product is "UL listed" or has both mechanical and electrical interlocks? Is there a directory somewhere?

I was able to determine from its stated design specifications that the Xantrex 8080915 PROwatt SW Auto Transfer Switch ($70.20 on Amazon) is "ETL listed to UL 1008", whatever that means. Would that product be a safer alternative? It is certainly within my budget, if yes. Thank you, again, for your assistance.

Yes

 

[patfinegan]

Thank you!

 

[fblevins1]

When I bought my MOES, the first thing I did was test it and calibrate the voltmeter and figured out how to properly use the battery setpoints. And I was also using a small jackery in all my testing because I wanted to understand how many different charge/power options there were. If your 12 volt DC output from the Jackery is at the same potential as the batteries then yes you should be able to wire the MOES sense terminals to it and it will monitor the DC output and your Jackery AC output would qualify for the inverter input so if you wired grid power to the other input your Jackery would indeed be inverter and battery. Really with a small solar panel, Jackery, public power, and an ATS. You would have a sweet little portable power set up. I am actually thinking about buying two more MOES from a member here for the students to play with their solar projects/thesis. As for the MOES safety....I have no idea. Mine has been working for a year now, continuous operation, I did have to go in and put a cable back on the microcontroller but that got knocked off when I went into the unit to examine the relays and sense microcontroller. But, as far as I know, as long as the ATS you do buy has the same basic sense and power transfer ability, it should work for what you are talking about doing.