those are the same guys that tell you to pay to put nitrogen in your tires....I was speaking to a couple of guys from an Austin Texas solar company
and they tried to tell me that the power had to be used or the solar panel would catch on fire from all the pent up energy
I’m just learning about solar but even I knew that was wrong
No. Our conversation did not go that farthose are the same guys that tell you to pay to put nitrogen in your tires....
Did they sell you a "solar panel energy draining device" to avoid explosions when not in use?
But every solar salesman I talk to swears that I must have a “smart” inverter/controller that kills my solar output to my home when the grid goes down
I’m sure that is wrong
Can't say what the regulations are where you are but here in Australia it is a legal requirement that if the grid goes down a grid tied solar PV system must immediately either:
- switch off, or
- become completed isolated from the grid
This is to ensure no voltage is presented to power lines for the safety of line workers.
Most grid tied inverters will immediately turn off when grid power is disconnected.
If the grid goes down do they think that your solar system would be feeding the entire grid? I would think it would for your protection to disconnect so you don't damage your equipment.
I am not trying to do that
“Portable generators, widely used when power lines are down, can prove fatal to line workers and your neighbors when used improperly. Of course, no one would ever purposely cause the death of a line worker. Nevertheless, a generator connected to a home’s wiring or plugged into a regular household outlet can cause back feeding along power lines and electrocute anyone who comes in contact with them—even if the line appears to be dead.”
that is just what I want to doI bought one of the all-in-one systems that does not back feed to the grid. Duke Power isn't going to give me anything for what I generate anyhow. I dropped in a panel below it, and ran several of my house circuits to it. Those circuits were driven by the grid over the past few rainy days, but are being driven by clear sunshine today. However, with no feed back into the grid, I don't have to worry about killing anyone, and didn't have to worry about the phalanx of inspectors that are trying to keep me from being partially energy independent with my 1.5kW of panels.
The phrase "grid goes down" means many things.If the grid goes down do they think that your solar system would be feeding the entire grid? I would think it would for your protection to disconnect so you don't damage your equipment.
It can. As I said the system needs to be either be switched off or automatically isolated from the grid. To do the latter you will need a local automated grid isolating switching system and a battery, similar to how the Tesla Gateway and Powerwall operates during grid outages.But the solar panels can and should be isolated from the grid and continue operating
I’m sure that it can be done
I think I am with you so farThe phrase "grid goes down" means many things.
From a home inverter's point of view, whether it's because there's been a massive grid scale power station outage, or the high voltage transmissions lines 500 miles away have been damaged, or it's because a tree fell on one of your local poles and wires, your grid tied inverter doesn't know the difference. All it knows is the power is off.
So while it's unlikely your grid tied inverter would produce enough voltage to cause safety problems beyond your local substation, it most definitely can kill someone working locally. And outages are most commonly due to local grid transmission issues rather than failures with the big stuff (although that can happen too).
It can. As I said the system needs to be either be switched off or automatically isolated from the grid. To do the latter you will need a local automated grid isolating switching system and a battery, similar to how the Tesla Gateway and Powerwall operates during grid outages.
You need the battery because you are in effect creating your own micro grid and need to balance energy supply and demand at every moment, something very tricky to achieve with solar PV systems alone. Some newer grid tied inverter systems can manage a bit of backup without battery, e.g. the New Gen 24 Fronius inverters, but the functionality is rather more limited than systems integrated with a battery. An inverter can reduce the output from solar PV panels but it can't get more out of them than they are delivering should the home's backup circuits require more energy than is available (e.g. a cloud passes overhead and suddenly the available power drops below what the home is currently demanding).
No one is going to sell you a system like this. Not enough profit in it. This is 100% DIY.that is just what I want to do
But so far I can't find any company that is willing to sell me a system like that
tell me more about the used panels and batteriesNo one is going to sell you a system like this. Not enough profit in it. This is 100% DIY.
Used panels and batteries from one place. Controller from another. Other bits and pieces from the big box hardware stores.
Don't get your controller from PowMr. Just don't <sigh>.
My experiences have been similar. Very few "professionals" are really all that knowledgable, and none of them wants to anger the electric utility companies. So they feed people who want off-grid capability all kinds of crap "advice" and outright misinformation. Not one of the licensed electricians in my county knows piss-all about solar power. One of them tried to sell me a 200-amp utility upgrade, when I was telling him I wanted to use LESS utility power.I was speaking to a couple of guys from an Austin Texas solar company
and they tried to tell me that the power had to be used or the solar panel would catch on fire from all the pent up energy
I’m just learning about solar but even I knew that was wrong