I just finished installing an 11.7kw ground based, grid tied system in my field. Works great, love watching the meter run backwards. It uses Enphase 7+ micro inverters. The way I understand it, if the grid goes down, the micro inverters shut down. Seems like that would be very frustrating if we were without power and the sun was shining.
My current project involves add 1.2kw of solar, batteries and converter/inverter hardware to a 1962 Airstream Travel trailer, which I am restoring. Still in the planning stages for the electrics of the trailer project. But I got to wondering, when the grid goes down, could I disconnect the house from the grid and plug in the trailer. If my trailer inverter was 240v, would it then fool the micro inverters into producing power? I couldn't store it but I could use it in the mini-splits to warm the house and cool the freezer. If I only did it when the sun was shining, it still would be much better than nothing. I would have to monitor it closely, as the house could drain the batteries pretty quickly if the sun disappeared. When the sun is out we make 2 to 3 times our use even with the mini splits on.
I also read about the new Enphase 8+, which is supposed to have some of this capability. Don't want to swap out all 32 inverters, but I wonder if it might work to swap out one? - Mark
My current project involves add 1.2kw of solar, batteries and converter/inverter hardware to a 1962 Airstream Travel trailer, which I am restoring. Still in the planning stages for the electrics of the trailer project. But I got to wondering, when the grid goes down, could I disconnect the house from the grid and plug in the trailer. If my trailer inverter was 240v, would it then fool the micro inverters into producing power? I couldn't store it but I could use it in the mini-splits to warm the house and cool the freezer. If I only did it when the sun was shining, it still would be much better than nothing. I would have to monitor it closely, as the house could drain the batteries pretty quickly if the sun disappeared. When the sun is out we make 2 to 3 times our use even with the mini splits on.
I also read about the new Enphase 8+, which is supposed to have some of this capability. Don't want to swap out all 32 inverters, but I wonder if it might work to swap out one? - Mark