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Load limit of AC IN line of Growatt 5000 ES

GSG

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Jan 27, 2022
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1. Is there a limit to the current that can be allowed to pass through the AC IN line of the Growatt SPF 5000 ES?
2. Can I connect on the AC OUT a load that is higher than 5000W?

I know for on-grid, the inverter just connects to one of the branches of the main distribution panel. This is my first time to work on off-grid inverters. I'm stumped on where to connect the AC IN and am now concerned if there are limits to the AC IN and AC OUT. I don't see any info about it from the manual.

Hope someone can help.
 
It looks like just before the AC input a 50A breaker is required. In my opinion that is oversized and only useful if you have large current spikes on the output in bypass mode.
If your inverted is rated for 5000W it means AC IN, AC OUT and the internal bypass relays are rated for the same power, so except for power on surges you should not exceed that limit.

Anyway, but that's just a personal opinion, for most cheap inverters and AIO units the real rated capacity for safe use is always 50%.
 
Thanks, Noday.

Would a hybrid inverter have the same limitation for AC IN and AC OUT?
 
It really depends on the brand and model, but generally AC OUT capacity is equal to the rated inverter power while AC IN has multiple rails inside so its capacity is greater because it should accept the rated current plus the charger current. This is the best case scenario.
 
I'm interested to know the same thing - I'm trying to convert my house over to run as much as possible using the SPF5000 ES and only drawing from the grid as necessary. My loads would rarely exceed 5kw but it'd be nice to know if someone turned on multiple high load appliances for a brief time that the AC passthrough would allow it. @Noday it sounds like I should be going off the 5kw rating as a max, including any AC passthrough rather than assuming it's a bonus amount on top of whatever the inverter circuitry can generate from DC ?
 
I haven't finished installing mine but from my discussion with the supplier, the load side should not exceed 5KW otherwise you are likely to damage the inverter. If you have motors on the load side, better to keep it only at 70 to 80% of 5KW because of what they call start-up load. If your total load is already close to 5KW and there is a motorized appliance there, I suggest you get another inverter and parallel them. The brief rating of greater than 5KW I guess is just a buffer for safety. That's about the duration of the start-up load? I'd rather go on the safe side and just limit the load to 70-80% of 5KW. If there is no motor there that requires a start up load, I guess you can allocate closer to 5KW.
 
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