New Schneider XW Pro 6848 install location question

[Rod65]

I have 2 XW Pro 6848s and 2 100/600 SCCs ready to hang on the wall. My dilemma is, where to put the system. I have a workshop that has a 200amp sub panel in place but I can also put the system in my basement. 28 400W Hyperion panels(2 strings of 14) will be 100ft from the shop and 350ft from the house. The house basement is 8" thick concrete walls. My dilemma is this...do I put the equipment/48kWh diy battery bank in the shop closer to the pv panels and run heavy wire to the house through the sub panel? Not sure if I need to run a different line or how to accomplish that. Or do I put the system in the house next to main panel and run lighter gauge wire 350ft? If I entered the numbers correctly it would be less than 2% drop using 8awg(1.19%) or 10 awg(1.89%). I am also concerned about the battery bank in the house. I have been reading all I can and have seen many that say LiFePO4 is perfectly safe in the house provided it is built correctly, and have read just as many saying to never put the battery bank in the house. What would you recommend? I may be sweating the details but I don't want to endanger my family or mess up the install.

 

[Hedges]

Length of wire run to PV panels doesn't matter at all.
SCC should be close to batteries.
Inverter should be close to batteries.

Are you going to try to pass through and back up entire house electric service? Or automatic backup smaller loads, maybe manually backfeed main panel to power select loads? Easier if running 2 awg not 3/0.

People do put LiFePO4 inside. Code allows it, in a non-inhabited space (e.g. closet) with alarm there linked to other alarms.
Code probably only allows not only UL (or equivalent NRTL) listed battery but UL listed ESS (inverter + battery). Not sure any with Schneider is.

I favor all lithium, even LiFePO4, being located where it can burn if it wants without affecting the house. That means a separate climate-controlled shed.

I've hung my Explody LG batteries on a retaining wall. I laid LiFePO4 on garage floor for testing but will use a chest freezer and heating pads for climate control. My inverters aren't rated for outdoors, so cables will be longer than desired but within spec.

 

[SA_LS]

I placed mine in the shop and ran #4 wire to the house for the critical circuits panel.
That way you will eliminate any humming from the inverting.
Ran #10 from the two arrays to the SCCs.
I also didn’t want the batteries in the house, but I am using FLAs.

 

[Farm Boy]

"Home / workshop / Basement" being the choices and using diy batteries, for a "Family Safety "Guarrantee, would be in your work shop near the 200amp sub. Build a room around it so you can control the enviroment winter/summer and people.

Now if you did not all ready have your batteries, I'd buy the outdoor batteries and then mount them outside of your home and install the rest in the basement.

 

[Rod65]

Length of wire run to PV panels doesn't matter at all.
SCC should be close to batteries.
Inverter should be close to batteries.

Are you going to try to pass through and back up entire house electric service? Or automatic backup smaller loads, maybe manually backfeed main panel to power select loads? Easier if running 2 awg not 3/0.

People do put LiFePO4 inside. Code allows it, in a non-inhabited space (e.g. closet) with alarm there linked to other alarms.
Code probably only allows not only UL (or equivalent NRTL) listed battery but UL listed ESS (inverter + battery). Not sure any with Schneider is.

I favor all lithium, even LiFePO4, being located where it can burn if it wants without affecting the house. That means a separate climate-controlled shed.

I've hung my Explody LG batteries on a retaining wall. I laid LiFePO4 on garage floor for testing but will use a chest freezer and heating pads for climate control. My inverters aren't rated for outdoors, so cables will be longer than desired but within spec.

My plan is for entire house main power with grid as back up but I know that 48kWh of battery won't do the job. I will expand the battery bank in time but for now I want to use all the power I can from the solar and use grid as a backup, no export to the grid at all. The XW Pro has an auto pass through when the battery bank falls short from what I have read and researched. Not quite sure how that all works but I'm slowly figuring it out. When I have it all together and working, I will see how much more battery I need.

 

[Rod65]

I placed mine in the shop and ran #4 wire to the house for the critical circuits panel.
That way you will eliminate any humming from the inverting.
Ran #10 from the two arrays to the SCCs.
I also didn’t want the batteries in the house, but I am using FLAs.

View attachment 332635

Your system is exactly what I have...minus the FLA battery bank. I want to supply all the house power and use grid as back up only. I leaning g hard to put the system in the shop, away from family. I know it will cost a lot more in wire but that is the cost for safety for the family. The shop can be replaced if something goes horribly wrong. How many kWh of battery bank do you have and do the 2 SCCs and your PV keep them fully charged on good days?

 

[Rod65]

"Home / workshop / Basement" being the choices and using diy batteries, for a "Family Safety "Guarrantee, would be in your work shop near the 200amp sub. Build a room around it so you can control the enviroment winter/summer and people.

Now if you did not all ready have your batteries, I'd buy the outdoor batteries and then mount them outside of your home and install the rest in the basement.

I did look at the outdoor rated eg4 batteries, but they were just too much per kWh. The decision to go with the XW Pros and all the accessories took a large part of the battery budget. I initially was going with a eg4 12000xp, but went with Schneider for the proven durability and surge capacity. Dependability was worth the extra cost for me. I am probably going with the shop location for the setup. I lived there while building my house, it is well insulated and easy to keep within an acceptable temp range. I would just feel more comfortable with it there until I am more confident in my own abilities with solar power. The plan is to go off grid with grid backup when necessary but no export to the grid. The poco here used to be 1 for 1 on generated power but have changed to now only paying a fraction for what I generate and charging me full price for when I use grid power. They will get no power to profit from me.

 

[Rod65]

In my basement I had a transfer switch installed for a generator(10kw 120/240)when power goes out. It completely blocks grid when the switch in on generator to prevent backfeeding. Could I run the power from the inverters at the shop and connect to the generator side of the transfer switch? That would mean manually switching when the battery bank gets low, but it would give me an idea of how long the battery bank will power the entire house. I assume I will also need to run a separate line from the inverters to the transfer switch or main panel to accomplish this. Is that correct?

 

[SA_LS]

I know it’s a lot more wire, but inverter load output should connect to grid in for your transfer switch and connect generator to generator in on inverter. Grid in connects to grid in on inverter.
I have 30kwh of useable battery (50% dod). About 2 days with no sun.
System will work as mainly self supply with grid backup and generator as backup to grid.
Programming can be a little tricky but mine has worked flawlessly for 5 years.
There is a learning curve with the XW Pro, but it is a beast.
If you install an AGS the system will start the generator for you and shut it down when batteries are charged.