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diy solar

Planning house connections / electrical rework

Prefersdirt

Solar Enthusiast
Joined
Sep 28, 2019
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We finally have a place to move to! We are redoing the electric in the house. Currently we have 100A service. We have to update the breaker box as we cannot expand with the additional breakers we need. So will most likely upgrade to 200A service.

I have talked with an electrician and he says with the low loads we have in the house, we don’t need a critical load box. Freezers, fridge, well, and gas furnace are the biggest issues. I can throw the breaker for the stove/oven if we are totally on solar. AC could be an option to run with the new soft start attachment Engineer 775 showed recently. Do you think I need a critical loads panel – it would have freezers, fridge, gas furnace, and the well on it?

What I don’t know is What hardware setup do I need to be able to run solar into the box? What do I need to have the electrician do for me?

I am still deciding between a grid assist setup or strictly off grid (separate) that I connect through a lockout for power outage situations. Honestly, may start with the grid assist and have the ability to plug a genny into the system through a lockout until I can get the $$$ for the entire off-grid setup. Then replace the grid assist with standard inverters and go primarily solar. We are designing the system now – so many interconnected projects my head hurts (solar, greenhouse, barn, etc) – but the house just needs to be able to be tied in.

Hoping this makes sense.

Thanks

David
 
Hi David.
Just a thought, but have a look at my setup (recent post). It may give you some ideas...? I am still trying to figure out some kinks.
Something to think about is that your solar production will shutdown when grid is off.
Consider using an ATS switch to automatically (or manually) switch from grid to your inverter
Some inverters are capable of doing this natively as long as they are powering the whole house
 
You will need a transfer switch between the meter and panel. If you are going with a 200A service, you don't want to run that through the inverter. This will also give you a place to connect a generator. (The inverter AC input)
If you want to have the inverter automatically switch between grid and inverter power. You will need a second panel.
This all depends on what inverter you are going to be using.
 
If you want to have the inverter automatically switch between grid and inverter power. You will need a second panel.
I agree. Your electrician said you did not “need“ a critical load panel but it gives you options that your electrician may not be aware of unless he has installed a lot of these systems. Sub panels can give you lots of flexibility in the future and not expensive when changing out a main panel.
 
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