A bit confused on this as I see conflicting information. Understand that the dc side needs to be bonded to the trailer, and everything on the AC side needs to be grounded to the main panel. Question is where to I ground the main panel? The trailer will be stationary and I could ground to earth, but not sure if necessary. Just watched a youtube video (link below) where they bond the breaker panel to the trailer. Wanted to make sure that was ok.
Question on Grounding Main Panel in Tiny House Trailer
- Thread starter gabe1475
- Start date
12VoltInstalls
life passes by too quickly to not live in freedom
The neutral-ground bond should come from the pedestal or subpanel that supplies the tiny home power. It should not have a ground rod, it should not have a neutral-ground bond anywhere but the supply panel’s source.
12VoltInstalls
life passes by too quickly to not live in freedom
If no - nothing, nada, zilch - grid powering facility is present, the AIO should present the N-G bond as the source of power.
Got it. Is the aio required to be grounded?
12VoltInstalls
life passes by too quickly to not live in freedom
In my mind- not to dirt/earth.
But definitely needs to be grounded to itself and- depending on the AIO- N-G bond established in the main circuit breaker panel.
Different jurisdictions may apply interpretations of NEC rules and require a ground rod. And there are reasons why this could be ‘beneficial’ including “lightning” although some jurisdictions do not require a ground rod for an off-grid system. Some jurisdictions may also require permits and inspections, others do not.
Where is the solar array located? The frames should be dirt/earth grounded independently anyway.
If there is no other path to the “source of power” with what is essentially a mobile vehicle then having a reference to earth/dirt doesn’t have a benefit. What is important is that the AC power system has a “ground” to itself for safety and fault protection. Equally important in my mind is that each circuit has GFCI protection.
Folks like @timselectric and others who are EE’s or master electricians will likely have input as to the NEC and practical considerations where my opinion has holes. I am neither EE nor electrician.
Planning on installing solar on the roof, thought that is not set in stone yet. GFCI protection is a good idea, I could easily accomplish that with GFCI breakers. With the size of the trailer, will probably only have 3-4 circuits at the most. Lights and refrigerator will be 12v, only have two high usage appliance we plan on using in this setup.
12VoltInstalls
life passes by too quickly to not live in freedom
You know your budget…
I was considering that route. The decent options for that hang in the $2,000 range, or a bit below. If it died, the replacement cost is as substantial as the original purchase is.
I chose instead to go with a small residential style 120VAC fridge. Big-ish freezer, 60W draw, and the brand new 7.5CF unit I was able to purchase on clearance (college town) for $125. But even a $400 fridge would be replaceable 5 times for the cost of a DC unit. And the savings? I bought 2kW of brand new ‘leftover’ panels for $800.
I’d think on this carefully and decide if you really want a not locally available DC fridge at a high price… Or a commodity 120VAC fridge you can pick up at a local walmart or wherever whenever for $250 - $500 on sale.
The slight “efficiency loss” a lot of people worry about is inconsequential and easily mitigated with just one extra panel.
My opinion fwiw
G
Good Point, I check and similar size is just shy of twice the usage in terms of daily Watt Hrs. $1400 savings and could increase my battery bank for cloudy days and rain and buy several panels with that. not sure why I was thinking it would be more usage on a regular fridge.
Any recommendations on what you would do with heating water? Could always go the propane route or an RV model so I could use solar when available and propane when not, but those not cheap either. Currently thinking a 12gallon POU water heater and having a timer to heat during the day when solar would do all the heavy lifting.
12VoltInstalls
life passes by too quickly to not live in freedom
For the volume of hot water consumed combined with my guess that your kitchen stove and dryer are propane…
Forget point of use!
Use an on-demand propane water heater. Very very low consumption of gas, quite efficient, and VERY effective. I use a chinavisionesium unit that was $140 when I bought it (4?) years ago.
There’s units from $200 to $1500+, but one of the ~$400-ish is probably appropriate for you.
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