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Sol-Ark 15K All in One Inverter Released.

Most towns of any size, and many surprisingly small ones will also have a dedicated electrical supply store that is not Lowes or a home improvement store. They will definitely know all the local electricians. If you need help with anything electrical, go hang out at the counter there for a bit and ask a few questions. The common clerk at the local electrical supply knows more than most electricians, and many moonlight for small jobs to earn extra cash.
 
Most towns of any size, and many surprisingly small ones will also have a dedicated electrical supply store that is not Lowes or a home improvement store. They will definitely know all the local electricians. If you need help with anything electrical, go hang out at the counter there for a bit and ask a few questions. The common clerk at the local electrical supply knows more than most electricians, and many moonlight for small jobs to earn extra cash.
Great idea. One place that has locations in (I believe) all 50 states (& Puerto Rico & Canada, eh) is Graybar (https://www.graybar.com/). We used to have one about 5 min away, but it closed.:( Now the closest electrical supply is a locally owned (non-chain) supply store which also has an electrical services side of the business (which has actually done some work on our house). If you can find something like that, you'd be in fat city (for our younger readers, that's just a term meaning "you'd have it made", and in no way is meant to shame those who are "calorically challenged" :)) .
 
Great idea. One place that has locations in (I believe) all 50 states (& Puerto Rico & Canada, eh) is Graybar (https://www.graybar.com/). We used to have one about 5 min away, but it closed.:( Now the closest electrical supply is a locally owned (non-chain) supply store which also has an electrical services side of the business (which has actually done some work on our house). If you can find something like that, you'd be in fat city (for our younger readers, that's just a term meaning "you'd have it made", and in no way is meant to shame those who are "calorically challenged" :)) .
Most towns of any size, and many surprisingly small ones will also have a dedicated electrical supply store that is not Lowes or a home improvement store. They will definitely know all the local electricians. If you need help with anything electrical, go hang out at the counter there for a bit and ask a few questions. The common clerk at the local electrical supply knows more than most electricians, and many moonlight for small jobs to earn extra cash.
The cloest is a Platt, have gotten some stuff from them before. Willl keep this in mind too
 
In an off-grid setup. Getting eletrcians in rural west WA is f**** annoying. I will post an effeciency graph sometime soon, but tldr looks like it sittings between 94 and 97% based on load
Man that must be super annoying. I guess the only thing you can do is prepare all the other wiring so it's just a quick connection and he is out of there. Have you tried going down to the Power Companies dispatch office and just seeing if you can find a lineman who has a local contact that he can recommend?
 
Man that must be super annoying. I guess the only thing you can do is prepare all the other wiring so it's just a quick connection and he is out of there. Have you tried going down to the Power Companies dispatch office and just seeing if you can find a lineman who has a local contact that he can recommend?
The way the counties are setup, thats about a 90-120min drive, so i haven't revertted to that yet. They do have a recommended contractor list but i am 0 for 4 there.

Prepping the wire Is probably a good idea. I can get the ATS, disconnect, and everything else moderately setup. I am still debating if I want to mount the inverter on the outside of the house, inside, or on the shed ~5ft from the meter.
 
The way the counties are setup, thats about a 90-120min drive, so i haven't revertted to that yet. They do have a recommended contractor list but i am 0 for 4 there.

Prepping the wire Is probably a good idea. I can get the ATS, disconnect, and everything else moderately setup. I am still debating if I want to mount the inverter on the outside of the house, inside, or on the shed ~5ft from the meter.
I would not mount it outside the house in the elements. My first choice would be outside of my house in the shed just for fire safety reasons but I have no idea what your Shed looks like, can it withstand a serous storm? Will the batteries be exposed to freezing cold in the Shed?
 
It would moderately protected outside, as its under a pretty big eave and near the shed, so it never gets directly hit by sun rain or snow (or atleast not much)... See the pic below

The shed isn't going anywhere, but its not anchored AFAIK (pre-dates me, so im not sure but doesn't appear to be), so I am not sure how well an inspector would like service conductors running in/out of it. It does have permitted power run to it though, so maybe it would be ok?

MY long term plan (still not 100% sold on it) is to move the batteries from the house (They are in the room opposite side of the meter can), into that shed, then insulate the F outta the shed and heat it (or atleast have DC heated blankets for the batteries).

My area normally sits just around freezing in winter, so having the inveter _inside_ the shed with the batteries, and well insulated might be enough heat actually to keep it warm enough for 99% of the time, and the blankets for that 1%


And yeah, thats a lot of snow. This year was nuts. Though it only dropped below ~24 degrees for a few days, most of this was around 28-30 degrees



1653186856835.png
 
It would moderately protected outside, as its under a pretty big eave and near the shed, so it never gets directly hit by sun rain or snow (or atleast not much)... See the pic below
That does look like really good protection but I think in the long run your going to want ease of access. It's no fun going out in freezing weather at night.
The shed isn't going anywhere, but its not anchored AFAIK (pre-dates me, so im not sure but doesn't appear to be), so I am not sure how well an inspector would like service conductors running in/out of it. It does have permitted power run to it though, so maybe it would be ok?
That permit part might be an issue. I have no idea how they treat situations like this.
MY long term plan (still not 100% sold on it) is to move the batteries from the house (They are in the room opposite side of the meter can), into that shed, then insulate the F outta the shed and heat it (or atleast have DC heated blankets for the batteries).
Sounds like a lot of work and a lot of wasted energy to heat the shed just for the batteries. It is a nice location but in an off grid emergency situation in the winter I would not want to be wasting power on any heating that could be avoided.
My area normally sits just around freezing in winter, so having the inveter _inside_ the shed with the batteries, and well insulated might be enough heat actually to keep it warm enough for 99% of the time, and the blankets for that 1%
What is behind the Meter inside the House? That sounds like the ideal location but it all depends on what room it is. Worst case you could use heating blankets on the batteries.
And yeah, thats a lot of snow. This year was nuts. Though it only dropped below ~24 degrees for a few days, most of this was around 28-30 degrees
Yikes! You really need to know for sure what it will take to keep the batteries warm even on the worst day because the worst day will most likely be the day when the grid is down.
 
That does look like really good protection but I think in the long run your going to want ease of access. It's no fun going out in freezing weather at night.

That permit part might be an issue. I have no idea how they treat situations like this.

Sounds like a lot of work and a lot of wasted energy to heat the shed just for the batteries. It is a nice location but in an off grid emergency situation in the winter I would not want to be wasting power on any heating that could be avoided.

What is behind the Meter inside the House? That sounds like the ideal location but it all depends on what room it is. Worst case you could use heating blankets on the batteries.

Yikes! You really need to know for sure what it will take to keep the batteries warm even on the worst day because the worst day will most likely be the day when the grid is down.

So yeah, we lost power for ~5 days in a row with this storm? And lost power for 1-3 days 4 or 5 times with other storms.... I originally had a 32*280ah setup and another 32*280 in a van, and we had to be pretty conservative w/ power to make it through those 5 days (using 1 growatt 5000es + autotrans). 1 warm shower 24 hours into it (to use what was left in the tank), etc. We have well water (and septic)...power so running out of power is a big deal (have a small backup genny for true emergency). This area lost power for ~10 or 11 days in a row in 2020 from a big storm.

So because of that I massively upgraded the bank, its now:

16s 280ah * 2 (original pack)
16s 460ah (2p16s 230ah) * 4

Now we can go off grid with hot water for quite some time, and without hot water for basically 10-14 days lol.

The other side of that wall is currently where its setup on the off-grid setup, w/ the batteries: (Its a utility room)
 
I just signed a contract for a local solar installer to put a SolArk 15k and 11kW of panels onto my home. They are planning on installing the inverter outside, on a west facing wall, next to the main breaker panel. I would like it installed in my shed, but the shed is about 80 feet from the breaker panel.

Is the inverter going to be okay outside? I thought they were designed for it?
 
I just signed a contract for a local solar installer to put a SolArk 15k and 11kW of panels onto my home. They are planning on installing the inverter outside, on a west facing wall, next to the main breaker panel. I would like it installed in my shed, but the shed is about 80 feet from the breaker panel.

Is the inverter going to be okay outside? I thought they were designed for it?
They are outdoor raited
 
@robby 's comment is what made me bring it up. The only thing I've seen in the manual is it states to keep the LCD screen away from direct sunlight.
Yeah, I mean being outdoors In a stupid salty/hot enviornment I could see possibly being less than ideal, plus if you want/need to adjust/reboot it in the middle of the night and its pouring rain that might suck :)

but these should be pretty hands off once configured
 
Yeah, I mean being outdoors In a stupid salty/hot enviornment I could see possibly being less than ideal, plus if you want/need to adjust/reboot it in the middle of the night and its pouring rain that might suck :)

but these should be pretty hands off once configured
The only rough environment mine will see is 115* outdoor heat in direct sun, and the occasional rain.

I am thinking about building a cabinet from inverter down to the floor, around the inverter and place the batteries at the bottom. Keep everything out of the weather/sun.
 
@robby 's comment is what made me bring it up. The only thing I've seen in the manual is it states to keep the LCD screen away from direct sunlight.
It's rated for outdoor use and it will be fine but of course it does add some wear and tear to the Inverters exterior that I would just prefer to avoid if possible. My main concern is access. While they run just fine once setup I still like to have easy access because stuff always happens at the worst time.
 
I'm interested in the sol ark 15k but had a question on wiring to grid. Are people not expected to install a manual transfer switch/bypass before the sol ark? I see in the manual sol ark shows a 200A fused disconnect but no bypass. I know the Sol Ark 15k comes with automatic transfer switch but what if you have to remove unit from service. I plan on installing unit myself but not sure power company would like me shutting power off at meter, pulling L1 and L2 out of my main circuit box and rewiring through manual transfer switch, then to fused disconnect and to Sol Ark.
 
I'm interested in the sol ark 15k but had a question on wiring to grid. Are people not expected to install a manual transfer switch/bypass before the sol ark? I see in the manual sol ark shows a 200A fused disconnect but no bypass. I know the Sol Ark 15k comes with automatic transfer switch but what if you have to remove unit from service. I plan on installing unit myself but not sure power company would like me shutting power off at meter, pulling L1 and L2 out of my main circuit box and rewiring through manual transfer switch, then to fused disconnect and to Sol Ark.
Look at page 10 Post Number 191

I suspect most people will Install a Transfer switch, I have one on my 12K.
It's not needed but I sure as hell don't want to have to kill the power to my house in order to fix or replace a dead Inverter. Sol-Ark has been pretty much bullet proof but there is always lightning strikes and not many devices survive a direct strike to the house or line outside.
 
I'm interested in the sol ark 15k but had a question on wiring to grid. Are people not expected to install a manual transfer switch/bypass before the sol ark? I see in the manual sol ark shows a 200A fused disconnect but no bypass. I know the Sol Ark 15k comes with automatic transfer switch but what if you have to remove unit from service. I plan on installing unit myself but not sure power company would like me shutting power off at meter, pulling L1 and L2 out of my main circuit box and rewiring through manual transfer switch, then to fused disconnect and to Sol Ark.
Look at page 10 Post Number 191

I suspect most people will Install a Transfer switch, I have one on my 12K.
It's not needed but I sure as hell don't want to have to kill the power to my house in order to fix or replace a dead Inverter. Sol-Ark has been pretty much bullet proof but there is always lightning strikes and not many devices survive a direct strike to the house or line outside.
I was looking at that page to refresh my memory, saw a reply I made to @hipringles (looking for an electrician experienced with solar installations to help make sure his self designed (and possibly installed) system will pass final inspection), and thought of another possible resource that might be able to help@hipringles and @jyoung1 as well : the NABCEP (North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners®).

I came across this while doing research about a local installer (with apparently universal high ratings), and in their "About Us" page, they mentioned that they were NABCEP Certified. So I visited the NABCEP Web page . It seems that they are (kind of) to various solar professional occupations what The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc, (https://www.cfp.net) is to the "financial planning" industry. You might want to check them out. I went to their home page, and at the lower edge of the scrolling images, I clicked on "Certified Professionals Directory". On the resulting page, (after clicking that I understood the Terms of Use) I entered my zip code (and let it default to a 25 mile radius), and was presented with two pages (30 total entries) of professionals with various certifications. The three certifications of note to this discussion are PVSI (PhotoVoltaic System Inpector), PVIP (PhotoVoltaic Installation Professional), and PVCMS (PhotoVoltaic Commisioning and Maintenance Specialist). There was even one guy that had all 3 certifications. I might try someone like him first. Or just contact the NABCEP directly, tell them your situation, and see what they suggest. Even though I've been researching this subject for over a year, I'm still amazed at how each new piece of information leads to so many more subjects/resources to learn/investigate. I don't know if The NABCEP is the real deal, or it is less respected (I have one auto mechanic friend that views with derision the certification of "ASE Certified Master Mechanic"). But it sure seems to be a force for good in the PV industry so they get fewer charlatans like this one.

And, to @jyoung1, not to toot my own horn, but you might want to check out my suggestions to @hipringles on the page @robby referenced as well.

Anyway, "#include standard_disclaimers.h" (for any software nerds out there), "Your Mileage May Vary", "AM & FM", "Member FDIC". (I really should make that my signature entry.)
 
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