Markus_EG4
I am from Germany. Don't mean to come off rude
Wow some of you guys have really been thinking about this for a while. This is a very impressive list. Very detailed 
The next thing? Inverter or Battery? All in 1?
- Thread starter Markus_EG4
- Start date
Just thought of another improvement. This has to do with the mini splits.
Upgrade the hybrid units to the efficiency specs of the non hybrid units.
Upgrade the charge controller built into the mini splits. Up the voltage. Also up the short circuit current. Panels are moving to higher specs. It would be nice to parallel two or more strings of panels for those in areas with low winter sun exposure.
Upgrade the hybrid units to the efficiency specs of the non hybrid units.
Upgrade the charge controller built into the mini splits. Up the voltage. Also up the short circuit current. Panels are moving to higher specs. It would be nice to parallel two or more strings of panels for those in areas with low winter sun exposure.
zanydroid
Solar Wizard
Add AFCI or if present clearly state that it is in the data sheets and manual.
@Markus_EG4 How about a solar-electric hot water heat pump? Ideally just a tankless outside unit with a pumped water loop to an indoor tank. Reduces shipping requirements, and I am guessing you could make the controls and integration pretty straightforward. PEX and taps for the inlet and outlet water would make it an easy DIY project.
I like the sound of that. Can you explain your concept a bit more? Would it us PV panels? Would it use a water heating panel that heats the water directly?
Durk_2007
New Member
I don't know where Shimmy was going with it, but I like the idea of a remote mounted DC solar powered Heat pump water heater. Even better would be a hydronic indoor head for their mini splits. That way it could be used to convert a conventional water heater tank to H.P. or used for heat source for hydronic floors.
SANCO2 makes a unit that is similar to what I am thinking, but for solar-friendly I would reduce the compressor size by half (half-ton compressor?), add 1-2 kWh of battery, and an MPPT to support 2-3 ~400W panels. Cheapest solution is to focus on moderate climates, minimum operating temperature around 40F.
The nice thing about this is if you have an existing gas or electric water heater, you can just add this unit by tapping into the hot and cold water lines to the heater. Not sure what the best way to do freeze protection is-- circulating hot water is cheap but inefficient, heat trace gets a little expensive. Automatic drain-down might be easiest.
Nobodybusiness
Solar Sponge.
The Sol-Ark 15k have integrated breaker on DC and load side.
I had to replace the DC side breaker on the 12k.
While not exacerbating it wasn’t simple.
I would be more inclined to have a setup like Schneider has with a small separate cabinet below to house all income and outgoing wiring.
Nobodybusiness
Solar Sponge.
They are. It’s definitely an issue.
andrew-d
New Member
I would love to see someone release a product line for load shedding that works as a retrofit, but works with any inverter. Imagine you had a control center with some CTs that you could clamp on your grid or inverter feed. That control center plugged into (or communicated wirelessly with) another component B that measured the power draw of your clothes drier, hot water heater, heat pump, AC, etc., and which also had a contactor inside. If the total load of your system exceeded a set point, it’d start shedding loads based on a user-defined priority.
Combine that with some smart plug-style units that work without rewiring (for a microwave, TV, etc.) and you could run an entire house off a 10kW inverter as long as you never tried to use everything at once. If you did, it’d shed load intelligently instead of tripping a breaker and powering your entire house off.
Bonus points if you can provide additional signals in a non-proprietary manner (battery state of charge, solar production, etc) so it can work in concert with your existing solar install.
Other thoughts:
Combine that with some smart plug-style units that work without rewiring (for a microwave, TV, etc.) and you could run an entire house off a 10kW inverter as long as you never tried to use everything at once. If you did, it’d shed load intelligently instead of tripping a breaker and powering your entire house off.
Bonus points if you can provide additional signals in a non-proprietary manner (battery state of charge, solar production, etc) so it can work in concert with your existing solar install.
Other thoughts:
- Allow setting a power reserve for critical loads (“always allow 500W for my well pump”)
- Integrate with weather forecasting (“on rainy days and for 2 days after, reserve power for my sump pump”)
- Allow programmable on/off toggles via a local API for all us smart home fanatics
