EG4 18Kpv Power Output 5 Dec 23
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- čas přidán 4. 12. 2023
- After 2 days of good sun, I give an update on the power output. I am running twenty 450 watt bi-facial panels and getting around 7.3 KW at noon. After that my battery is full, so the MPTT's shut down the solar panels to match the load. I can run from 9AM to 3PM just on solar. I can run from 3PM to 9PM on the battery. One more battery would get me most of the way through the night.
- Zábava
Looks good. I ordered the inverter and 2 batteries today. It will run my shop and ill have it sell back to the grid. I have a 48 panel array at 17.2kWh. Eventually Id like to run my entire house off it with a few more batteries
That's a large system. Are you going to post any videos? Would love to see the system. Based on the battery manual one 18Kpv only supports three PowerPro batteries. Not sure if it is a hard limit or not. Also, if you mix any other batteries with the PowerPro it voids the battery warranty. Again, based on the manual. If you are planning to go with a larger system, you might want to run it by Signature Solar to make sure you can expand to the size you want without any issues.
Thank you for answering my question if it can charge the battery and run a house simultaneously. What were the components required to connect it to the grid/main panel?
Yes, it can charge the battery and run the house at the same time. Power comes in and out through the back of the conduit box. I have a 200 Amp fused disconnect which brings in the power and then it goes out to a 200 Amp bypass transfer switch. This link is a photo of the conduit: czcams.com/channels/2uGt3IC0ApijJmEKdwvoPg.htmlcommunity?lb=Ugkx_5MkuujPhF72zxigUR1VxLyI0vUs7yI4 200 Amps from the meter goes into a 200 Amp Fused Disconnect. From there grid power goes into the inverter AND into the 200 Amp Bypass Transfer Switch. The output power from the inverter also goes to the 200 Amp Bypass Transfer Switch. From the 200 Amp Bypass Transfer Switch you select either grid power or inverter power and it is routed into the main power distribution panel. This allows me to completely isolate the solar for maintenance, but still have power from the grid to the house. Here is a photo of the 200 Amp Fused Disconnect: czcams.com/channels/2uGt3IC0ApijJmEKdwvoPg.htmlcommunity?lb=Ugkxfh-qlbkKL5d_xieUANfyFgSHPynIT1nd Here is a photo of the 200 Amp Bypass Transfer Switch: czcams.com/channels/2uGt3IC0ApijJmEKdwvoPg.htmlcommunity?lb=UgkxGb65XS_T7CDRn9Mo3d_ufMAGzzvRyY9H
Thank you so much for the thorough answer! Very helpful.
Hey dude, i've been in solar for about 12 years and am looking at building my own system finally. I like the look of this and the price, you're happy with the purchase it sounds like. The word you are looking for on the solar ramping down is curtailing. What rapid shut down did you use?
The inverter has a rapid shutdown switch on the left side. It has the capability of adding an external switch, but my city doesn't require on for ground mount.
Do you see lights flash/dim with added loads like hair dryers, fans... with this inverter?
The inverter needs to be able to pull power quickly to compensate for power fluctuations. What I am seeing is as long as there are two sources of power there is zero flicker. So if you are grid connected then you will never see flicker. If you are off grid and you have solar input (the sun is out) and battery connected you will not see flicker. If you are off grid and only running on batter you will see flicker with heavy loads. I don't see it with fans, microwave, hair dryer, or electric space heater. I have tested this and when running off battery alone and running my electric clothes dryer (8000 watts) it will cause the lights to flicker when the heating element on the dryer kicks in. I'm not sure if there is an inverter out that wouldn't do this under heavy load running on battery alone.
Get an electric water tank instead of gas. You can use it as a battery. I have the same setup but with lifepower4 batteries. What update did you need? I’ve always ran it off grid.
I've been thinking about an electric water heater. Initially the inverter would run off grid, but still push a small amount back to the grid every once in a while. I didn't want this to happen. Not sure which software they pushed, but now my solar runs like an off grid inverter. It opens the transfer switch and runs off of solar and batteries until late at night when the battery is at 25% SOC. It then closes the transfer switch and runs off of grid power till the next morning when solar power comes back.
What is your over night usage soc to soc? How many days of with out solar are u looking for?
I will be grid tied with a net metering agreement once all the inspections are complete, so not really planning a large enough system to be completely off grid or even run for days without grid power. I start at 100% SOC around 3:30PM when I start using power from the battery and go down to 25% SOC around 9PM which is the level everything switches back to the grid. Overnight the inverter uses power from the battery dropping it to 21% SOC. The battery starts charging again around 7:30AM and is back to 100% SOC by noon.
What fuse or breaker do you use before connecting the battery to the inverter?
The 18Kpv has a built in breaker and the battery has a built in breaker, so no need to add an additional or add a fuse.
Thanks for the video. I am looking at installing a very similar set up this spring.
2 Technical questions: I am looking at a 16.5kw array, the eg4 18k would produce up to 12,000watts ac for me to use/ sell back to the grid. Would it also generate ADDITIONAL power (dc) to charge the batteries? Does that make sense? Because I have additional solar capacity feeding it.
You mentioned that you had to get signature solar to flash the eg4 to run in an off grid setting. Would it run fine once you get your bidirectional meter installed?
I do not like that with a bidirectional meter, when the grid goes down I am out of power. Trying to figure out a safe work around.
I am thinking of a transfer switch like yours. UP= grid with inverter (bidirectional). OFF. DOWN= off grid/ inverter and battery system only.
Thanks in advance!!
Yes, having excess PV is good way to set it up. The 18Kpv can provide 12K to your AC (home and sell back) and 6K to the batteries at the same time (if the PV power is available).
Yes I had them flash the latest software update which enabled me to run it like a back-up generator. It powers the house off of solar and batteries and once the power is gone it automatically switches to grid power. Once I have my bi-directional meter, it is a simple setting in the 18Kpv menu to enable grid sell back.
Even with bi-directional meter, as long as you have either the sun or battery charge available you will not be without power. The transfer switch was required by code where I live for fire safety reasons. It does allow me to isolate the inverter if I need to work on it without losing power to the house.
Thank you@@Gary_Pauls_DIY . You rock.
You might just enjoy it tell you can just send it to the grid or find more dump loads. Electric water heater. Electric car, electric space heater. Off set some of the gas u use. Just a thought.
First, I plan to add a second battery. If I still produce more than the house uses and what is needed to charge both batteries I will most likely look at getting an electric water heater (gas at the moment). I will have a net metering agreement, but Duke Energy zero's out your credits twice a year (they zero it right when you would start using the credit) which makes it really not worth it.
Exactly why I wouldn't bother enabling the bidirectional feature. The utilities are feeling the squeeze of freedom loving people around the globe who are exercising capitalism and are therefore only going to become more totalitarian as we gain “power”. So, I would suggest you skip that whole process as it gives them too much control (power) over what you can or cannot do with the juice you generate on the system you paid for and generated on your bought and paid for soil. Remember this axiom, “Less is More”! Thank you for taking the time to post your journey for us. I became a Sub today. Looking forward to more great content.👍
@@drod6424 Thank you, I am definitely giving it some thought. I signed up for interconnect before all the time of use rules went into effect. Under the new rules there would be zero reason to sell back to the grid. The rules I fall under are still OK (until they change the rules again). The 18Kpv is running in EPS mode right now with zero issues. When there is no solar or battery left, it will automatically switch back to the grid and you never even notice it.