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this post was submitted on 25 May 2024
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That happens quite a bit in a lot of areas. It sounds stupid but your toaster does not care where the electricity it is using comes from.
As long as the sine waves are in sync with each other then you have nothing to worry about.
It's probably not standard in America because the technology is newer and the regulations haven't caught up.
2 problems….
If you forget to turn off the mains, it could really make a lineman unhappy.
Most of these setups require a reprimand dangerous “ suicide cord”
I know enphase micro inverters have "anti-islamding" tech that disables output when they lose grid connection. I would expect any reputable manufacturer to also have the same tech.
I don't expect that for backup generators, but the proper way for them is via a transfer switch. You can wire in a properly made cable instead of a suicide cable. The transfer switch would prevent the inlet connector to the house from ever being live. (And since it is a proper cord from the generator, there would be no exposed ends coming from it.)
I agree on all points, but honestly I’d be pretty upset if I got a solar setup that didn’t work when the power was out haha
There is still a solution for that, solar + battery. I would love to have one myself, but solar alone can be a bit expensive on its own.
Sure, but this solution isn’t that.
Yes it is if you read the article, that's exactly how he had it set up, and then you just have to manually move the battery where power is needed. You just can't use your wall outlets when there's an outage.
A battery is ~$8300 - 10k. It's amazing how many places will try to charge $16k.
48v 100ah battery with Bluetooth BMS built in is around 700$ on ali express... Slightly more direct from Amazon in the USA if you want it fast. Will store close to 5kwh which I guarantee you beats out this solution. Of course you'd still need to buy the grid sync inverter (available in many places) as well as a solar mppt charger and solar cells. Still will come below this cost - or you'll simply blow by the capacity of what you would have paid for this solution. But gotta have the old noggin on straight to do it yourself.
If it was that easy to do it right, you'd have small businesses offering to do it for thousands, instead of the current going rates, which is tens of thousands.
I don't disagree for sure, but at some point the price will become more competitive as other companies see dollar signs...
A LOT are like that though. They just get you a smaller bill by sending power bank to the grid, rather than making you grid-independent.
Yeah this is not an emergency backup at all. It’s an attempt to add some local storage to the grid and lower your bill. Everything about it is wrong for a power outage. I’m SURE they make this clear on the box!! ;D
The first problem is solved by line sensing technology. If there is not power coming in and off of the switch then the inverter will not pump energy back into the system, at least on the ones that are not $12 cheap Chinese junk off of taobao.
And rather than suicide cords they generally have an IEC connector (standard rhombusy shaped computer power connector) on one end and a normal prong on the other.
But you are right that it is dangerous and not recommended to anyone, especially the people that are not smart enough to take the appropriate concerns and considerations into mind before using it.
I’d be super disappointed by owning a solar cell and not being able to use it during a power outage.
That's a pretty standard issue with grid tied solar systems. You save a lot of money by not having batteries, but when the neighborhood goes down you go down with it.
Plus you don't want to be pumping electricity into a downed power system, you could actually end up hurting a line man who is working on the system.
However, and both of these issues can be resolved by adding in a generator and a whole house cut off system.
In a power outage scenario, all you would have to do is throw the crossover switch and crank the generator. The generator would produce enough energy to reactivate the solar system.
Yea with solar and a transfer switch you only need a small battery powered inverter to kick on the solar juice
No need to run a generator when the sun is out
You're also likely to repeatedly trip whatever breaker that outlet is connected to unless it's a big one like you'd have for a central AC unit, but then you'd likely also know enough to have a proper transfer switch.
This is only supplying like 3.5 amps, so not going to trip any breakers.
Yes, but not at 800W
Whole house generators have been around for a long time and they are usually wired, at the junction, into a few specific lines to essential appliances like refrigerators because it’s hard to produce as much current as the grid on your own, and you want to spend what you can generate on site wisely. Trying to power your whole house through some bedroom outlet is not going to work well. Your TV will sit there sucking some of that power listening for your remote to turn it on while your lights will flicker and your fridge will chug chug chug and not stay cold.