From start to a finish this is an incredible solar battery installation video that shows the detail of manpower and brain power required. This installation is not for everyone. While looking at a still photo of it almost finished, you would never be able to gauge the amount of time and focus. Maybe every electrician can see it, but to us wee publics, no clue! Hats off to you guys, I'm sure a weight has been lifted. Thanks for the detailed and lengthy video. VERY informative! Learned a lot more than expected! ahem:: Credits should include Sage, Assistant Editor (so cute)🐈⬛
Thank you Margaret! We’ve been thinking about this system for probably over a year now and there were so many new challenges that popped up along the way. The solution seems so simple looking back and we’re hoping to help some others out by sharing some of the things we learned in our install. And yes, Sage definitely deserves some credit! She stayed up with me until 4am helping me finish up this edit hahaha
Thank you Carolyn! He could probably do this job in his sleep. It was a big project and a great learning experience for me. I’m really happy with how it turned out!
Great install! I did the same with my house. Double check the instructions I believe the batteries and inverter are supposed to be installed on a fire proof surface.
Don’t interconnect to sell back. Just use the grid as a backup source. A lot less paperwork and headaches. Just add solar panels to cover your needs, you can always add more panels, and set inverter to not sell back. Off grid mindset is the best path and think of the grid as a backup generator if u don’t have enough solar panels to recharge the batteries every day.
We are thinking about it. We definitely will step softly into this next phase. We will still keep working with our local utility folks and get the full cost (along with best case potential payback) and make a sound decision. Thank you for input!
@jimmyg6215 you are so right, I say add more batteries first. I have an interconnection agreement already, so I'm trying to make a little money back also.
@ what money, it’s pennies on the dollar. Some states have shutdown the retail rates of reimbursement and only give u wholesale cost. No interconnect, no waiting for paperwork approvals.
@jimmyg6215 True! In 2017, i install a 5.5 kwh system then my buy back rate wad $0.12 a kwh, now in a new house with a different address I lost my grandfather rate it $0.03 a kwh in winter $0.027 in summer.
Looks great and I did it almost the same.. my install also has an 18kpv and 2 Wall Mount batteries, and disconnect, and Transfer! Almost identical. At time 38:33 - From what I see from the disconnect it has two paths.. one directly to the inverter, the other to the transfer switch.. 1. If side A is "on" in the transfer switch.. 2. Side B with the Inverter still has live connections.. The ok: So be careful when taking out the inverter with Side A on.. The Good: if the inverter goes poof, you can still get power to the house by switching the transfer switch to side A.. great job..
Yes. This is correct. When we want to isolate for service the disconnect kills all except for the service in from the meter to the top of the disconnect. Thank you!
The workmanship is nice and neat good job, but as a licensed electrical contractor my approach would have been slightly different. The outside disconnect meets the NEC code requirements (if the state your in has adopted it, I’m assuming such as you had previously installed one). When you installed the new transfer switch if you had connected the movable contact to the grid you could have retained the original outside panel saving the additional expense of the new fusible disconnect also a lot of labor. Inside connections to side A to be the same but side B would then connect to inverse output. What’s the advantage 1st you still have the ability to connect / disconnect from the grid. 2nd you can isolate the inverter from the grid for service etc. without shutting down the house from the grid.
Thank you. Yes we could have left the outside panel there, but we would have had to disconnect all the up stream service from that box, since it interferes with the calculation of power within the 18Kpv. Since the transfer switch is on the opposite side of the wall from meter base - we wouldn’t even need a disconnect outside (less than 18”). However we added the disconnect for us - we’d rather be able to disconnect everything when working on it - and the 18Kpv needs input to the grid regardless of the position of the transfer switch. as we have it, if we disconnect - it’s all disconnected, but for us that’s just an extra layer of safety with the only hot leads left in the outside disconnect box. Thanks for the input. It makes sense and we plan to reuse the 200A panel in a workshop.
I wish we could say we did it in one trip and thought out ahead - but we didn’t. We got the box of extra fittings that will go into the “conduit tote” because, well, we probably will do more later. Thanks!
Great job guys, excellent setup and expansion plan. Thanks for sharing your experience. Next video, please share battery BMS communication set up as it will help a lot. (From Canada)
Great video! I wish I had Tesla install a couple powerwalls when i had my panels installed in 2020 (I wish i installed them looking back..but oh well). I've been looking at adding some myself....also love the Dachshund! I have 3....
Cool video Danner. We are considering a similar system for our house, may go with 3 parallel 6K’s vs one 18K since we will not try and sell back and like the idea of redundancy, and are currently installing a stepped down version with same battery and 6000xp inverter for our shipping container / office. Look forward to your commissioning video.
Hey, Nancy! That sounds like it’s going to be a great setup! I’d love to see your install on that. Are you going to leave some extra space for adding some more down the road? The shipping container office sounds really cool too. I’ve thought about doing something like that for a small editing office on the property. It’d probably make more sense for us to build something with milled lumber since that is easy for us to make now. I’m thinking a small office on a hill with a desk, coffee maker, small bathroom, and a bed/couch. A cool standalone office that could be used as an extra guest cabin on occasion. We could either run a circuit from the shed or make it a standalone off grid office with eg4 inverter and mini split. Good luck with your install and thanks for watching!
Thanks for all the helpful information. Currently planning my system which is very similar (the only difference is I'm using the sol-ark 15K). Would you please share what kind of double lug your electrician used to get your two outputs from the main 200amp service disconnect? Thanks
IIsco D1601 Aluminum/copper Mechanical Lug 300MCM-62 port 1-Hole PB2-300 Check eBay because there are a lot that come up and ours were practically new at 1/2 the price.
Very timely for me. I am slowly doing the exact setup myself. I’m going to copy the idea of doing a double lug on the loan side of the main disconnect. That way I don’t need a separate spot to split the line with Polaris taps. I just don’t understand why the 200 amp transfer switches are sooooo expensive. I found one on Amazon for cheap but the one you have looks very nice but 4x the price. 😢 Makes me wonder if I’m missing something.
There may be cheaper, but I think it’s the size (to accommodate larger cable) and the more sophisticated switch. There are a lot of moving parts as compared to an empty breaker panel (which are often expensive). It’s probably a supply/demand/regulatory stamp issue. If you use our signature solar link in description and take a look at the eg4 grid boss, that’s probably what we would have done if available. Good luck. Keep us posted.
That is a big, industrial looking setup. The size of that disconnect switch was insane, how much power do you get from the grid? None of the wiring anywhere close to my house is that thick. I think if I were doing this, I would have built a separate battery shed to store all this in, just to reclaim the living space. My 10Kw battery is just a stack of 19" rackmount batteries in a stack in my roof with the inverter next to it. Although in the UK we can only have 3Kw inverters without extra paperwork and cost, so all the wiring is just standard house wiring.
Without an output transformer to provide galvanic isolation, this cheap, high frequency inverter can cause some serious damage to your home's appliances.
Did you get turbo-cancer from all the massive radiation that you received while riding in the Tesla truck? I hope that you are safe. The video was great. An incredible job and thank you for showing all the details of your installation.
I am looking to do a similar install and this was very helpful. Some small constructive critic though. What led me to this video was looking for examples of mounting the inverter and batteries to meet the EG4 mfg requirements of mounting to a wall made of non-combustible material, OR, providing the 2in clearance to the wall, with the clearance material non-combustible. I would have liked you to comment on the green wall back material and why it was selected. One view around the 39m+ area did show the Inverter from a side view, and it looked like there may have been some clearance due to the mounting hardware. Elaborating on these requirements vs how it mounts naturally would be interesting in my research. I am also not sure you met the clearance requirements between and around the batteries. Commenting on adhering to the clearance requirements would have also been useful. Otherwise very helpful, thank you.
I have a similar system, with 3 batteries including that beast of a transfer switch. Transfer switch a no brainer for me, any issues with my system or I want to work on it, scale up, I can keep the house running as usual on grid power
Yes. We thought so too, but had the EG4 grid boss been released, we probably would have given it a really close look. Thanks! As you know first hand, after the purchase sting goes away, it’s really nice to have.
@@kevinsmeltzer8053 we used this one, but honestly I can’t recommend it. A lot of the die sizes were too big and we ended up having to use a smaller size. amzn.to/3VQqHKo
@@kevinsmeltzer8053 you’re welcome! We’ve been planning for this system for over a year and put a lot of time into this video. I hope it’s helpful for you! Thanks for watching :)
@@joshuadiaz6914 we swapped them out with these www.homedepot.com/p/ILSCO-Aluminum-Panelboard-Lug-Dual-Rated-Conductor-Range-300-6-2-Ports-1-Hole-5-16-in-Bolt-Size-Tin-Plated-PB2-300-EC/317173873
@@PETERKACANDES it’s just a stained piece of plywood. Behr waterproof stain and sealer. We don’t have finishing material on our walls yet, so we improvised
@@DannerCronise Ah, i was looking at various fireproof, waterproof backer boards to mount my 18k. I'm currently got some 1/2" hardieboard cement backer board.
It's a hybrid inverter so your question is a little confusing depending on how the system is set up. This inverter is capable of passing through 200 amps of grid power to the loads. It can also backfeed that same connection if configured to do so. So, it can be installed inline between the meter and main panel of a home with up to 200 amp service. It has a built in transfer switch as well. The inverter can only generate 50 amps when in battery mode as you pointed out, but the relevant breaker for that would be the one built into the inverter (and the inverter's own overload logic), not the one on the panel side.
Thank you! Dad made the wiring diagram graphics while I was editing and I think it really helps show the system. The wiring diagrams in the manual for the EG4 were a little unclear/confusing and we think showing it this way makes it a lot easier to understand. Thanks for watching!
Lithium iron phosphate batteries are very safe in comparison to Lithium ion. They won’t catch fire when punctured like the lithium ions do. EG4 also makes an outdoor version of this battery. My preference is to keep the system out of the weather and in a climate controlled area. Thanks for watching!
I too have my entire system in the house electrical room,two reasons. For security, no one can dick around with my system from the outside or steal anything.Also, I live in the tropics, so I wanted to keep my batteries at optimum temperature for long life.
The design life is >15 years but the warranty is for 10 years. It lists >8000 cycles and lifetime production of 82.6MWhr. We won’t know for a decade or so! Thank you!
Thanks for reply but I think you are missing the point unless your particular state has not adopted the 2021 NEC an outside disconnect is required this is not for the homeowner’s convenience but as I understand it for the fire department so as to be able to disconnect power to the structure without waiting for a utility shutdown, there maybe other reasons but is not detailed in the NEC code. The code that a disconnect needs to be 18” or as close as possible has always been found I seem to remember in art 250 ( services ), now if a disconnect is installed on the exterior of the structure a second main disconnect would not be required at the load center location. Now lets address the extra gutter space I did intend to tell you how to do the job that’s your decision my comment was meant as a cost saving because I am aware of how much a 200 a 250v fusible disconnect cost the extra work of dealing with a smaller gutter space is a one time event. And tandem lugs on the movable blade of the transfer would have solved the continuous supply to the inverter. As I always told my customers 15 electricians can do a job 15 different ways, the code does not tell you how to do a job or even why you do the job, only what the requirements are. Please don’t take my comments as criticism I enjoy looking at how others approach the work they do there is always something new to learn.
What I was saying is that we removed the outside panel (required because our main panel is more than 18” from meter) for two reasons 1) the space inside it with the extra 3/0 required for install and 2) because the 18KPV doesn’t calculate usage correctly if a load exists before the 18Kpv. We had that breaker panel outside for emergency responders, etc. we put the transfer switch inside for our continence (and there wasn’t room outside). We could have put it outside, but there wasn’t much room without interfering with future construction on the rear of the house. Finally we wanted to have a fused disconnect as called out in the installation manual. Had we used the transfer switch for the disconnect as well, we would have needed a fused version and that too was expensive and long lead. No offense taken! We love comments good or bad. What we COULD have done is wait 3 months at bought a grid boss! 🤣
Screw the feedback, the 'contract' should never stop you from installing and using solar!!! The utility can force you to shutdown your solar system anytime they want... 👎🖕
Problem is, you analyze these systems for small houses where it is highly unlikely the people could remotely afford these systems. Nobody has done an analysis of a system sized to a home where the owner could afford them - something in the 35KW range perhaps.
There are plenty of videos of users that have 2-3 (you can parallel up to 6 - 84kw). We definitely will need a second 18Kpv, but plan to add it as budget allows. With the 200A pass through of the grid, that’s a solid back up (after we put up panels) so that the waterfall of priority will be solar>battery>grid with the system always prioritizing electricity we are generating real time or that’s stored. We will report back after we have panels and get to know it better, but I think it’s possible for a person to easily scale this for larger than a 200A service. I think 3 18Kpv covers the full continuous output, but in reality, most people don’t tap out the full load often. Hope that helps.
Ehh... Lithium Ion batteries? I'm surprised the company didn't use Lithium Iron Phosphate, since it's the go-to for this kind of thing. Also, I'm only seeing three wires going into the second conduit box to the breaker panel. Where do the main line wires go? I don't see a bypass terminal in the inverter box. 4 hots out of switch, 2 hots into inverter, 2 hots out of inverter, too many wires in first conduit box, 2 hots and 1 neutral in second box.
@@DannerCronise Cool! I just saw Lithium Ion on the side of the crate. Maybe they just put that on there because it has Lithium in the name and LiFePo batteries have the same shipping regulations.
@@StapleCactusthat assumption is correct. The regulation for shipping is the same regardless of chemistry. It’s all to be treated the same as lithium ion even if it isn’t
Selling back to the power company is a big mistake everyone I know who has tried it got screwed over and switched back to having separate systems which ended up spending more money two even tried sewing and lost everything even their homes get a really good lawyer now to go over that contract and make sure there is a exit clause which still in the end won't protect you from getting screwed.
Thank you for letting us know, Jeremy. We’d love to hear more about selling back in Tennessee through TVA. We don’t know anyone in our area personally that’s done it. We’re learning in real time and can report back on our findings.
Exactly. We needed the external disconnect and putting the bypass was just for convenience and a more robust workaround should power issues come up with the inverter/battery.
Why on Earth did you spend your money on a low surge, short lived high frequency, transformerless inverter? They not only offer poorer surge capacities and shorter life expectancies, because there is no output transformer to provide galvanic isolation, thay can also damage you appliances during a failure of their H-Bridge circuit where MOSFETs have shorted to ground. No reputable American made inverter manufacturer uses high frequency, transformerless inverter manufacturer uses this inferior design. They all use low frequency, transformer based inverter tech instead.
I imagine they wanted to be consistent with EG4. Does the surge capacity matter if the inverter is oversized. 12kW will probably be more than enough for that barn. Also it’s grid tied and the inverter has 200A grid pass through so wouldnt that hedge any sustained surge? Im no expert so im curious as well
wow! you needed the grid boss, to save a few steps and money.
DTE (energy company here doesnt like the gridboss.....after I installed it...)
From start to a finish this is an incredible solar battery installation video that shows the detail of manpower and brain power required. This installation is not for everyone. While looking at a still photo of it almost finished, you would never be able to gauge the amount of time and focus. Maybe every electrician can see it, but to us wee publics, no clue! Hats off to you guys, I'm sure a weight has been lifted. Thanks for the detailed and lengthy video. VERY informative! Learned a lot more than expected!
ahem:: Credits should include Sage, Assistant Editor (so cute)🐈⬛
Thank you Margaret! We’ve been thinking about this system for probably over a year now and there were so many new challenges that popped up along the way. The solution seems so simple looking back and we’re hoping to help some others out by sharing some of the things we learned in our install. And yes, Sage definitely deserves some credit! She stayed up with me until 4am helping me finish up this edit hahaha
@@DannerCronise kinda late with this compliment - but your/her editing skills are at a different level. Very impressive, easy and pleasant to watch.
@@MargaretBrunothank you that means a lot!!
Great job . My hubby is a heavy construction electrician in NYC and really enjoy watching and how well you did the install . ✌🏼💙🌍
Thank you Carolyn! He could probably do this job in his sleep. It was a big project and a great learning experience for me. I’m really happy with how it turned out!
Great install! I did the same with my house. Double check the instructions I believe the batteries and inverter are supposed to be installed on a fire proof surface.
Yes, with a 2" space between the back of the batteries and any combustibles.
Don’t interconnect to sell back. Just use the grid as a backup source. A lot less paperwork and headaches. Just add solar panels to cover your needs, you can always add more panels, and set inverter to not sell back. Off grid mindset is the best path and think of the grid as a backup generator if u don’t have enough solar panels to recharge the batteries every day.
We are thinking about it. We definitely will step softly into this next phase. We will still keep working with our local utility folks and get the full cost (along with best case potential payback) and make a sound decision. Thank you for input!
@jimmyg6215 you are so right, I say add more batteries first. I have an interconnection agreement already, so I'm trying to make a little money back also.
@jimmyg6215 then you missing out on getting some money back from your utility company.
@ what money, it’s pennies on the dollar. Some states have shutdown the retail rates of reimbursement and only give u wholesale cost. No interconnect, no waiting for paperwork approvals.
@jimmyg6215 True! In 2017, i install a 5.5 kwh system then my buy back rate wad $0.12 a kwh, now in a new house with a different address I lost my grandfather rate it $0.03 a kwh in winter $0.027 in summer.
Looks great and I did it almost the same.. my install also has an 18kpv and 2 Wall Mount batteries, and disconnect, and Transfer! Almost identical.
At time 38:33 - From what I see from the disconnect it has two paths.. one directly to the inverter, the other to the transfer switch..
1. If side A is "on" in the transfer switch..
2. Side B with the Inverter still has live connections..
The ok: So be careful when taking out the inverter with Side A on..
The Good: if the inverter goes poof, you can still get power to the house by switching the transfer switch to side A.. great job..
Yes. This is correct. When we want to isolate for service the disconnect kills all except for the service in from the meter to the top of the disconnect. Thank you!
Sage watching you edit the video was hilarious.😂😂😂😺😺😺❤️❤️❤️
The workmanship is nice and neat good job, but as a licensed electrical contractor my approach would have been slightly different. The outside disconnect meets the NEC code requirements (if the state your in has adopted it, I’m assuming such as you had previously installed one). When you installed the new transfer switch if you had connected the movable contact to the grid you could have retained the original outside panel saving the additional expense of the new fusible disconnect also a lot of labor. Inside connections to side A to be the same but side B would then connect to inverse output. What’s the advantage 1st you still have the ability to connect / disconnect from the grid. 2nd you can isolate the inverter from the grid for service etc. without shutting down the house from the grid.
Thank you. Yes we could have left the outside panel there, but we would have had to disconnect all the up stream service from that box, since it interferes with the calculation of power within the 18Kpv. Since the transfer switch is on the opposite side of the wall from meter base - we wouldn’t even need a disconnect outside (less than 18”). However we added the disconnect for us - we’d rather be able to disconnect everything when working on it - and the 18Kpv needs input to the grid regardless of the position of the transfer switch.
as we have it, if we disconnect - it’s all disconnected, but for us that’s just an extra layer of safety with the only hot leads left in the outside disconnect box.
Thanks for the input. It makes sense and we plan to reuse the 200A panel in a workshop.
The system looks great Danner. Good luck with the rest of the build
Thank you!
I agree with whoever mentioned GridBoss and only run 90amp wire to the flexboss or 70amp to the 18kv.. this setup requires that huge wire all around
We were just before GridBoss was released.
This is a good clean install and well thought out, even after the "wish we knew" things. 😅
I wish we could say we did it in one trip and thought out ahead - but we didn’t. We got the box of extra fittings that will go into the “conduit tote” because, well, we probably will do more later. Thanks!
Great job. I had my setup very similar to yours. I did have one extra 200amp breaker on my setup.
Thank you! Where is it installed?
Great job guys, excellent setup and expansion plan. Thanks for sharing your experience. Next video, please share battery BMS communication set up as it will help a lot. (From Canada)
A small typo correction the word “inverse “ should be inverter
This is an awesome video! Very informative!
Great video! I wish I had Tesla install a couple powerwalls when i had my panels installed in 2020 (I wish i installed them looking back..but oh well). I've been looking at adding some myself....also love the Dachshund! I have 3....
Great looking CyberTruck. Battery-powered delivery of those big
batteries.
Thank you for letting us use it Steve!! Was a blast.
I think you guys are brilliant, brave and resourceful! 💙🦋
Cool video Danner. We are considering a similar system for our house, may go with 3 parallel 6K’s vs one 18K since we will not try and sell back and like the idea of redundancy, and are currently installing a stepped down version with same battery and 6000xp inverter for our shipping container / office. Look forward to your commissioning video.
Hey, Nancy! That sounds like it’s going to be a great setup! I’d love to see your install on that. Are you going to leave some extra space for adding some more down the road? The shipping container office sounds really cool too. I’ve thought about doing something like that for a small editing office on the property. It’d probably make more sense for us to build something with milled lumber since that is easy for us to make now. I’m thinking a small office on a hill with a desk, coffee maker, small bathroom, and a bed/couch. A cool standalone office that could be used as an extra guest cabin on occasion. We could either run a circuit from the shed or make it a standalone off grid office with eg4 inverter and mini split. Good luck with your install and thanks for watching!
Thanks for all the helpful information. Currently planning my system which is very similar (the only difference is I'm using the sol-ark 15K). Would you please share what kind of double lug your electrician used to get your two outputs from the main 200amp service disconnect? Thanks
IIsco D1601 Aluminum/copper Mechanical Lug 300MCM-62 port 1-Hole PB2-300
Check eBay because there are a lot that come up and ours were practically new at 1/2 the price.
Very timely for me. I am slowly doing the exact setup myself. I’m going to copy the idea of doing a double lug on the loan side of the main disconnect. That way I don’t need a separate spot to split the line with Polaris taps.
I just don’t understand why the 200 amp transfer switches are sooooo expensive. I found one on Amazon for cheap but the one you have looks very nice but 4x the price. 😢
Makes me wonder if I’m missing something.
There may be cheaper, but I think it’s the size (to accommodate larger cable) and the more sophisticated switch. There are a lot of moving parts as compared to an empty breaker panel (which are often expensive). It’s probably a supply/demand/regulatory stamp issue.
If you use our signature solar link in description and take a look at the eg4 grid boss, that’s probably what we would have done if available.
Good luck. Keep us posted.
That is a big, industrial looking setup. The size of that disconnect switch was insane, how much power do you get from the grid? None of the wiring anywhere close to my house is that thick. I think if I were doing this, I would have built a separate battery shed to store all this in, just to reclaim the living space.
My 10Kw battery is just a stack of 19" rackmount batteries in a stack in my roof with the inverter next to it. Although in the UK we can only have 3Kw inverters without extra paperwork and cost, so all the wiring is just standard house wiring.
Why change to that fused disconnect vs just running wires to the inside switch from the 200amp breaker ?
you are doing things I am interested in, subscribed. Kitty Approved.
Without an output transformer to provide galvanic isolation, this cheap, high frequency inverter can cause some serious damage to your home's appliances.
Did you get turbo-cancer from all the massive radiation that you received while riding in the Tesla truck? I hope that you are safe. The video was great. An incredible job and thank you for showing all the details of your installation.
I am looking to do a similar install and this was very helpful. Some small constructive critic though. What led me to this video was looking for examples of mounting the inverter and batteries to meet the EG4 mfg requirements of mounting to a wall made of non-combustible material, OR, providing the 2in clearance to the wall, with the clearance material non-combustible.
I would have liked you to comment on the green wall back material and why it was selected. One view around the 39m+ area did show the Inverter from a side view, and it looked like there may have been some clearance due to the mounting hardware. Elaborating on these requirements vs how it mounts naturally would be interesting in my research.
I am also not sure you met the clearance requirements between and around the batteries. Commenting on adhering to the clearance requirements would have also been useful.
Otherwise very helpful, thank you.
How close to the floor can the inverter be installed? Is there a specified clearance ?
I have a similar system, with 3 batteries including that beast of a transfer switch. Transfer switch a no brainer for me, any issues with my system or I want to work on it, scale up, I can keep the house running as usual on grid power
Yes. We thought so too, but had the EG4 grid boss been released, we probably would have given it a really close look. Thanks! As you know first hand, after the purchase sting goes away, it’s really nice to have.
What crimper did you use for the battery cable to inverter connection?
@@kevinsmeltzer8053 we used this one, but honestly I can’t recommend it. A lot of the die sizes were too big and we ended up having to use a smaller size. amzn.to/3VQqHKo
@DannerCronise thanks for getting back with me on this. I appreciate the detailed video!
@@kevinsmeltzer8053 you’re welcome! We’ve been planning for this system for over a year and put a lot of time into this video. I hope it’s helpful for you! Thanks for watching :)
Hi Danner!
Hi!
@Danner how did you get two outputs from your safety switch? Are the output lugs able to hold 2 cables or did you change them out somehow?
@@joshuadiaz6914 we swapped them out with these www.homedepot.com/p/ILSCO-Aluminum-Panelboard-Lug-Dual-Rated-Conductor-Range-300-6-2-Ports-1-Hole-5-16-in-Bolt-Size-Tin-Plated-PB2-300-EC/317173873
What's the black mounting board you used? thanks
@@PETERKACANDES it’s just a stained piece of plywood. Behr waterproof stain and sealer. We don’t have finishing material on our walls yet, so we improvised
@@DannerCronise Ah, i was looking at various fireproof, waterproof backer boards to mount my 18k. I'm currently got some 1/2" hardieboard cement backer board.
Don't buy your hydraulic fluid from Kubota! You can get it for half that price at any reasonable parts store.
There are CT that came with your inverter, your service company may limit you to self consumption !
With the 12000 watts continuous from the 18k inverter does that give you 50 amp from the battery (12000/240=50)?
Yes. I think that’s correct. When we add the second 18Kpv, it will be 100amp.
What size breaker in the main panel does the load from the inverter feed?
200 amp.
@ I don’t see how as the max AC output is 50 amps
It's a hybrid inverter so your question is a little confusing depending on how the system is set up. This inverter is capable of passing through 200 amps of grid power to the loads. It can also backfeed that same connection if configured to do so. So, it can be installed inline between the meter and main panel of a home with up to 200 amp service. It has a built in transfer switch as well.
The inverter can only generate 50 amps when in battery mode as you pointed out, but the relevant breaker for that would be the one built into the inverter (and the inverter's own overload logic), not the one on the panel side.
really liked the visual you used to help explain what was going where.
Thank you! Dad made the wiring diagram graphics while I was editing and I think it really helps show the system. The wiring diagrams in the manual for the EG4 were a little unclear/confusing and we think showing it this way makes it a lot easier to understand. Thanks for watching!
I am surprised code will let you put the batteries inside the living space. Canada won't let you do that for safety reasons.
Lithium iron phosphate batteries are very safe in comparison to Lithium ion. They won’t catch fire when punctured like the lithium ions do. EG4 also makes an outdoor version of this battery. My preference is to keep the system out of the weather and in a climate controlled area. Thanks for watching!
I too have my entire system in the house electrical room,two reasons. For security, no one can dick around with my system from the outside or steal anything.Also, I live in the tropics, so I wanted to keep my batteries at optimum temperature for long life.
How long do the batteries last before having to replace them?
The design life is >15 years but the warranty is for 10 years. It lists >8000 cycles and lifetime production of 82.6MWhr. We won’t know for a decade or so! Thank you!
How are they doing it? One way is using proper tools, not a hex key and some blunt nose pliers!
I gess your Transfer switch is not outdoor rated!!
@@scifycartoon it is! We just chose to put it inside for convenience
Are you sure you want to put those inverters on the floor?
They are sitting on feet a few inches off the floor.
Where have you been? I used to get notifications but haven't been getting them.
Hey Tina! Double check that you have all notifications turned on with the bell icon. I typically post at 12pm CST on Sunday. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for reply but I think you are missing the point unless your particular state has not adopted the 2021 NEC an outside disconnect is required this is not for the homeowner’s convenience but as I understand it for the fire department so as to be able to disconnect power to the structure without waiting for a utility shutdown, there maybe other reasons but is not detailed in the NEC code. The code that a disconnect needs to be 18” or as close as possible has always been found I seem to remember in art 250 ( services ), now if a disconnect is installed on the exterior of the structure a second main disconnect would not be required at the load center location. Now lets address the extra gutter space I did intend to tell you how to do the job that’s your decision my comment was meant as a cost saving because I am aware of how much a 200 a 250v fusible disconnect cost the extra work of dealing with a smaller gutter space is a one time event. And tandem lugs on the movable blade of the transfer would have solved the continuous supply to the inverter. As I always told my customers 15 electricians can do a job 15 different ways, the code does not tell you how to do a job or even why you do the job, only what the requirements are. Please don’t take my comments as criticism I enjoy looking at how others approach the work they do there is always something new to learn.
What I was saying is that we removed the outside panel (required because our main panel is more than 18” from meter) for two reasons 1) the space inside it with the extra 3/0 required for install and 2) because the 18KPV doesn’t calculate usage correctly if a load exists before the 18Kpv.
We had that breaker panel outside for emergency responders, etc. we put the transfer switch inside for our continence (and there wasn’t room outside). We could have put it outside, but there wasn’t much room without interfering with future construction on the rear of the house.
Finally we wanted to have a fused disconnect as called out in the installation manual. Had we used the transfer switch for the disconnect as well, we would have needed a fused version and that too was expensive and long lead.
No offense taken! We love comments good or bad.
What we COULD have done is wait 3 months at bought a grid boss! 🤣
Don't forget the tax credit! 30% off.
why is this inverter so heavy compare to other hydrid?
Screw the feedback, the 'contract' should never stop you from installing and using solar!!! The utility can force you to shutdown your solar system anytime they want... 👎🖕
Problem is, you analyze these systems for small houses where it is highly unlikely the people could remotely afford these systems. Nobody has done an analysis of a system sized to a home where the owner could afford them - something in the 35KW range perhaps.
There are plenty of videos of users that have 2-3 (you can parallel up to 6 - 84kw). We definitely will need a second 18Kpv, but plan to add it as budget allows. With the 200A pass through of the grid, that’s a solid back up (after we put up panels) so that the waterfall of priority will be solar>battery>grid with the system always prioritizing electricity we are generating real time or that’s stored.
We will report back after we have panels and get to know it better, but I think it’s possible for a person to easily scale this for larger than a 200A service. I think 3 18Kpv covers the full continuous output, but in reality, most people don’t tap out the full load often. Hope that helps.
Ehh... Lithium Ion batteries? I'm surprised the company didn't use Lithium Iron Phosphate, since it's the go-to for this kind of thing.
Also, I'm only seeing three wires going into the second conduit box to the breaker panel. Where do the main line wires go? I don't see a bypass terminal in the inverter box. 4 hots out of switch, 2 hots into inverter, 2 hots out of inverter, too many wires in first conduit box, 2 hots and 1 neutral in second box.
@@StapleCactus these are Lithium Iron Phosphate
@@DannerCronise Cool! I just saw Lithium Ion on the side of the crate. Maybe they just put that on there because it has Lithium in the name and LiFePo batteries have the same shipping regulations.
@@StapleCactusthat assumption is correct. The regulation for shipping is the same regardless of chemistry. It’s all to be treated the same as lithium ion even if it isn’t
Get yourself a pair of electricians gloves. Better to be safe than sorry
🤣
Selling back to the power company is a big mistake everyone I know who has tried it got screwed over and switched back to having separate systems which ended up spending more money two even tried sewing and lost everything even their homes get a really good lawyer now to go over that contract and make sure there is a exit clause which still in the end won't protect you from getting screwed.
So, how did they get screwed over?
Thank you for letting us know, Jeremy. We’d love to hear more about selling back in Tennessee through TVA. We don’t know anyone in our area personally that’s done it. We’re learning in real time and can report back on our findings.
We’ve been selling power back to our utility since 2016 and have never had any issues.
We’ve been selling back since 2018. No issues with net metering.
I’m confused. Why can’t you start and then just stop if you don’t like the terms?
Kind of a shame you had to use A Musk truck. That's some pricey stuff. My guess between 12 and 14k?
$30,000
I thought the 18kPV has transfer switching included?
Ah, I see; you are basically using the manual switch as a disconnect and bypass as a back-up to the 18KPV.
Exactly. We needed the external disconnect and putting the bypass was just for convenience and a more robust workaround should power issues come up with the inverter/battery.
Why on Earth did you spend your money on a low surge, short lived high frequency, transformerless inverter? They not only offer poorer surge capacities and shorter life expectancies, because there is no output transformer to provide galvanic isolation, thay can also damage you appliances during a failure of their H-Bridge circuit where MOSFETs have shorted to ground. No reputable American made inverter manufacturer uses high frequency, transformerless inverter manufacturer uses this inferior design. They all use low frequency, transformer based inverter tech instead.
I imagine they wanted to be consistent with EG4.
Does the surge capacity matter if the inverter is oversized. 12kW will probably be more than enough for that barn. Also it’s grid tied and the inverter has 200A grid pass through so wouldnt that hedge any sustained surge?
Im no expert so im curious as well