Updating CT cable for grid tie inverter. GTIL dual sensors, dual inverters setup.
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
- 2 ct sensors: amzn.to/35M85QR
GX12 2 pin connectors: amzn.to/356gXl2
Multimeter (similar): amzn.to/3ytTCoR
You could by ready to go cable on Ebay as well:
rover.ebay.com...
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Now i just use 1 inverter, will do parallel when when i have 2 inverters thank you for update.
yeah, now you know how to do cable yourself
I bought the Upgraded cable/coils for US 220v Grid tie inverter with Limiter GTIL on ebay and it work fine, the only thing I noticed that when it is adjusted to zero it keeps taking 54 watts constantly from the grid or 1.3kw per day.
Hey are you using two inverters in your setup?
@@michaelhamilton5348 Two. One is 2kw and the other 1kw. The CT sensors are one looking to the house and line 2 to the grid but I don't know if they are in series or parallel.
Hi, don't worry is totally normal, always you will take from the grid 50 w to 80 w , so you never back feet the grid . The advice from the seller is to adjust the (dc from PV ) production to the AC consumption as close as possible and your inverter will work more cold .... example , PV production = 900w , consumption 600w( 550 w from PV + 50 w from grid) , so you extra is 300 w+ 50w come from grid and your inverter need burn ..... one more think maybe you know if your community grid is off you inverter will know through the sensor and will turn off the production , is totally normal is especial security from the inverter......and the more important never keep your inverter screen always on , you can adjust to turn off automatically to avoid burn the screen
What is the link to the eBay listing.
My CTs have been in series for almost 3 years. Absolutely no backfeeding. My Iotawatt confirms this. I can go back and look at every second of the day to assure backfeeding is never happening. I strongly recommend getting 60ma clamps instead of 50ma. I did have small backfeed with the 50ma clamps. The 60ma clamps allows the grid to supply 10-35w. The 50ma allows the grid to supply negative to 10w. The CTs are wired in series to double the voltage sent from both CTs to the inverter. Try powering a 240v load while other 120v loads are also happening, also test when inverters cannot cover all of the load and see the results when the clamps are in parallel. I’d suspect you will have over-under feeding problems.
When the 60ma clamps are used then the amount the inverter shows that the grid is supplying is completely inaccurate. But the inverter is not backfeeding which is what I needed. The amount the inverter says it’s producing is still accurate. I see how much the grid is using with the Iotawatt so what the inverter says the grid is supplying does not matter to me.
Also did you ever change your ac output wires inside your inverter so the inverters are the same, or did you atleast make sure both L1s and L2s from each inverter are connected?
thanks for your advises, as always deep information. I'll try test that you suggested and report if will find problem. And sounds like it's time to get Iotawatt :)
I think your backfeeding issue is happening strictly because your L1 and L2 from each inverter are swapped. Each inverter is trying to produce a sine wave and overlapping sine waves because L1 and L2 are swapped. I’d recommend putting ct clamps back to series and connecting L1 from both inverter together (or to same phase) and same with L2
@@SolarEngineering Agree... otherwise we are just guessing....iotawatt is on the plan now
Im planning play with the resistor as well, extra room will not hurt
@@carlosguzman4461 so what did you find out by your testing, I'm going to buy one of these 240v inverters soon and I don't want to back feed.
That's the way to do it with CTs in parallel. You should do the CT connections outside the circuit panel so they don't accidentally touch main power.
You don't need a resistor. Just add 20 watts to the limit on each inverter. Each inverter might be a little off too so it could just be one of them that doesn't see zero watts perfectly.
The clamp comes with the inverter so if you have two why not fit the two on the single live leg (UK) with a small gap no need to connect two into one? It even shows it in the new manual. They are pretty foolproof. My first GTIL2 was 2018 - no problems.
I have found that these Hall Effect Sensors work well with little gap between one and another and also work well when two or three live wires are fed through one sensor ! - I have used one to monitor heating only in an apartment and it seemed very accurate.
I think you don't have split-phase electric power in the UK. Is it one phase with neutral and hot? If the answer is yes, then 1 CT sensor will work fine.
Okay thanks I will try what you do
If I want to offset my energy consumption from the grid, why can't I simply get ONE (120v) grid-tie-inverter with limiter, and just limit to whatever one of the two legs are currently consuming? So, in other words, skip trying to provide ALL my own power, but just have one sensor for just one of the two 120v legs, and allow my solar panels to power ONLY that amount of power needed? I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible. But is there a reason why this would NOT work??? I'm not trying to cover all energy needs for my home, but just a small amount! (I just bought four 245 watt panels used for $96 total!)
Is it that one inverter is connected to L1 and neutral, and the other to L2 and neutral? Or are they both connected across L1 and L2?
it's a 2kw / 240 volts version. Both of them connected to L1 and L2 in parallel.
I guess none of this applies to trying to run two in parallel in Europe on single-phase 230V, right?
yeah, in Europe with single phase you don't need to modify CT sensors.
@@SolarEngineering but what I'm thinking is, if I put in two, clamp one CT sensor per inverter to L, and enable the limiter, then won't they both also react in parallel and each deliver 100% of the required output to compensate, resulting in the second unit backfeeding to the grid? I'm trying to get to 4kW with the GTIL2, but I don't see a way forward. No 3-phase service to my house.
@@theodricaethelfrith It should not double output, but might be some issues when inverters react slower. I guess only real-life test will show you how it's going to react/work.
what resistor is that? do you have a link?
Wondering how are your inverters still performing after 3 years.
sold it after 1 year of use and switched to Sol-Ark 12k
Hello, if i have one phase, i must connect like you did? or just 2 ct limiters and the on phase and is ok? thank you
I have been watching all your fantastic videos. I am a little confused by this setup. I have two 1000Watt in North America I intend to set up with one on L1 and the other on L2. One GTI will be on one leg and one GTI on the other. Wouldn't that allow for the best metering of each leg independently? Each of my GTI will have its own Solar Array.
I appreciate all the other questions you have answered for me. I also want to add that your mastery of the English language I now can completely understand it just took a few RUclipss to tune my head and then all was perfectly clear after that.
@Kev Great advice. Thank you.
@V KASH Update: I have been running mine mounted as you recommended. I have not added an additional fan yet but will before it gets warm. Mine have only had the fans come on a few times and for a short time. They are mounted with heat flow in mind and onto a heatsink surface (but spaced away per your recommendation). I have the room so my solar is ground based and aimed perfectly and angled correctly. From around 8:00AM to 6:00PM in Northern San Diego my Smart Meter shows between 0.0Watts and 35Watts max all day long. I love it as once set up it is "fire and forget".
Awesome video, it's just what I was looking for. Would there be any issue doing the same parallel set up on these inverters with four or five inverters, assuming proper wire gage is used?
Hi Mike, I was running only 2 in parallel. In theory 5 should work just fine.
Updated question(s): In this example are there two, 2KWatt GTIL using the same two CTs wired in parallel with one Varistor? I did not see where you could have added an additional coupling to connect to the other GTIL as you started with one, 2KWatt GTIL, and then added another CT (eventually in parallel). When did the second GTIL get added and is the second GTIL sharing the same two CTs as the first in the same manner (parallel)?? OK At 9:57 I see this question is answered in the picture/schematic!!!
yep, connectors just paralleled for 2 inverters
please very much where can i get limiter 60 ma i am waiting for reply thank you very much Inverter 2000w
Thank you so much for sharing this video ! great information ! Quick question ..how do you have the output from the inverter connected to the house ? is it directly connected to main legs ? I am trying to figure out how to provide electricity for the entire house safely ..should i just plug that AC output cable to a wall socket on the grid or connect to main lines coming from utility provider ?
Ideally, the inverter should be connected straight to the circuit breaker in the electrical panel. If you are using 240V version inverter - then it's going to be a double pole breaker. In my case I installed 240V outlet (2:14 on video) to have easy way to connect/disconnect inverters when needed.
So my connection: ( Inverter --> 240V outlet --> circuit breaker in the electrical panel )
Let me know if you have any other questions.
@@SolarEngineering Thank you so much :) , you are awesome ! can`t wait to setup mine :) !!
quick question man ! thanks for sharing ! do you have picture of the connection from the 240 outlet to the electrical pane , inside the electrical panel l ? is it connected directly to legs or a fuse ?
@@adilfaleh5812 it's going directly do double pole circuit breaker in panel
@@SolarEngineering thank you
Old video but therory was wrong, 1x CT per leg, per inverter.
I have (1) Y&H 2000W 2KW Grid Tie Inverter Power Limiter LCD Display DC60-110V Solar Input AC185-265V Output PV System SUN-2000GTIL2-T, Do I connect the CT's in series like your other video or parallel like this video? I only have the one 2k inverter.
I think connection like in this video should work
@@SolarEngineering it worked
Whatever you do, it is not going to work. You cannot connect the current transformer ( CT ) in series or in parallel for US split phase system. The load on the two 120V is unbalanced and you will feed back to the grid under some scenarios. The only solution is to have 120v inverters with limiter feeding each leg. This is the only way to guarantee no power is fed back to the grid inadvertently. You can still use a 240V inverter if you have some clever logic ( current sensor switch ) to run 240V.
Could you elaborate on using a current switch ? How would that be implemented.
I understand that the split L1 and L2 could be unbalanced, but I don't understand how the inverter can't see witch 120v is drawing more power an supplement.
Is the inverter not calculating something correctly ?
great video
I dont have my ct clamp on a power line and its reading -59watts why ?
wouldn't using one ct for each invert connected to the L1 or L2 that is assigned to that inverter work. this way you will never export on either l1 or l2.
inverter using both L1 and L2 (it's a 240V version), so need to use 2 CT sensors
In the installation and Operation Manual of inverter says: "Don't connect the DC input Terminal of one Sunshine Grid Tie Power Tie Power inverter to another's"
It looks like you did it, isn't it?
It Says "If so, neither of the inverters can find the correct maximum powerpoint (MPP), this will reduce the efficiency of the system".
Have you find any problem about efficiency of the system?
In my case inverters connected to 23.5kWh battery bank. I didn't notice any issues with inverters being in parallel.
The mppt of the inverters is disabled when batteries are used. No you should not connect 2 of these inverters to the same solar panels
@@RJ-cc1fz wouldn't your charge controller control that function? No need for the inverters to use MPPT
@@chemicalburn507 correct
Nice vid questions your inverter split phase is the ct limiter sense each load on each phase on 1 inverter
CT sensors and Inverters connected together in parallel.
What about ohms of the cable itself... it should read 170ohms to properly read the values... read over forums...
didn't measure cable, should be close to 0. Or do you mean sensors resistance?
Hey there.. Thanks kindly for the great videos. I would love to buy one of those fancy new Sol-Ark Inverters but they are way out of my price range. For now I want to start playing and these inverters seem like the best (only?) option for a grid tied inverter with limiter short of spending a lot more money. Is there any other inverters that you would consider in a lower price range? Any feedback on your CT Clamp cable? How did it work after your swap to parallel until you removed it?
Thanks much!
Hey Mike, inverters worked really well! I like them, best price/value. In my case, CT sensors that I made in this video performed very well, with no backfeeding at all. Let me know if you have any questions.
@@SolarEngineering thanks for the quick reply. In the video the pot you used was 1k but you said a few times you kept it at 0. So is the pot needed or just keep the CT clamps in parallel?
@@mikerussell5454 some inverters could backfeed a little bit, in this case trimpot needed to add some resistance. Get 500 Ohms, then it's going to be easier to adjust if needed.
Hi
i am getting either very high reading or very low reading when connecting them as parallel ? any advice ? should they both face up or down ? Thank ou
yes, one sensor must be reversed. Try multiple combinations.
Can you back feed and do the meter runs back ward. Do the numbers runs backwards
In my case, smart meter will count backfeed as a consumption. So when I backfeed to grid 1kWh, the electric company will charge me for this 1kWh as I used it.
So even meter show negative values, it's adding to consumed kWh.
To get the meter to subtract kWhs, electric company needs to enable this feature on the meter. (Net metering)
Can you not run an inverter on each leg with it's own clamp?
this inverter is 240V, so we have to use 2 ct clamps to monitor each leg. You could get 120V version, then only 1 ct sensor needed.
@@SolarEngineering oh, I see. GroWatt make 120V inverters they might be worth looking at. They've abandoned the CT clamp though, you have to buy one of their smart meters to limit export, but it would save you having to run around to the front of the house if you had your own meter in the garage. :D
The mains voltage can fluctuate 220-240V in Europe I guess thats why they abandoned CT clamps and why you sometimes see a small amount go export.
How do you wire it for 1 inverter? I was having this issue as well and just gave up.
just don't solder 2nd connector.
So you'll have 2 CT sensors as in video and only 1 GX12 connector with resistor.
This ebay seller have the cable for one or two inverters. www.ebay.com/itm/Upgraded-cable-coils-for-US-220v-Grid-tie-inverter-with-Limiter-GTIL-USA-Seller/232675119713?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=533229111130&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
@@SolarEngineering what should be the capacito od the trimpot ?
@@carlosguzman4461 in video I'm using 1kOhm.
@daren darensky congrats with purchase. For me it works when sensors connected in parallel.
I just replaced resistor with blue one that you can see on 9:19, and turned it to add about 30 ohm resistance. Don't see any backfeed and see only about 10-20w power consumed from grid.
Just assemble sensors (don't solder) test it and then solder. You could repeat same tests that I'm doing in video. Let me know if you still confused. Post result after you done with cable.
Good luck.
Why not just connect the ct sensors for each leg and inverter? I’m thinking of using three inverters on my 3phase and wasn’t planning on messing with the wires. Am I missing something?
Because inverter supply 240V and with only 1 CT sensor we can get reading from only one leg (120V). I explained it in video:
ruclips.net/video/Aza7vvLe0oY/видео.html
That's for US split phase system.
Depends where you live, it might work with 1 CT sensor per phase.
Hello I have a question about your 2kilowatt inverter have you ever try it with the one limiter sensor that it comes with to see if it will back feed the grid?
240V inverter will backfeed 100%.
120V inverter needs only one CT clamp.
check this video: ruclips.net/video/Aza7vvLe0oY/видео.html
I know it’s been awhile since you posted this video but I have a quick question, do you still have both inverters connected in parallel? I bought 2 of these specifically to stack them and in the manual it says not to parallel the DC connections. Have you had any issues? I really don’t want to split up my 5kw array and have to run double the cables just to hook these up individually.
Thank you!
Hi,
"not to parallel the DC connections" - it's applicable when you are running using solar panels. When connected to the batteries2 inverters could be paralleled.
@@SolarEngineering Bummer, missed that part/never saw it posted anywhere before ordering them from China. Oh well, guess we’ll see how it goes as far as efficiency. Thanks for the reply!
Hi. In this video you said resistor fully open gives 1k ohm resistance ... but new one which you have ordered is 10k ohms ... any experience with new one? Isn't it too big ??
10kOhms will be too big. It's better to install 500 Ohm and will be easier to adjust it.
@@SolarEngineering hi. Could you confirm exactly what resistor do you use. I bought 500 ohm resistor and it's not working. Even worse. When inverter working at full load 1500W when I increase resistance from 100 to 500 ohms number of power usage from grid (on inverter display) increase and inverter trying to provide more power and back feeding is increasing even more than without resistor ! I don't know what's wrong, resistor too small or it's not working in this way as you've shown.
@@ptrwsk I'm using 1kOhm, 500 Ohm should work as well, check ct sensors for correct wiring/direction.
also check this video where I redid sensors:
ruclips.net/video/PcIfI7jypB4/видео.html
@@SolarEngineering hi. Thanks for reply. My CT sensor is installed correctly ... it's working OK but when inverter reach 1000-1500w production then it starts backfeeding from -5W to even -60W when reaching 1600W ... what I managed to find on Google it means some parts of the system reading are not correctly chosen to this CT sensor and this power. I thought that resistor will help like in your case ... but what was my surprise when I found out that more resistance I put on this cable in CT resistor then inverter reads it as higher grid use and tries to produce more and more 😅. I have 3 phase system with 3 independent inverters and 3 independent CT sensors.
Hello Dear .Please highlight the following for me.I have bought 3 x 2KW Inverters with limiter from solar model SUN-2000 GT1L2. Each output supposed to be 2KW. In My house i have a single phase Grid line 220 volt AC 50 HZ. Can i connect in series the 3 inverters. A.the sensor.
Question1. Can i connect in series the cable that will be fitted on the internal place on its bottom right side plug. in all three of them with one sensor??? Question 2 .What is the purpose of external plug that it has on its left bottom side.pls? Question 3. If all the above sensor connection is technically approved by you does this mean that i can connect in series too each output cable of each inverter so finally in the one cable that i will have and connect to the grid i will have 6 KW output ??? Question 4.If i dont place any sensor at the main cable of the grid and turn off the power which enters my house from the grid. and i connect only in my main board the output of the inverters total as i mentioned 6kw does this mean that the inverters will work at full power the one that can possibly can give.What about if no load is needed,no appliance wrking in the house,no need for voltage ,for pwer.WILL the inverters work continuosly without stopping???? I will appreciate your highlight in my dark tunnel.....Thank you very much.PV
1. Yes it should work. I have 2 inverters connected to the same CT sensors (I need 2 sensors because we have split phase system here)
2. It is for an external limiter, I haven't used it, so don't know many details.
3. It's recommended that each inverter would have its own circuit breaker, but you can connect all 3 inverters to the same breaker/cable, make sure you use proper cable gage.
4. Inverters will produce full power when running without limiters. They will back feed power to the grid. Limiters needed only to equalize inverters power production with house consumption.
Thank you very much for your prompt and expert advice.Please allow me to ask you some more points about the s.panels and inverter 2KW.
I am using panels that offer 340W each with they contain at their belly each[Vmp=34,2 and Imp=9,94][Power 340.If we account the open V=41,1 and I=10,55 these are supposed to be instantly maximun solar gain. In my panels calulations at what characteristics i make good eyes?? the open or the Vmp and Imp
CASE ONE [ If i take in account the open voltage and Ampere. that each panel gives ]
step1. i connect 2 in series .[In series we add only the voltage].so i have V=41,1x2=82,2 volt and I=10,55 .
step 2. i use 3 pairs and i connect them PARALLEL (we add only the ampere] and i have total output characteristics of 3 pairs.OUTPUT V=82,2 and I=10,55x3=31,65 Ampere
ie.Power to the inverter P=82,2x31,65= 2 6 0 1 WATT with V=82,2 < than the permisible 90 and I = 31.65 Ampere. At ideal Sun positioning in refer to the panel surface.
CASE TWO
If I take the Vmp=34,2 Imp=9,94
step1. Connection of 2 panels in series gives V=34,2x2=68,4 Volt and I =9,94 Ampere.
step2 .I use 3 pairs and connect in parallel. V=68,4 inside the permissible range of the inverter and I = 9,94+9,94+9,94= 29,82 Ampere
Total Power to the Inverter 68,4 x 29,82 = 2 0 3 9 WATT
MY QUESTION The only thing i know is the permissible Voltage range of the inverter which must be between 45 - 90 VOLTS.
What about the Ampere ? Its obvious that if we take as constant the Power which is supposed to be 2000 watts ,and if we take the maximun voltage permissible in that inverter that is 90. for security we take 85 than 2000 / 85 = 23,53 Ampere .Is it so???
Summing up my questions in ittle words.
Question 1.What value of voltage and amperage do i estimate in my calculatios Open or Vmp and Imp.
Question 2.The maximum permissible voltage for this inverter will come out after the division of 2000 watt by the voltage that (solar panel teams give) which must not exceed 90volt.???
And QUESTION No3.
Suppose i have other panels too that they have different characteristics. V=65 and I=1,54. Can i trust them that they can contribute in my Sun's Free energy if connect them straight to the inverter OR in that case i use per each team of panels and a seperate solar charge controller .and how can i regulate the solar charge controller to give steadily to the inverter 48 Volts from all team of panels.? or say 60 volt. Because for the moment I AM NOT USING BATTERIES.
Thank you very much.
pv.
.
@@pkefvkef4856
Q1/Q2: Open Circuit Voltage (Voc) should not exceed 90V, you could oversize panels by Amps (for example install 2.5kW arrays), but voltage cannot be more than 90V
Q3: If you going to mix different type of panels, performance might go down, it's better to connect same panels to one inverter (MPPT), and other set of panels to another inverter(MPPT)
If you are planning to use inverters without batteries, then solar panels should be connected directly to inverters, since they have builtin MPPT.
The original 2000GTIL2‐H can only output 1800W continuous. The new model 2000GTIL2-T has 60‐110V and has a continuous output of 1950W. If you want 6kWh you might think of looking at a GroWatt grid tie inverter. You can limit export with one of their smart meters and its up to 550V I believe.
Dear friend .We all got the principle of operation of these 3rd generation inverters.Which is that with the limiter they secure that we dont proceed to do something illegal which could easily be to send back electrons to grid and make the grid wheel recording negativelly. One thought that strikes my head is.the following.The sollars work fine during a sunny day sending straight away voltage to the demanded house's appliances IF needed. If no one asks for energy WHY all this at least 10 hour energy to exist there at the connections of the inverter and not actually being used.This is called an energy loss. Why these people didnt place another 2 connections just for battery array use. which means if during a day we happen to have an excess of energy OK.we direct it and load our battery system.The King Sun is offering free energy.......isn't pitty not to valuate it technically?????i think it is.....a loss.Thank you
Your setup is no good. Parallel connections result in over limiting when unbalanced load between L1 and L2. You are creating a NOR gate, you need an AND gate, logically. In my testing, results in dropped efficiency of about 60%. Also, the current is too high, and could smoke the inverter. In Series mode, the voltage is too high, and must be dealt with. I made cables that work and offer on eBay to my friends.
How about adding a link to your eBay cables
What is the cause of drops in efficiency to 60%? You are suggesting Connecting both 240V separately each to it's own 240V breaker and each on having dual sensor clamps?
NAK. This is a bad idea you're going to get linesmen killed with this. The correct way to do this is with a sub-panel that your inverter and the grid connect to but through a contactor that disconnects one or the other. You either need to get a proper hybrid inverter that can sense the grid connection and disconnect properly or you need to do all-or-nothing on sunny days (like I do). In my setup I have a sub panel that is all or nothing from the inverter and on sunny days I just run off my solar/batteries (using the batteries to pick up the occasional clouds/etc). On cloudy/bad days my solar just keeps my batteries floating and I use grid power. It's not ideal but it's at least safe.
do you mean this inverter could fail and not disconnect if grid goes down? It's grid interactive inverters, so should disconnect in case of grid failure.
Tom, these are grid tie inverters have anti-islanding. Every grid tie inverter has this feature. They are designed to be connected directly to the grid
Lol must be new here.