Automatic Transfer Switch for Small DIY Solar Systems: How it works, Applications, and Installation
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- Опубликовано: 1 окт 2024
- You can find it on amazon (sponsored link): amzn.to/35vDNQ9
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Link to this transfer switch: www.mobile-solarpower.com/automatic-transfer-switches.html
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I am NOT available for personal solar system consult! If you wish to contact me, this is my direct email: williamprowsediysolar@gmail.com
Join the forum at diysolarforum.com/ if you wish to hang out with myself and others and talk about solar
FTC Disclosure Statement and Disclaimers:
Every video includes some form of paid promotion or sponsorship. Some links on this youtube channel may be affiliate links. We may get paid if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these. My videos are for educational purposes only. Information is subject to change/update at any time. Electricity is DANGEROUS and can kill. Be smart and use common sense :)
DIY Solar Power with Will Prowse is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program,
An affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com
I like this so I bought one. First thing I will do is add a breaker or fuse between the ATS and INVERTER in case the ATS switch inside "fails" because if it does then AC could flow to CONVERTOR and boom.!!
I might even put a fuse on the AC inlet wires as well. FIRE and SAFETY are critical for my home.
When testing the ATS make sure that your Lower Voltage and High Voltage settings are Not too close because the ATS will flicker or switch several times between the inverter power and the grid power. Once the power is transferred to grid the voltage of your batteries will go right back up because the load is not longer on the inverter side and the ATS may transfer power back to the inverter This may happen several times in a few seconds and inverters that don't have a good protection board will fry! This will not happen if you voltage settings are far apart as for example LV set to 12v and HV to 14
Good point. Too bad this device doesn't have programmable delay for switching over to prevent this. Guess I could integrate an external time delay relay for switching back-n-fourth.
Would that not also cause arcing?
@@vet137 Absolutely however I believe the unit has internal/built-in delays to minimize this alleged short cycling.
Wish I knew what you said. Lol. Still doing research and learning.
@@danemmerich6775dudes... I thought that's the purpose of the "ATS" functioning... shouldn't it separate (cutoff/cutoff) inverter long enough to rectify voltage so the inverter still recognizes the batteries voltages connected to it? Otherwise it will send grid voltage to the batteries!!!
I'm hoping you can send generator AC OUTPUT to GRID INPUT??? Then setup auto start generator circuit at a set battery voltage, a GREAT OPTION ON CLOUDY DAYS WHEN NO GRID AC IS AVAILABLE TO AUTO RECHARGE BATTERIES FROM AUTO STARTED GENERATOR!!!😅😅😅😅😅😮😮😅😅😅
It is not advisable to twist the earth grounds together and tape them after you have twisted them together. What happens when the temperature rises, the adhesive from the electrical tape melts into the wires and the adhesive cause resistant to increase and the grounds do not become very good and if ground is needed it does not work very well. The National Electric Code does not recommend using electrical tape instead of a wire nut.
This is an excellent solution for those of us that have our small solar systems mostly for grid-down and power outages and just need a few basic appliances hooked up. Good idea. Thanks.
Actually, it acts backwards from that. You would want the grid to power everything unless the grid goes down.
I'm not understanding the Appliances being hooked up. Is the appliance hook up for DC or AC? I thought the purpose of the Inverter was to power appliances. Is his inverter converting back down to DC?
@@jeremiahbowles5388
The DC terminals are to monitor the battery voltage.
This video, as with your other videos, conveys such positive energy that it motivates and excites my brain. I find myself smiling and laughing along with your contagious enthusiasm. I'd say you have great "preaching" skills, but I know that may offend your sensibilities. Damn Will, would it be so bad when what you preach is truth and touches people in a positive and helpful way. I'm not trying to offend, but you ARE the REAL DEAL!
The new ATS from them will be even better. It's going to have a manual switch as well that doesn't require you to mess with the cut off voltage. So if you notice your batteries are going down and you want to charge them already you could manually trigger the switch. Very useful for vanlifer's
Yes it looks well constructed, handles heavy gauge wires.
BUT has anyone looked inside, the unit has 2 independent relays rated 250vAC 50A / 24vDC 50A there in lies the concern. If a single relay should fail half the circuit will be on the Public Power feed and the other on the Inverter feed with all grounds tied together.
Also no two relays will switch exactly in sync at the same moment.
Not much in the way of instructions, no UL/ETL/CSA certification, just FC CE (China Export) on front. Also no tech support info, address or mfg. contact in the documentation or on the physical unit.
Anyone experience a relay failure or issue with switching operation?
you're making very valid points, also saw someone on amazon voicing similar concerns with this device. Have you run into a better unit for this purpose that does not have the inherent issues you mention? I'm looking for something that will not fry my expensive inverter out of the blue one day.
So many superb components that can provide maximum flexibility. Even as the system upgrades, if the initial components were chosen correctly, incremental upgrades do not need to be painful. As always Will, thanks!!!
Is there a device where it can combine both the inverter and the grid when the inverter is not giving enough power? For example, the ATS switches between the two, and this makes sense for when the battery is low... but what about when the battery is high, but the inverter/solar panels/batteries cannot provide enough power to your load? Shouldn't there be a device which combines 2 different power sources?
This is amazing piece of work. I have no more words to describe the awesomeness of this. Hopefully, a day will come in my life, when my electrical appliances will be powered on solar energy. Those bills will no more be a headache. Keep posting the amazing content.
I’ve been trying to work out what I’m going to do with my off grid system when batteries get low, thanks to your video on this device, I’ve now ordered one and am excited and relieved that I won’t have to worry about having to switch everything over manually in the middle of the night. Thankyou! Liked and subscribed
Yes the EG4 3k unit I purchased automatically will switch to grid power if there is no solar or if your 48v batteries get too low without back feeding. The EG4 can you be programmed to do all this automatically. The power you produce is never online with the grid power completely separate. I’ve been using this for a year and a half and it works great. I also installed a manual transfer switch in case to e.g., four had an issue so my refrigerators don’t go dead. This was just a back up just in case best of luck!
I got 2 for $60.99 each on AliExpress. So basically got 2 for 1. Already got the first one and it works perfect. Thanks to this video
Can you send me a link of the aliexpress store?
You have made a convert of Millennial DIY brilliance, you talk to the idiot stupid and I never thought I was but for years since early '00s have been failing at creating understanding a basic simple green power set up and getting the right equipment connected for my needs(okay recent price drops and China sales have made it easier). This is is perfect for TINY HOUSE movement people living cheap in the city or rural in a small house renewable sustainable. It's the batteries that hurt the pocketbook the most starting out & buying every 2-4yrs, I bought a sealed Trojan SCS225 and it stopped holding a charge after a 1-2 years. I used to have banks of 6V Trojans that stopped working charged from a simple wind generator. I just want to supply some Renewable energy to my computer system & LED house lights then switch to grid simple like this than direct feed and not know if I'm using or supplying myself.
Hi Will - wouldn’t the ground already be connected via the shore/grid power? Connecting it again to the inverter when you’re already plugged into the outlet seems unnecessary. Also if this switch works in reverse (ie grid power down, automatically switches to battery) which I believe it does, does it island properly? Assume it does?
STEvE
il y a 0 seconde
How Do you call the Green Terminal where you plug the Battery ? I have mine... No plug, ... probably a missing piece. But how do we call that ? Maybe with luck I f I can buy this little piece ?
The green bit should already be plugged in. I think Will unplugged it for his own reasons.
If you look down on that green "plug" you'll see two VERY small screws. You unscrew them to open up the terminals for the positive and negative small wire you use to monitor the battery voltage.
Excellent information Will, I love the seamless transfer.
I went the easy route as I'm just learning solar and I wanted something duel purpose for my RV. I purchased the Bluetti AC200 and have 600w of panels. Is there a way of connecting something like this using the Bluetti? By the way, I love your channel and am convinced this is something that should be taught in a high school math class(I was a teacher for 27 years and wish I could have told my kids about this stuff)!!!
Cool. This is more applicable to my situation than I expected it would be.
Hi there. I have just purchased this ones newer brother. I am inteening on using it to switch between the grid and my inverter in my caravan. I have got the 3000kva phoneix smart inverter. Ill be using it so i can power the ac outlets in my caravan thoungh my inverter along with my solar.
How do you rate these now. Do you reckon the are up for the job? Oh i also have 1200watts of solar on my roof😊
Thanks heaps. It was this video that got me interested in these
This video was very helpful for concept for me. I have 4 100 watt panels with 4 122 amp hour lead acid batteries on my garage. My garage has a sub panel from my house for grid power. I wired this device directly through my 3 breaker sub panel box for power to my entire garage. Works like a charm. I will mention that I have never worked inside breaker boxes before. With the proper amount of research and safety measures, I was able to do this without an electrician.
That is encouraging......
Hi Wil, I am very interested in this device but I have read a lot of reviews stating this device is a danger waiting to happen because if or when it fails AC power will go to the inverter and fry it. Your review is a few years old now and I wonder what you think of it now or if you know something better. I'm concerned this device is not engineered well and is just a problem waiting to happen. I understand it will only handle 5500 Watts at 110v and do not plan on exceeding that. I don't know if the people in the review just didn't hook it up right or if it's relay is weak. Have you had problems with it and what do you think now?
Can this be used in reverse, can I use grid power and it auto switchs to solar in the event of a power outage?
Yes it can do that.👍🏾
You can also use an inverter-charger for that. I use that for my server's UPS setup. I have 4 hours of battery backup and if power goes out it switches to battery. But this device could work for that too. You could probably even set it up to auto start a generator. That would be kinda fun actually.
Please review the newest version of ats: MOES Smart Automatic Transfer Switch for Off Grid Solar Wind System, Dual Power Controller 80A 8Kw Provides Automatic Power Switching Between Inverter and AC 110V, 220V, APP Remote Control with Hub
Great video, very informative! Now I just need to figure out how to make this charge my Tesla...
Oh that's totally possible. Just need a large inverter. And hopefully a lot of solar power
Will Prowse
Does the transfer switch automatically revert to battery power if the grid goes down? I like the idea of having it cut out at 20% normally, to preserve the battery, but in a power outage situation I could use that extra 20% for backup. (Assuming that there is a low-voltage disconnect also built into the system, of course)
That's the problem with it. If grid had no power, the switch will automatically switch to grid regardless. Same with the inverter. If the inverter is off, the switch will still switch the inverter. It doesn't know if the grid or inverter is live, it just switches between the two depending on the voltage of the battery. Works great for that purpose. If you want to switch between the grid and solar depending on if one is live, you will need a standard grid tie transfer switch that is made for generators. They will switch to generator or inverter power the moment the grid goes down. The ATS in this video is mainly for solar power systems that expect the inverter and grid to be on 24/7.
Will Prowse
Bummer, in that case it might be better for me to make something to fool a standard transfer switch by making it think the grid is down. Those probably take more that 10ms to switch though...
Thanks for answering!
Well actually you can switch it over manually if the grid does go down. You can program the disconnect low voltage to a high number and it will stay connected to only solar. This switch is really useful for solar. And usually the grid isn't down. But if it is, you can manually switch over to solar if you have to. 99% of the time my system is running on solar only not rarely needs to switch to the grid.
I know this was 5 years ago. But I’m wanting to do a reverse setup like this. So if the grid goes down, it would switch to solar. Instead of using a generator, have it switch to solar. Would it be the same system (newer version of course) but the solar in the grid and the grid in solar?
Excellent video and this looks to be just the gizmo I've been looking for (and the Amazon store ships to the UK, proper job :) )
The two relays in this unit arent switched with any delay, i had that exact transfer switch and for a brief moment it connected my inverter to grid power and the bang was deafening, and my inverter was in flames, molten metal flew out of the air vents. Id definitely not recommended this. Use the tomzn breaker style motorised transfer switch, wire your inverter to the "normal" side, and wire mains to the backup power side, and use your inverter shutoff or bms shutoff settings. When inverter power isnt available it will automatically move to grid, and when inverter becomes online again it will prioritise that.
Mr Prowse. I'm a huge fan, I got your book on Amazon. Love it! I want to ask you a question please. I'm in the information gathering phase pre solar plunge. I have everything lined out with the exception of one thing that puzzles me... I'm trying to figure out how to tie my solar system In to my fuse panel to power my rv? Please answer when you are able, and great job keep up the great work !
If you’re not going to pull huge loads, you can do what I did. I wired an extension cord to a 20A gfci outlet, plugging the extension cord into my inverter. Then I plugged a 30A to 20A adapter into the gfci and plugged the RV cord into that.
Viola! Full 120V service, safe, wicked inexpensive.
You could plug directly to the inverter the same way, but my inverter isn’t near the cabinet where the RV cord is and I liked the added GFCI function inline.
I have the exact same question and I am also in the beginner learning stage.
I've started with a 206 ah SOK lithium battery. After I bought the SOK I realize I must change out my distribution center to accommodate a lithium battery.
I want to create enough power to run an AC unit, cause this travel trailer is my home and I'm in a hot climate.
It's been a year since you posted this comment. If you could slide me any feed back I would appreciate any knowledge you can offer. TKS
So you could hook up your 220 mini split which would run on solar in the day and switch to grid at night? How large a battery would you recommend if you only wanted the grid to function when the sun went down?
I haved installed this ATS going on two years and it's working flawless.
Got a link where you bought it?
Thanks.
Did you put any protection device on your appliances? So it will be protected during switching?
I want one but I saw a few reviews that may fail and blow inverters, someone have a long term review ? Also I want to know what can I do to protect my inverter if something goes wrong with the ATS
I bought this unit works great, smooth switch over, but it does not monitor the inverter out put, because if the inverter goes down it stay with the battery side, shame it can’t detect ac voltage has failed on the inverter side! Ar well maybe they include this in their mk2!
I had the same question. I think to COMPLETELY protect things like a running fridge, it’s best to connect a wall wart to the inverter which will give you something like 14vdc output and connect THAT to the battery monitor plug rather than your battery bank. If your inverter happens to pop a fuse or blow a mosfet if your away for a day or two and it crashes…the batts will stay high since there is no load…the ATS stays on the inverter which is putting out nothing…and you come back to spoiled food. if the batteries get low, the inverter will shut down on low voltage anyway and then switch to grid. Why not just monitor the inverter output via a dc converter? That way…if the batteries lose enough voltage, the inverter shuts down on low voltage and ATS sees 0 and it switches to grid. If the batteries are fine but the inverter blows up, the ATS will see 0 from the wart and switch to grid. Make sense? Win win.
@@Msquared299 Because by the time many inverters shut down the batteries are well below 12/24volts. We want it to switch at whatever voltage we choose.
Can I use this device in Europe? We got 230V and 50 Hz, thanks
I think it's rated for that but I would check the product manual. I haven't used one of these for a few years. There are some available that will work for you though
Thanks I appreciate your time!
Hi Will, I can break down my questions in the previous post below to something much easier. Hopefully my post will be helpful other interested users as well. After my post yesterday, I've done a ton of research and pretty much answered my own questions. Realizing I can use the EG4 Inverter as an "ATS" to use grid power if no solar or low batteries, I decided to go with an external ATS setup utilizing this Chinese MOES ATS as a "control" only to activate the coils to my ABB Forward/reversing contactor connecting my house loads to either utility or Inverter. I just feel this is much safer to protect the inverter and keep my 30A-40A house loads out of this ATS device and the EG4 Inverter. BTW I received this MOES ATS in the mail today and did an open inspection. It appears to be well built, all screws were tight preventing failure/heat however it is not UL listed and the load wires insulation don't appear to be rated for 600V like it should. The internal switching relays although fairly robust and i'm sure can handle 50A current, are not your typical 3pdt "beefy" contactor typically used in industry to switch large loads. The major flaw with this is they are using two separate relays connected to a common output. Should one of the two relays ever fail (And they eventually will) you will have the utility and Inverter outputs online simultaneously which you know can cause major issues including a potential fire.This is why I'll be using it as a control device and not for house loads directly. In my setup even if the ATS fails, my output contactor unit will never allow the house loads to be online simultaneously. Much safer! So this brings me to my one simple question for you:
1. Since I will be using the EG4 LifePower4 48V 100ah battery module in conjunction with my EG4 3K Inverter, what should I set the MOES ATS LV & HV DC voltage settings to switch from Inverter to Utility power? Someone suggested 44.8vdc switch to Utility and 58.4vdc switch back to Inverter. Please advise 🙂
Thanks!
How big is the risk for ... and in witch case would it be ?
"failing on the ATS where both utility and inverter online simultaneously back-feeding the inverter from the utility. Potential results being taking out the inverter creating a potential fire hazard."
You wrote a really good question and provided excellent context. Wish someone would reply or at this point would you just share your observations and experience. Thanks in advance.
@@NeoVdV You are exactly right, this is why I ended up returning this Chinese MOES transfer switch as it is prone to failure using two separate internal relays. If either of the two relays fail, it could be catastrophic resulting in phase to phase direct shorting and potential fire! The EG4 internally transfers the load to the utility should there be insufficient sunlight for PV power or battery power automatically. I ended up buying a manual transfer switch for in case the EG4 inverter failure so I can manually transfer my house loads to the utility bypassing the inverter. I can sleep much better at night now and it has worked flawlessly!
@@aljam99 I ordered one but canceled it after reading some previous remarks. Now happy I didn't buy it.
@@NeoVdV Good move! As you can see I messaged Will regarding this with some pretty technical questions but he never responded. I installed Electrical Industrial control systems and worked in Automation for most of my career. I honestly believe my question was a bit out of his realm of expertise. Good luck with your installation!
Hi Will great video just the kind of device and application I have been thinking about. I do have some concerns with feed back into public power. Have you tested or could you test for any voltage on the public side in the event that public power is off, by disconnecting the rv from the grid and simulating a grid power failure. Thanks Tom
can this be used with a generator set up, or do you have any recommendation for something better
That's what I'm thinking too. Unplug that transfer switch from the grid and plug it into my generator to power my circuits and charge my batteries when grid is down and not enough sun. I wonder how this switch would handle dirty power from a traditional generator?
I was considering using this for an emergency circuit for my home.
At first I bought a 2000w inverter to connect to my Prius charging system via the 12v battery to use as a generator but I thought about just getting a bunch of solar panels to be the primary power. My one concern is I want to add to my array as I can afford it and pull more and more power off the grid. Which probably means, adding multiple inverters. But I also want to pull from the Grid when I need it. The net metering rules for our power company have not been that favorable, they do not want to play nice.
Dumb Question: is there something like this, but the reverse, that switches to batteries when the grid is down? (yeah, I know, I'm in the wrong place...this is for mobile, not residential...)
Could you just reverse the "Public Power" and "Inverter" for this device?
@@lowflyte Since it switches based on "battery voltage", you'd need an AC to DC converter that you can measure instead of a battery. Any 12v power brick should work, but a USB charger should also if it can read as low as 5v. However, you'll lose your low battery cutoff, so make sure you have that elsewhere (like the inverter Will mentioned in the video).
@@dividion8102 you shouldn’t lose your low battery cutoff this way. The inverter shuts down on low battery anyway…cutting off the AC/DC converter and ATS switches to grid.
Do you know if it does sine-wave matching during the switch-overs? and if not, how much surge protection does it have? I understand that this can be an issue with large motors - sine wave mismatch can cause an induction surge in power which is why I ask. I use a Progressive Dynamics with 100amp surge for my solar system in this exact way and have not had any trouble with refrigerator (motor) or furnace fan (motor) or any of home electronics for that matter.... but I was warned on a solar channel so I was wondering about this. Thanks for another great video.
I think this unit is rated at 50Hz? Good question!
Unless I'm missing something, these cells seem perfect for my use case. I want to build a portable power system for low wattage 12V DC, maximum load maybe 100-200W, and that's including a safety factor, typical load
You probably built this system long ago, but the alternative is adding an AC-DC power supply set to a low voltage, so it will only supply power once your solar and batteries aren't.
What's a good one for my house ? I dont want to send anything to the power company at all. What I have is a 1410ah battery bank. 6kw inverter 12kw max msw. 3.5kw 7.5kw max puresine and 200v EPEVER 80a mppt controller and a 100 amp 200v mppt controller and 1800 watt solar and 500 watt 3 phase AC PMA turbine 700 to 800 watts in 13 mph winds. It's a portable trailer too. What I want to do is plug it into the house i have 2 30 amp RV receptacle boxes hardwired into both inverters. Let me know what's the best automatic transfer switch.
I don't know if you are monitoring this video, but showing us how a solar generator like the Bluetti AC200 could work with this would be nice.
Thanks
Hi Will, First of all thank you very much for your clear and concise videos on DIY solar. It was your videos that finally made me move forward on my DIY project! Been doing a ton of research and finally decided to buy one of these to automatically switch over to utility if the batteries get low while I wait for them to charge. I am an Electrician specializing in AC/DC controls & relay logic. That being said there were a small % of negative reviews on Amazon, mostly related to the output relays failing on the ATS where both utility and inverter online simultaneously back-feeding the inverter from the utility. Potential results being taking out the inverter creating a potential fire hazard. I found a way around this and am planning to use this device to control a forward/reversing contactor with mechanical interlock so it's physically impossible for both inputs to common outputs to home loads to be online simultaneously. I can sleep better at night knowing that this non-UL device won't burn down my house. Although the chances of failure are minimal, it is still possible. I'm providing all this background information which will lead to my questions for you..... I ordered this ATS, One EG4 3KW off grid 120v inverter, One EG4 Lifepower 100ah 48v battery unit and an ABB forward/reversing 120v coil contactor with mech interlock, still waiting on delivery. In the meantime I was drawing out a diagram on how I will be wiring everything and something occurred to me. The EG4 inverter has an AC grid bypass which can automatically switch over to grid if my batteries get low. The grid power can also charge the batteries if there is not enough solar. My house has grid power available as i'm in the suburbs. Apparently the EG4 has a built-in ATS. It also has a dry contact output form C relay in case the batteries get low to signal/operate an external device like the forward reversing contactor I purchased. Also to note I will not be permitting this installation and laying the panels in my backyard which can be removed anytime. I was planning on not using the AC input on my inverter leaving either solar or battery power. My questions are:
1. Do I even need this ATS device at all?
2. Does the EG4 have a built-in "ATS" per se as it has a bypass? (discovered this while reading the EG4 manual).
3. Would it be best to just use this ATS with my forward/reverse contactor setup or just use the EG4 internal bypass/ATS?
4. If I use the EG4 as an ATS to bypass solar, is it safe with respect to the load simultaneously being online with the grid power?
Sorry for the long winded post, hope i'm making sense. I have a feeling I purchased this contactor & ATS for nothing. Any advice as always would be greatly appreciated!
Cheers, Alex
Whats the Max output Load Power from this device ?
If your solar system is with 12V battery, 1500W Inverter
Grid power system is 220V
I am VERY interested in your post here please keep asking questions I for one read your post and find it very very interesting!!
Question.
The one I hot says it has a max load of 1200 watts at 24v is that coming in or going out.
And it doesn't say anything about it in the manual just a small flyer that was in the box.
I'll pass. Lol.
whtmikeg30vanlife at least he gives his honest opinion and does not fear losing face. I enjoy watching him getting excited about his new toys. I'd be super proud if he were my son and 2 of my kids have Master degrees. He has really helped me a lot with my solar and is always open to answering my questions. Love this kid. Lol.
In Texas, having a hard time keeping power on reliably with grid :/ Your videos are really motivating me to put something together for backup! Thanxs for sharing :)
Ok, hooked it all up this morning to test. Although I connected the battery input to a variable voltage power supply so that I could test its reactions quicker than having to wait for the batteries to charge or discharge. It worked like a charm. I monitored the power output reading of the inverter to confirm the switching, along with the mechanical relay sound that the switch makes. Pretty cool.
I bought this based off of your video, seems good with the exception of one painful issue. If your inverter errors or something it will not switch back to grid. That would have been the perfect missing feature.
You mean, if I turn off the inverter, it won't change to grid power? It only change when battery reached cutoff voltage?
@@ruchirahasaranga8076 If the inverter is running and was shut off it will not switch back to AC automatically, its all going dead. It will only switch in the opposite, if the AC goes down it switches to battery / inverter.
That's really neat. You could probably modify this to start a generator too if you were fully off grid. Or use it without a secondary AC source just to save the batteries from over discharge. Been meaning to do something like this with my shed's solar setup since right now if the battery gets too low the only thing that will save the batteries is the inverter itself shutting down, after beeping loudly for a day or two. LOL. I never let it get to that point though. Arduino can be used to do lot of this stuff too and it's fairly simple. I just need to sit down and actually do it.
Did you eventually do this? Because I want to do the same. I am in a position where I have zero power from the grid in the UK. The weather can be tosh for solar panels so having a remote start generator would be a great solution.
I have a question: When the solar power is depleted does the switch also charge the solar batteries in addition to power the load ?
Is there a transfer switch that could balance surge loads?
Such as when a surge would normally shut down the inverter, the transfer switch could use grid energy to feed the surge, then pass the load back to the inverter.
Maybe a farfetched, high-tech piece of equipment.. or something easy to program in these new cheaper options!
I bought one of these moes transfer switches, and it somehow blew up my 3kw inverter when it transferred over to mains power. I’m not sure how, or why, but everything was fine until it changed over. I don’t know if it arc’d over internally or what, but it either shorted the inverter, or connected the inverter to mains power for a brief moment. It also sometimes trips the rcd in the house mains box, so something is definitely not right with it.
Yea, I was hooking mine up today. I was trying to tie an inverter hooked up to my prius to my mpp combo. Hooked utility up and ran load to mpp. Initially no voltage to inverter lugs but when I connected to battery it loaded up inverter lugs. Luckily I hadn't hooked up to prius/inverter. Not sure what to do with it. Research brought me here.
first off great info on all your videos. i do have a question(s) maybe you can help me with, when wiring the moes ats with two hot legs. i want to use two 3000w inverters (xijia 48v) with this. will this work and how do i do it?
Answers on Amazon say you can connect 2 phases to L and N but I have not tried it. I want to do the same thing, as in México, we have phase to neutral of 110V, so I need 2 phases to get to 220V.
A lil late for an electrical consultation, I messed up and stuck the fork in the electrical socket again, other than that great advice!👌
Will, I was just about to purchase this unit (ATS), when I read a couple of neg reviews about it. Yes, there were many great reviews. But since it is electrical, I took notice… This seems possible! Do I need to believe that there is a serious flaw in this unit? Please help! I have purchased everything for my system through your video information. I love what you do for us 🤗. Please (ASAP) advise me about these comments and this unit. I definitely need an ATS. Thanking you, maryhadit, Fl. 6/12
watch this vid
got this Automatic Transfer Switch
set ATS up
its works a treat
I purchased one. The ATS fed 240V mains directly into my Giant 3000W pure sine wave inverter, the first tell were the capacitors exploding. Want an inverter that sounds like a shoot out with .22LR rounds? Need the excitement of smoke, sparks and flames, then this little baby, made strictly to comply with the Chinese electrical standards 'U Like Explosions' (ULE), is the one for you.
Can work when publish ac outrage even battery are low volt .
Very cool, I might want one.
I'm interested to know what happens if you disconnect the battery from the transfer switch while inverter is powering a load (i.e. instead of a low voltage cutoff you suddenly get no voltage reading.) Does it properly perform the transfer? (hope that's not a dumb question :)
I think in some situations it would be a nice addition to have a battery disconnect between the battery and the xfer switch. For example, say you're using your solar RV batteries to power house loads. A couple of days before your next trip, you want all your solar power going to the RV batteries so you start your trip with a full charge.
Please let me know if I missing something.
If solar power system crashes, it diverts power from grid by default. But it requires the solar battery power to have the display working. Also needs power from solar battery to use solar inverter power
Are there an auto-transfer switches available on the charging end? Could you have two battery banks--charge one till full then charge the other, and then also drain one then switch to the backup? Thinking about options for starting out small, then adding batteries later, without swapping out the entire bank.
Just got mine up and running. So far so good. One issue. I assume the inverter has to always be on and the ATS connected to it in order to transfer properly? Also on my MOS ATS such as the one in this vid I cannot find an option in the menu for setting the battery to GEL or LEAD or Lithium etc. Help please?
Hey Will, your videos have been extremely helpful, thanks for all that you're doing for the DIY solar community. I have a question about this setup. With this system connected to a 50A 4 wire Shore Power Cable, the instructions suggest that the red and black (two line connections) connect to L and N and Neutral goes straight to your load and inverter. And at the Inverter, Giandel, like in your setup it says to connect L1, L2 and Neutral instead of L, N, G. Will the Giandel support that wiring configuration?
I'm not a licensed electrician.... and rather than risk burning up my Inverter, I believe I answered my own question with a workaround, and seemingly the same question a number of other people have. If you have a 50A Shore Plug 4 wire setup in your RV/Trailer/Etc... and you look into your fuse/breaker panel you should have a pair of 50A Breakers tied together. One will have a red wire feeding it, the other a black wire (If your setup differs, this may not apply to you). Each feeds a separate group of breakers. In mine, one feeds my A/C and the other feeds the Power Converter and Outlets. You can see how this is broken up if you pull the breakers out of the box (always be sure there is no power connected). I cut the Black (line) and White (Neutral) at the back of the shore plug receptacle. From the back of the plug I joined the wires with extensions to the ATS Public Power input, and then joined the lines that run to the breaker box to the Output of the ATS. I had to tie in and run another Neutral wire (which I just connected at the ATS in the same port I fed it with from "Public Power") to the breaker panel and tie it into the separate Breaker Group for the Public Power/Generator Only circuits. I also had to remove the connection from the Power Converter back to the Battery, as that charge circuit when it becomes active brings up the Battery Voltage and the ATS switches back to Inverter power, then realizes the battery is too low and switches back and it goes back and forth endlessly. I'm working on a more permanent solution to that problem, as having the ability to charge the battery from Shore Power to supplement the solar, or to do so at night, is desirable. In the interim, I will add a battery disconnect to the charge lead on the battery from the breaker panel power converter and leave disconnected until I want/need to charge the battery from Generator/Shore Power, and will turn off the ATS (making the whole solution much less Automatic, unless I find I don't really need the Charge Circuit from the breaker panel at all). Sort of makes me wish I spent more on an all-in-one solution, but this project already had massive scope creep. Hope this helps.
I need a transfer switch from shore power to my Onan gen on my camper in the future I would want to install solar panels . What do you think would be a good transfer switch for me ? My gen is 4500 watts , 40 amps . It would be cool if I could make my gen start and charge the bat when solar power is low . If I have shore power it would transfer to shore in stead of starting my gen ? Is this even possible yet ?
Thanks for your time and info !!
Here in Florida the state has a law that states FP&L has to pay net metered people the retail price of any electric sent back to the grid so getting a large full house system would be awesome but you have to have some way to still use your solar system when the grid is down so you can power your house but not feed back to the grid while the grid is down to prevent injury to anyone working of the grid. I think some sort of auto transfer switch could work if set up properly. That's the kind of system I would like to see on Will's chanel. If we can get enough comments or requests for something like that maybe Will Prowse will take up the challenge. Who's with me????
Will, any way you could give updated recommendations for something like this to add to a system that isn't a hybrid inverter. The relays on this device have been known to weld together and backfeed/fry inverters.
i am surprised there is no kind of check built into this so that if grid or inverter are down it won't try and transfer to them
Hello Will, Thank you for the explanation and the time you take to make these educational videos for us that are still learning how to connect a solar power system. My question is:
1. Can this ATS be used with a generator, if not what transfer switch can i use to charge my battery if my battery is depleted.
Where I live there is no public utiity electricity. Hope to hear from you soon
Alright, I haven't done what I'm about to say, so no one accuse me of guerilla solar tactics...but. I have a solar trailer I park next to my home in the car port. If you take the "appliance" output of this device and plug it into a wall outlet in your home (garage for example), can I use my small-ish mobile solar system to power whatever loads in my home may need power? The garage outlet wires feed back to the CB main panel in the home and I would essentially be feeding power into the main panel, for distribution as needed to loads in the home. Does this make sense? My only concern would be if the grid went down would this transfer switch device sever the connection to my solar trailer, so it would not feed back to the utility power lines? I'm sure my utility company would love me for even thinking of doing this. I'm just trying to find a way to use my solar trailer asset to help power my home.
Hi Will, at the moment we have a 5kw solar system on the house, it needs grid feed to be switched on, if we have a grid outage the solar inverter will also stop feed the house and go into a grid outage fault.
My question is, will this be able to run the house amd keep the solar inverter running on a grid outage? Thanks
Hi Will, Where on the charge controller did you connect the battery monitoring cable?
What voltage would you recommend for my 12 v sealed lead batteries to cut off and come back on? This seems to be a good device
Hi Will,
Just bought on of those after watching your video. Question, should this be grounded to the cases of the charge controller and inverter? Thanks for all the great videos!
AT HOME DEPOT
THEY HAVE SCREW HOLES ON ZIP TIES WILL
Hey men, do you know of this auto switch system will work all the way around? I mean, i need to be connected to the grid all the time, but when main power is suddenly OFF , i want it to switch to my stand-by invertor with battery as a back up
Can this be used for a split phase system having it switch L1 L2? I have a 4000w 240 split phase inverter (Aims knockoff) 40 amp epever Mppt with 3 Trina 310w panels. Thanks
Did you ever get an answer? I have the same question.
So I imagine you wouldn’t need that safety cutoff to it’s right (forgot the name). Although dry camping you’d need it so never mind. I suppose if there’s no grid power that component just allows business as usual off grid... ?
Okay so the auto-transfer switch detects voltages and transfers power as advertised. But how much power can it really handle? I like to see a test where the maximum rated current of 50A is pushed through it. The connector does not look beefy enough to handle 50 A for more than a few minutes before it would start to melt.
It's actually super beefy. Look at it in person. Big inputs
But yeah would be cool to test. I might do that
1 more thing it could do, though better a device might exist is......
if you had 2 and the second one only had the inverters switch wired to the hot pins (no high voltage)
basically the second one acts as a programmable inverter switch that you set 0.1v off from the transfer switch so the inverter comes on moments before load is applied
obviously this could be done by something with a smaller relay but I've not found such a device yet.
(I did have something that I cobbled out of 2 battery charger controllers but that sucked)
if anyone wants to manufacture that especially if they add WiFi control for Alexa I'd love them forever.
they could go the extra mile and combine all 3 functions.
then home assistant could switch on the invert based on the price of BTC or the temperature or something truly useful.
How do i connect to switch from battery 1 to battery 2 instead of battery to grid tied?
Mary Alobo my unit came with a marine application option sheet just for that purpose.
Both GRID and INVERTER connect a battery 1 and 2, the load side connects to inverter and gets power from a primary 1 or secondary 2 battery bank and the DC reference voltage is connected to one battery bank to cut off and charge, the other would not have any low voltage cutoff protection, but the unit would switch back once that battery bank is charged.
Not perfect, but usable.
My goal is to be able to plug my solar system in to be charged at a regular house outlet when possible so I don’t have to use my panels to charge if I have a residential power source I want to use it as often as possible. How do I do that? How do I use residential power to charge my system?
Hi, I am installing a EG4 6000xp Inverter in my RV 50 amp system. Why would I need a transfer switch with this inverter? If so, how would you wire it into the system? Haven't found any videos to answer this question. THANKS
I want to duplicate Will's 24v setup using this ATS, but I was also wanting to integrate this (or something like this) ATS with my EcoFlow which has all the components integrated (Controller, inverter, batt.). However this ATS requires a battery voltage monitor (a good thing), but that won't work with my EcoFlow. Still plan to get one though for excess daily solar panel gleaning and some small battery.
What happens when 1 of those 2 poles fail and only 1 pole switches? What happens if the poles arc and weld together? I like it I bought one but it is not hooked up "yet". If the unit is in AC mode and power flickers will the ATS go to DC then back to AC if battery is low what will the pole go back and forth real quick and arc? I am going to use this with HIGH suspicion until I see it is "safe". PEACE!
Im installing 2000 watts of Rich Solar panels on my RV, with a 3000w -24volt AIMS inverter, 60 amp controller, and need a transfer switch that will default to shore power and if there is no shor power then it will run off of the batteries (four 12v wired in series = 48v). can you recommend a transfer switch OR another solution?
Hey man awesome video! I liked it so much I bought the transfer switch through your link. My question to you is, I have an "off grid" solar setup with 400w of panels and 200 amp hours battleborn lithium batteries. I had an electrician come to wire everything and was told I needed a "passthrough inverter". Any idea if I actually need that or how I can get around it? Thanks again man keep up the good work!
If you're using those batteries make sure the charger settings is correct because the batteries will go into flames so please a victron charge controller and set it up for lithium batteries👍🏾
How big is the risk for ... and in witch case would it be ?
"failing on the ATS where both utility and inverter online simultaneously back-feeding the inverter from the utility. Potential results being taking out the inverter creating a potential fire hazard."
The risk is real, not if and it already happened. You should just use this thing as a dummy sensing device. The actual switching muscle should be done by an ABB contactor with an interlock.
It’s quite real. It just back fed my inverter and fried my inverter after working okay for a few months.
I kinda thought this thing seemed janky, but proceeded anyways. Smoke and sparks filled my living room and scared the hell out of me.
I’d pass.
@@RJAZ89 If you need help with ATS + ABB, let me know. Since you had smoke and sparks this means you may be able to repair that inverter. If you have little experience, replacing the burn components and hope for luck. Instead of ABB contactor and this unit, you can get away with a total of about $10.
@@chanplaypool5703 thanks for the reply. I had it apart and the fuses are all blown (understandable) but otherwise I don’t see any crazy damage. It was a smaller and cheaper pure sine inverter that didn’t cost much, so I may solder some new fuses into it and see if it’s good, but I ordered a new inverter for the time being and will be removing this goofy thing from my setup.
Thanks again!
I enjoy attending Will Prowse University Classes. Great job on this. I NEED something like this to reduce the expense of my AC unit running up my electric bill in the summer.
Yes indeed
Mine appears to be defective right out of the box. 120V measured on all 3 pairs of terminals, but as soon as I switch it on, display shows normal operation as expected, but the output terminals in the center drop to 1.6V. I’m returning it for another and then I’ll have to try another device.
Trying to find info on a transfer switch able to handle three inputs. Or adding a second one. I already have a built in generator & transfer switch & would like to add the inverter to the mix. For now I'm plugging shore power to the inverter making sure to shut off the charging circuit. Thanks!
Whats the Max output Load Power from this device ?
If your solar system is with 12V battery, 1500W Inverter
Grid power system is 220V
I have that transfer switch. I put my ground on the case of the inverter.
I have a question. Could you just connect all of the grounds and plug it in to the grid/city? Depending on what you say, I may rewire my setup.
Is ATS synchronous? or is it just a regular ATS that transfers at random moments and doesn't wait for the voltage phase to match?
What if I want to use grid power as per normal and I only want to use the solar power when the grid is down. Would this ATS work if I connect the solar Inverter to the grid terminal and the grid power to the solar terminal?
Fantastic channel. I've just had solar installed in my home that back feeds the grid. Month one I got a $38.00 credit for both gas and electric after all fees. After seeing your episode on the transfer switch I immediately purchased 3 of them to set up some smaller cost saving systems. I'm using 3000 watt Eliminator Inverters from Canadian Tire, and running 12 volt system with a good quality controller and Li Batteries. Ive got the batteries set at factory setting on the transfer switch and it works great but eventually the inverter alarm goes off. i assumed the inverter would switch off when it goes to grid. What am i missing.
Can anyone help a beginner? Just trying to understand the load fitting on the device. If you can run appliances via the load input, what's the reason for the inverter input?
What if this is attached to a tie inverter?
I checked Amazon and read the negative comments. These were posted by electricians and engineers. Apparently there are two relays inside this unit and if one of them fails , it can feed grid voltage to your inverter and fry your inverter. They should be ganged together making it impossible to feed grid power back to the inverter. They said it was a dangerous device.
When you have a dual system in your house , you usually have to manually switch between grid and solar. There is a safety lock making it impossible to accidently turn on grid power and inverter power at the same time.
This auto switch can fail and there is nothing preventing the grid current from feeding backwards to your inverter.
What about a breaker on tbe inverter side so it would trip if grid power came through? Would that work?
@@daveyboy8907 I don't know how that would work. Since the inverter is supplying AC you can't use directional diodes. What kind of switch would sense the direction of power flow ?
I see another video to protects inverters from over currents.
You would us a 100% duty cycle breaker. or a fast acting fuse.
This is assuming that if the grid power got shunted to your inverter it would create a high current , the same as if you shorted the inverter output like the guy in the video.
You can also use a quick acting fuse. Or two fuses one on each line.
Don't really know if that would work without testing it out and frying an inverter.
Maybe you can find out about this somewhere on line ? I would be interested to know.
@@daveyboy8907Might also want a breaker/fuse on the grid leg in case grid goes down while sun is powering inverter and somehow an internal malfunction causes that power to backfeed the grid
@@jeffbguarino I will do some testing I have a old cheap inverter I could sacrifice .lol
I want to build a system to run my mini split, water heater and kitchen. Last winter we went 20 hours no power at 16 degrees. Thankfully I have a generator, but I want a system to charge up from the gris on off peak hours. I am in NW Oregon, solar not so hot. Eventually I do want to add panels.
What about an auto system for solar/grid/generator? I'm trying to design a system for an rv where if battery voltage gets low the generator will auto start to bring up the voltage
Can you just connect your whole house to that system? Or you need another set of wires in your entire house?