Word of warning on the wire trough sizing. the current 12k model extends out a bit more and 8x8 is no longer suitable. I had to put some standoffs and it still wasn't enough. I'd say 12x12 would be comfortable now.
Great job Ben, Sure hope you follow through with a full video showing complete installation from start to finish on one of these. I was really hoping that you would video your entire process but it might be better if you can film one from start to finish on another install down the road. If possible, please explain what the acronyms mean you discuss so those of us who are ignorant get a grasp on what you are alluding to, if you can. Was looking for a little bit more but I know you have an agenda to meet.
Hi Ben, just got one of these inverters. Been thru 3 pieces of junk in the past 2 months and I'd had it. Should have ponied up the cash up front. Looking forward to the other videos in this series.
Nice video mate, cheers. We have been using the solark 8k for a year offgrid, with a gen on the AC and smartload on the gen and it has been really great. We just lost the setup in the cali fires, So looking forward to setting up again with a 12k.
Oh no! I hope everyone's ok and you get back up and running soon! Smart load was a great addition to the last house we worked on. In Vermont, we have to oversize the PV significantly to account for winter production, so all that power would go to waste in the summer otherwise.
@@benssolarandbattery Yes, We really liked it and could see more opportunities to use in the future. Things like pumping water up high, to give us good supply even if the electricity is down. One issue I had with mine was load balancing betwwen various sources, be interested if you may talk about that if you do any future videos on a similar area.
Ben, I'm really enjoying your videos and DavidPoz's as well. I am still learning all about this stuff, but I think I want essentially what you have with grid, batteries, and solar and the ability to use them any way you want (off peak charging, power during grid outage, etc.). I am struggling to understand the big picture (but your videos really help with that). Do you have a diagram of your wiring you can share? I'm trying to figure out if I need two inverters and how to connect them.
heya oke that is nice so with that inverter you can also feet back to the grid because that's what I want to do, as here in Holland it's 1 to 1 ( I pay 9 cent/Kwh for getting power from the grid but I also get 9 cent/Kwh wen I give back to the grid). the only 1 thing is you still have to pay for the transport though the cable, that's why I want to have batteries (with my solar panels 3.2 KW) withes will be first to be vilt to 100% before giving back to the grid. I calculted that I need about 9 KWh a day and I want to be able to run my house for 1 week if there wouldn't be any sun to power the batteries up again so 7x9=63KWH for the battery pack
Yes I will be using an outback charge controller for charging lithium ion cells, actually with this nighttime system I prefer not to sell back to the grid! Day time as on now all solar panels are grid tied (over 14,000 watts), 4 inverters, 7 micro inverters.
one question as you have installed parallel sol-arc 12s. If there is a residential system with the main disconnect and solar pv ac disconnect on the outside next to each other and on the other side is the dc disconnect and the tigo rapid disconnect switches. please confirm that the pv ac disconnect is connected to the main service panel on top and to the sol-arc 12 on the out side after the wires run from the sol-arc to combiner critical load box and then to the pv ac combiner. If not how will it be runned from the inside? Thanks. Also if there is a grid combiner ( there is a standby gen connected to the sol-arc 12 also) what is the function of a grid combiner and its connections and what type of panel is used? Thanks. I can be a pain.
Interesting approach with the setup. I have my LOAD breaker acting as a critical load option so that when power goes out it powers a dedicated panel of select circuits and the GRID breaker via the CT clamps handles 'powering' the overall house the rest of the time. I've only setup one of these units so I am looking fwd. to your setup settings. I noticed a few nuances with the 'grid setting' options and I am curios if you also encounter them. BTW there is a supporting website to pull up your data and manage the unit settings: esem.cc/login (user your app. login / pw).
Hey Ben, I wanted to know what that little box is called that is line taped and what kind of breaker to use. I have an outdoor 12k Sol ark and a double pole breaker in my main panel. Thanks for your help.
Just wanted to let everyone know; the "newer style" i.e. outdoor rated Sol-ark requires a 10x10 wire way if you'd like straight conduit connections. Ask me how I know 😒😅😅😅
Great walk-through! If you have a pair of the 12k inverters installed can you join the two load outputs (feeding the house) into one sub panel with two 60 amp 2-pole breakers? Would this increase effective output to 120 amps available for household use?
Thanks Jeff! You can either do it that way or combine the 2 outputs in a wireway and feed the panel directly with 125a rated wire. The extra 60a breakers wouldn't be needed for that scenario. (Make sure your panel is rated for it)
@@jrtronrud no, because the inverters are paralleled. You're essentially using tap rules. But if one shuts down, the other will too so they're basically one inverter. They do have their own ocpd built in so this works well.
You said you are now limited to a 50amp service. Are you talking about only when the grid is down. I want to hook up a Sol Ark as a supplement/backup supply. I would still use the grid, just a smaller bill. I have a 200 amp panel and at times may require 20,000kw. Can I do that with the Sol Ark as long as the grid is on and I have a critical loads panel that omits all the 240V appliances? Thanks
Bill, the way I have mine wired currently is with the entire house running through the Sol-Ark. I wouldn't suggest this as you would be limited to 50a (or 63a with the newer 12k). You could most definitely run a protected loads panel off it with your large loads in a main panel. You can also add the Sol-Ark CTs to your main panel to run in Grid Zero mode, which will factor in your whole house usage even if there's just a sub panel off the Sol-Ark. The other way to do it is to use an Auto Transfer Switch on your main panel and use the Sol-Ark load output as the generator input on the Transfer switch, thus backing up your whole house in the event of an outage, but still allowing your 200a service during normal operation. Many ways to skin the cat!
Hey Ben, I had a couple questions with the limited to home and time of use settings. If I understand it correctly, these settings can prioritize pv and battery energy and use the grid to fill in if loads are too big or battery/pv too low? Is that correct? Also, if this is the case, could I bypass the need for a critical loads panel? So if the grid goes down, under the limited to home setup, the sol-ark would be supplying the main home panel and I'd just need to consciously manage the loads instead of relying on a critical loads panel to manage select loads for me? If all this is the case, would I just wire the ac in/out breaker from the sol-ark to a 50amp breaker in my main house panel (also wiring the ct sensors to the main lines) and that's all that would need to be wired on the ac side of things?
So you can run your entire house through it, but you'd be limited to a 50a (or 63a depending on the model) service to your house. The limited to home feature uses CTs on your mains to allow the Sol-Ark to compensate for all of the usage by your house, including the main (non backed up) panel and the protected loads panel. In the event of an outage, the main panel will go down and only the protected loads panel will be powered. This is to keep power from backfeeding the grid. I'm currently (and have been for at least 6 months) running my entire house through the Sol-Ark with a 50a breaker with no issues. Most houses really don't require a 200a or even a 100a service. Some do, but most don't.
To complete my request. I’m hooking up additional 6000 watts of panels to my 8000 watt 48vdc Radian inverter, I want to charge my battery bank (60 kWh) during the day and use that storage only at night. My other panels cover my daytime use, but this year I want to set up my battery storage system! Can you make any suggestions from your point of view on how you would do that?
Will you be using a charge controller (or 2) or a separate grid tie inverter AC coupled with the Radian? The Radian does have a Grid 0 feature which will sell excess power once the battery is fully charged, and only buy grid power when it's discharged to your set point.
Does anyone know if this can be used with only Battery and AC coupling only? My house already has microinverter system and I don't want to sell back to utility so I only want to use battery and AC to charge or discharge with current limiter. Thanks.
Not directly. That's an equipment grounding conductor. The grounding electrode conductor that runs to ground rods is in the main panel where the ground and neutral are bonded.
Heya. I just came over from David's channel and you said your Sol-Ark couldn't handle just the air compressor? I ask because I am using a 4.4 kw split (2.2kw on each rail) and I can run my air compressor on one rail and AC on the other with no problem (or each one alone) I just don't see why a system that is rated at 3x as much output would have such a problem. PS, my air compressor isn't 'small' lolol, it isn't one of the monster 15hp ones either of course, but my 10hp shop vac doesn't give my system any problems either. PS, I have one of the OLDER MagnaSine 4448's :) Love how it has performed.
The first time I tried the compressor, it wouldn't start. Then when David was here, it worked fine. Go figure. The chatter I've been hearing about Sol-Ark is that it doesn't like heavy inductive 120v loads, which I saw once. 240v it has no issue with whatsoever, and most of my heavy loads are 240v. It will run my 5500w electric dryer without a problem.
@@benssolarandbattery Hey Ben, what does the MC stand for. Is this what I should be looking for... www.wireandcableyourway.com/6-3c-thhn-pvc-tray-cable-with-ground.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMInvWipueT6wIVkIbACh0Q4wk4EAQYAiABEgK6-PD_BwE
@@HomesteadingintheForest MC stands for "metal clad". I only used it because I had some laying around. You can technically use Romex for the AC side of things, just need MC for any DC solar circuits.
@@HomesteadingintheForest if you're running 6/3 MC, #6 should be fine based on temp ratings (75c-90c). Romex conductors need to be sized based on the 60c column, or 55a, which can be rounded up to 60a. There are 63a breakers in the Sol-Ark, but as long as you use 60a breakers for your feed, 6/3 romex would be fine too.
Hey Ben, I assume you can't hear it, but I'm having an issue with my Sol-Ark 12kw inverter where it sends out an ear piercing tone at 15 kHz. It's very present in this video, but I'm wondering if there's a way to get rid of it that you know of. So far every Sol-Ark 12k inverter has it that I've seen running on the internet, including Sol-Ark's own demo video.
Mark, I can definitely hear it while standing near the inverter. I don't know any way of getting rid of the noise other than locating the inverter away from living space. I have mine in the basement below my living room and can't hear it at all upstairs. It's an unfinished portion of the basement as well, with no insulation or sound barriers above it.
@@benssolarandbattery Thanks for the reply! Mine is installed in my garage, and unfortunately I spend a lot of time out there. It also seems to cause every device in my house with an inverter (computer power supply) to make the exact same noise when the inverter is running. I'm losing my mind at this point, but I don't think there's any solution other than trashing the inverter and replacing it.
i want every wire hid behind the wall. other than the sol-ark itself i don't want anything to be seen. but i can't get anyone to put it in until the house if finished and lived in. i don't even want to go onto the grid i just want the option to go on grid if i need to. but everyone wants me to have at least 2 months worth of bills to show them. so once i get in my house sheet rock up and painted nothing will go in the house. i will just live on grid. until i build my shop then who knows.
Actually, my unit is 50/63/40. I just installed 2 newer 12k's last week that had 63/63/50. They're constantly working to make things better by the looks of it.
I am not an engineer, but I don't think you are playing it sake. remove all the load you want to be powered by the solar to a different panel. it is a safety issue. this would ensure that the grid power does not have a chance to come into contact with your electric utility power.
To many videos on sol ark installs that have so many electrical codes violations. You can't have dc wires in same trough with ac wires. 😒 you can't use 3/4 emt conduit with more then 2 sets of 4awg wire.... your missing few insulation bushings on your fittings. Lot more violations... This video should be taken down .
@@benssolarandbattery Yes. Sol ark 12k manual states on page 5(feb 2021 version) all ac wires should be 4awg wire. Emt conduit. Cant have more then 2 4awg wires. link below on chart essentracontent.com/assets/uploads/images/Table-Cable-Conduit_1.jpg
Electrical code does vary based on what year your state adapts the NEC book. Only 4 states have pretty much free rain. link below. files.esfi.org/file/Full-Sized-Adoption-Map-July-2021-5DFB.pdf installation bushing are required 4awg and larger. Now my bad as I watch few video at same time so I have mixed up my comment for engineer775 video on sol ark 12k which he didn't use any insulation bushing! 2014- 2020 Code updated Language . If your state is Nec 2011 and below your fine. 690.31(B) Identification and Grouping. PV source circuits and PV output circuits shall not be contained in the same raceway, cable tray, cable, outlet box, junction box, or similar fitting as conductors, feeders, branch circuits of other non-PV systems, or inverter output circuits, unless the conductors of the different systems are separated by a partition. This rule also applies to inverter output circuits. So you would need to a partition from your output inverter circuits and your solar dc incoming circuit. Example link on a violation picture mixing inverter ac output with your PV DC circuits . Which you can see the Yellow line > DC Circuit run in same trough with AC inverter output circuit in red. www.electricallicenserenewal.com/Electrical-Continuing-Education-Courses/graphics/sectionPics/large/qid177.jpg
Honestly, I was not expecting a response to that! Awesome! I will say that when I installed my inverter, they only required 6awg wires for the input and output, so I'm good there. They have since changed the manual once they went with 63a for grid and load breakers. As far as DC circuits with AC, I believe its allowed except for PV source circuits. Can't find anything saying low voltage battery cables aren't allowed in the same wireway as AC circuits as long as the insulation is rated for it. I am guilty of this violation with the PV source circuit and I know it. That being said, do you happen to be looking for work? We are always looking for good people!
I agree, Jacqueline. I really want to see a fully code compliant installation example/video, perhaps from Sol-Ark directly. While the wireway idea looks nice and works well in principle, separation is impossible. I think the best compliant way to do this is either two wireways or a trough for AC and conduit for DC (or vice versa). Multi-inverter installations present special challenges. The other thing I see often is deep battery cabinets directly below shallower inverters, violating working space requirements. Manufacturers of inverters are not helping us much with practical solutions to these code issues.
Word of warning on the wire trough sizing. the current 12k model extends out a bit more and 8x8 is no longer suitable. I had to put some standoffs and it still wasn't enough. I'd say 12x12 would be comfortable now.
Thanks for bringing that up! The original 12k that I have is good with 8x8, but they did extend it out for the 3r version.
@@benssolarandbattery a 10x10 gutter works perfect. yesterday the supply house didnt have any so i had to use a 12 and it was so overkill lol.
I need installers that do these inverters in California
Great job Ben,
Sure hope you follow through with a full video showing complete installation from start to finish on one of these. I was really hoping that you would video your entire process but it might be better if you can film one from start to finish on another install down the road. If possible, please explain what the acronyms mean you discuss so those of us who are ignorant get a grasp on what you are alluding to, if you can. Was looking for a little bit more but I know you have an agenda to meet.
Hi Ben, just got one of these inverters. Been thru 3 pieces of junk in the past 2 months and I'd had it. Should have ponied up the cash up front. Looking forward to the other videos in this series.
They are made in China.
Cool love the video Sir 😊👍
Nice video mate, cheers. We have been using the solark 8k for a year offgrid, with a gen on the AC and smartload on the gen and it has been really great.
We just lost the setup in the cali fires, So looking forward to setting up again with a 12k.
Oh no! I hope everyone's ok and you get back up and running soon! Smart load was a great addition to the last house we worked on. In Vermont, we have to oversize the PV significantly to account for winter production, so all that power would go to waste in the summer otherwise.
@@benssolarandbattery Yes, We really liked it and could see more opportunities to use in the future. Things like pumping water up high, to give us good supply even if the electricity is down. One issue I had with mine was load balancing betwwen various sources, be interested if you may talk about that if you do any future videos on a similar area.
Great video!
Ben, I'm really enjoying your videos and DavidPoz's as well. I am still learning all about this stuff, but I think I want essentially what you have with grid, batteries, and solar and the ability to use them any way you want (off peak charging, power during grid outage, etc.). I am struggling to understand the big picture (but your videos really help with that). Do you have a diagram of your wiring you can share? I'm trying to figure out if I need two inverters and how to connect them.
heya oke that is nice so with that inverter you can also feet back to the grid because that's what I want to do, as here in Holland it's 1 to 1 ( I pay 9 cent/Kwh for getting power from the grid but I also get 9 cent/Kwh wen I give back to the grid). the only 1 thing is you still have to pay for the transport though the cable, that's why I want to have batteries (with my solar panels 3.2 KW) withes will be first to be vilt to 100% before giving back to the grid. I calculted that I need about 9 KWh a day and I want to be able to run my house for 1 week if there wouldn't be any sun to power the batteries up again so 7x9=63KWH for the battery pack
I have a project when we return to North Dakota of installing another 6600 watts of solar panels to my Outback Redian
Yes I will be using an outback charge controller for charging lithium ion cells, actually with this nighttime system I prefer not to sell back to the grid! Day time as on now all solar panels are grid tied (over 14,000 watts), 4 inverters, 7 micro inverters.
That works too. Might as well just keep the grid out of this one altogether, that way it can't get any surges from the grid.
one question as you have installed parallel sol-arc 12s. If there is a residential system with the main disconnect and solar pv ac disconnect on the outside next to each other and on the other side is the dc disconnect and the tigo rapid disconnect switches. please confirm that the pv ac disconnect is connected to the main service panel on top and to the sol-arc 12 on the out side after the wires run from the sol-arc to combiner critical load box and then to the pv ac combiner. If not how will it be runned from the inside? Thanks. Also if there is a grid combiner ( there is a standby gen connected to the sol-arc 12 also) what is the function of a grid combiner and its connections and what type of panel is used?
Thanks. I can be a pain.
Interesting approach with the setup. I have my LOAD breaker acting as a critical load option so that when power goes out it powers a dedicated panel of select circuits and the GRID breaker via the CT clamps handles 'powering' the overall house the rest of the time. I've only setup one of these units so I am looking fwd. to your setup settings. I noticed a few nuances with the 'grid setting' options and I am curios if you also encounter them. BTW there is a supporting website to pull up your data and manage the unit settings: esem.cc/login (user your app. login / pw).
Hey Ben, I wanted to know what that little box is called that is line taped and what kind of breaker to use. I have an outdoor 12k Sol ark and a double pole breaker in my main panel. Thanks for your help.
Free to me, I love that type of pricing model
I would like to see the off grid setup with generator .
Thanks!
Where do you get your wire ways I need some
Just wanted to let everyone know; the "newer style" i.e. outdoor rated Sol-ark requires a 10x10 wire way if you'd like straight conduit connections.
Ask me how I know 😒😅😅😅
Great walk-through! If you have a pair of the 12k inverters installed can you join the two load outputs (feeding the house) into one sub panel with two 60 amp 2-pole breakers? Would this increase effective output to 120 amps available for household use?
Thanks Jeff! You can either do it that way or combine the 2 outputs in a wireway and feed the panel directly with 125a rated wire. The extra 60a breakers wouldn't be needed for that scenario. (Make sure your panel is rated for it)
@@benssolarandbattery Good call that would be cheaper. This wouldn't cause any back flow power issues combining wires or breakers in one panel?
@@jrtronrud no, because the inverters are paralleled. You're essentially using tap rules. But if one shuts down, the other will too so they're basically one inverter. They do have their own ocpd built in so this works well.
You know what you should do? Include some of the Book of Shame entries in these videos.
Great yob Ben!
Red tape is my book of shame reminder...😪
You said you are now limited to a 50amp service. Are you talking about only when the grid is down. I want to hook up a Sol Ark as a supplement/backup supply. I would still use the grid, just a smaller bill. I have a 200 amp panel and at times may require 20,000kw. Can I do that with the Sol Ark as long as the grid is on and I have a critical loads panel that omits all the 240V appliances? Thanks
Bill, the way I have mine wired currently is with the entire house running through the Sol-Ark. I wouldn't suggest this as you would be limited to 50a (or 63a with the newer 12k).
You could most definitely run a protected loads panel off it with your large loads in a main panel. You can also add the Sol-Ark CTs to your main panel to run in Grid Zero mode, which will factor in your whole house usage even if there's just a sub panel off the Sol-Ark. The other way to do it is to use an Auto Transfer Switch on your main panel and use the Sol-Ark load output as the generator input on the Transfer switch, thus backing up your whole house in the event of an outage, but still allowing your 200a service during normal operation. Many ways to skin the cat!
Hey Ben, I had a couple questions with the limited to home and time of use settings. If I understand it correctly, these settings can prioritize pv and battery energy and use the grid to fill in if loads are too big or battery/pv too low? Is that correct? Also, if this is the case, could I bypass the need for a critical loads panel? So if the grid goes down, under the limited to home setup, the sol-ark would be supplying the main home panel and I'd just need to consciously manage the loads instead of relying on a critical loads panel to manage select loads for me? If all this is the case, would I just wire the ac in/out breaker from the sol-ark to a 50amp breaker in my main house panel (also wiring the ct sensors to the main lines) and that's all that would need to be wired on the ac side of things?
So you can run your entire house through it, but you'd be limited to a 50a (or 63a depending on the model) service to your house. The limited to home feature uses CTs on your mains to allow the Sol-Ark to compensate for all of the usage by your house, including the main (non backed up) panel and the protected loads panel. In the event of an outage, the main panel will go down and only the protected loads panel will be powered. This is to keep power from backfeeding the grid.
I'm currently (and have been for at least 6 months) running my entire house through the Sol-Ark with a 50a breaker with no issues. Most houses really don't require a 200a or even a 100a service. Some do, but most don't.
@@benssolarandbattery Thanks Ben!
To complete my request. I’m hooking up additional 6000 watts of panels to my 8000 watt 48vdc Radian inverter, I want to charge my battery bank (60 kWh) during the day and use that storage only at night. My other panels cover my daytime use, but this year I want to set up my battery storage system! Can you make any suggestions from your point of view on how you would do that?
Will you be using a charge controller (or 2) or a separate grid tie inverter AC coupled with the Radian? The Radian does have a Grid 0 feature which will sell excess power once the battery is fully charged, and only buy grid power when it's discharged to your set point.
Does anyone know if this can be used with only Battery and AC coupling only? My house already has microinverter system and I don't want to sell back to utility so I only want to use battery and AC to charge or discharge with current limiter. Thanks.
Yes, it can.
Nice video! Do you use a CAN-supported BMS for your DIY batteries with Sol-Ark?
No, I'm using Daly BMS's with no communication. I had those in place before I went with the Sol-Ark so it seemed overly complicated to change it now.
Inside the solark, does that bare copper wire run directly to a grounding rod?
Not directly. That's an equipment grounding conductor. The grounding electrode conductor that runs to ground rods is in the main panel where the ground and neutral are bonded.
Heya. I just came over from David's channel and you said your Sol-Ark couldn't handle just the air compressor? I ask because I am using a 4.4 kw split (2.2kw on each rail) and I can run my air compressor on one rail and AC on the other with no problem (or each one alone) I just don't see why a system that is rated at 3x as much output would have such a problem. PS, my air compressor isn't 'small' lolol, it isn't one of the monster 15hp ones either of course, but my 10hp shop vac doesn't give my system any problems either.
PS, I have one of the OLDER MagnaSine 4448's :) Love how it has performed.
The first time I tried the compressor, it wouldn't start. Then when David was here, it worked fine. Go figure. The chatter I've been hearing about Sol-Ark is that it doesn't like heavy inductive 120v loads, which I saw once. 240v it has no issue with whatsoever, and most of my heavy loads are 240v. It will run my 5500w electric dryer without a problem.
Great video and setup! Are you using MTW for the #6 as well? Or is that THHN?
The #6 is THHN. Its 6/3 MC.
@@benssolarandbattery Hey Ben, what does the MC stand for. Is this what I should be looking for... www.wireandcableyourway.com/6-3c-thhn-pvc-tray-cable-with-ground.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMInvWipueT6wIVkIbACh0Q4wk4EAQYAiABEgK6-PD_BwE
@@HomesteadingintheForest MC stands for "metal clad". I only used it because I had some laying around. You can technically use Romex for the AC side of things, just need MC for any DC solar circuits.
@@benssolarandbattery Is #6 sufficient for a 25 foot run to the main panel or should I opt for #4 AWG?
@@HomesteadingintheForest if you're running 6/3 MC, #6 should be fine based on temp ratings (75c-90c).
Romex conductors need to be sized based on the 60c column, or 55a, which can be rounded up to 60a. There are 63a breakers in the Sol-Ark, but as long as you use 60a breakers for your feed, 6/3 romex would be fine too.
Hey Ben, I assume you can't hear it, but I'm having an issue with my Sol-Ark 12kw inverter where it sends out an ear piercing tone at 15 kHz. It's very present in this video, but I'm wondering if there's a way to get rid of it that you know of. So far every Sol-Ark 12k inverter has it that I've seen running on the internet, including Sol-Ark's own demo video.
Mark, I can definitely hear it while standing near the inverter. I don't know any way of getting rid of the noise other than locating the inverter away from living space. I have mine in the basement below my living room and can't hear it at all upstairs. It's an unfinished portion of the basement as well, with no insulation or sound barriers above it.
@@benssolarandbattery Thanks for the reply! Mine is installed in my garage, and unfortunately I spend a lot of time out there. It also seems to cause every device in my house with an inverter (computer power supply) to make the exact same noise when the inverter is running. I'm losing my mind at this point, but I don't think there's any solution other than trashing the inverter and replacing it.
Wall it off in the garage.
i want every wire hid behind the wall. other than the sol-ark itself i don't want anything to be seen. but i can't get anyone to put it in until the house if finished and lived in. i don't even want to go onto the grid i just want the option to go on grid if i need to. but everyone wants me to have at least 2 months worth of bills to show them. so once i get in my house sheet rock up and painted nothing will go in the house. i will just live on grid. until i build my shop then who knows.
Why did you say 63amp for load and grid breaker ? It’s only 50. 50/50/40 in that order. Only 33 continuous off grid
Actually, my unit is 50/63/40.
I just installed 2 newer 12k's last week that had 63/63/50.
They're constantly working to make things better by the looks of it.
Can this unit be AC coupled & grid tied?
Yes, both.
@@benssolarandbattery Are you available for consulting? I’m working on two systems and in your videos you referenced having worked on both.
are all these permitted?
With the utility, yes. Single family residential doesn't need electrical permits in Vermont.
Love it brother. That is sexy!! God Bless.
This didn't show the install... this is a post install video...
Yeah sorry about that. It's super time consuming to film every bit of it, I'm not quite sure how DavidPoz does it!
I am not an engineer, but I don't think you are playing it sake. remove all the load you want to be powered by the solar to a different panel. it is a safety issue. this would ensure that the grid power does not have a chance to come into contact with your electric utility power.
I have installed an interlock to make sure this isn't possible.
Can you show us the interlock setup? I want to wire from the solark loads input/output directly to my main panel
To many videos on sol ark installs that have so many electrical codes violations. You can't have dc wires in same trough with ac wires. 😒 you can't use 3/4 emt conduit with more then 2 sets of 4awg wire.... your missing few insulation bushings on your fittings. Lot more violations... This video should be taken down .
Thanks for watching. Are you a licensed electrician?
@@benssolarandbattery Yes.
Sol ark 12k manual states on page 5(feb 2021 version) all ac wires should be 4awg wire. Emt conduit. Cant have more then 2 4awg wires. link below on chart
essentracontent.com/assets/uploads/images/Table-Cable-Conduit_1.jpg
Electrical code does vary based on what year your state adapts the NEC book. Only 4 states have pretty much free rain. link below.
files.esfi.org/file/Full-Sized-Adoption-Map-July-2021-5DFB.pdf
installation bushing are required 4awg and larger. Now my bad as I watch few video at same time so I have mixed up my comment for engineer775 video on sol ark 12k which he didn't use any insulation bushing!
2014- 2020 Code updated Language . If your state is Nec 2011 and below your fine.
690.31(B) Identification and Grouping. PV source circuits and PV output circuits shall not be contained in the same raceway, cable tray, cable, outlet box, junction box, or similar fitting as conductors, feeders, branch circuits of other non-PV systems, or inverter output circuits, unless the conductors of the different systems are separated by a partition. This rule also applies to inverter output circuits. So you would need to a partition from your output inverter circuits and your solar dc incoming circuit.
Example link on a violation picture mixing inverter ac output with your PV DC circuits . Which you can see the Yellow line > DC Circuit run in same trough with AC inverter output circuit in red. www.electricallicenserenewal.com/Electrical-Continuing-Education-Courses/graphics/sectionPics/large/qid177.jpg
Honestly, I was not expecting a response to that! Awesome!
I will say that when I installed my inverter, they only required 6awg wires for the input and output, so I'm good there. They have since changed the manual once they went with 63a for grid and load breakers.
As far as DC circuits with AC, I believe its allowed except for PV source circuits. Can't find anything saying low voltage battery cables aren't allowed in the same wireway as AC circuits as long as the insulation is rated for it. I am guilty of this violation with the PV source circuit and I know it.
That being said, do you happen to be looking for work? We are always looking for good people!
I agree, Jacqueline. I really want to see a fully code compliant installation example/video, perhaps from Sol-Ark directly. While the wireway idea looks nice and works well in principle, separation is impossible. I think the best compliant way to do this is either two wireways or a trough for AC and conduit for DC (or vice versa). Multi-inverter installations present special challenges.
The other thing I see often is deep battery cabinets directly below shallower inverters, violating working space requirements. Manufacturers of inverters are not helping us much with practical solutions to these code issues.