Power Centers, multiple inverters [RE-wrenches]

[Roy Butler, Four Winds RE]

Hi Allan,
    I agree with what the others said about the stacked SW inverters. And
add this....I've had 2 stacked SW4024s and 2 stacked SW5548s working since
'99 with no problems...all with grid backup/ battery charging.
Warning....some of the settings are trickier to tweak due to the dual
nature of the system, but otherwise not a problem. You CAN use both
chargers....I have them turned down to the point where the 2 share the
work, instead of putting all the stress on 1.
    I followed Trace's suggestion of offsetting the bulk charge voltages by
.2 volts and it worked fine....one inverter shuts down first and the 2nd
follows shortly thereafter. This eliminates cycling between the 2.
    As for running 3 inverters....I've had one of those systems up and
running since the summer of '99. Works good....we jumped thru the hoops to
zone (re-wire) the existing house, but since you're doing this in new
construction, piece of cake! We put a 2nd battery bank in for the 3rd
inverter while we were at it (mostly because the 3rd inverter was an add-on
to an existing system). And we connected lighting, ceiling fans, seldom
used outlets and other non-critical loads to the 3rd inverter....so far, so
good.
    Bottom line...go for it! I totally agree with your philosophy of
keeping it simple.....and understand your reservations regarding a complex
system like this, but it really does work!
    FYI...we didn't use a power center, although in retrospect, that
probably would have been a lot easier to wire!
Roy Butler
Four Winds
Arkport, NY
www.four-winds-energy.com

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