[RE-wrenches] Grid-Connect Inverter with battery, AND auto backoff?

[David Palumbo]

Troy,
We have designed and installed grid connected net metered PV systems with
battery back up for grid outages using OutBack, Xantrex and with
SunnyIsland/SunnyBoy. The OutBack install was in fact a whole house UPS
system with two OB VFX 3648's powering an efficient home with a "Smart"
homeowner who knows how to manage the loads in his house. Of course that
could change in the future, but for the last three years it has worked very
well. The XW and the Sunny Island systems were designed and installed with
critical loads sub panels as recommended by SMA, OutBack, and Xantrex. This
is the way to go for all but a handful of homeowners for obvious reasons. I
have not worked with smart inverter systems that shed loads, but I would
think that the technology is possible but not necessarily practical or cost
effective when compared to a simple sub panel with critical loads.

Dave

David Palumbo, President
Independent Power LLC
462 Solar Way Drive
Hyde Park, VT 05655
NABCEP Certified
www.independentpowerllc.com 



<< Hi folks,

I need an inverter/charger/controller solution for a grid connect  
house that:
1. grid-connects (net-meters)
2. Islands off of the battery in outages (whole house UPS)
3. Feeds into the whole house breaker, so the whole house is backed up
4. Shuts down less important breakers as needed, if the load for the  
whole house is over the inverter limit

Instead of guessing which breakers are important to put on a battery  
backed up sub-panel, my client would like the whole house backed up.  
But of course, can't guarantee that the house won't be drawing too  
much for a 6000 Watt inverter at any given time. So would like to have  
the system intelligently remove less important breakers until the  
system is below the inverter operation wattage.

Anyone know of a inverter system that is smart like that?

Troy Harvey
---------------------
Heliocentric
801-453-9434
taharvey at heliocentric.org >>