[RE-wrenches] Sol-Ark 15K AC Output

[Jason Szumlanski]

Hi Dave,

XW inverters do a decent job of explaining generator support mode where
small generators can be supplemented by inverter power to start up large
loads. I believe several other brands can do this, and I believe Sol-Ark is
one of them. But front line customer service wasn't really up to speed when
I contacted them recently. I can't say for certain if it is supported by
Sol-Ark, but it clearly is by Schneider and has always been partnof the XW
family as far as I recall.

As for the continuous ampacity adjustment, I'm not sure if that is
necessary. That would be more a function of the load rather than the
supply. We don't upside 200A utility service conductors that way (in fact,
there is an allowance for downsizing).

Jason



On Tue, Mar 26, 2024, 9:08 PM Dave Tedeyan <dave at sungineersolar.com> wrote:

> I may be wrong, but I was under the impression that most inverter/chargers
> are either being an inverter or a charger at any given time, but not both.
> So, once the inverter sees the AC voltage from the generator, then it will
> switch to being a charger and use the generator AC power to charge the
> batteries and run the loads. So it will never be passing through generator
> power and supplying power from the batteries/PV at the same time. I would
> think that with a call to Sol-Ark you should be able to verify this for
> sure, unless someone else here can verify.
>
> But also, I would size the conductors for 1.25 * available amps, since it
> could be continuous. So you might be able to get away with 62.5 * 4 * 1.25
> = 313A rated conductors.
>
> Cheers,
> Dave
>
> On Tue, Mar 26, 2024 at 5:28 PM Jason Szumlanski via RE-wrenches <
> re-wrenches at lists.re-wrenches.org> wrote:
>
>> I am going to have a quad-stack of Sol-Ark 15K for an off-grid 120/240V
>> system with a 150A generator. I know the max real power is 62.5A each
>> inverter including battery and PV. That would be 62.5A x 4 = 250A total. I
>> intend to connect the output of the 4 inverters together with a 5-port
>> Polaris tap, with the output of the Polaris Tap going to a 400A main lug
>> only panelboard.
>>
>> My question revolves around the 200A passthrough capability for the
>> generator, which is 150A max output and would be connected to the Grid
>> input on each inverter. Since each inverter would need to handle the full
>> pass-through current, that would require minimum 150A conductors on the
>> input side of each inverter. I am under the impression that the inverters
>> can supplement the "grid" or generator in this case if the current exceeds
>> the available input. That means the inverter would have 150A of input plus
>> 62.5A  of inverter power for a total of 212.5A. But there is a 200A load
>> OCPD, so I could size the load conductors from each inverter for 200A.
>>
>> Obviously the 4 inverters can only pass through 150A from the generator
>> in total, which would probably be split among them, but could go through a
>> single unit if the rest fail.
>>
>> Now, is it possible for each inverter to output 62.5A each PLUS 150A of
>> generator power spread across them for a total of 400A? That is important
>> because I would need to size the combined output conductors for 400A if
>> that is the case.
>>
>> I guess I'm not clear on how Sol-Ark 15K handles grid/generator
>> assist/supplement. It does not seem to be documented clearly.
>>
>> Jason Szumlanski
>> Florida Solar Design Group
>>
>>
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> --
> [image: Logo] <https://www.sungineersolar.com/>
> Dave Tedeyan, P.E.
> Owner | Sungineer Solar
> p: he | him | his
> a: 1653 Slaterville Rd. | Ithaca, NY 14850
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