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I built a tiny solar "generator" on the cheap. I only have four 100W panels, a 20A controller, about 200 AH @ 24V of battery storage, and a 4000W PJ inverter. I am planning on bringing in 115V over 12 AWG copper wire to a 20A breaker in a little distribution box. That circuit would power one 15A duplex wall receptacle.
FWIW, if you're running the cable anyway, i'd go ahead and run the second lug for 240v. Minimal extra effort, and you can potentially feed it to your main panel later when you have a bigger system.
My thought is to put in a small dedicated distribution box just a short run away from my inverter. The house distribution panel is another 100 feet away, and I'm not sure I will ever upgrade to the point of powering the whole house. For instance, my 4 panels fill the bottom roof of a backyard shed. I think I will be happy with a small renewable energy system that functions as an emergency power option.
One thing about small solar installations... they inevitably turn into big installations 🙂
One thing about small solar installations... they inevitably turn into big installations 🙂
Time will tell, but my immediate goal is to power essentials in the house for 5 hours. PG&E is offering credits if I can reduce grid power usage during specific critical days this summer, from 4PM to 9 PM.