Pre-Order Discussions

November 22, 2022:

• I believe honesty is the best medicine...Sean and I got pretty cross with the factory last night.  They are definitely aware that we are not happy about the delays.
  • I'm still waiting for photos of the PCBs.
• They're still saying that the inverters should be done the first week of December.

Sound like a broken record .   Maybe the worker  go on strike  because the assembly is too stressful .   Have the parts send to you and you do the assembly faster .  

On 8/23/2022 at 10:20 AM, AquaticsLive said:

Off subject you can get 3/4" grounding rod for a decent price at the electrical supply nice for small projects. 

3/4 inch grounding rod is a steel rod that is copper plated....

On 11/22/2022 at 8:00 PM, dickson said:

Sound like a broken record .   Maybe the worker  go on strike  because the assembly is too stressful .   Have the parts send to you and you do the assembly faster .  

I saw a recent video of riots in China due to the Covid crackdown. The society is in turmoil.

Yeah, seen that too....but at least that's not being an issue for us over there!

Sorry to take your time but as a newibe I have questions:

Let me explain what I am tring to do. I would like to use this during peak hours and as a backup for the grid. I would like to hookup the inverter to my main panel, according to electric bill my highest spike was 11kw. I have a 200 amp main panenl with a generator transfer switch . What I would like to do first is have the grid charge the batteries and be a pass through when on and then have the generator takeover when the grid is down and add solar panels later or soner depending on funds.

I see that the GS12 has AGS but I don't see a gen input does that mean that I have to mannualy change the inputs myself

What is the ATS switch rated for  50 or 100 amps

When I hook up solar panels what happens to the excess energy if I don't want to sell back to the grid.

Thanks for your help

GS inverters have a single AC input; as of right now, we don't have dual AC input functionality.  A lot of extra cost and complexity for a small niche.

You could utilize your existing generator transfer switch to switch inverter AC input between grid and generator (if present).  Technically, this could be automated with several external large relays (i.e. switch input from grid to generator if the generator is running).

GS inverters internal relays max continuous rating is 70A.  But as a 12kw inverter, the entire circuit path (i.e. wiring, PCB traces, terminals, relays, etc.) is rated for a continuous 50A load.

Depends how you hook them up.  If you're thinking solar -> grid-tie inverter/microinverter, this can get complicated very quickly.

if you're thinking solar -> MPPT charger -> battery bank, then any excess energy just isn't utilized.

Thanks for quick reply, that helps alot.

Good point make sure to not get the coated ones they usually say bonded copper.  For grounding its not that big of a deal but if you want for machining projects something to watch for. 

Link to the data sheet of the nVent ERICO solid ones.  LINK    I don't see the ones I get online, but for projects they have some short ones at my electrical supply for a decent price compared to buying from an online metal shop. 

is there a way to make sure that we won't backfeed to the grid are will we need to get limiters

sorry allready answered

Sort of...there are potential issues here if the inverter goes into AC Input mode ("passthru", etc.)  Basically this just actuates a relay that connects the input to the output.  If grid-tie inverters are connected to the GS inverter output, they're literally connected to the grid--and unless otherwise interrupted, will backfeed the grid without hesitation.

Some GS inverter firmware adjustments could potentially be utilized to deal with this.  Like I said, it gets complicated very quickly with grid-tie inverters.  They're basically engines with pegged throttles...kinda hard to work with without an infinite load (i.e. the grid) to load them down with.

I was reading that some inverters would draw a small amount of wattage all the time to prevent backfeeding . I didn't know if that could be done through the software.

12 minutes ago, jamjon said:

I was reading that some inverters would draw a small amount of wattage all the time to prevent backfeeding .

Can you link where you read that?  I'd be curious to see what they have to say.

Because power can't just "disappear"--it has to go somewhere.  And like I said, a grid-tie inverter is like an engine with the throttle stuck at maximum.

From a software perspective, there are 2 things that can be done to regulate and/or shut off a grid-tie inverter (depending on how new it is, and what UL specification it matches).  Either let the AC output voltage go way out of spec (>265v for 240v IIRC), or shift the AC line frequency from 60Hz to >62Hz.  These can be done programmatically and in response to measured power flow (yes, GS inverters can determine which direction AC power is flowing!)

The problem is that if you're in pass-thru mode (literally AC input shorted to the AC output), the GS inverter is NOT responsible (nor can it control) either the AC line voltage OR the AC line frequency.  Technically, it could possibly ramp up battery charge (to consume said grid-tie power)--but when the batteries are full, there's once again no place to put it.  The last resort is for the inverter to drop out of pass-thru mode and back to normal battery "inverter" mode, where it can then ramp the frequency or voltage out of spec to shut the grid-tie inverter off.  But some backfeeding will have occurred by this point--potentially a few tenths of a second.  (Would that be a red flag for the PoCo?  I don't know.)

...like I said, it gets complicated!  The above is not currently implemented in GS inverters, but due to our ability to provide updates to inverters already in the field, the functionality can be added after it's implemented and tested.  (Neither Sean nor I have grid-tie inverters to experiment with at the current time.)

Power goes to the grid.

Many modern GTI's support export limiting (i.e. output power curtailment) as required in some jurisdictions based on a proprietary grid consumption CT monitoring controller with proprietary out-of-band control signals (i.e. not frequency or voltage shifting) to curtail GTI output power to limit export to grid.  Export limiting threshold is often set for small consumption to avoid backfeeding the grid.  Google "export limiting" for your favorite GTI to get more info.