• clif@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    5
    ·
    14 hours ago

    Out of curiosity, how do you have that setup (at a high level)?

    I’ve got a bluetti system for emergency power (12kWh, 6kW AC output) but I need to plug things directly into it. It’d be nice to feed it directly to my house wiring but … selectively. That is, I wouldn’t want to power the HVAC but it would be nice to not have to shuffle the fridge/freezer plugs from the wall to the inverter.

    Dedicated circuit(s) with a manual switch from mains to inverter, I’m guessing? But then we get into all the extras required to do that safely and avoid back feeding the grid.

    Granted, they have systems/setups specifically for whole house power but I don’t want to feed the whole house, just the important circuits/appliances.

    • artyom@piefed.social
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      8
      ·
      edit-2
      13 hours ago

      Basically made a really sturdy pergola and then mounted solar panels to it. Ran that wiring to the MPPT, batteries and inverter in the garage. Put in a new small breaker box right next to the existing one, which made it real easy to just grab the wires for the critical loads and run them over to the new panel.

      No need to worry about backfeeding, as I said they’re parallel electrical systems, so it’s not possible.

      • agile_squirrel@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        9 hours ago

        I don’t understand the parallel part. Do you mean independent, so the critical stuff can only get power from the solar circuit? Since it’s critical stuff, do you have a fallback if solar production is low? Is your battery 24 or 48v?

        • artyom@piefed.social
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          6
          ·
          9 hours ago

          I mean the 2 systems are not connected in any way. They’re completely independent.

          If it stays cloudy for a few days, or I am anticipating a potential outage, I can plug in a battery charger to the grid.

          My batts are 48V EG4 units. But I would go the “DIY” route if I were to do it again, they are considerably less expensive.