KD4UPL
Member
- Location
- Swoope, VA
230-42(b) suggests that any residence must have a minimum service of 100 amps. Does this apply to off grid home fed only by PV systems and generators?
I'm installing a 5 kW PV system with an 8 kW inverter and a 14 kW generator. The cabin is rather small with efficient LED lighting. All the appliances are gas: furnace, range, dryer, water heater. The only 240v load is the well pump. The owners are familiar with off grid living and know they can't draw much electricity or it will deplete the batteries.
The home has a 200 amp panel fed from the output of the 8 kW inverter so it's really a "33 amp service". Even with the generator running and the inverter in gen. support mode I'm limited to the 50 amp output of the Radian inverter.
My initial contact with the inspector makes me think he's going to require 100 amps to be available to this "service" which in my reading isn't really a service since there's no utility involved.
Is there something in the code I'm not seeing that alters the requirement of 100 amp minimum if a home is off grid. I know there are plenty of off-grid homes around with even smaller inverters. Maybe they weren't inspected.
I will try to find out more from the inspector but I'd like to have some help with what I'm reading.
Thanks,
I'm installing a 5 kW PV system with an 8 kW inverter and a 14 kW generator. The cabin is rather small with efficient LED lighting. All the appliances are gas: furnace, range, dryer, water heater. The only 240v load is the well pump. The owners are familiar with off grid living and know they can't draw much electricity or it will deplete the batteries.
The home has a 200 amp panel fed from the output of the 8 kW inverter so it's really a "33 amp service". Even with the generator running and the inverter in gen. support mode I'm limited to the 50 amp output of the Radian inverter.
My initial contact with the inspector makes me think he's going to require 100 amps to be available to this "service" which in my reading isn't really a service since there's no utility involved.
Is there something in the code I'm not seeing that alters the requirement of 100 amp minimum if a home is off grid. I know there are plenty of off-grid homes around with even smaller inverters. Maybe they weren't inspected.
I will try to find out more from the inspector but I'd like to have some help with what I'm reading.
Thanks,
