New service, how to prep for future solar?

suemarkp said:
If you want more margin in a 200A panel using the solar at the opposite end of the bus, pick a panel with a 225A bus. This give you more margin over the 40A limit for solar on a 200A bus. Finding which panels have a 225A bus can be harder now, as the panel rating tends to be the breaker rating. But I think Eaton CH are 225 and some of the QO's are 225. In the end, 225 -vs 200 should cost about the same, so get the bigger one.
Click to expand...
I've got a 225A QO. I did see the 120% rule on that.
 
brantmacga said:
No just to the attic. The service equipment will be difficult to access one construction is complete. I was going to run some conduit from this trough up to a more accessible spot in my attic.
Click to expand...
I see, still if this conduit is simply to house the conductors from the PV array to the equipment in the garage I think 2" sounds excessive. Only reason I see to go that big is if you are really afraid the wire pull may be difficult because of many bends or a long conduit run to the attic.

Additionally if your PV system is large, say more than 5 strings of panels or so then the presence of that many conductors in that conduit will require de-rating of the conductors so significant that a second conduit may become necessary(NEC 310.15(C)(1)) . Hard to say for sure until you know more like everyone else is saying but if you need to run conduit now you may benefit from 2 smaller pipes rather than one large one.

It's not too often I see a residence requiring more than 1 - 1" conduit up to the PV array but perhaps you are building a larger system than average, and an extra conduit won't hurt anything.
 
brantmacga said:
I appreciate your response, all good info to know right now.

I have two systems in mind at the moment. Either the Schneider Pulse or Generac PWRCell 2. I have been speaking with Schneider already about some of their products I'll have in my house when it's finished, and it would integrate seamlessly with their Pulse Backup Controller. What they don't have is generator integration. There's a spot for it to land in their panel, but it doesn't do anything. They are releasing a new energy management software later this year, but couldn't say if the generator support would be part of it.

PWRCell 2 integrates battery, PV, and generator in one controller. I know they had some issues with V1, but V2 looks very interesting.
Click to expand...
AInterestin I have not seen much about the PWRcell 2 and have not installed this newer system, but I am a generac dealer and have done a lot of repair/service work on the previous generations of Generac PWRcell systems. I could not find an installation manual for the PWRcell 2 system in the installer resource area on Generac website, but based on what I can see there is no PV support for the new PWRcell inverter. It basically looks to be an inverter for the battery storage, and it seems they assume a separate AC-coupled PV system will provide the PV production. One positive, no more nightmares dealing with the SnapRS devices.
The Schneider XW Pro was a really awesome off-grid inverter. Hopefully Schneider is going to be successful with this new system. It looks like the inverter is only 7.7kW, too small for my typical customer.
 
brantmacga said:
I've got a 225A QO. I did see the 120% rule on that.
Click to expand...
That will work great! The 120% rule math applied to that panel looks like this: 225A bus rating x 1.2 = 270A max feed onto bus (Utlity breaker + 1.25*inverter current). 270A - 200A main breaker rating = 70A max PV breaker. 70A / 1.25 = 56A max continuous inverter current.

There are lots of options on the market that fit on a 60A breaker, and they can be load-side connected in the panel as long as the breaker is located at the opposite end of the bus from the main breaker. You will want to select a system that can restrict it's utility backfeed to 10 kW to keep the POCO happy. most systems will have the ability to maximize self consumption by discharging the batteries some at night so that you can fill them with solar power during the day. In that way, you can install a larger PV array without curtailing output due to the utility restrictions.

I would be looking at Powerwall 3, Franklin WH (will need a separate AC coupled solar inverter), Midnite AIO, or Sol-Ark (will need to pair with a 48V battery bank). There are lots of others out there as well. Make sure you get a system that is 9540 and 9540A.
 
Another thing I do is install a class 320A meter split the service into two,
There are various advantages for that.
One is I can set a Non ATS service disconnect and a smaller ATS.
Then I size the ATS & panels to the generator, no need to do 'load shed' or a 'Energy Management System' or less of one anyway.
The other thing you can do is use one service disconnects just for solar, but not practical if your doing energy storage.
Sorry about the loss of your home.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top