No Critical Load Panel on a Solar and Grid Power System.

[Dwight Lewis]

The solar company I’m using has emphatically stated that a whole house solar system must include a critical load panel for when the electrical grid is out. I understand this is to prevent the solar from back feeding the grid because of safety concerns of those working on the grid during a power outage…which, if true, is extremely important.

The Solar System will not have battery back up nor will the grid have generator back up.

For discussion: Is there an ATS that will solve back feeding the grid when the electrical grid goes out or is there another solution?

V/r
Dwight

 

[jaggedben]

What?
Get a different solar company.

 

[wwhitney]

The Solar System will not have battery back up nor will the grid have generator back up.

If the house has only two sources of power, the grid and normal solar inverters without battery backup, then those inverters have "anti-islanding" features which will cause them to shut off when the grid goes down. No chance of backfeeding the grid, no need for any "critical load" panel.

So if your solar company is saying otherwise, they are badly misinformed or lying. Either way, what jaggedben said.

Cheers, Wayne

 

[jaggedben]

Seriously, I'm concerned they are trying to sell you something you don't want or need. It's sketchy. A grid tie system doesn't need a critical load panel, and a critical load panel provides no anti-islanding function for power outages. I mean, in most systems one can install a battery backup system without a connecting a critical load panel. It would be pointless, as the backup power sources would be sitting there providing voltage at their terminals, to nothing. But my point is that the critical load panel, once connected to that voltage, just receives power like any other panel, and typically performs no function in anti-islanding.

One other comment: if you really just want a grid tie solar system, I don't know what it would mean for it to be 'whole house'. 'Whole home' vs. 'partial home' refers to battery backup. So if you don't want battery backup, the phrase 'whole house' might be causing confusion.