"Solar Generator" compliance requirements

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analog8484

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I see many portable "Solar Generators" used for home backup power now but none appear to comply or certified with UL 1741 or other similar standards. They are essentially off-grid solar/battery inverter systems which I thought are required to have UL 1741. What am I missing?
 
analog8484 said:
I see many portable "Solar Generators" used for home backup power now but none appear to comply or certified with UL 1741 or other similar standards. They are essentially off-grid solar/battery inverter systems which I thought are required to have UL 1741. What am I missing?
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Are you talking about the ones that you can find on line that they say you can just plug into any household outlet? Runaway!
 
ggunn said:
Are you talking about the ones that you can find on line that they say you can just plug into any household outlet? Runaway!
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Not just those. Even the ones that have outlets for plugging into a transfer switch. They seem to be perfectly legal. I am just trying to understand why they are not required to have UL 1741 like off-grid inverters. I am guessing it's because are not hardwired into a house?
 
If it's 'portable' then it's not subject to the NEC and probably also not required to have any permits. So then, is it the law in your state that it is illegal to buy or sell electric devices that are not listed? I doubt it. (Also who would enforce if it was?) Is it foolish to buy any sizable generator of any sort that isn't listed? Do the companies selling these leave themselves open to civil lawsuits? Yes and yes, but it's probably not illegal.
 
BTW I would be surprised if most of those generators didn't have listed inverters and panels. If it's not listed as an assembly that's not such a big deal in ny opinion.
 
analog8484 said:
I see many portable "Solar Generators" used for home backup power now but none appear to comply or certified with UL 1741 or other similar standards. They are essentially off-grid solar/battery inverter systems which I thought are required to have UL 1741. What am I missing?
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Because of Tesla powerwall. They're trying to push their $8000 solar generation combo.
 
Most of the "solar generators" I see advertised are basically batteries with an inverter and receptacles. The can be charged from AC power or PV panels. They do not connect to the building. You just plug things into them.
 
Thanks for the responses. It appears no UL or similar inverter safety standard is legally required for non-hardwired "solar generators". That's good to know but I am a bit surprised.
 
retirede said:
So, do you think it should also apply to gasoline powered inverter generators?
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I suspect that most if not all gasoline generators you could buy are listed to a UL standard. And the difference is that the companies selling the unlisted solar generators are too new and small to regard the listing expenses as worth it ... until they get hit with their first lawsuit. If they last that long.
 
jaggedben said:
I suspect that most if not all gasoline generators you could buy are listed to a UL standard. And the difference is that the companies selling the unlisted solar generators are too new and small to regard the listing expenses as worth it ... until they get hit with their first lawsuit. If they last that long.
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I agree, they are. But not to 1741!
 
zbang said:
Oh, a UPS....
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A portable UPS with solar panels to charge the batteries instead of connecting it to line power?
One critical factor in its usefulness is whether the panels are sufficient to carry the load, just sufficient to charge the batteries offline and reduce battery drain during operation, or just fluff added to get the word "solar" into the description.
 
Back-up generators connecting to building wiring fall under NEC Art. 702 for optional standby systems. Parts of UL 1741are applicable to stand alone systems. I'm not sure what the applicability is to portable systems.
 
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