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Quote:

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv (Post 10384653)

I'm no expert, but I believe what James might be referring to is the power output of the panels. They don't put out a constant 120/240 volts and the voltage they do put out is moderated by the inverters. I imagine you could put the right number of panels in series to produce 120 volts, but even that would change with the incidence of the sun as it passes over during the day. But like I say, I'm not that knowledgeable about it.

No, the panels are DC. They have to be inverted to AC with an inverter. The grid-tie systems use a direct DC to AC conversion. But they cannot be moderated. They put out what they put out. And they have to have a source of AC power to make them work, or they shut down.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan A (Post 10384672)

I’ve not done any electrical or electronic stuff in years so I may be FOS, but I think this can be mitigated by using battery storage and a transfer switch.

Have the solar panels charge the batteries and use them to power the house. Transfer switch to isolate - in the same way as you’d isolate a generator. The question would be cost. I’m thinking you’d be at $50k instead of $30 for 8kw, and battery life would become a consideration.

As - if I understand the above - would inverter life.

Quote:

Originally Posted by brp914 (Post 10384688)

No way $50k. 8kw with Li battery should be low $30s, and mid $20s with Pb. But you need twice the capacity with Pb since they can only go down 50% or you'll lose them. Even then, batteries are for a few 30A circuits - not for A/C. Think fridge, LED lights, TV, PC, and of course PARF.

It all depends on what you want. Our 8kW system with 20kWh of storage and a 20kW generator, fully installed, goes for around $45K.

The Lithium batteries we sell go for around $1K per 1.2kWh of storage. The only reason we use them is for high cycling (net metering or off-grid) applications. Most lithium batteries do not have high cycle life. For most applications, standard, long life AGM make more sense (backup power) or Advanced AGM batteries.