how do I wire solar power into my homes breaker panel?
Hi, Have a solar power setup with panels, charge controller, batteries, inverter etc…
Now i just need to know how to wire it into my homes breaker panel. Can you please help?
Solar Powered Solutions for viable Energy Alternatives
Hi, Have a solar power setup with panels, charge controller, batteries, inverter etc…
Now i just need to know how to wire it into my homes breaker panel. Can you please help?
March 8th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
call your local power company. It is illegal to do it yourself. any electrical changes you make to your house you need a permit from the city and/or state. and must have inspected by an electrical inspector. except small things like changing lights or recepticals.
March 8th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
It’s best you get professional help because if the inverter does not match phase with the grid there will be a very big bang! and untold damage. also there needs to be a disconnect near your meter so anyone servicing your power can shut off power from your solar panels
March 8th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
You cannot do that your self. Get an expert.
March 8th, 2010 at 10:30 pm
Wow , you need to have someone on hand to go through the procedure with you. If you have been connected to the national grid then you got to make sure you are isolated from it. Hope you know what you doing and good on you if you are getting into being free on energy. So long as you have that switch from the local power company in the “Off” position then you should be ok but I would emphasize get someone in who knows how to get you going safely.
March 8th, 2010 at 10:43 pm
Not to be supercillious, but the others are right, in that if you have to ask this question, you should be seeking the help of an electrician. The service panel is nothing to be trifled with.
I’m taking a wild guess, but it sounds like you have a very small solar setup, and the inverter is not designed for grid-tie. If that is the case, you may wish to simply wire a completely independent circuit for your solar, or just use an extension cord / power strip to power a few devices. At least, that would be the best thing to do at first, to get a feel for how much power the system puts out.
March 9th, 2010 at 12:07 am
As I understand it, you wire from the panels to the inverter, and from there into your main panel via a circuit breaker. In my situation, I would’ve run them into a 30A breaker, but that would obviously depend on the output of the panels. Some safety switches along the way wouldn’t hurt.
Keep in mind that this is just a rough approximation. Getting someone out with some experience would be much better than going off what you’re liable to get here.