Breaker Box

Lahtidah1228

Hey you guys, first of all I would like to say it looks like you guys have a good site going here. I am very new to the solar world but I have been very interested for years.

Right now I have about $1,000.00 in my system to include panels, batteries, inverters, and breaker box, and wiring. The question I have is, I have 2 1500 watt inverters and I am just now hooking everything up completely and I realized I have a problem. The problem is I have 2 1500 watt inverters and 1 40 amp breaker box. Can they be wired together to the 40 amp breaker box?


I am not running much just 3 fans with lights and 3 receptacles. Heck I am not even sure I need 1500 watts must less 3000 watts.


Thanks
Lahti

Cariboocoot

Re: Breaker Box

Welcome to the forum.

We're talking AC output here, right? The answer is a qualified "no". Unless the inverters are specifically designed to have their outputs coupled it will not work; the waveform of one will not be in sync with the other. It might work with them sharing neutral and keeping the two hot legs separate, but it is inadvisable to try.

I'll hazard a guess that these are MSW type inverters too, which makes the possibility even less likely.

icarus

Re: Breaker Box

Welcome to the forum. Your a right, there are some very sharp folks here who have"forgotten more" about solar power than most of us will ever know!

Back up a bit, and tell us more about your system. How much PV, how big a battery bank, what sort of aux charging system, and most importantly the loads you expect to power with your system. All calcs in this world stem for the loads.

And yes you probably have too much inveter (I'm guessing a comparatively small 12 vt battery bank). You need to realize that 1500 wats of power (not counting inverter loses is some where around 125 amps. (3 kw is closer to 250) Even very large battery banks won't deliver that kind of current at 12 volts.

Also realize that many (most) cheap inverters are not pure sine wave inverters and are notoriously inefficient. Consider a good, smaller unit, like a Morningstar Suresine 300.

Gives more details, keep in touch, and again , welcome,

Tony

PS As Marc suggests, my guess is that they won't play well together, unless they are specifically designed to be stacked. Once again, we need more info.

T

vtmaps

Re: Breaker Box

Welcome to the forum,

First thing... Stop spending money until you get the whole system designed.
Second thing... have you already purchased the batteries? If so, they need to be properly commissioned and maintained. If not, they will suffer irreparable damage within a few weeks.
Third (and last for now)... if those are MSW inverters they probably can't have their neutrals bonded to ground without making smoke. Make sure your breaker box has separate buses for neutral and ground.

--vtMaps