con fused

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Doppler
Doppler Registered Users Posts: 2
in Solar Beginners Corner #1
I had a solar power company employed to retrofit a 3.5kw solar system. They couldn't get access through my ceilings and walls without doing major damage to connect my fuse box to the meter box. Is it possible to install a grid tied solar system and connect direct from the inverter to the meter box and bypass the fuse box? If you cant is there some other solar system that can be independent of both meter and fuse box but will save me spending huge amounts on electricity
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  • BB.
    BB. Super Moderators, Administrators Posts: 33,439 admin
    #2
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    Re: con fused

    Welcome to the forum Doppler.

    In the US, we have something called the line side tap--Basically connect a new box directly to the utility drop. More or less, most building departments reserve that for commercial customers (usually refuse residential connections).

    For Grid Tied Solar--You need to connect to the utility through your main panel and meter (different utilities can require a second meter for Grid Tied--It depends on how they do their billing).

    Cost to connect GT to the main panel, and sometimes even a new main panel is required--And does drive up the costs.

    To save money--Look at conservation first. New energy rated appliances can help a lot. Modern heat pumps for Air Conditioning, Heating, and even hot water (especially if you have electric hot water) all can help. Insulation in ceiling, walls, new double pane/vinyl windows, shading of sunny windows in summer, sealing up air leaks/weather stripping. The more expensive your electricity, the more conservation will save

    You could go with off grid solar (battery bank, AC inverter, etc.)--But that is not going to save you money (adding a battery bank drives up costs, and you have to replace the batteries every 8 years or so).

    -Bill
    Near San Francisco California: 3.5kWatt Grid Tied Solar power system+small backup genset
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  • Cariboocoot
    Cariboocoot Banned Posts: 17,615 ✭✭✭
    #3
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    Re: con fused

    Welcome to the forum.

    Yes it is possible to connect the output of a GTI to the meter. It's called a line-side tap. But it is not always allowed. Depends on local rules. And it would still need OCP.

    A service panel which is not accessible for changing of wiring sounds like a code violation to begin with. I have such a box myself, "buried in the wall", as it used to be done quite often on certain houses where accessible service panel would "look ugly" because it would need to be in living space. If you plan on retrofitting anything regarding that panel you come right up against the change in code. There is no real safety hazard from this, it's just a pain.

    The third alternative is the often Internet-promoted "plug-n-play" inverters which are, for reasons that have been explain many times on the forum, illegal and unsafe.

    You should make inquiries of your utility and local AHJ regarding line-side tap installation.
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  • Doppler
    Doppler Registered Users Posts: 2
    #4
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    Re: con fused
    Cariboocoot wrote: »
    Welcome to the forum.

    Yes it is possible to connect the output of a GTI to the meter. It's called a line-side tap. But it is not always allowed. Depends on local rules. And it would still need OCP.

    A service panel which is not accessible for changing of wiring sounds like a code violation to begin with. I have such a box myself, "buried in the wall", as it used to be done quite often on certain houses where accessible service panel would "look ugly" because it would need to be in living space. If you plan on retrofitting anything regarding that panel you come right up against the change in code. There is no real safety hazard from this, it's just a pain.

    The third alternative is the often Internet-promoted "plug-n-play" inverters which are, for reasons that have been explain many times on the forum, illegal and unsafe.

    You should make inquiries of your utility and local AHJ regarding line-side tap installation.

    Thanks for the advice. I will find out if we can do a line side tap here.
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