Fabulous post Mentor! I had no idea you could plug in an inverter to a normal socket, that's shocking. Do you have an idea how to find out if that's possible in other countries as well?
I know right! As I understand it the EU regulations are that you can add 800 Watts no questions asked, above that you need to check with an electrician. In any case I'd ask Perplexity to make sure.
The main concern is that old wiring can make sparks if there is too much power on them. The thing you run into is that usually the only "tension" on the wires is between the grid and your devices, and if you go over the max Wattage then the circuit breaker triggers, but the panels can increase the amount of power on the wires without your central breakers being able to see that.
2. If you are comfortable running a water kettle, 800W is fine. A water kettle can do 2000W. I know having a limit sounds scary but unless your house is a fire hazard anyway I would personally not be concerned in the slightest.
3. If you want more power than that, ask an electrician to make an extra group in your utility closet and ask them to make some waterproof power plugs outside. But that's a bit more of a commitment of course.
Epic! In this setup you don’t provide power to the grid and don’t get bill discounts if you do so right? You only reduce your own consumption from the grid. Is that right?
Fabulous post Mentor! I had no idea you could plug in an inverter to a normal socket, that's shocking. Do you have an idea how to find out if that's possible in other countries as well?
I know right! As I understand it the EU regulations are that you can add 800 Watts no questions asked, above that you need to check with an electrician. In any case I'd ask Perplexity to make sure.
The main concern is that old wiring can make sparks if there is too much power on them. The thing you run into is that usually the only "tension" on the wires is between the grid and your devices, and if you go over the max Wattage then the circuit breaker triggers, but the panels can increase the amount of power on the wires without your central breakers being able to see that.
Rules of thumb:
1. 800W is fine according to EU as I understand Regulation (EU) 2016/631. Relevant (German) blog post for context: https://robinsun.com/blogs/news/the-right-to-plugin-solar-installations-changes-in-property-law-make-solar-installations-even-easier-in-germany
2. If you are comfortable running a water kettle, 800W is fine. A water kettle can do 2000W. I know having a limit sounds scary but unless your house is a fire hazard anyway I would personally not be concerned in the slightest.
3. If you want more power than that, ask an electrician to make an extra group in your utility closet and ask them to make some waterproof power plugs outside. But that's a bit more of a commitment of course.
Epic! In this setup you don’t provide power to the grid and don’t get bill discounts if you do so right? You only reduce your own consumption from the grid. Is that right?
You use the energy you use and give back to the grid that which you don't.
If the panels give 800W and you have all devices in the house switched off, you will push 800W back into the grid.
Whether you get a bill discount depends on your country and contract.