Another potential issue is the possibility of overloading a circuit if these are used incorrectly. Basically, having enough load on the same circuit as too many of these panels would cause over current that is not seen by the upstream breaker. That’s probably an unlikely circumstance but something to be aware of and to design controls to prevent.
You have to understand, for this to happen you would need more than 15/20 amps of electrical use plugged into that circuit. As soon as a cloud reduces the solar output, the entire load would be on the utility end of the circuit and the breaker would trip.
I guess my point is that creating an over current condition requires plugging in more demand than the circuit is designed for, and the solar piece would only allow that setup to run intermittently. A reasonable person would turn off some of the load or move it to other outlets the first time the breaker tripped.
Seems like the safest thing to do is to design products to fail safely even if the owner doesn’t follow the manual. Relying on the competence of end users alone is, in my opinion, not enough.
In the U.S., at least, diesel fuel dispenser nozzles don’t fit in a typical gasoline car. The engineers have intentionally designed standards to reduce human error.
That’s what should happen with any home electrical appliances, to reduce dangerous practices. It can’t be eliminated entirely, but things should be designed assuming that people don’t follow directions and don’t read the manual, have safety features that physically or electronically prevent power from going to the wrong place or in the wrong quantities.
Another potential issue is the possibility of overloading a circuit if these are used incorrectly. Basically, having enough load on the same circuit as too many of these panels would cause over current that is not seen by the upstream breaker. That’s probably an unlikely circumstance but something to be aware of and to design controls to prevent.
You have to understand, for this to happen you would need more than 15/20 amps of electrical use plugged into that circuit. As soon as a cloud reduces the solar output, the entire load would be on the utility end of the circuit and the breaker would trip.
I agree. Clouds are my preferred form of overcurrent protection.
I guess my point is that creating an over current condition requires plugging in more demand than the circuit is designed for, and the solar piece would only allow that setup to run intermittently. A reasonable person would turn off some of the load or move it to other outlets the first time the breaker tripped.
They are typically reduced to 800W upstream. And you should plug only one into one current.
At the end it depends in the strength/ thickness of your power cable.
What happens when you plug in more than one? Is there some kind of safety circuitry that detects this and shuts it off?
I don’t think so.
Even the correct cable connection is essential - parallel or serial PV panels into the inverter.
If you do not read the fck manual, you should not play with power toys.
Seems like the safest thing to do is to design products to fail safely even if the owner doesn’t follow the manual. Relying on the competence of end users alone is, in my opinion, not enough.
Those systems are save. However, one can always crash it, if not used properly or fiddling around.
Same as you can refuel diesel in your petrol car. You can’t avoid dumb users entirely.
In the U.S., at least, diesel fuel dispenser nozzles don’t fit in a typical gasoline car. The engineers have intentionally designed standards to reduce human error.
That’s what should happen with any home electrical appliances, to reduce dangerous practices. It can’t be eliminated entirely, but things should be designed assuming that people don’t follow directions and don’t read the manual, have safety features that physically or electronically prevent power from going to the wrong place or in the wrong quantities.