ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Alternative Energy Multiple Grid Tie Inverters

I've been kicking around PV for my farm.
But after watching YouTube videos of guys with Multiple eBay Chinese special grid tie inverters, I couldn't help wondering if you had two of them going at the same time when the grid went down if they wouldn't keep each other going and possibly make a fatality out of a lineman?? They are supposed to shut off output power when they sense grid loss.
It Seems like something that should be addressed somehow.

I think they are smart enough to see the grid drop. Scott may be better to guess at this but I think they actually trigger on the rising grid voltage above zero and kick in a few hundred microseconds after that. With no grid, none of them would trigger.

The open question might be if a small battery inverter would trigger them but you would still have to isolate that from the grid with a transfer switch.

UL-1741 listed Grid Tied Inverters have to shut down upon loss of power from the grid. I don't know what type of black market junk is selling on ebay...but any legitimate company installing PV systems with the proper inspections won't be buying equipment on ebay...