Energy I'm looking to install grid tied solar with shtf options

Yep, use the 4024 off grid and my generator is plugged into the AC Line In. Right now my generator is running and the inverter thinks I'm hooked to the grid.

 

I like the Schneider stuff just because I use it but I am sure there are other products that will do the job.

 

How do I have no direction?
I laid out a fairly specific plan.

Get the sunny boy grid tie with backup "secure power supply", wire up large 72 cell panels.
Then later on get a 4kw or bigger hybrid radian, add batteries when $ allows.
That was the plan at post 1 and that's still the plan now.

 

I'm installing the first of 2 outdoor sub panels.
This one is an outdoor 125 amp square d QO panel.

The first one replaces a severely over stuffed 1.5 inch conduit going through the wall to the main panel.
Here is a what was packed in the existing 1.5 inch conduit:
2× 12/2 with ground (shed and kitchen west wall)
2x 10/2 with ground (garage and water heater)
6/3 with ground (range)
6/2 with ground UF-B (out building, wire is inappropriate for the application)
6/2 with ground romex (electric backup heating for the heat pump)
Only a few of these are running all the way pack through to the main. The rest are going on the subpanel.

I punched out the 1.5 inch hole going through the wall into the main panel to 2 inches and I am in the process of running all that wire through two 1.5 inch conduits to the sub panel.

Next I will address the out building being ran of that 6/2 with ground UF-B cable. The neutral is being ran on the bare 12 gauge ground to a 100 amp square d QO panel. The second sub panel is already there it just isn't even remotely close to being wired correctly.
This out building is where I am going to put the first round of solar.
I am going to run 4 gauge on an 80 amp breaker or 3 gauge on a 100 amp breaker from the main, thought the wall and then through underground conduit.
Depending on if I want to use 4 gauge wire I already have or go buy 3 gauge. Either way it's going to be ran through underground conduit to the existing 100 amp sub panel on the out building.
The existing 6/2 with ground will become a dedicated welding receptacle for my out building and animal pen area. It should see plenty of action building my panel ground mounts.

Here is the 125 amp sub panel.

 

I have read specs and watched videos on more inverters.
Still looks like the a grid tie sunny boy with backup "secure power supply" running on 3.6 kw of panels wired for 569ocv is the way to go for my first phase of solar power.
Right now I'm sorting out the electrical mess that came with the house, adding more electrical panels, hooking the existing ones correctly so I can reduce the burden on over loaded circuits, run circuits for electric car charging, welders, air compressors, well pumps, grid tied solar, ect.
I would say that's a fairly specific plan for some one who is lost.

I am definitely going to consider that Schneider Conext XW serries. It's about 2/3 to 3/4 the price of the radian and has all the features I was looking for to do the next stages of my solar power system. Their 7kw hybrid is about $1,000 cheaper than the radian. That is hard to argue with.
I'm just not really looking at doing a large expensive hybrid system right now.

 

I'm not sure if you know but the Schneider/Square D QO series breakers are rated for DC current. It simplifies things during install and upgrade if you can run down to the store and grab some DC breakers.

 

I read somewhere that the square d breakers were rated for 48v DC.
Anything much more than 100v dc runs the risk of not breaking the arc and catching on fire.

 

Yes I am sure they make specific higher voltage DC breakers.
But benP was talking about ones at the local hardware store such as homeline or QO I believe.

 

I was talking about the QO series, my system is 24vdc. Here is a link to their documentation: http://download.schneider-electric....Type=Data Bulletin&p_File_Name=0601DB0401.pdf

 

I got the 125 amp outdoor sub panel all installed.
Now I can very easy back feed power from my generator to the house electrical.

I'm also installing another one. Inside this time. The background on this upgrade is back around 2008 this house was foreclosured and abandoned. Well some crack heads broke in and ripped out all the wiring in the main panel. When the last guy bought it the power coop red tagged the service so he had to have a licensed electrician make the repairs and have it inspected before they would reconnect service. So there are 6 circuits that are wire nutted and extended to a junction box. I'm going to eliminate those 6 circuits from the main, eliminate the junction box, put those circuits their own sub panel. Which will be a 100 amp square d QO indoor panel with 8 spaces fed from the main on a 60 amp breaker on 6 gauge wire.
The 100 amp square d QO panel was left over from another project, so I already had it laying around.

This will free up 4 spaces in the main and clean up a lot of clutter.

 

I found my high voltage DC isolator.
This one is about $40 shipped on ebay it's rated for 1,000v DC at 32 amps.



Also if it's not going to be raining I was going to rent a trencher and trench out hundreds of feet of trench and lay conduit for my out buildings and and well.

I'm going to use conduit so I can change wire configuration as needed. I can lay conduit for 20 to 40 cents a foot and put individual conductors or romex in it. I have thousands of feet of 14 through 10 gauge I paid pennies on the dollar for.
As opposed to buying UF-B wire for retail price and putting it in the ground.

Building your own infrastructure is hard.
But if it were easy every one would do it.

 

Pull boxes under ground?

 

How far apart do they usually run?

 

I was going to to put metal 1/8 inch cable in the conduit as I build it, then some time after the pvc cement is cured pull wires and poly string into the conduit.

I didn't remember seeing anything specific to under ground. As far as distance.
But I had not read the 2017 book cover to cover.

 

I pulled all my wires before I glued the conduit, sometimes it saves a lot of time and frustration.