With Queensland’s capital Brisbane devastated in the Australian floods, householders are learning the disadvantages of grid tied solar.
Grid tie solar useless in Queensland
With Queensland’s capital city Brisbane devastated in the Australian floods, householders are learning the disadvantages of grid tied solar. Because of the way Utility companies the world over inisist on rigging it, grid-tied solar panels only produce power when the grid is running.
So they fail to fulfil the main purpose that many people have bought them for – to give safety and independence from the collapsing energy and financial system.
however, there are ways to convenrt the systems to work off the grid in emergencies – just a shame that the Utility companies do not provide a simple trip switch to allow the panels to operate off-grid when neccessary
Here is how to do it but get a competent person to help you – electricity can be dangerous:
1. Buy a $20 multimeter
2. Unplug a solar panel and check for 10.5-15 volts.
2. Buy a hundred dollar 300W Power Inverter, a 700VA Uninterruptible Power Supply $150 (come swith its own battery), 12VDC inline Fuse Holder, 35 Amp fuse and 12V cable to reach from roof.
3. Run Cable from panel to fuse to indoors. Connect multimeter inline in Amps mode and connect to the inverter. Plug Inverter into UPS. Plug appliances into the UPS.
Sunlight will run up to 300 Watts via the inverter (check meter: amps x 12 volts = Watts). UPS battery will run your ADSL modem and a phone charger for few hours.