• artyom@piefed.social
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    6 hours ago

    You cannot buy a PV inverter in Germany (entire EU really) that doesn’t automatically shut off if it doesn’t detect a frequency to sync against from it’s AC side, unless it can run off-grid in which case it has to disble the grid connection within the same 20ms.

    So you can’t buy a grid-connected inverter with off-grid capabilities? Because the inverter has no way to tell the difference between the grid being off, and being off-grid.

    • ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      6 hours ago

      Oh you can buy off grid inverters (or inverters capable of “island mode”). But they are required to be able to automatically disconnect from grid, even if they are never going to be connected to a grid. You can’t buy solar inverters without this for the exact reason that you can connect them to grid.

      • artyom@piefed.social
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        6 hours ago

        Again, it doesn’t matter what inverter you buy, they can’t tell the difference between off grid and grid off. So if it shuts off when it doesn’t detect voltage, then it won’t work off grid. Which makes it sound like you’re saying off-grid inverters are illegal.

        • ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          6 hours ago

          They detect incoming frequency, not voltage. And yes, they absolutely detect the difference, I have one, it works exactly like this.

          • artyom@piefed.social
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            6 hours ago

            How do you detect the frequency of voltage that doesn’t exist? Hold a wire up in the air and measure the frequency and let me know what you find.

            • ExcessShiv@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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              5 hours ago

              I mean…if there is no grid frequency detected it automatically breaks connection between the house and the grid and keeps supplying the house from the panels and batteries. When it detects grid frequency again it reconnects the house to grid. It’s a fairly simple concept.

              • artyom@piefed.social
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                2 hours ago

                if there is no grid frequency detected it automatically breaks connection between the house and the grid

                Okay now try again but there is no grid.

            • Zoot@reddthat.com
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              5 hours ago

              So you do realize that this is exactly how HV wire detectors work right lol… You hold up a wire (or there’s a wire in the wall) carrying high voltage, and the wand will pick up the EM Field.