DIY Solar - Episode 8 - Sun Grid Tie Inverter + Safety Devices (GTIL2)

In this episode, I talk about the Sun Grid Tie Inverter with Limiter. I talk about the different options for setting this device up and also share a wiring diagram for how I installed several safety components to protect the equipment and my home.
Here is a list of the items used in this configuration along with the source for the items:
See screen shots in video for wiring diagrams.
Input (Solar) Side
Quick Disconnect (Home Depot)
Model: HNF60R
Halex 60-AMP 120/240-Volt Non-Fuse Metallic AC Disconnect
Distribution Box (AliExpress)
2 - 4 ways Plastic distribution box for circuit breaker indoor on the wall
Breaker (AliExpress)
Model: TOB1Z-63 DC 20A
2P 20A DC 440V Direct Current Circuit breaker MCB C curve
DC Surge Protection Device (AliExpress)
Model: TZG40-C
SPD DC 600V 20KA~40KA House Surge Protector Protective Low-voltage Arrester Device
Output (AC) Side
Distribution Box (AliExpress)
9 - 12 ways Plastic distribution box for circuit breaker indoor on the wall
Programmable Timer (AliExpress)
Model: TM615
Electronic Weekly 7 Days Programmable Digital TIME SWITCH Relay Timer Control AC 220V/110V/24V/12V 16A Din Rail Mount F20866/9
Under/Over Voltage Relay (AliExpress)
Model: SVR1000/AD220
SVR1000/AD220 LCD display single-phase AC/DC 110~240V Overvand Under voltage Monitoring Relay
AC Surge Protection Device (AliExpress)
Model: TZG40-C
SPD 1P+N 20KA~40KA C ~385VAC House Surge Protector protection Protective Low-voltage Arrester Device
Breaker (AliExpress)
Model: DZ47-63 AC 16A
high quality DZ47 2P 16A AC 230V 400V Circuit breaker MCB Household air switch without leakage C type AC
Multi-Function Digital Meter (AliExpress)
Model: D52-2047
AC 80-300V 0-100.0A Din Rail LED Voltmeter Ammeter Red Blue Display Active Power Factor Energy meter Voltage Volt Current Meter

[@williampysell2819]

Thank you for your very informative new video about off-grid power systems.

[@HerkCC]

Awesome job! I'm excited to see how this works out

[@flokyshah5877]

your way of explaining things is very simple and easy. keep up the good work

[@davepenosky514]

Thanks for all your help and the time you have taken

[@chucktrotter9699]

I LIKE ALL THE COMPONETS AND HOW THEY FUNCTION. GOOD VIDEO. NOW I AM GOING TO FIND THE OTHER ONES IN THE SERIES AND START FROM #1. THANKS

[@robhobbo8669]

I've been looking at videos of this inverter and when I saw this one with the panel full of stuff, I thought I'd never be able to understand what was going on but you explained it all very well and I think I pretty much understood all of it. Good job.

[@jimginnyohio]

Rob Hobbo Thank you!

[@RetiredandLivingthedream]

Have used your fuse board set up thanks so much for your video. So helpful. I have a small one 340 watt panel and cheap grid tie inverter. New to solar but will get more into it. Well done.

[@thediysolaroffgridproject286]

Another nice video as always. Thanks for sharing my friend and have a wonderful day.

[@gotj]

This is exactly was I was looking for.

[@tortoisefanfan]

Thank your sharing of this dedicate grid-tired solar power system.

[@MattieGriffin]

This video is great. I am looking at doing things "safely" and this is exactly what I need. Thank You.

[@mefarrehal-harbi489]

Thanks Jim, you are an inspiration and force for good.

[@jttylor6516]

Thanks so much for the clear and detailed presentation. Answered so many questions!

[@bronnz9239]

you did everything I thought to do in a future installation of the same type to protect the inverter, thanks

[@davidkettell6236]

it appears to be a terrific safe setup .congrats

[@southernohiosolarhomestead8477]

Nice update sir , beautiful system you have gotta love solar

[@verticalift]

Many thanks for posting. Even myself being a retired pilot was able to grasp your walk-through and explanation of how you set-up your system. Retired here to the island of Phuket in S.W. Thailand where we are 220VAC, I’ve just received my 1000W GTI and am getting ready to install. Installing everything from the Disconnect Box thru to the Breakers. Timer, Surge Protector, etc will all be incorporated into my new system. Again….thanks for your concise and thorough explanation in your post.

[@kipdennis3796]

Am new to this but currently am doing good, am now installing solar panel here in Kenya,thanks for this info very helpful and timely, cheers

[@jimginnyohio]

Hello to you in Kenya! I’m happy that you are enjoying my videos. Best wishes to you!

[@howarddickson636]

Informative description of safety y switches. Thanks Jimmy. The “cos” I think is the cos factor or power factor. You can look up descriptions of using the power factor information as read by the meter.but in essence the power factor of a load is defined as the ratio of active power to apparent power, i.e. kW divided by kVA and in mathematical terms is referred to as cos Ø. Cheers.

[@edwinberrios9538]

From Edwin, Puerto Rico, thanks for your valuable information. Keep it up.

[@mohamedsheikh2502]

Thanks a million for this great video , a lot of info. I plan to build a 1KW stand alone system and may be tie in later . God bless

[@adandridsr]

Thanks. Very good information and straight to the point.

[@skoto.power.systems]

Nice set-up

[@yotoagroditaenergy6972]

i learn safety device clearly from you. tyvm

[@crosleyfiver8686]

Well Thought out and will look into for your explanation in the beginning are my thoughts also!

[@uittyman]

I like the idea of this limiter and not back feeding into the grid.

[@abuxxx3607]

Nice. Detailed explanation.

[@electricengineer624]

God bless you bro Amazing job

[@samyuill]

personally I had to go to you tube settings and up the speed to 1.75 if that helps anyone and thank you for taking the to explain all in detail, much appriciated, liked

[@DeLaVeGaGR]

I know it's five years old video, but thanks for posting the safe way to wire this unit. I am going to install a 220V 2KW one. For the AC input side, I will use a Tuya smart over under voltage protector from AliExpress with built-in timer and power consumption meter, and alongside with that a surge protector for maximum safety.

[@ds1755]

Nicely executed!!!!!!!👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

[@jimginnyohio]

Thank you!

[@buellkingdom]

Thank you for sharing 👍

[@markgallagher0000]

brilliant,best vid i have seen...

[@offgridwanabe]

sweet setup

[@JayDublow]

You did a wonderful job

[@jessehernandez1903]

I like this method way better , avoid all the bs and cost. Great Video.

[@tiloalo]

Very interesting, I suppose it's still worth for most to inject back the power to the grid, simply because the top production hour of solar panel is usually not a time when you need the most power.

[@Hya-Hyan]

Wow.. so informative

[@tobiasgerber3546]

Thanks for your explanations. Well done! An improvement: PV side: after manual breaker wire the fuse in series BEFORE the surge protection. This surge protection handles a lot, bunt not a real strike with many mega Joules. If fuse is serial before, the fuse protects the surge protector too. Second, the surge protection should be DC, not AC! A PV with DC current will hold the AC surge protection in the fault position (after a real high voltage) and will burn! The reason is the missing zero voltage on a sinuous wave on AC which resets the protection. Same for the grid side. We in Europe use this stuff a lot and makes the power inside the building safe. I hope you understood my poor english...

[@randall626]

Nice video

[@NgaTran-bc1ck]

Thank you for the safety information

[@clintstinytrailerconversio5560]

Nice set up. BTW, Vos (I think) is voltage off-set, the difference between input and output. Not sure what its doing. Before current was flowing it was flashing around 0.3 volts... like a meter does when you are reading an open circuit... it can't figure it out and settle down. I think it went to 000 after you turned on the inverter. A quick point about grounding. Establish a single point from your house MGN (multi-ground neutral) usually the ground wire from the main panel at your equipment. Make that your one and only ground. Now, it doesn't matter where it is but I would use a bus bar of some kind for that, even if I made my own. Then you "bond" each cabinet or device to that ground bus or ground point. Never create a loop by running the ground from cabinet X to cabinet Y to cabinet Z. I could go into great detail what will happen, but doing it like I described will take care of it. Loops could simply negate what you are trying to do with the nice surge protection. I would love to build a grid-tie system and am learning about that, especially for small systems and what equipment is available now. I have a garage roof with a southern exposure that could mount more panels that I can afford and think it would fun to try it. Up til now my experience has been off-grid.

[@michaelcruz487]

Excellent video, really helpful, thanks. Can I recommend you check out the sonoff r2, it will act as a time controller and also provide real time data on usage etc and works with a mobile phone app.

[@nthfoldofheaven]

make sure the timer contact can handle the line ac current, . for inductive load limit the contact rating to 30%, if only resistive load limit it to 80%, you can use a small contactor. the timer contact activates the contactor, the load passes thru the contactor.

[@bostjantrancar9605]

Cos is something with inductive load's probably...resistors have cos=1. Inductive load's have less than that up to 0.99 you can improve this with some capacitors Cos is on the every single phase motor as value so that you can add capacitors to improve that factors up near 1 so less inductive current in the wireless less heated wires...something like that... 👍

[@khwolter9038]

Very informative! Thanks for putting up your series of videos on these limiting inverters! I have a couple of question about the choice of the AC side circuit breakers. First, what was the reason for using 16A breakers? I would think 10A would be a better choice since the inverters are only capable of about 950W. The lowest voltage for service to homes in the US is 108vac, so the worst case current would be (950W / 108v) 8.8A. Just about the right size for a 120v system. A 16A breaker wouldn't open until the power climbed to at least (108v x 16A) 1728W, a lot more than what the inverter is capable of. The second question is about the choice of using two pole breakers instead of single pole breakers? I don't see any harm in doing so, since the earths are still connected, just wondering if there was a safety related reason for doing so?

[@MP14236133]

US electrical code requires a Circuit breaker larger than your max load so if you have a 1000 watt inverter you want your circuit breaker to be a little larger than 1000 watts not smaller. This said you also do not want to over size your circuit breaker to much roughly only 10 percent. This will prevent your circuit breaker from tripping to often but tripping when a real over load occurs

[@davidball1924]

Thanks for the video. I bought the GTIL-2000 but i'd like to use with watchpower or something. Did you set up any kind of remote software?

[@peterwareing3045]

Hi Jim - really appreciate the videos they are sooo helpful. One point I am struggling with is the digital multi meter. You say at 30:47 it measures KW used, then at 33:12 you say it show KW produced - is this an error or does it show both? Keep up the good work Peter

[@brandonb5818]

I talked to an electrician today about this grid-tie inverter. We spent 30 minutes arguing that you don't need a battery because this is for the grid, not off-grid. He said I was going to catch the house on fire if I plug it in the wall. I sent him on his merry way.

[@jimginnyohio]

I know there are some people that have successfully connected batteries to this Grid-Tie inverter, but I haven't done that with mine. I know that some people have indeed set their house on fire too....although I don't believe any of the fires were caused by the inverter device. Instead, the fires were caused by poor battery management and configuration. Be sure that whatever option you go with, you understand thoroughly and you have a good battery management system (BMS) in place.

[@czarrevs3616]

Great Video again! question...what size wire did you use to connect each component behind the wooden panel. Thanks

[@jonathanmenendez1516]

You are the best Brou keep it up

[@hyperionsixzeroeight5064]

Guerilla Solar - the only way to go.

[@johnwyman6331]

Agreed, I actually have the T-shirt

[@danmizer2273]

Jim, many thanks for this informative and well presented video. At one point I understood you to say that you had tried and been unable to make a 240 vac version of this inverter work, that it would not work in the US. Can you please expand on that?

[@jimginnyohio]

Hi Dan. Yes, Early on, I was not able to get the 240v version working. However, since then, many others have posted. Newer videos showing that can indeed be done in the US. There are several good YT videos showing just how to do that. Also a few Facebook groups too. There is. YT a poster name SolarEngineering that shows how he was able to get the 240v version working successfully.

[@danmizer2273]

Thanks for the tip, now I understand your problem. I already have a relationship with the power company (solar panels) and do not intend to install the limiter. My application is a 1500w turbine and the 2000w inverter. My location is not the best sight so I don't expect to produce enough to catch the attention of the power company. I guess it will be part production and part yard art. What I am puzzled by is why they sent me a 120 v line cord, maybe I'll send them a note just for fun. Take care, thanks again.

[@carlosguzman4461]

what awg cable size you used to cable link between breakers SPD under/over meters ?

[@user-oe9fb8jl2c]

Здорово, 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@CroatianNinja]

Great video I'm curious I have a grid-tied inverter but its range is 36 volts however all of my panels are 41 volts is there a way to lower the voltage on the panels so they can meet the range of the grid-tied inverter and I can start using it thank you

[@jimginnyohio]

I'm not aware of any way to do that. Normally you will want to match your inverter to the panels when making your purchase.

[@aogulla]

A quick suggestion on the solar input wiring diagram (Minute 15:32). The DC Surge Protection Device or SPD should be fed from the 20A circuit breaker output. This is because Metal Oxide Varistors (MOVs) inside SPDs can develop short-circuits after arresting voltage spikes and transients. Should the 600VDC SPD short-circuit then the 20A breaker will trip to protect connected PV panels (i.e. if they can produce sufficient short-circuit current to trip the Curve C breaker). The SPD on the AC output side is wired correctly.

[@jimginnyohio]

OK, that's very interesting! I will look into that and take appropriate actions. Thank you for that information!

[@jimginnyohio]

OK, I looked into that a little more and here is what I found.... This particular SPD and Breaker is meant to protect everything from the inverter into the home instead of outside to the panels. Therefore, I believe it is correctly wired as is. Please note that I plan to install another quick disconnect box, breaker and SPD outside at the panel location. I plan to wire that SPD to protect the panels. I hope that makes more sense and paints a clearer picture. :-)

[@DaleKlein]

This is good comment, making me think about this for my system. For the DC side, if the DC SPD has been hit by lightning, or maybe from age and many smaller voltage spikes, then it will be shorted internally to ground, protecting the circuit. When the sun comes out, on the DC input side, the solar panels will be outputting voltage but are short circuited through the SPD. So the wire on that DC side to the SPD and to ground, should be sized to handle the short circuit current of the solar panels as wired. I guess your 4 DC panels are in series to the grid tie inverter?, so probably 10 amps or so maximum from the panels.

[@ryang6595]

Thanks for the great video. Does this unit have an internal limiter? I see it comes with an external, optional limiter. I have a long run from the main power to where I want to install the grid tie inverter, and was wondering if the internal limiter will adequately understand the amount of power my unit needs to produce. Also, what happens to the power that is limited if there are no batteries to dump it too. Does heat build up? Thanks I’m advance!

[@jimginnyohio]

Yes, it comes with an internal limiter, not an external one. The internal limiter has a monitor clamp that can only be extended about 25 feet from the unit. Solar power does not require a dump load like a wind turbine does. Not, there is no heat build up.

[@555Superd]

The power coming into most houses is 2 phase. One phase normally runs the lights and the other phase the wall sockets. 240VAC L1 to L2. 120VAC L1 to ground and 120VAC L2 to ground. You will need two inverters, one per phase. You also need to check if your power meter will not charge you for putting power out to the grid. Most power-smart meters will not run backwards.

[@randyh6636]

Why couldnt you use the 2000 watt version that is 240v AC into a double pole breaker then you would be feeding both legs. Only problem is I am not sure how the limiter would work as it only moniters one leg

[@artlowery2400]

Good post, but in the USA its called Split Phase. Smart meters run backwards, but bill as usage going into the house. Check out the dual coil cables on ebay. Search GTIL CABLE

[@RealHomerSimp2025]

Thank you for all your instructional videos, I received parts on this video and has question about wire hook up for SIN Timer, I see you have L(B) and N(W) on top and then bottom #4 (B) seem to go to Switch, where would #3 (B) go? #5 is not used? thanks again.

[@jimginnyohio]

Wire up just like in the diagram at 15:45 and things should be good.

[@NegritocitoCat]

I want to copy this system exactly as you've done it. How many PV panels did you use and what were their voltage? I have found some good priced 24 volt 300 watt panels, but I have a feeling that they won't work with your inverter. My other little question was when I install the dedicated circuit breaker, what gauge wire are you using? Are you using a a 20 amp breaker? are the wire gauges is that on the drawings?

[@jimstockton3326]

I am using four Sainty Solar 255 watt panels.8.5A pmax, 30V pmax each. These are wired in series and parallel as shown in the inverter guide. I used a 15amp breaker, although you could use a 20amp breaker as well. I used 12 gauge wiring.

[@Over_50s_DIY_Vanlife]

Hello, just came across this video and I’m planning on something similar. I notice on your AC side the surge protector is shown on the output of the circuit breaker in the circuit diagram, I would have thought it should be on the input side and it seems to be this way in the actual video. Can you confirm which you have ?

[@AllAroundTube50]

How many solar panels are you using? How much power producing? Great video.

[@danielgibler8062]

@jimginnyohio First off great video and presentation. I have a question, what would happen if I followed your exact setup except on the inverter side input have it hooked up to a 48v battery array with the battery hooked up to a MPPT charger and solar. The thought behind this is to be able to use it at night too?

[@jimginnyohio]

There are others that have done just that. If you do that, be sure to limit the power coming from the batteries into the GTI. Otherwise, it will run at full power constantly and drain the batteries quickly. You can limit that from within the GTI menu. One of the KZbinrs I recall doing that was Old Time Engineer. Look up some of his videos. There are others too, but I can't recall their names at the moment. Good luck!

[@chuckger1625]

I'm stuck doing a 24v system since I have 2 24v controllers already - so I'm trying to convert your items to work with that. the one item I'm not sure will work with a 24v system is - DC Surge Protection Device (AliExpress) Model: TZG40-C SPD DC 600V 20KA~40KA

[@dgrdigital]

In mathematics, sine and cosine are trigonometric functions of an angle. The sine and cosine of an acute angle are defined in the context of a right triangle: for the specified angle, its sine is the ratio of the length of the side that is opposite that angle to the length of the longest side of the triangle (the hypotenuse), and the cosine is the ratio of the length of the adjacent leg to that of the hypotenuse. For an angle {\displaystyle \theta }\theta , the sine and cosine functions are denoted simply as {\displaystyle \sin \theta }\sin \theta and {\displaystyle \cos \theta }\cos \theta.[1]

[@chuckger1625]

Thanks for the quick reply - what did you set your Under/Over Voltage Relay at??? If you are needing anything else from Aliexpress - they are having a BF sales like we are in the US - it's not a large discount , but it's some savings.

[@jimginnyohio]

Chuck Ger Thanks for the heads-up about Ali! Under set to 110v @ 300 secs. Over set to 124v also @ 300 secs.

[@taylormills08]

Hello from WV. You have a complex setup there. I understand this setup is cheap v a UL grid tie inverter but it limits your production a lot. Since solar produces most at middle of day and much less as you venture away from solar noon. What is the change on your electric bill? Could you review a bill where it charts your usage in months before and months after your setup?

[@badninja333]

Hi, I have search everywhere for the same setup as you have (not feeding the grid). I have a question. On your setup. What you have is setup for 120volts, which only applies to one leg of the main panel. In order for me to use this setup, either I double it (for use of both legs of the main panel) or put the circuits I use during the day on the same leg as the inverter?

[@jimstockton3326]

The answer to both questions is Yes. You could do either. Although, I would recommend using two inverters....one on each leg. It will cost more up front, but would be the safer alternative since your house was probably load balanced when the original circuits were installed.

[@brandonoh777]

Is there a setting in the menus for the sun 1000 W grid-tie inverter to limit its maximum production to a value less than 1000?

[@ronaldknight968]

Im gona hook up one like this..

[@foxrace0985]

very informative...I saw one of those grid tie inverters and thought it seemed pretty sketchy to plug right into an outlet.. I like your idea of a completely separate circuit. I wonder if a circuit breaker would blow if something came into the panel with too many amps... normally they blow when pulling to many amps out.. Anyway, great video besides that awful shirt... Go Blue! ;-)

[@jimstockton3326]

Thanks for your comments! It's my understanding that the circuit breaker will blow regardless of the direction the power is going - in or out. Also, you'll be happy to know that I too am a true blue blood. Grew up in that great state up north. I just wear the shirt to keep my wife happy. We get along well except for that one day of the year when we divide the living room in half and throw things at each other. :-)

[@davidkettell6236]

@@jimstockton3326 there is no great state up north >only a southern Canadian province .Buckeyes rule.

[@airwheelx3443]

Thanks so much for this video. Great help for me. I just ordered a SunG GTIL2 Grid Tie inverter from @Rogel Naval

[@jimginnyohio]

Nice! I’m sure you’ll be happy! Rogel is very knowledgeable and will give you a great deal.

[@tjsmith3060]

Nice system. Great set up. The one thing I did notice was your explanation of over loading a circuit was actually not completely correct.

[@jimginnyohio]

I believe I know which comment I made you are referring to. Although I wasn't referring to overloading a "circuit" so much as overloading the wiring that is used on that circuit. Please watch this video since this guy explains things much better than I did in my video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mKOVd2h3hr2LmLc

[@aedgvv6095]

i have one of those blue 1200 LCD tie inverters. 85-140 DC IN, which breaker breaker should i use?

[@georgetavernier679]

With the grid tie inverters 8000w it is provided with the three sprong cord for recharging the battery when using it do you have to plug another cord to access the 220 or 110 volts

[@jimginnyohio]

The grid tie inverter is 1000 watts and is not connected to batteries.

[@lauramarsotomayor3668]

Hi Jim, its being a while, can you tell me if placing two grid tie inverters on each fase does work on the US with the original cable coil.

[@jimginnyohio]

Lauramar Sotomayor Yes. However the main problem in the US is that in most cases, the original cable coil is physically too small to fit around the 100 amp phase cables. That is why most people replace the originals. When buying a replacement, you must get exactly the same rated coils. Otherwise the power readings will be inaccurate like in my video.

[@josestringhini2912]

Very good your videos especially this one. Congratulations, you won one more subscriber. I am riding a similar or better like this. I'm sorry, I would like to know how many watts are coming from solar panels (I don't know if you mentioned it in the video or I went unnoticed). Thank you very much ... Stringhini from Sao Paulo / Bre´zil /.

[@jimginnyohio]

The GTI system has four 255 watt panels connected. The most I have seen coming in so far is about 950 watts. Thank you for subscribing! Best wishes!

[@josestringhini2912]

@@jimginnyohio Let me abuse you some more. (i) as i am also installing a Sun 1000W inverter for 110v to 127v grid (ii) i already thought there would be 4 (four) solar panels in your system but i loved your confirmation (iii) and the average efficiency of your panels was + - 90% at maximum peak (iv), I think, within the inverter's safety margin and PSolar efficiency (v) I would just like to know if your Break model TOB1z-63 DC 440V input has never tripped / stopped without your interference. No thanks a lot and I'm enjoying your very good videos. Hugs from / Bre´zil /

[@jimginnyohio]

José Stringhini No, the breaker has never tripped...so far! Hoping it doesn’t happen! :-)

[@bloodborne6]

Cool, set up. Would you be able to use these batteries for a camper van? I’m thinking of doing a 300/400 watt solar system and want to invest in lithium batteries like these valences but I’ve never seen anyone do it with them so I was just curious.

[@jimginnyohio]

Yes, absolutely! Many people are doing just that!

[@bloodborne6]

Awesome thank you for your help!

[@diydan6045]

Jim I'm thinking of doing the same thing. I'm trying to understand you added your own outlets in your home to be isolated from house wiring? If so how many?

[@jimginnyohio]

DIY Guy Home owner Yes, correct. I added two addition outlets. One on each leg of my breaker panel. This way, I can install the grid tied inverter on either side of the panel or install a second inverter later, one for each side. Good luck!

[@Fourcycle]

He added another 240vac circuit breaker to his home wiring and has a dedicated run, that includes a neutral white wire, to his inverter panel. One side of the 240, with respect to t he white neutral wire, gets connected to his inverter. The inverter circuit is not isolated from the house wiring since it can back-feed in to the home's CB panel. Ideally he'd have a external current transformer attached to whichever leg of the 240 coming into the house the inverter is on so that the inverter can throttle back the power in case his consumption is less then his production, thereby not exporting to the grid.

[@rland1972]

I purchased 2 of the over/under protection ones but just can’t get them to work. When hooked up they light up and blink the voltage. I went by the wiring diagram you show. Am I doing something wrong?

[@jimginnyohio]

I would need to see a few close up photos or a video of your wiring before making any guesses as to what is wrong.

[@rbtx99]

17:32 - No you don't want to pull air out of it. Positive pressure (pushing air in) is always better for the fresh air to reach everywhere in the box. When you are sucking out the air is drawn from a very limited space near the fan.

[@MrSummitville]

At time 18:35, you claim that the Halex 60 Amp 122/240 Volt AC Disconnect, is also "DC Rated". I cannot find any DC Rating for this device on the HALEX website. Where did you get the DC RATING ?

[@eliasvillagomez8258]

Hello Jimmy, really enjoy your solar info. videos ! One question on one of your videos you spoke about the 2KW grid tie inverter , 240 volt, to not get that one. What is the reason Please, I just ordered it before I saw that video .

[@jimstockton3326]

Hi Eli. If you are outside of the U.S., this device should work just fine as it is. However, If you are in the U.S., please keep in mind that the limiter clamp will only be monitoring one side of your electrical panel while the inverter will be outputting to both sides. In this case, the inverter will not be efficient. It would be better to purchase two of the 1KW devices and connect one to each side of your electrical panel.

[@eliasvillagomez8258]

Thank you very much for your help. I was trying to save some bucks ( $440 for 1, $600 for 2ea. ) & yes I live in south Texas, so long.

[@jimginnyohio]

Elias Villagomez OK, good luck with your installation. You may want to check this out to make the 220v unit work better. This will allow you to monitor both legs on your incoming grid power. Please let me know how things go since I would be interested in learning more too. Best wishes! www.ebay.com/itm/Upgraded-cable-coils-for-US-220v-Grid-tie-inverter-with-Limiter-GTIL/232675119713?hash=item362c849261:m:mUO6Uuwgu0jtZB4XB0slTWw

[@carlosguzman4461]

@@jimginnyohio Wit this upgrade cable both phases will be monitored... and no back feeding to the meter ?

[@jimginnyohio]

Carlos Guzman I’m not sure how that works with the 2KW model. However, with the two 1KW inverters I am using, there is no feedback to the meter.

[@romelyntesado2500]

On my idea I'm adding one safety feature for other people... just in case mulfunctioning occurs,Like putting magnetic contactor to the output of your inverter it's automatically cutoff the line from it when the absence of power from grid.

[@aedgvv6095]

great video, i have the same inverter, does anyone know which software i use on Windows to monitor the inverter via its Serial port (rs232)

[@artlowery2400]

Jim, Did you try the dual limiter cables to monitor both sides of the split phase, L1 and L2? Search Ebay for "GTIL cable"

[@jimginnyohio]

That wouldn't work for two reasons. 1. The reason I originally replaced the clamp was because it was too small to fit the 2AWG cable that is used for L1 and L2 coming into my house. The dual clamps you are referring to are the smaller size clamp. 2. The replacement clamp I purchased was the cause of the device misreading the true power usage in my house. I needed a clamp that correctly reads one side; either L1 or L2.

[@primus711]

go bucks im from CO down in FL now and about to build my system i have full sun no shade lol i need it just to shade my house

[@jimginnyohio]

Kev711 2001 Good luck with your build. I hope it provides great power and shade! Dual-Purpose build!

[@carsenk]

What size wires are you using for the breaker panel jumper connections? What size wire do you recommend going from panels?

[@jimginnyohio]

Carsen Klock For the breaker panel jumper wires I used 12 gauge. For the cables coming from your panels, it depends on the amps you have the panels configured for. Best to check the National Codes for that based on your particular setup. For mine, I used 8 AWG.

[@carsenk]

@@jimginnyohio Thank you so much! I will be attempting to wire the same failsafes as you, I will be putting inline fuses at my solar panels and a secondary disconnect box (two total), I will also be grounding out my solar panel array (probably only going with four 100w 12v two in series and then the two pairs in parallel to get the 24v), would love to see a video of how the system has been running for the past year!

[@exallievididonbosconcrgrou7544]

George here...Jim, in your video, you placed an AC SPD in the panel box thru which the 120V AC output of the inverter is passing through. Don't you think it is better to put this AC SPD in the AC line coming in from your electricity supplier (YES-the grid). Any surge coming in from outside ... from the grid will be "caught" by this AC SPD ... thus protecting your entire distribution circuits in your mains panel board ... including your exclusive 120 volt outlet for your inverter output. From the looks of it, you are just protecting your GTIL INVERTER but not your other house appliances - unless, of course, you already have an AC SPD at the entrance of your house main lines.

[@johnq8792]

thats what I did, put the spd before the breaker, I believe it is better so. And put a thick ground wire #6 direct to the earth rod so lighting surge can flow to ground better.

[@johnrbnsn]

Could you get the 220V one and then use a dual pole breaker in the circuit breaker box? Send power to both legs?

[@jimginnyohio]

Yes, some people have done that, but I have not. The difficulty is in finding a set of power sensing clamps that work correctly.

[@pkefvkef4856]

Dear Friend.Thank you for your kind responce to my questions. For 2 years now i operate the 2kw SUN grid tie inverter .The panel input is almost 2,2 Kw and the output of the inverter in AC is 1450 watt.So i decided to add 2 more panels giving him as a solar panel input 85 volts dc at 32 Ampere.I have not exceed 90 volts as the machine instructs. So make it simple.The power that the inverter gets to convert to AC is 85 x 32 = 2720 WATT. The actual output in the screen is 1890 WATT. which means that at 2720 watt has a loss of 830 watt. At 100 Watt how much.We find...a loss of 30,5 watt in every 100 watt input power.Which finally means that the efficiency of this inverter is 69,5 %.which means that choosing this inverter you must have in mind that you have to add about 800 watt on top of its nominal written output 2KW.....I would be pleased if you tell me honestly whats the solar panel power you feed this 2 kw inverter and what it gives you. Thank you very much.

[@jimginnyohio]

Please keep in mind that just because your panels are rated for a certain wattage, does NOT mean they will output at full power. There will always be losses in the wires and all connecting points too. Also yes, these are inexpensively made devices that are not as efficient as higher cost inverters. It's best to keep experimenting to see what works best for your particular equipment and situations. Sorry that I'm not able to provide better details!

[@pkefvkef4856]

@@jimginnyohio You highlight that'' There will always be losses in the wires and all connecting points in the wire bends...etc.'' But please take in account that the measurements that took were at the input point of the inverter.With a high orecision Volt meter and a special DC clamp meter.The measurements were correct.So i noticed that in order for this SUN 2KW inverters to ''approach'' the nominal as they advertice AC power of 2 KW people have to connect almost solar panels in order to give 2800 or even 3000 Watt....This is the point.....Truth can not be hidden in our technical world.....by NOBODY. Thank you very much.Respectifully .

[@aedgvv6095]

cool metal panel behind the inverer where did u get it from?

[@jimginnyohio]

It’s simply a piece of sheet metal. You can pick it up at any big box store.

[@cliffBMRC]

My SUN-2000W GTIL2 will not save settings after correct operations. Any ideas as to how to factory reset, or correct the problem. THANK YOU. Cliff

[@naturafibre7905]

I'm planning to use this inverter. Is there a way to store surplus power from the solar panels, ie I've seen a video about adding hybrid inverter and batteries combining the grid tie inverter (non limiter inverter)

[@jimginnyohio]

Yes, there are several people that have posted videos for how to add batteries to these inverters. Check out Old Time Engineer’s channel. There are several others too...just do a search in YT and you will find those. Sorry, but I haven’t added batteries for mine.

[@naturafibre7905]

@@jimginnyohio thanks for reply. I'll check it out

[@sipneat4027]

I have a question I cant seem to find an answer to. I currently have a "professional" solar install using SolarEdge inverter with power optimizers. Its using 22 LG solar panels and works well however, I would like to add some power to my house as we seem to be using more power then we thought, mostly due to the fact we now work from home. I would rather just add a something like this myself to help out but Im curious if it would/could cause an issue with my current system? On one side given that the power company knows we push back to the grid I could just push what we dont use back in addition to what we do during the day (not much and we have a shading issue), but I dont want to push to the inverter and damage it. Any help mush appreciated.

[@jimginnyohio]

If you set up a couple of the blue devices (GTIL2), it would be completely independent of what you already have installed and therefore would not impact your existing system at all. Please understand that you would need to install additional solar panels and wire them directly to the GTIL device so that they are not in contact with your other system. It should work!

[@sipneat4027]

AWESOME thanks... my plan is to follow your system with all the safety parts (just smart IMAO), may paint the backboard something fun! :) My concern was if I was pushing back to the grid via a dedicated outlet and circuit that it could somehow feed back to the existing solar inverter. Does not seem likely but you know what they say about assumptions.. :) I will have separate solar panels and I am not touching the current setup. I will have the limiter but given that the power company assumes I will push to them at some point, I was thinking of just letting it do that, though it would not be much as we use it. Again THANK YOU, your videos are great, detailed and very thorough!!

[@SirValak]

Hi mate nice setup :) how is it running after these years? Im installing the same you did :)

[@jimginnyohio]

Everything has been running great! Looking forward to adding more power soon. Good luck with your install!

[@cricketol]

how is your system going any news i would like to hear how your grid tie inverter is going

[@user-tb7yj5eo5x]

Can you help me understand the order to add these safety devices on the AC side when connecting to a hybrid controller that has both AC in and AC out? I assume put all 5 (timer, volt protector, surge, breaker, and meter) on the "DC output" leg rather than the DC input leg... Thank you.

[@jimginnyohio]

Sorry, but I wouldn’t know how to answer that without knowing specifically what you are connecting to. The components I listed for this are designed specifically for use with the controller I am using.

[@user-tb7yj5eo5x]

@@jimginnyohio MPP Solar HV LV2424 I believe it's like your off-grid unit, but a hybrid (on/off grid)

[@todah09]

Can you disable the limiter? I'm in Florida and my city doesn't mind the grid tie.

[@jimstockton3326]

Yes, you can either disable it or configure the output settings as desired.