Renogy Inverter: Automatic Transfer Switch Feature (episode 40)

Unimpressed Jeff talks about the Renogy Inverter Auto Transfer Switch Feature.

[@johnboland8024]

Great vid, and about the only one out there at the moment covering this. thanks

[@dragos2020]

I have been looking for those exact answers for weeks.. stumbled across your video. On my 4th van conversion. Thank you very much.

[@jockspice]

Just got one myself and this is exactly what I needed to know 👍

[@keithlillis7962]

I've just bought one of these, but yet to install. You have answered my question - Many thanks :-)

[@paulg8524]

great vid, answered all the questions i had, only have to run one set off sockets now which is great news

[@slartibartfast8759]

Thanks Jeff I was rate chuffed to hear about the auto transfer switch so I got one of these...!

[@nickchezontour8356]

Just fitted a 3000w and the change over works the same way, thanks for the video

[@jinjocat]

Brilliant, thank you, that's just what I was looking for, and drawing a blank on too!

[@only-vans]

OOooooooh!, Jeff. That was probably the most thought provoking video that you and Pixie have produced to date. I now have to go out to see if my CSC2000's transfer switch operates if the inverter is switched off. Renogy may not be the big name in van builds/overland rigs/ off road /off grid yet, but they are certainly great quality products at way less than sterling/victron prices. Good choice, good video

[@LiamTheTerrible]

Pixie is the talented one

[@paulkaciuba7252]

Hey mate did you figure out if there is mains power at the inverter outputs with the switch turned off?

[@oldmaninashed]

I like your videos because you explain stuff in a way a daft old bugger like me can understand 👍😂

[@jamesmcewan254]

Great info I am in the process of installing the same inverter and was unsure about the automatic changeover

[@diandmartydownes1611]

Very good information guys. 👏🏻👍🏻. X.

[@scubacollie2083]

Hi mate ive just got this Inverter did you connect the Ground wire ring terminal on the DC Input Side? I've read conflicting information about this?

[@Sammo-w2y]

So... In a previous video you showed us a auto switch. That switches from mains to inverter, this inverter makes that set up redundant. Pretty clever.

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

Well if you buying an inverter now this might prove to be a good solution. If you already have an inverter you could use the previous video method. Either way you have a solution.

[@saaid000]

Thank you very much. Excellent video.

[@kayfletcher4400]

Hi Jeff. I have just bought the Renogy 3000w inverter and you have just given the best explanation on how it is set up. Thanks. What is the make and model of the consumer unit that you have used as I am struggling to find one that is similar?

[@DelDelap]

great video, this might be a silly question, so im planning on getting my first caravan and want to run a TV, Kettle, laptop and maybe a microwave could i use this witha 110ah lithim battery or do i need to double up on the batteries?

[@kevingalloway9338]

Thanks for a great video

[@kroozer5215]

I'm a little puzzled to be honest, after discovering the inverter I have has a built-in auto switchover mechanism ... same as yours but the 3000 version... I don't know where to run the lead to from the inverters AC input... do I remove the original hook up lead that comes out of my breaker unit that is fed from the outside hook up point or tap into it with some wago connectors ? Or is there another way ? My van is a motorhome by the way so it has a little circuit breaker board that controls the electrics

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

Message me on Instagram. @unimpressedjeff and I will be happy to discuss.

[@billbadiha9836]

Very helpful video. Not much info about this on the net.

[@maltesesausage4223]

Hey mate Could I go straight from sure power through the inverter then back up to the rcd cb and not touch any of the existing wiring after the rcd? Would it still be rcd protected? Thanks mate

[@mickmat860]

Am I correct in saying there will be two cables feeding the consumer unit, inverter cable and shore power? Thx.

[@RobinsonRoxy]

Dude - Good video, but in your cold beer scenario, on mains in failure how do you stop the guy working on the mains in supply or generator in supply getting a belt from the 240v being produced by the inverter and being fed back through the consumer unit into the mains in connection? What am I missing

[@john2169neo]

Hi Jeff great video. could you tell me how you wired up the consumer unit for inverter and shore power please as I'm a little stuck at that part

[@bouydogsbus3672]

Good interesting stuff 👍👍

[@joe2001mini]

Hey Jeff, brilliant video which has saved me a lot of time and faffing, sorry if it's in the video and I missed it but when running the electrics on shore power thru the inverter are you still limited to 1000 or 2000w that the inverter is rated for? Also I don't have a consumer unit after my inverter as I thought the inverter had its own cut outs, is this not correct?

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

You are limited to 16 amps throughput I believe. I am going to be testing the effectiveness of the RCD etc in a week or so. Drop me a line on Instagram. Unimpressedjeff.

[@mrshoe9]

Hi, maybe you could answer a question. If I wasn't using a split consumer unit and wanted to be able to power all sockets from the inverter, is it just a case of connecting the ac input to a spare socket then the ac ouput from the inverter back into the shore power input. If that makes sense. Thanks (great video)

[@mrshoe9]

I should elaborate. I'm using a sargent ec155 for my dc and ac and want to use the renogy inverter to power all sockets through the ec-155. Sargent tell me No don't do it.and won't help. Can't find anything online, then found your video. 👍

[@carlos76437]

Great video! I was exactly looking for that info. There's just one thing I'd like to know: being the inverter off, can you draw more than the 2000w from mains passing through the inverter?

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

I believe up to ,16 amps but you would have to check to be sure. If it's a 10 amp pass through then yes 2000w is about your max.

[@mange2]

I'm sorry for sounding thick, but I'm struggling to understand why the power out of the inverter has to go back to the MCB box before powering back out to the sockets. If the power comes into the MCB from hook up, then out to inverter input, why cant the inverter 'output' just wire straight to the first socket in the chain powering all sockets?

[@andrewstafford166]

They provide protection if the inverter is running as they are downstream of it. The Shore power protection is upstream of the inverter so has only an effect when shore power is live. Yes this creates a level of "double " protection but without it you would have no protection when shore power is off and you are using the inverter power exclusively.

[@erickerr4960]

Hi Jeff, I have a similar setup but not quite. If I do a brief schematic could you please tell me if that’s ok?

[@kroozer5215]

It's kinda weird that I have come across your video about this, ive had the 3000 renogy inverter now nearly 12 months and its never bleeped once, running aircon and electric hobs together etc, and I have only today been wondering why...if I run an extension lead with a socket on if I plug in a plug tester it shows no earth is present, and I've been wondering...and still am even after watching you.. how that AC port switchover works and how I can wire it up

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

Hello. I have run more recent videos about centre tapped Vs neutral earth bonded inverters. Check em out to go further down the rabbit hole.

[@batlowboy9368]

Ah thank you so much, thank god i found this clip, just the info i was after. Have you had a good run with your Renogy inverter following the install? Cheers Mike

[@RealProVanR]

Can you help? I have a Renogy 3000 watt charger/inverter with an led screen. The monitor shows 85% with batteries at 250 ( 3, 100 hour lithium batteries). I also have 2, 100 solar panels. I want to top off batteries and plugged into shore power. Power source check out good. The batteries never get beyond 85% or 250. Either with the inverter turned on or off. The only drain on batteries is a Dometic refrig which isn’t that much draw. I've been plugged into shore power for 3 days. Also, I had in the past had battery readings of 100% or 296. What am I doing wrong?

[@RealProVanR]

Oh, when plugged into shore power, the led screen on inverter reads 122 in and 122 out???

[@user-ci9nn7nm6k]

Great video and i totally agree that the documentation is terrible on this functionality. Question I have is how much current can the bypass circuit take? I have a 1000 watt unit vut when on hookup i want to be sure i can run 2000+ watt appliances through internal switchbif that makes sense? Thanks

[@Pugwash.]

Good video. I wonder if Sean Bean will survive this one?

[@bernardharvey187]

Well I learned something, thanks

[@JonLucas1]

Really great clip! I guess when the inverter is off the mains AC will revert to 3kw of power going in and out of the unit and is not restricted to 2kw?

[@pauljones1633]

I was a bit unsure about that, so sent an email to Renogy and this was their response:- All of our inverters will still produce their rated power output even if they are connected to an AC input. This means that the 1000W inverter will still produce 1000W even when connected to mains power. So it seems not, which is a bit rubbish

[@Thingamajigs]

I'm curious what safeguards (if any) renogy incorporated into the circuit design to prevent backfeeding. or for that matter, if this even complies with safety or regulatory standards.

[@drewhodge3820]

Does it also charge the battery through the inverter? Iv seen other inverters that will also charge the battery up to 30A from the inverter when your on mains hook up power.

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

There are inverter chargers but this isn't one of them. I am using a separate 30 amp charger that will only activate when on hook up power.

[@only-vans]

Sunshine Solar CSC2000 is an inverter/charger , however the charger is 15A. Be careful at the rate you charge at. Most leisure batteries are rated C20

[@kyaorrb]

Great vid thanks! What would happen if you connected the shore power straight into the inverter though? rather than going via the first RCD/MCB first?

[@erickerr4960]

Dan, I’ve got the exact same Q. If the inverter uses the transfer switch to alternate between sources before distributing the output via MCB/RCD then to power outlets would this work?

[@kyaorrb]

@@erickerr4960 hey so from speaking to some people who’ve done this before, the way to do it is have shore hookup > rcd/mcb > inverter > sockets. This is to protect the inverter. The renogy invert has surge and leak protection built in, so there is no need to have another consumer unit after the inverter (you could it would just be pointless). Then after the inverter you basically just wire up extension leads to sockets. This is what I’m going with :)

[@erickerr4960]

@@kyaorrb yeah I thought so.

[@tomf4547]

I run an extension lead into the van from the shore power. Then I plug the kettle lead from the inverter into that. Keeps my van wiring to minimum.

[@a3xloser]

Hi saw you had subed to my car camping channel so popped by to have a look, not sre i an going to bother filming much longer, may just do my travels with out the hassle of filming and editing

[@samueldennis8343]

We're looking at doing a van build and this is super helpful! Thanks so much! Also, is this feasible? Say you're on a site on EHU, a storm knocks the power on the site out, inverter kicks in, to get around the no earth fault, can you junction in the earth from the EHU lead, so you're always earthed? I'm not an electrician, can you tell 😂

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

No you can't however that's not important. Check out my later vids about inverters and earthing. Really boring but all the information is there.

[@samueldennis8343]

@@AlwaysVanAdventure never boring! Thanks so much, fully invested! 👀

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

@@samueldennis8343 btw if you are on Instagram you can always message me. Unimpressedjeff

[@tomf4547]

Sorry, didn't cover an important feature of which I still can't find the answer. I plugged my system into a 240v campsite hook up yesterday but still dont know if that sends power through the inverter to top up the batteries? My solar display continued to read 12.2v. I was hoping to see 13v.

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

Nope. It's not a battery charger so wouldn't have covered that feature as it absent from this device. It does 12 v to 230 v only not 230v to 12 v

[@rogerstarkey5390]

Renergy appear to have an sale on at the present! 10-20% off!

[@johnbedford9150]

Why not put shore power from exterior shorepower socket straight to inverter then inverter output to consumer unit? If on, inverter would power van from battery and then when shorepower attached it would go to bypass, and if you lost or had intermittant mains supply it would swith to inverting mode. If off it would still work with shorepower but not power from battery until turned on.

[@jaywilliams510]

Brilliant! So, just to make sure I understand...this setup will supply power to your outlets automatically from shore power, but because your Renogy device is not an inverter charger, it will not charge the batteries via the shore power. Is that correct?

[@MsRotorwings]

Correct. I bought a Victron Smart charger to charge my lithium battery. I have the same inverter. I could not justify the cost of the combined inverter/charger.

[@tomf4547]

Damn, the only reason I plugged into shore power yesterday was to top up the batts. That would be a very useful feature!

[@Matt-df6hz]

Do you know if the inverter is isolated or not, been trying to find out this information for a while.

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

Define isolated

[@ForPropertyInvestors]

Wish for a schematic to give my electrician. I bought the 3000watt Renogy with ATS and a sep lithium charger getting this done in a caravan would be great!

[@ForPropertyInvestors]

OK, so i watched the video again! Great video, part I’m not sure about, in an old caravan is already prewired with all sorts of 240v shore power (Australia). If sparky put RCD etc on will he plug a regular lead in the inverter and hard wire it to existing shore power circuit. Therefore effectively replicating the system you’ve demonstrated?

[@ForPropertyInvestors]

What’d happen if someone plugged the inverter input to the (only) shore power plug using there own seperate lead? Would it trip or stop or break and fry something???

[@kieron8162]

Would you be willing to help with my electrics with my build?

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

Absolutely

[@akaday]

But what happens on that loop if you have a lithium smart charger plugged in that comes on when you plug into shore power (if that makes sense 🤦‍♂️) would love mine to do this. Thanks

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

This is shown in the diagram near the end

[@akaday]

Odd but I can’t see the diagram, it doesn’t come up.

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

@@akaday my bad. Wrong video. Yeah you can do it. If you on Instagram message me. Unimpressedjeff

[@MichaelEastForest]

Mine lasted exactly fourteen months from the moment it was professionally installed. The warranty for this product is one year. I contacted Renogy customer service bc an inverter is supposed to last something like twelve to fifteen years according to current design standards. Renogy informed me after asking me for photos that my unit certainly had malfunctioned but since it was out of warranty they cannot help me. Read that again if you are considering this for your van or camper. Mine is at least the third unit I’ve heard of wearing out before the fifteen month mark. It’s almost as if they are made just good enough to put outlast the warranty by a bit and die. I’m making a video about this product and the customer service of this company soon. For $400 more I could have had a Victron that would have lasted fifteen years. Now I’ve cost myself an extra $700 for this unit that is of poor design. Don’t buy this product and limit how much Renogy equipment you install in your build bc they will not stand behind their products if you encounter issues.

[@lucashermann7262]

Anyone knows the switching time from ac to bat?

[@eckythump6429]

Be interested to see how many watts you get out of it. I can only pull 1500watts on mine and it trips out.

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

Interesting. It's on 50mm cable 1 metre length so it's got every opportunity to perform.

[@eckythump6429]

@@AlwaysVanAdventure mine in right next to a 280ah lithium setup using their supplied double cables. With an induction hob it trips within a few seconds at 1900 watts. As you go down the power settings it runs for longer on each one until finally remaining on at 1450watts (according to shunt & BMS). Renogy are blaming cables or my battery. I have the 50amp B2B with MPPT similar to the one in your earlier video. That works well👍🏼 Pretty sure you can use the remote or the onboard switch for the inverter. Onboard switch has to be in position II for remote operation or I for local on.

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

Now that is a very comprehensive setup. Where are you based ?

[@eckythump6429]

@@AlwaysVanAdventure North Yorkshire Moors.

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

@@eckythump6429 do you have Instagram?

[@LiamTheTerrible]

Ahh yeah good video about tyres

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

Surprised this didn't get flagged by KZbin for racism.

[@TheBeechwoods]

As always, you are fluent in idiot.. even I can understand it.. 😃❤

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

Too kind sausage

[@TheBeechwoods]

@@AlwaysVanAdventure 👍❤

[@michaelfitzpatrick3641]

You have an unsafe system. Although you have a RCD on the output of the inverter it will not operate and thus not protect against electric shock . For the RCD to function when the inverter is operating in stand alone mode, the inverter needs a neutral to earth bond. The Renogy inverter does not automaticly make this bond. The Renogy pass through inverter must not be used in a permanent install powering multiple outlets and appliances. The output , in stand alone mode, no hook up power, is 120 volts on both the live and neutral with respect to earth. Mike

[@moparmadness6630]

Thank you for this video! 🙌🏻 One question if I may.....the shore power comes in to the consumer unit, through the rcd then via the MCB where the inverter is wired into....do I need to then bring the outlet part of the inverter back into another rcd and then out via another MCB to go to the sockets? Or can I just go direct from inverter via consumer unit straight to sockets? My board has 40amp rcd and 2x 16a MCB. Thanks! 😁

[@glynmeek4830]

Jeff same question as Bradley, any chance you could do a quick schematic on the set up to help get my head around it a little better, cheers

[@aledhughes3325]

Thought i'd solved my issue by seeing this but apparently it doesn't comply with regs and can cause a voltage leak ☹️

[@WizzRacing]

Since when is that AC outlet a transfer switch? As the instructions say it's for directly wiring multi outlets on one circuit... I don't see anywhere it says you can supply voltage to that outlet..

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

You don't. It has an input and an outlet. The outlet goes to the sockets. The inlet to shore power hook up.

[@WizzRacing]

@@AlwaysVanAdventure Well that must be some old Renogy Inverter. As the one they sell now wights like 55lbs and looks nothing like that one..

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

@@WizzRacing it was available to purchase at the time I made the video

[@WizzRacing]

@@AlwaysVanAdventure I'm trying to find that model on their website... You got a model number? As it sure looks a lot lighter then the one they show now. But the new one does up to 75 amps Lithium charging when plugged into shore power..Might be why it weights so much now...

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

@@WizzRacing the inverter charger and inverter are separate products. The renogy 12 volt 2000 watt and 3000w still showing on renogy website and Amazon

[@grandpafossil]

🙂👍🏽

[@mitmamitmus4113]

why not use a plug in rcd on the out of inverter .Are you not living up the hookup,

[@aledhughes3325]

Omg so glad i found this vid it's answered a dilemma i have only one question is what type of consumer unit is that as that's what I need? Thanks

[@MultiOutdoorman]

Without expanding too much, there are SO many electrical safety issues here. RCD on inverter wont trip due to a lack of neutral - earth bond. Hardly any DC or AC cable protection from metal abrasion. Back feed issues into the grid. Chassis grounding and AC earthing are TOTALLY different A generator 4 pole transfer switch is a better option ( Make Break Make) A test button does NOT prove an RCD will trip. They trip by detecting an INCOMING imbalance between polarity and ground potential difference which needs a reference to earth. They dont trip on your side ...on the INCOMING side. BE CAREFUL !!

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

Please check out later videos regarding the above. Thanks

[@michaelfitzpatrick3641]

You have an unsafe system. Although you have a RCD on the output of the inverter it will not operate and thus not protect against electric shock . For the RCD to function when the inverter is operating in stand alone mode, the inverter needs a neutral to earth bond. The Renogy inverter does not automaticly make this bond. The Renogy pass through inverter must not be used in a permanent install powering multiple outlets and appliances. The output , in stand alone mode, no hook up power, is 120 volts on both the live and neutral with respect to earth. Mike

[@AlwaysVanAdventure]

Hi Mike. I cover this in detail in later vids. Thanks you. Jeff