Hi everyone, I'd like to introduce my self. My name is Ian, and I'm a carpenter living in Ontario, Canada. I'm in the process of building a small cabin on an 80 acre wood lot in central Ontario.
The cabin shell is all done, and this spring I'll be resuming the project and completing the interior. Last fall I started wiring a cabin with the intention of setting up a very small and simple solar system this spring.
This is what I've done so far: I have wired two separate 'circuits', one for receptacles, the other for lights. The circuit with receptacles includes two GFCI's on the main floor, and one GFCI in the loft. The other circuit includes one ceiling light fixture on the main floor with single switch, and two pot lights in the loft with single switch. All lights are LED. Everything is wired with 14/2 Romex.
The circuits are wired with a three prong male plug on the end. The idea here is that I can plug these circuits into an inverter. I tested the system by plugging the circuits into an extension cord coming from my portable Yamaha generator. The lights and GFCI plugs worked fine.
I realize that this is not a conventional setup. I'm not necessarily looking to be up to code or conventional. I just want to know if this setup will work and not burn the building down or electrocute someone.
This is what leads me to my first question:
1.A. Will this work with an inverter, just as it did with the generator?
1.B. Is this setup safe as it is, or does it require something additional, such as grounding?
1.C. If grounding is required, could I end the circuits in a junction box and run a ground wire from the box to a grounding rod outside? Would this work in grounding the circuits, and is it necessary seeing as the GFCI outlets would mitigate the need for grounding in the first place?
The solar setup that I am planning is as follows:
Renogy 100 watts 12 volt panel
30' 10 AWG wiring from solar panel to CC
Mohoo 20A PWM CC
Eaton 140Ah 12 volt AGM battery
Renogy pure sine wave off grid battery inverter 500W 12 volt
This setup is sized to charge cellphones and run the three lights in the cabin at night. The system will be used about every other weekend, two to three days at a time. Appliances run off of propane, anything that requires more power I'll run off of my generator.
This leads me to my second question:
2.A. Do I need to ground this small solar setup, and if so, what would this entail? Ground the solar panel, inverter and battery?
2.B. Do I need to use fuses between the panel and the CC, as well as between the battery and the CC and the battery and the inverter?
Thank you for taking the time to read through this. I'm grateful for any and all help. If this isn't going to work I don't mind going back to square one, but would appreciate being pointed in the right direction.
Cheers,
Ian
The cabin shell is all done, and this spring I'll be resuming the project and completing the interior. Last fall I started wiring a cabin with the intention of setting up a very small and simple solar system this spring.
This is what I've done so far: I have wired two separate 'circuits', one for receptacles, the other for lights. The circuit with receptacles includes two GFCI's on the main floor, and one GFCI in the loft. The other circuit includes one ceiling light fixture on the main floor with single switch, and two pot lights in the loft with single switch. All lights are LED. Everything is wired with 14/2 Romex.
The circuits are wired with a three prong male plug on the end. The idea here is that I can plug these circuits into an inverter. I tested the system by plugging the circuits into an extension cord coming from my portable Yamaha generator. The lights and GFCI plugs worked fine.
I realize that this is not a conventional setup. I'm not necessarily looking to be up to code or conventional. I just want to know if this setup will work and not burn the building down or electrocute someone.
This is what leads me to my first question:
1.A. Will this work with an inverter, just as it did with the generator?
1.B. Is this setup safe as it is, or does it require something additional, such as grounding?
1.C. If grounding is required, could I end the circuits in a junction box and run a ground wire from the box to a grounding rod outside? Would this work in grounding the circuits, and is it necessary seeing as the GFCI outlets would mitigate the need for grounding in the first place?
The solar setup that I am planning is as follows:
Renogy 100 watts 12 volt panel
30' 10 AWG wiring from solar panel to CC
Mohoo 20A PWM CC
Eaton 140Ah 12 volt AGM battery
Renogy pure sine wave off grid battery inverter 500W 12 volt
This setup is sized to charge cellphones and run the three lights in the cabin at night. The system will be used about every other weekend, two to three days at a time. Appliances run off of propane, anything that requires more power I'll run off of my generator.
This leads me to my second question:
2.A. Do I need to ground this small solar setup, and if so, what would this entail? Ground the solar panel, inverter and battery?
2.B. Do I need to use fuses between the panel and the CC, as well as between the battery and the CC and the battery and the inverter?
Thank you for taking the time to read through this. I'm grateful for any and all help. If this isn't going to work I don't mind going back to square one, but would appreciate being pointed in the right direction.
Cheers,
Ian
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