charge controller with a grid-tie inverter

[Mike90250]

Bummer isn't it.

[woodapple]

Thank you very much for your input. I was not aware that home made solar panels and power jack inverters were illegal for plugging into the grid.

[Mike90250]

Hello, I am 19 year old college student. During this summer, I have been researching solar energy, but I have a lot to learn still. I just built a 36 cell solar panel, using 3x6 .5 volt, 3.6 amp cells. I am planning on building additional panels.

Cool, that can be a lot of fun

I am looking into using a grid-tie inverters. Would I need to wire my solar panel up to a charge controller before wiring into a grid-tie inverter? And could I wire multiple solar panels together in series and then into one grid-tie inverter?

Generally, you need to have a permitted installation (Building structure and electrical permits) and then the electric company will consider allowing you to feed into their grid
Non-UL listed panels (anything homemade) would not be permitted. Part of the UL process is verifying the panels can withstand 600 - 1,000 Volts in case of a fault somewhere.

And, what is the difference between a standard grid-tie inverter and a "power jack" grid-tie inverter?

One is legal and permitted, the power-jack is not.

Pure Grid Tie uses a high voltage string of panels to feed 500VDC into the inverter for conversion to AC for the grid.

un-permitted and non-UL certified gadgets attached to your house generally will void your fire insurance. Even table lamps you buy at the store are UL listed.

Homemade panels are good for running a pump in a fishpond, or lights in a garden shed.

[woodapple]

Hello, I am 19 year old college student. During this summer, I have been researching solar energy, but I have a lot to learn still. I just built a 36 cell solar panel, using 3x6 .5 volt, 3.6 amp cells. I am planning on building additional panels. I am looking into using a grid-tie inverters. Would I need to wire my solar panel up to a charge controller before wiring into a grid-tie inverter? And could I wire multiple solar panels together in series and then into one grid-tie inverter? And, what is the difference between a standard grid-tie inverter and a "power jack" grid-tie inverter?

Thank you for any advice!