Successful test of SMA Secure Power Supply

[captaindomon]

Just ran the first test of my SMA Secure Power Supply, worked great. Ran the furnace directly off the panels, with the inverter in grid-disconnected emergency mode. When the furnace blower started, it spiked to about 850 watts, then settled down to around 550 continuous running, well within the 1500 watt emergency supply limit on the SMA SunnyBoy 5000-TL-US. As long as the sun is shining (and the natural gas supply is available), I will at least have heating

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[sabersix]

That is great. I had not considered running the furnace (since I'm in San Diego). I have tested it with the beer fridge though and it works well!

[captaindomon]

That is great. I had not considered running the furnace (since I'm in San Diego). I have tested it with the beer fridge though and it works well!

Actually, now that you say that, I would agree the beer fridge is more important. Beer makes you feel warm too, right?

[compchat]

Could you use the same setup for air conditioning ? How would many amps/watts/volts would you need for blower and air conditioner ? I have 2 sunnyboy inverters. Is there a way to combine the 1500 watts from each into a 3000 watt power supply ? The reason I ask is because in a grid outage I would need to run extension cords into the house to service the refrigerator and smaller items such as lights. I would prefer to have a subpanel which runs only the circuits I need in a grid outage. Anyone have a line diagram they could post to combine and run 3000 watts to a subpanel which also shows how to connect the subpanel to the main panel ? Or, I assume during an outage you could turn off the master switch in the main panel which would kill the connection to the grid (even if the grid came back on). Then would it be possible to power only those circuits that I need in an outage by simply cutting power to those circuits in the master panel ? I've seen a video where some guy just created a connector so he could plug power to his home from a generator by simply pluging the power from the generator into the dryer socket. Then he turned on only those circuits he wanted (of course grid was disconnected from main panel).

[compchat]

You tube video showing how to hook a generator up to subpanel. Would this work for Solar Sunnyboy power supply ?

[compchat]

SMA secure power supply.

[solarix]

No, you can't combine 2 secure outlets to power a load that is 3000watts.
Yes, you can wire up a dedicated subpanel to the secure outlet using a transfer switch to connect it to the secure outlet when the time comes - just like is done when wiring in a backup generator. Could even use a relay to make it automatic, but I would stick to doing it manually myself and keep it simple.

[captaindomon]

Yes, you can wire up a dedicated subpanel to the secure outlet using a transfer switch to connect it to the secure outlet when the time comes - just like is done when wiring in a backup generator.

I was going to do this, because I already have a transfer switch for a gas generator, but the SMA secure power supply is only one phase 120v. So you could run one of the phases on your sub panel, I guess, or you could run both of them as long as you have single phase breakers only that you are trying to use. You wouldn't be able to run a normal two-phase 240v transfer setup.

[jflorey2]

Could you use the same setup for air conditioning ? How would many amps/watts/volts would you need for blower and air conditioner ?

Most large AC units require 240 volts, which the SMA will not supply. You could use a transformer but few large A/C units will have a starting surge under 1500 watts.

It would likely be possible to run a small/efficient 120 volt window unit.

I have 2 sunnyboy inverters. Is there a way to combine the 1500 watts from each into a 3000 watt power supply ?

Not easily.

The reason I ask is because in a grid outage I would need to run extension cords into the house to service the refrigerator and smaller items such as lights. I would prefer to have a subpanel which runs only the circuits I need in a grid outage. Anyone have a line diagram they could post to combine and run 3000 watts to a subpanel which also shows how to connect the subpanel to the main panel ?

The legal/safe way to do it is to wire the 1500 watts from your inverter to a transfer switch to switch a small number of circuits. Generac transfer switches are available in all sorts of sizes/voltages and are pretty easy to install.

I've seen a video where some guy just created a connector so he could plug power to his home from a generator by simply pluging the power from the generator into the dryer socket. Then he turned on only those circuits he wanted (of course grid was disconnected from main panel).

That's dangerous, and there is no safe way to set up such a system. Such "cheater cords" have caused a fair number of electrocutions and fires over the years.