Folks, I am looking at doing a standard grid-dependent PV installation. The only catch is that the whole house is backed up by a generator with automatic tranfer switch.
Due to the layout of the various equipment, it would be a whole lot easier to interconnect the PV at a point downstream of the ATS. Because the ATS takes a minute or so to bring the generator up and transfer, the inverter would drop out when the line is lost. If I had a contactor on inverter output, with the coil held by line voltage and a reset switch, I could set it up so that the inverter output would be isolated from the generator upon line voltage loss, and manually reset once utility line voltage was restored. I am wondering about the following 4 considerations: 1 - Code / AHJ acceptablity: Does the Code address the issue of load side connection downstream of an ATS? 2 - Utility (PG&E) acceptability: I don't see how the utility would care. 3 - Inverter manufacturer acceptability: The manufacturer might not warrant this application unless they were confortable that the inverter never sees generator voltage. 4 - Functional efficacy: Owner would have to reset inverters manually. Has anyone worked throught this scenario? Mark Frye Berkeley Solar Electric Systems 303 Redbud Way Nevada City, CA 95959 (530) 401-8024 www.berkeleysolar.com
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