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Pato Llaguno

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Hello,

I have recently discovered this forum from the youtube videos, i'm really liking the idea into doing some project like this for my home, but i don't know where to start from on the forum or the youtube videos.

There are a few questions that have been brought into my mind and maybe are pretty easy to answer.

1 - can you have a powerwall and also have a normal electric grid? just making so less power is used or whats the use case?

2 - can 1 inverter be 110v and also 220v?
 
Welcome!

1.: Yes, sure, you can. Powerwalls are generally divided into to different kinds, on-grid and off-grid systems. On-grid powerwalls are integrated into your connection to the grid. Technically it is more the inverters and solar panels that are connected to the grid. You can feed excess power you have back to the grid or use grid power if your batteries are empty. Off-grid systems are the opposite, they are standalone systems with no grid connection.
2.: Don't know if there are specific models that can be switched between 110V and 220V. There might be some. But usually they are one or the other, depending where in the world they are sold and what the usual local voltage is. But if you need 110V and 220V you can always use two inverters and power both of them at the same time from your system.
 
DarkRaven said:
Welcome!

1.: Yes, sure, you can. Powerwalls are generally divided into to different kinds, on-grid and off-grid systems. On-grid powerwalls are integrated into your connection to the grid. Technically it is more the inverters and solar panels that are connected to the grid. You can feed excess power you have back to the grid or use grid power if your batteries are empty. Off-grid systems are the opposite, they are standalone systems with no grid connection.
2.: Don't know if there are specific models that can be switched between 110V and 220V. There might be some. But usually they are one or the other, depending where in the world they are sold and what the usual local voltage is. But if you need 110V and 220V you can always use two inverters and power both of them at the same time from your system.
Click to expand...

Thanks!

1 - Sounds logical. so to actually get the best cost reduction on power i guess having the batteries charge from grid only when being at X voltage would be the best for it.

2 - So here in Mexico most electric devices are 110, but in my case i got some 220 A/C minisplits so those are the power hungry devices at my home, i bet i could try and get an inverter for those first and later on add another inverter for the rest of the house.
 
You could charge the batteries from the grid, but that would defeat the whole point a bit. When they are empty you would rather bypass them and power everything from the grid and wait for the batteries to be recharged by solar.

If the sun is shining and your batteries are empty: Solar power to batteries, excess power can maybe power stuff in your house if there is more power going into the batteries than going out
If the sun is shining and your batteries are full: Excess solar power to grid, depending on regulations in Mexico you will get paid for this
If the sun is not shining and your batteries are empty: Bypass the batteries and power your hose from the grid
If the sun is not shining and your batteries are full: Bypass the grid and power your hose from the batteries as long as they have some juice left

This is probably the way to go to achieve the best cost reduction. If you have something like cheap rate electricity from the grid during certain times of the day then it might be useful to charge the batteries from the grid during cheap times to use the power during the full price times if there is a period without sunshine.
 
DarkRaven said:
You could charge the batteries from the grid, but that would defeat the whole point a bit. When they are empty you would rather bypass them and power everything from the grid and wait for the batteries to be recharged by solar.

If the sun is shining and your batteries are empty: Solar power to batteries, excess power can maybe power stuff in your house if there is more power going into the batteries than going out
If the sun is shining and your batteries are full: Excess solar power to grid, depending on regulations in Mexico you will get paid for this
If the sun is not shining and your batteries are empty: Bypass the batteries and power your hose from the grid
If the sun is not shining and your batteries are full: Bypass the grid and power your hose from the batteries as long as they have some juice left

This is probably the way to go to achieve the best cost reduction. If you have something like cheap rate electricity from the grid during certain times of the day then it might be useful to charge the batteries from the grid during cheap times to use the power during the full price times if there is a period without sunshine.
Click to expand...

Wow, that's a very good way of cost reduction, and how is this configurable? is all equipment suitable for such optimization? in the example of HBpowerwall the PIP, is the one in charge of this?
 
I'm not familiar enough with these devices to answer that question properly. The PIP4048 is a combination of MPPT controller and grid-tie inverter, it certainly covers some aspects of this, but probably not all on its own. A lot of this is shown in Peters videos however, maybe you can get some ideas from there. Also, this is nothing you can do just so on your own. You need a qualified electrician for that sort of stuff.
 
Do you have different electric rates based on time of day?
If so, you could charge when it's cheaper and use an inverter when electricity is more expensive.
Also, if your grid power is not reliable, your battery can be used for backup power.
 
Welcome! Check out my install and you will see a system that is fully combined with the grid.

2. You can run a transformer on the 2nd side to go to either 230 from 115 or the other way around as one way :
 
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