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Now
is the time to become your own Power Producer.
We can help with all of your power system needs.
 Grid
Connected Inverters with Battery Backup
Utility
intertie systems with battery backup are configured differently
and are much more complex than battery-less intertie
systems. They really need to be custom designed. If
you need a back-up system, consult with us to determine all of the
system components that you will need. You can use the
following steps to determine the multifunction inverter size and
the battery capacity that your system will require.
Following
steps 1-5 in Utility Intertie PV System Design Information section
will determine the size of the PV array needed to provide all or
part of the generated power required. Calculate the inverter
size and battery capacity needed using the worksheet below.
the Beacon Power M5 is a 5000 watt Grid Tie/Battery Backup
inverter. The Outback PS1-3048 3kw inverter and a PS1-3648
2.5kw  inverter
are both complete systems for Grid Tie ad Battery Backup.
These inverters are ready to use with the addition of a PV array
and 48 volt battery bank.
Outback
also makes inverters and switchgear that can be assembled into
larger Grid Tie/Battery Backup systems.
| Step 1 |
FIND THE POWER
REQUIREMENTS (WATTS) FOR THE APPLIANCES YOU NEED TO POWER
DURING A BLACKOUT |
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Make a list of the
loads and appliances that you absolutely need to power
during an outage. Only list the essential items
since the system size (and cost) will vary widely with
power needed. the wattage of individual appliances
can usually be found on the back of the appliance or in
the owners manual. You can use a Kill-a-Watt meter
for better measurements. If an appliance is rated
in amps, multiply amps by the operating voltage (120 or
240) to find watts. Add up the wattage of
all the items on your list to arrive at the total amount
of watts that you need to run all at the same
time. This will determine the size of the
multifunction inverter that you will need.
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| Step 2 |
DECIDE THE
BLACKOUT DURATION YOU WANT TO BE PREPARED FOR |
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Power outages last from
a portion of an hour to a day (or more). Again,
this decision will greatly affect the system size and
cost, so it is more cost effective to stay on the
conservative side.
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| Step 3 |
FIND THE
AMOUNT OF STORED POWER REQUIRED |
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Multiply the power
requirements (in step 1) by duration in hours (in step
2). The result will be in watt-hours. For
instance, if you need to power 1000 watts of appliances
for 2 hours, you would need to have 200 watt-hours (or 2
kWh) of stored power.
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| Step 4 |
CALCULATE THE
POWER STORAGE NEEDED |
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Multiply the figure
arrived at in step 3 by 1.7. In the example, 2 kWh
x 1.7 = 3.4 kWh of stored power needed.
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| Step 5 |
CALCULATE
BATTERY CAPACITY NEEDED |
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Divide the power
storage requirement needed from step 4 by the DC voltage
of the system (usually 48V, but sometimes 24V) to get
battery amp-hour (AH) capacity. See the battery
section for more information on batteries. Most
backup systems use sealed batteries due to their greatly
reduced maintenance requirements, and because they can
be more easily placed in enclosed battery compartments.
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