CA says no to charging electric cars

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I've got a small trailer mounted solar / LiFePo4 battery bank / inverter system to keep critical systems running at my folks house. Their refrigerator, freezer, and oxygen concentrator are hooked up through it. The inverter acts as a transfer switch if mains power is lost. Through testing - the system can run these small-draw items forever if the sun comes out during the day. It will run it all on battery for 60-72 hours if no sun at all.
If needed, a small Honda 2000w generator can recharge the batteries or run the load if a failure occurred with the system.

It's mainly about keeping the oxygen concentrator functioning though...
 
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That is why you have to wait until after they check it off, you either use the Solaredge energy hub inverters with the backup interface which will allow you to run with no utility as it will disconnect you from the grid. Or you have a transfer switch in your AC connection to your inverter and power the generator there (now this does not work with all inverters and generators) It does with the older Solaredge inverters that are the pre-energy hub and my diesel generator. You have to turn "export" off to run like this, so the inverter will only pick up load and not send any back to the generator. With the energy hub inverter and batteries this can be accomplished also. Bottom line is you have to trick the inverter that there is grid power there to come out of shutdown mode, this has to be accomplished only when you are isolated from the grid.
From what I understand no licensed electricion in CA will do that work for you as it violates building codes.
 
I use a 12.5Kw 2 cylinder Lister diesel gen. at my place. 2020 and 2021 saw lots of pubic safety power shut offs so I had a new panel and transfer switch installed. Old school(60's era) but really good on fuel. Now that they are charging .48/KWH here, surprise, no power shut offs.
 
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From what I understand no licensed electricion in CA will do that work for you as it violates building codes.
As long as there is a transfer switch in the system that physically isolates from the grid it is not a National Electric Code violation. It could be a local jurisdiction issue, or an issue with the utility company as they get pissed when your cutting into there profits. There is no reduction of safety as long is its properly electrically disconnected from the utility and the inverter is setup correctly.
 
As long as there is a transfer switch in the system that physically isolates from the grid it is not a National Electric Code violation. It could be a local jurisdiction issue, or an issue with the utility company as they get pissed when your cutting into there profits. There is no reduction of safety as long is its properly electrically disconnected from the utility and the inverter is setup correctly.
Wasn't talking "nationally". My comment was CA specific and it is against pretty much every building code there.
 
All I can say is head over to the woodchuck thread, read up, and start stacking firewood.

Solar output is on a downward trend which may equate to a cold, cold winter.

Combined with the man-made energy "crisis", its a recipe for disaster. I wouldn't doubt if this winter makes Feb 2021 in Texas look trivial in comparison....
 
Experts told Fox News Digital environmental mandates implemented by Newsom and his administration have already created instability in the grid, an issue they argued would only get worse as existing fossil fuel power generation capacity was taken offline and replaced by intermittent sources.

 
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A lot of folks in Texas thought they were set with one of those but then found out the Natural Gas stopped coming out of the pipe when extreme cold shutdown pumping equipment that was electrically heated.
That’s true for NG, but most will run on propane also: 500 gal = $2,500, 1000 gal = $4,500. Back up for your back up taking you fully off the grid.

Our generator in FL runs off its own 500 gal tank only. It’s linked to the main 500 gal tank, via simple valve, that runs the water heater, appliances, and pool heater. Both tanks full we have about 1000 hours of being on. Used intermittently that can be extended for weeks or even months (obviously not heating the pool)!
 
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Damn where are you that propane is $4.50 a gallon? It's $2.39 in Texas a few weeks ago
For some of us........ It's a long ride to get stuff cheap. And this is where the "Government Inflation Numbers" are skewed.... Gas, diesel and propane are cheap in Texas and Oklahoma, oranges are cheap in Florida, Salmon are cheap in Alaska and the Oregon / Washington coast.... That list is long. Now, with diesel around $4.50 a gallon transportation cost eliminates any savings of "bring something in". The giant computers in those Data Centers are running 24 hours a day / 365 days a year running the odds against the consumer. Walmart is a master at running those numbers. Enjoy the cheap stuff where you live because you pay through the nose for other items.
 
That’s true for NG, but most will run on propane also: 500 gal = $2,500, 1000 gal = $4,500. Back up for your back up taking you fully off the grid.

Our generator in FL runs off its own 500 gal tank only. It’s linked to the main 500 gal tank, via simple valve, that runs the water heater, appliances, and pool heater. Both tanks full we have about 1000 hours of being on. Used intermittently that can be extended for weeks or even months (obviously not heating the pool)!

When we got our new generator the guys set it up and had to really fool with it. The mixer (carb on a NG or Propane engine) needs to be adjusted differently depending on what it uses. They set it up started it and left, why they left I have no idea, ran like shit and smelled horrid, you could tell it was very rich. Came back out turned a screw (by ear) and left again. Still not running quite right, I tuned it by ear and now I am happy.

I think it is impossible for people to do the job right the first time anymore. I mean it is coughing and surging and smelling to high heaven and you leave?
 
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Because most grid-tied micro-inverters will not operate when the grid is down, and most solar main inverters will not isolate and run when the grid goes down. Hybrid inverters with UL1741 will work with grid is down because they can generate their own sine-wave 60hz signal.
I am building my own, really for the fun of it and to learn something new. 400ah of batteries and a fist full of solar panels stuck on mounts made of square tube and rebar to hang them on and I am full on redneck solar, but it works. I can run the lights, and the small short use tools in my shop. I have a manual transfer panel to switch between "real" power and the solar. All the solar crap is on a large cart. This way if we do loose power I can shut down the propane gen, save some fuel, wheel the cart over and run to keep the furnace on (propane) and the fridge and freezers on for the night. Then back to propane gen, and hopefully between the sun and power from the generator I can recharge the batteries.

It is kind of fun playing with it, but I would not bet my life on it.
 
Off-grid electricity used to be illegal in California under Title 24. The law required residential homes to have an “interconnection pathway.” However, the law has recently been updated and now specifically allows off-grid electricity.

This is slightly different than "Operating when the grid is 'down'". However, I saw a video of a homeowner who's home in California operated fine when the grid went down last year during the big fires going through his area with forced evaculation.
 
Doh.....
I already posted about this.
 

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Damn where are you that propane is $4.50 a gallon? It's $2.39 in Texas a few weeks ago
Here in PA, it's easy to pay that much for propane if you're stupid. I own my propane tank and can shop any supplier who will come here. I'm pretty close to a community that lives on propane and won't connect to the grid, and they are more than happy to sell me propane at a price that is fair and gives them a living. I don't remember exactly, but the last delivery last week was about $2.55.
 
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A lot of folks in Texas thought they were set with one of those but then found out the Natural Gas stopped coming out of the pipe when extreme cold shutdown pumping equipment that was electrically heated.
During Snowpocalypse 2021 we lost electricity for 3 days (Houston). But, we had gas for the fireplace, the stove, and the water heater.
 
Now that I think of it Ferrel gas is around here and they will screw customers as hard as they can.

Were in the same situation and own our tank and have a good local supplier.
 
View attachment 7946905I've got a small trailer mounted solar / LiFePo4 battery bank / inverter system to keep critical systems running at my folks house. Their refrigerator, freezer, and oxygen concentrator are hooked up through it. The inverter acts as a transfer switch if mains power is lost. Through testing - the system can run these small-draw items forever if the sun comes out during the day. It will run it all on battery for 60-72 hours if no sun at all.
If needed, a small Honda 2000w generator can recharge the batteries or run the load if a failure occurred with the system.

It's mainly about keeping the oxygen concentrator functioning though...
how much
 
Think Newsom is done? Heck no, just wait until The Chosen One is propped up by his party in a few years and becomes President. Then he'll be free to spread his special kind of stupid everywhere. It's obvious he's The Chosen One because in this last election cycle, he didn't even have any statement in the ballot guide - just his picture, and he didn't even do any campaigning. That's it. What other politician have you ever seen do that and win?
 
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Think Newsom is done? Heck no, just wait until The Chosen One is propped up by his party in a few years and becomes President. Then he'll be free to spread his special kind of stupid everywhere. It's obvious he's The Chosen One because in this last election cycle, he didn't even have any statement in the ballot guide - just his picture, and he didn't even do any campaigning. That's it. What other politician have you ever seen do that and win?
dems; the party of party over country
 
Evidence of this?
It appears my information is out of date. Back when we were CA residents and I looked into solar the requirement was that the system stopped producing output when grid went down. In order to prevent backfeeding and possibly injuring workers. Batteries were also not allowed.

I have been informed that in the last couple years this has changed,
 
Inverters that can run grid tie and off-grid have only been available for 5-6 years now. It has taken more time for the local and states to accept them and allow them. Our system with the Solar Edge energy hub inverters and the backup interface allows us to run disconnected if the grid is down. Our utility is good with this setup. But we are not in the nanny state.