What would happen if you plug this into a Rivian vehicle 120v outlet?

[VandalSibs]

In that case, it really is JUST A PIPE. There are no electronics in the grid, meaning anything more complex than a transformer. As long as no DC is involved at all, transformers are 100% bidirectional. A transformer is a coil for the low voltage side that is near/around the coil for the HV side. They can go flow in both directions.

Microinverters generally don't work in power outages nor off grid, because they need to sync to the grid power. You can buy some made to stand alone, but not the common ones.

So even the plug-in solar systems/panels feed into the grid? For such a system to be powering my home first, would more equipment be needed?

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[SwampNut]

So even the plug-in solar systems/panels feed into the grid? For such a system to be powering my home first, would more equipment be needed?

I believe you're misunderstanding something, not sure what, but let me try this...

The backfeed systems ALL depend on incoming power, before providing power. There are a ton of reasons for this, safety is a top one. I can go into details if someone cares. You don't need any more equipment in order to supplement your existing grid power. But if you want power during outages or off grid, you need OTHER inverters or a system to trigger your microinverters. I don't have knowledge of the practical uses of the latter, just theory.

Make sense?

 

[VandalSibs]

I believe you're misunderstanding something, not sure what, but let me try this...

The backfeed systems ALL depend on incoming power, before providing power. There are a ton of reasons for this, safety is a top one. I can go into details if someone cares. You don't need any more equipment in order to supplement your existing grid power. But if you want power during outages or off grid, you need OTHER inverters or a system to trigger your microinverters. I don't have knowledge of the practical uses of the latter, just theory.

Make sense?

Enough, I think...

I'll never turn down a detail explanation from someone with more knowledge than me, but I also don't want to take a person's time away from them if they need it for something else (and the hardest place to see if someone has free time or not is on the internet!).

 

[SwampNut]

I often post her while waiting for servers to do things, or while on a boring call. This one of those days.

Really it comes to three things:

"Suicide plugs" are super dangerous if they are left live. This is a male plug end with power, so the exposed metal is live. When you unplug the balcony systems, they cut power. The plug ends have no power.

Linemen have been killed by backfed power. You never want the load side of the grid to have power. When these systems lose power, they stop adding power, no backfeed.

The frequency and sine wave sync on the line is critical and having an offset frequency is very bad. The grid doing a black start has some real challenges, this being one of them. Having your solar go from off grid to on is challenging. The entire premise of our residential split-phase power (outside of NYC) is that the voltage is the differential of the wave offset. Also many AC motors sync to the sine wave, an offset would be all sorts of awful.

 

[BCondrey]

I think this is a "balcony solar" question about the standard that allows you to plug in a small solar array directly into a 120V outlet. I think count can try it and report back.

 

[tbinmd]

Who let the smoke out?

 

[Tim-in-CA]

I'd expect this .....

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