Many solar backup installations are setup and designed to handle scheduled load shedding schedule. However, in the event of a prolonged power outage or if the power does not return, you may find yourself without hot water or able to use your electric oven. By utilizing the smart load feature, you can ensure that you still have access to hot water, cooking facilities, or even your pool, even if they are not connected to your backup load during power failures.
What are your options?
Hybrid Systems
On your Hybrid inverter Smart Load is the answer.
You are in charge, use the smart load to heat your geyser or run other non-essential loads during power failures.
Use the smart load as a generator input run your generator for short period to charge up your batteries and go back to battery backup.
Off Grid System
Charge the batteries from your generator then move back to backup power.
What is the smart load and how to use it?
There is a physical connection on hybrid inverters like Deye, Sunsynk and Solis this can be used for output power or input power from a generator.
The Generator / Smart load is referred to as Smart Load, Auxiliary port or gen port in the Sunsynk, Deye and Solis hybrid inverter.
Deye Gen Port or Smartload
Sunsynk Auxiliary Load, Aux-Load or Gen Port
Setting up the smart load as output power what you need.
There need to be a separate AC cable running from the generator to the main DB which will connect to the items you would like to run that are not on your essentials load.
Settings on the inverter.
You will need to turn on the smart load option.
You can set the parameters for the smart load.
These setting allow you to decide when to run the smart load so you can have the benefit of backup power on your essential loads as normal and only run the smart load when there is enough battery or excess PV power to run smart load connected non-essentials during extended power outages.
Smart load side notes.
Smart load and non-essentials cannot exceed the inverter rating and battery discharge rate.
Smartload Active on a Deye inverter
Generator input.
You can use a generator on your smart load or on the inverter incoming power to charge the batteries, the benefit of this is you will have continuity of power during extended outages with only having to run the generator for the time it takes to charge the batteries.
Benefit of Smart load as generator input over AC input the generator doesn’t need a changeover switch to be installed and can be connected directly into the inverter.
Cons you lose smart load functionality.
Connecting on the AC incoming of the inverter both off grid, backup and hybrid.
A changeover switch is required to isolate the grid from the system as you would do with a system connected only to a generator.
Automatically or Manually starting the generator.
Hybrid inverters like the Deye and Sunsynk have the option to automatically start and stop a generator, a minimum battery level can be set and when this has been reached the generator will automatically start up and a maximum SOC can be set to automatically stop the generator.
The generator signal can automatically start the generator if it is wired up to the main AC grid input or on the auxiliary load
For and auto start generator setup the generator needs a Genset that can receive a signal from the inverter to stop and start.
Manual generator start the generator will signal with a beeping sound to indicate the batteries are running low and will “call of the generator” the generator and be started to charge the batteries.
Generator signal is active and the generator is charging the batteries
What size generator will work?
Ideally at least a generator equal or larger than the rated capacity of the inverter should be used however a smaller generator can be used under the correct conditions.
Check out the brands for feature and settings.