9mo ago

EcoFlow’s $200 PowerStream is so clever, you might buy a $4,000 solar generator

www.theverge.com EcoFlow’s $200 PowerStream is so clever, you might buy a $4,000 solar generator

A plug-in balcony solar system for uncertain times.

Title reads like at ad, but this is a new way to reach energy independence. I actually have a small EcoFlow device and it’s pretty good for the price.

I hope this tech can be made available in the US soon.

Futurology @futurology.today

Lugh @futurology.today

9mo ago

With self-install solar panels, and a €150 plug-in adapter that feeds power directly into electricity sockets; a DIY home power system is becoming popular in Europe.

www.theverge.com /24150901/ecoflow-powerstream-review-diy-balcony-solar-microinverter

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Yeah, non-USA for this atm, as much fun as it would be to plug such a system into an apartment.
I believe that the US requires that a direct-feed system has to plug into a physical kill switch setup to prevent back-feed of power during an outage.
Still pretty neat, though!
- Same for the EU.
  Solar inverters also need to follow the grid frequency
  
  They don't follow the grid frequency because the EU or US regulations require it, they follow the grid frequency because physics demands it.
  
  In this house we obey Ohm's law!
  
  Interesting - which other generators for example wouldn't you want starting up?
  
  I think I get that, thanks. So an Island grid is less stable and could cause itself damage if two microinverters say are trying to sync up to each other vs a beefy, stable main grid?
  So how does a backup battery system work when islanded? Typically also at 52Hz?
  Or can it go into a 60Hz beefy mode?
  It would be nice to get all the little island solar inverters working when the grid goes down!
  
  I'm guessing the commenter above is in the EU and operating at 50Hz normally, so running at 60Hz wouldn't be a great idea. A backup battery and such operate in the same way when islanding.
  
  IIRC some inverters are able to sync up with alternative power sources, but the documentation is extremely limited and seems to be reserved mostly for large-scale systems. I know my Solaredge system has slowly been implementing using both at the same time, but the documentation is pretty unclear as to how this works. I know at the very least it'll allow you to use a 2-wire start to kick a standalone generator on when the batteries are low, but don't know much else about how it's currently set up
- Also in the US regular 120v outlets are fed from 1 of 2 transformer legs. If you back fed power through a 120v outlet, roughly half of the circuits in your home would function and the others would be dead.
  
  And disclaimer: no one should do this, but when the transfer switch disconnects from the grid, would it work to jump say a breaker across the L1-L2 hots to share that 120v backfeed over both?
  Clearly the 240v appliances won't work in this configuration, but the fridge on one leg and the internet on the other will still work ok, right?
  Again, no one try this - it's just a thought exercise.
  
  Yes, it will actually work. I know it's very much not to code, but when we lost power for over 10 days, I did this to keep our furnace running and us from freezing to death since it was -10F out.
  I only have a small 120V generator, but hooked both legs to hot and backfed via our EV charger's outlet, since its a 50A circuit. Like you said, nothing 240V worked, but that little 3kW generator did a great job powering basically the whole house with no issues.
  That winter was definitely a big driver for me to get a backup battery system so our solar could power the house.
  
  No.
- According to the article this system also detects power outages and shuts off when they happen. Just like full-scale solar power systems. But yeah, no physical kill switch.
- These systems automatically turn themselves off during an outage.
  
  That's great, but it doesn't matter unless it has the physical cutoff that's required to bring that kind of system up to the current electrical code for such a system.
  
  they have relays (well, most of them. looking at you, Deye), so it should be fine
  
  Physical shutoff via relays is required by the standard. We've just been through a scandal where a manufacturer skimped out on putting them in and had to recall the devices.
- I hate technologies that limit cannot use with another manufacturer's battery". Smells monopoly.

117 comments