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Oh my god, I have to caution people that the negligible amount of safety information contained in this article is borderline irresponsible. The permitting and

Oh my god, I have to caution people that the negligible amount of safety information contained in this article is borderline irresponsible. The permitting and regulation regarding feeding energy into the grid is completely underrepresented in this article. If you're thinking about it, you have to seriously read up on the requirements. If anyone knows the author, I would strongly request that he put more cautionary information if he doesn't want to be responsible for some majorly dumb potential consequences. Although the author hints at it, "So, it makes sense to ask the professional advisor first, who knows the local laws and prices, the final results can vary." -- this still makes it sound like it's up to you to DIY it after asking someone for advice on prices(?!). It is not. Tying your solar panels to the grid, at least in the US, requires permits, safety approvals, etc. You can get fined / sued if you're found to be directly connecting solar panels to the grid without having gotten it approved and reviewed. Not just for paperwork and tariff reasons, but because if you generate electricity back into the grid, and they need to shut the distribution line down and perform maintenance, you could electrocute someone. Turning your house main breaker off and running your electronics off solar as an experiment is one thing. Suggesting that going from this hacker setup to sending electricity back to the grid is a whole different level and requires a professional electrician.

rini17 5y ago
The grid-tie inverter will automatically shut down if there's no external AC supply, that's a standard feature. Also, european legal system is much less prone to judge anyone liable for random stuff they post somewhere just because it can indirectly lead to injury.
MaKey 5y ago
In some countries you can just connect a small solar installation to a power outlet if you stay at or under a certain wattage (e. g. 600W for Switzerland and Germany). So your reaction is overblown for these cases.
mindslight 5y ago
> Tying your solar panels to the grid, at least in the US, requires permits, safety approvals, etc Maybe your state has specific permits required for solar, the possibility of backfeeding power, or something else of the sort, but I'd say that's more of an exception than the general rule. Nothing here rises to the level of needing an electrical permit (there is no permanent/structure wiring being done) nor building permit (the panels are small and easily movable). Assuming competent wiring and using a receptacle on a dedicated circuit, the biggest safety issue I'd worry about here is the panels being blown off the balcony and falling onto someone below.
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rini17 5y ago

The grid-tie inverter will automatically shut down if there's no external AC supply, that's a standard feature. Also, european legal system is much less prone to judge anyone liable for random stuff they post somewhere just because it can indirectly lead to injury.

MaKey 5y ago

In some countries you can just connect a small solar installation to a power outlet if you stay at or under a certain wattage (e. g. 600W for Switzerland and Germany). So your reaction is overblown for these cases.

mindslight 5y ago

> Tying your solar panels to the grid, at least in the US, requires permits, safety approvals, etc Maybe your state has specific permits required for solar, the possibility of backfeeding power, or something else of the sort, but I'd say that's more of an exception than the general rule. Nothing here rises to the level of needing an electrical permit (there is no permanent/structure wiring being done) nor building permit (the panels are small and easily movable). Assuming competent wiring and using a receptacle on a dedicated circuit, the biggest safety issue I'd worry about here is the panels being blown off the balcony and falling onto someone below.

deleted 5y ago

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