Crossy

We all know the drill! A mate (yes, really) ordered a colour laser printer, shipping from China, the price was about 50% of what the same units are from local sellers. Today he got a delivery ... And a free gift ... Of course, the order is now "delivered" and the 7 days return timer has started. He'll wait a couple of days "just in case", then trigger a dispute! More news as it happens!

Individual RCBOs are available here for both DIN and plug-in (Schneider/Square-D, BTIcino) consumer units. DIN have the advantage of being pretty universal "do what you like" boxes, plug-in is quick and easy but restricts your configuration choices. All the major brands are here, ABB, etc. etc. If you can find a specialist outlet rather than the big DIY stores they will have (or be able to order) the rarer gear. If you must import kit, get it from the UK, Europe, Aus/NZ. The US electrical system is sufficiently different that US components may not operate correctly or even be destroyed!

I DO have a Platinum Amex, and I'll be joining you in the pub. "Fine dining" really has never floated my boat.

Unfortunately, the solar companies have you over a barrel, particularly if you intend exporting (legally) to the grid. The regulations require use of approved equipment and (the expensive bit) an approved installer. We DIY'd an effectively off-grid system, only using the grid for our water heaters (which keeps the meter moving) and charging the batteries in the event of a few dull days. Global House used to do installed systems at sensible prices, but their website search seems to have been "upgraded" to "totally useless". If you have a local branch, they would be well worth a chat.

Have a read of this page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthing_system Thailand is TNC-S with MEN (Multiple Earthed Neutral) which is essentially the same as Aus who have one of the safest systems in the known universe, the UK isn't far behind (many Brits would argue here!) although the UK version of MEN is called PME (Protective Multiple Earthing). Both MEN and PME are part of the mitigation of an open neutral, also the neutral is the top wire on the poles so it's likely to be the last wire to be damaged. Reversed L&N at the meter does happen, we had one member who noticed his kitchen floor was getting warm where the earth rod was located. Turned out to be a swapped L&N. Thailand has no regulation that would preclude you using TT (but it wouldn't pass a PEA or MEA inspection for a permanent supply), so if you don't like the look of the N-E link you can eliminate it at the cost of reduced overall safety. Going TT would make RCD/RCBO mandatory for protection from shock in the event of a L to appliance metalwork fault.

It's 150k per YEAR Bill 😞

Beware Huawei inverters! Many, if not all, use expensive high-voltage batteries and third-party units are not available, so future expansion may be prohibitively expensive.

This would be my thinking too. We are only single-phase but are running 3 x Deye 5kW hybrids. Water heaters are on the grid side of the inverters so I can run them purely on-grid or via the grid-tie (zero-export) inverter function. Just open one breaker and everything except the heaters is off-grid.

Good call on using RCBOs. As a minimum I would install a separate 2-pole isolator on the incoming supply, before it goes to your box. This will allow you to completely isolate from the grid and work on your kit with no chance of live wires. Definitely decent surge protection (60kA or more). Ensure you have a proper ground and MEN connection. You might want to get an over-size DIN rail box so you can add transfer switches etc. as and when required. Dependent upon exactly how you install your solar you may not actually need one. This PEA document is worth a peruse Groundwire Mk2 book-Manual.pdf The relevant diagram with my translations.

Sadly, none of the above. The only actually required inspection (and pretty cursory at that) of domestic installations is by the supply authority when they provide the permanent meter. Regulations regarding domestic supplies are pretty minimal, but as a minimum I would insist that the replacement box has earth leakage protection and a proper ground connection. You might want to give this PEA document to the relevant people. Groundwire Mk2 book-Manual.pdf The relevant diagram (my translations), really aimed at houses but the same principles apply.

We actually moved away from a contactor-based ATS. The issue is that if the control gear fails ALL the contactors open (fail safe) leaving you with no power from any source. This is not good if I'm in Cairo at the time. We moved to a "slow" motor-drive transfer switch which with no drive power just stays wherever it was beforehand. It also has an isolation key switch and a handle to manually select the source. Madam can handle this (with instruction) in the event of a total power failure. We just rely on simple UPSs to keep the technology on should the beast actually have to switch over.

TinyCAD is great for electronics, not so good for electrics. I've moved to EasyEDA for electronics because it integrates PCB design. I actually used Visio 2013 to do my single-line drawings for the solar.

I just completed this quiz. My Score 20/100 My Time 125 seconds  

Yup.

You have to be of a certain age.

A blonde kidnaps a kid from school and writes a ransom note saying “Leave $50,000 by the big oak tree in the park or you’ll never see your kid again. Signed, a blonde.” But then, she realizes she doesn’t know where the kid lives, so she gives the note to the kid and asks him to take it home and give it to his mother. The next day, she goes to the tree and finds a gym bag with the money, and a note: “How could you do this to a fellow blonde?”

Assuming you had plenty of sun, could the pump have sucked something up and become stuck?? Are you certain you have the pump and panel polarity correct? Is the pump rated to run on a single panel??

I was thinking more about this documentary: -