Crossy

It is important to understand the difference between exporting to a live grid (no hazard) and back-feeding a dead grid (hazard to linemen). All domestic-level grid-tie inverters implement anti-islanding which will kill the inverter should the grid go down. I'm not aware of any instances where a correctly installed grid-tie inverter has caused a hazard to linemen. There are documented instances of inverters that are not intended to grid-tie and domestic generators being incorrectly wired to back-feed and worker deaths have been reported. It is vital to use the correct type of inverter and connect in the approved manner.

With no cash how to I buy the nice Thai policeman his "tea"?? Seriously, I'm >90% digital payments of various flavours, even the local Mom-n-Pop shop and food shed have PromptPay QR codes displayed. But I always carry enough cash for a tank of diesel, just in case.

Yeah, even AmEx who were the stalwarts in the TC world no longer issue new ones.

You do realise you are in a sub-forum here? The forum Home is here: https://aseannow.com/ There have been some adjustments to the layout recently which may have confused your bookmarks.

You would need a hybrid inverter and batteries to provide UPS functionality.

You could use a generator transfer switch and a timer for automatic money-saving. Would that then be an automatic switchover switch switch? Note that while safe if done correctly, switching between your supplies may not be 100% legal.

We all know that electricity and water don't mix

1. Possibly, 2. Probably not. But you would have to do the sums particularly the relative consumption between peak and off-peak times. BUT PEA have (or at least had) a policy whereby if you had an EV you could get a second meter (which could be TOU) so you could charge on cheap energy during the off-peak times, this definitely would save you $$$ because your normal consumption would remain on your existing meter. You should talk to your local PEA office to check what deals are available.

When I was working in India our place in Delhi had 3-phase. By the TV were 3 outlets, one on each phase. Plug the TV into the "best" phase.

At the sort of power levels we are talking about you just connect the inverter as if it was a regular appliance, you could even (temporarily) put a plug on it and plug it in to an outlet. Purely for testing of course Important Note: A domestic grid-tie inverter will not output anything unless it is connected to a live grid (island-protection) so even if you put a plug on it there's no danger of electric shock, unlike a generator which will happily kill you!

@Bosscat Do you have any actual 3-phase appliances? You could consider using 3 x single-phase regulators like @carlyai suggests (not a single 3-phase one) to regulate your supply or maybe go for 3 x single-phase protectors and retain the 3-phase one for any 3-phase appliances.

By PM please, not on the open forum.

There are certainly solar power / solar assist A/Cs about, but they are not cheap and not very available here. Your best bet would be to install a grid-tie solar inverter which would offset daytime usage whether A/C or not. If you have an old type spinning-disc meter it would go backwards if you made excess power (not permitted of course) A 24kBTU unit will suck about 800W on average when down to temperature so adding a 1kW grid-tie solar inverter and 3 x 340W panels would get you in the right ball-park and not break the bank. Maybe go a bit larger and offset all your daytime consumption. Personally, I'd go for a mid-range grid-tie inverter of about 3kW (have a look at Sofar units) starting with 5 or 6 x 340W panels and see if the "free" energy bug bites. Are you going to DIY or use an installer??

If you believe your contactor is faulty you should replace it with exactly the same type (all the numbers and letters specify coil voltage, contact form etc.). What does your contactor actually do in your system? If it's an under/over voltage protection there should be a controller too where you can set the trip voltage.

In an EV you (or your dog) can sit in the cool for as long as you like without upsetting anyone with fumes

It actually sounds like your pump pressure tank is getting waterlogged. If bleeding it fixes the issue for a while, then the only solution is a replacement tank, they're not expensive. Are you quite sure you have the correct technique for your pump, Google the pump type and "bleeding".

The problem is, if it's a dedicated 60Hz transformer then it may overheat even on 100V 50Hz, running it on 110V 50Hz would make that issue worse. I agree that it would "probably" be OK, but in my business "probably" isn't good enough.

As the subject of said anecdote I should give notice that I'm in Cairo until the end of May and so won't be able to do my usual round of visits. The view from our office.

You mean Bob declining a drink?

John: (entering shoe shop) Uhm, miss! My wife asked me to buy her these shoes, problem is I just don't remember her size. Saleslady: Ah no problem sir, here, hold my foot so you can estimate your desired size. (and John held and measured the foot of the saleslady) John : Yes! Maybe it's ok miss, I think you're the same size,.. I'll buy them! Saleslady: Ok sir! I'll just put them in the box, then you can pay for them at the counter. John: Oh, by the way, I almost forgot,.....my wife was also asking for a bra and panties, I don't know her size either!

Ideally, they should be on a separate circuit with RCD protection. But I admit that our gate opener (and Madam's koi pond) is plugged into the second outlet of our water-pump socket. The outlet is on an RCBO and happens to also feed the range hood and igniter. All our outside lighting is solar but I'd be tempted to use low-voltage lights with a power supply in a protected location if you want to use mains-power.

Growatt do have a big following, pretty good bang-for-the-buck but support appears to be somewhat, er, "variable".

Generally, inverters with multiple MPPT inputs allow them to work independently, so different voltages are quite happy. Best to download the manual for your proposed inverter to check. Also, if you intend adding storage "later" do check your inverters can run without batteries (not all do). We are also in the process of upgrading and I'm going for 3 x Deye 5kW hybrid units running in parallel for a total of 15kW coupled to 70kWh of 48V LiFePO4 storage. At about 45kBaht a pop the Deye units are not exactly cheap, but they are a well-known and respected brand with (apparently) reasonable support.