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European-style plug-in solar could quickly cut soaring utility bills in Massachusetts (www.bostonglobe.com)
submitted 3 months ago by to c/energy@slrpnk.net
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Small, “balcony solar” units hold particular appeal for renters who cannot install rooftop panels and could take portable units with them should they move.

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[–] 2 points 3 months ago (5 children)

i'm mostly thinking of how it works when production is larger than demand in the local circuit. phase imbalances are a bigger deal when the phases are 180° out of sync.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago (3 children)

    When production is larger than local demand you're feeding in into the power grid. If your meter can ran backwards, then you're saving even more money.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago (2 children)

    in a normal three-phase system, yes. you just slightly imbalance one phase. but in a split-phase system, backfeeding can move the neutral point.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 months ago

    Most states are limiting balcony solar to 600-1200W, which is only 5-10A at 120V. Not enough to cause problems with imbalanced loads in a home, and most peoples homes aren't terribly well balanced anyways. It all more or less evens out by the time you have 10-20 (or however many - idk, I'm not a lineman) homes on a tranformer.

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