solar on/off grid installation

dabedwe wrote:
I forgot to add that i am buying an mppt charge controller for the camper. I thought that was in my first post. Really the important question i need answered is; Can i connect the load off the mppt charge controller directly to an ac breaker in my camper fuse box?

I was just looking at cheap "inverters" on ebay for the connection to the house. I realize that you need to convert the dc current to ac. The "inverters" they are selling may actually be converters. they call them "grid tie inverters" in the ads. They state you can connect the panels directly to them and then just plug the "inverter" into a wall socket to feed the power. I did watch a guy who had a bank of 600w "grid tie inverters" in a camper that he had hooked to some kind transfer switch, but it was not automatic and he did not show how the system was connected directly to the fuse box in the camper. I am more concerned about the connection to my camper right now. I dont want to hook the charge controller up wrong and end up burning out part of my electrical system. The relay and double pole switch are both great ideas. I was thinking of having 2 switches, but there is always a possibility of both getting turned to the on position.

Do not use those inverters which plug into the wall socket!
They are not UL listed and can backfeed into the line....think of a power outage and a lineman outside grabbing a line and you are back feeding it! Someone gets hurt or killed, That kind of stuff is know as "Guerrilla power"
If you are going to grid tie you will probably have to pass a local inspection code, One thing about the enphase inverters is that they shut off when they realize the grid is down and sample the power in the grid every 5 mins until it is back up and running, think of it like an automatic transfer switch.
The only way to do your own thing with those type of backfeeding inverters is to be an "island" not connected to the grid.

The charge controller is on the DC side, between your panels and battery bank it just simply keeps you from ruining your batteries.

The inverter which takes the DC power and converts it to the AC power is the side you need to be concerned with in your camper if you are running off of AC power in your camper.
IF you are running off of DC power ( 12 volt system?) then your panels go from your charge controller to your battery bank.
I will be honest with you I have not seen an inverter ( AC side) which could stay on and on and on from constant usage without smoking itself other than an "Outback"...there might be others out there but I have not seen many last from constant usage...I guess those big box store/ebay inverters will do if you only use it on ocassions.

All the best!
Gavin