Youtube pool pump powered by solar video

[socal50]

Hello all, I have been doing alot of reading on this!

This is the video that has us all wondering:
https://wwwdotyoutubedotcom/watch?v=Vx63X3BS27E

My thought is to install a 3/4hp or 1hp motor and run it as long as the sun is out on a few panels, directly to a 1000W inverter. I just dont know how many panels are needed to power the inverter. Am I thinking of this wrong?

Mod note: No clickable links to illegal systems please. Especially not in your first post...

[inetdog]

Hello all, I have been doing alot of reading on this!

This is the video that has us all wondering:
https://wwwdotyoutubedotcom/watch?v=Vx63X3BS27E

My thought is to install a 3/4hp or 1hp motor and run it as long as the sun is out on a few panels, directly to a 1000W inverter. I just dont know how many panels are needed to power the inverter. Am I thinking of this wrong?

Yes, you are thinking of this very wrong.

1. The video shows a grid tied inverter, and one which is not safe nor legal for use in the US. It is the grid which is providing the power to start the pump and to keep it running whenever panel production goes below what the pump requires.
2. If you are going to do a grid interconnected inverter legally in the US, with a hard wired AC side, a permit and an interconnect agreement with your utility company (POCO), then you are looking at a much larger scale system where there is limited room for DIY involvement, depending on where you are located.
3. Going directly from any number of panels to any size off grid inverter without adding a battery bank is simply not going to work.
4. A normal AC motor cannot adjust the amount of power it uses to the amount of power available, hence the need for energy storage (batteries) or grid connection.

We will be happy to discuss why the plug and pray GTIs are illegal in most countries (you can buy them, but you cannot connect them to anything!)
But we cannot responsibly discuss on this forum how best to put together an illegal system.

And, by the way, welcome to Solar Panel Talk!

[socal50]

Yes, you are thinking of this very wrong.

1. The video shows a grid tied inverter, and one which is not safe nor legal for use in the US. It is the grid which is providing the power to start the pump and to keep it running whenever panel production goes below what the pump requires.
2. If you are going to do a grid interconnected inverter legally in the US, with a hard wired AC side, a permit and an interconnect agreement with your utility company (POCO), then you are looking at a much larger scale system where there is limited room for DIY involvement, depending on where you are located.
3. Going directly from any number of panels to any size off grid inverter without adding a battery bank is simply not going to work.
4. A normal AC motor cannot adjust the amount of power it uses to the amount of power available, hence the need for energy storage (batteries) or grid connection.

We will be happy to discuss why the plug and pray GTIs are illegal in most countries (you can buy them, but you cannot connect them to anything!)
But we cannot responsibly discuss on this forum how best to put together an illegal system.

And, by the way, welcome to Solar Panel Talk!

Makes more sense now. Thank you!

[russ]

Being as the unit is illegal and the seller is aware of that - why would they worry about safety or quality?

Truly boat anchors!

[inetdog]

The video author's comment about "adding a second GTI to tweak more power out of the panels" is particularly telling.
A common recurring issue in discussions of these illegal plug and pray units is that they do not deliver the expected MPPT behavior and efficiency. Not at all surprising under the circumstances.