Dirty electricity / RF high frequency noise on wiring throughout solar home!

[ReduceRF]

I was unaware not too long ago about a possible pitfall of solar being that all inverters create dirty electricity or 'noise' that will be throughout the entire homes wiring and radiating into living space... This can be quite severe when have 1000s of Watts.

Here is recommended site <url redacted>

Read more on the website it is quite informative.

I do not recommend stetzerizers / capacitive filters for DE mitigation as they will raise magnetic field throughout house.and can catch fire since they do not run parallel with load.


Removing CFL light bulbs is 100% recommended to lower DE in home first off .

Anyone here electrical hyper sensitive / EHS ?

What do you guys currently do to reduce / remove high frequency harmonics off your wiring ?


---Mod Note: The link was pure commercial advertising of a questionable line of products. I am leaving your general information, but wish to add a personal opinion that most discussions of "dirty electricity" are not well grounded in physical reality.

[SunEagle]

Actually my job is an Electrical Project Engineer with a company the identifies power quality issues which can be caused by harmonics and finds ways to mitigate those problems.

Just about all solar inverters are designed to keep the THD (total harmonic distortion) within the limits set by the IEEE. If not they could not be sold or installed in the US. They are also required to be manufactured to limit RF noise or interference based on FCC regulations.

As for harmonics or RF noise on your wires, there is very little chance of finding those problems in a home. They could be found in an industrial complex or large commercial building with a lot of harmonic generating loads such as, Vari Speed Drives, electronic based lighting systems, small DC single phase loads with PWM power supplies (similar to solar battery chargers) and just about all types of laptops or computer systems.

But when it comes to home solar pv hardware, just about all of the equipment that meets US regulations will not generate any of that DE power you speak about.

[organic farmer]

I was unaware not too long ago about a possible pitfall of solar being that all inverters create dirty electricity or 'noise' that will be throughout the entire homes wiring and radiating into living space... This can be quite severe when have 1000s of Watts.

I don't think so.

[solarix]

OP needs to gain some credibility before making these unsubstantiated claims. There is an awful lot of this "smart meters etc can cause cancer stuff" out there on the internet and as a former avionics engineer that did EMI testing - my professional opinion is that this dirty electricity campaigning is a lot of ignorance. Of course, one side can't prove the equipment is 100% safe and the other side can't reproduce actual harm caused by the equipment - so the controversy flourishes.....

[SunEagle]

OP needs to gain some credibility before making these unsubstantiated claims. There is an awful lot of this "smart meters etc can cause cancer stuff" out there on the internet and as a former avionics engineer that did EMI testing - my professional opinion is that this dirty electricity campaigning is a lot of ignorance. Of course, one side can't prove the equipment is 100% safe and the other side can't reproduce actual harm caused by the equipment - so the controversy flourishes.....

The post by the OP falls into the same category of using fear to get people to do something or purchase something they really do not need but are afraid if they don't.

[ReduceRF]

All inverters put noise throughout wiring can also measure easy. Really feel that there is a lack of information out there so wanted to bring up the topic. .. Solar community should be happy to look into and not shun away innovative technology that solves the ac to dc problem.

What would you recommend then for reducing the levels in my large home with high level of DE .

[jflorey2]

I do not recommend stetzerizers / capacitive filters for DE mitigation as they will raise magnetic field throughout house.and can catch fire since they do not run parallel with load.

1) Capacitive filters, whether line to line or line to ground, do not "raise magnetic field." Indeed, they are a component of most line filters.
2) Properly designed capacitive filters do not "catch fire" any more frequently than any other approved electronic device on an AC power line.
3) As described above, some types of filters are indeed in parallel with the load.

[ReduceRF]

Appreciate replies. I'm not trying to say everyone needs one or say is danger to well being. I am simply bring up a topic as well as solution that does good job ( as there are several other products that are not as good)

[jflorey2]

What would you recommend then for reducing the levels in my large home with high level of DE .

"Dirty energy" is a subjective term. If you don't like second harmonic energy, for example, that's fine - but since all power has some level of second harmonic energy, there will be no way to ever make you happy.

If, however, harmonic content causes you specific problems (like TV interference, interference with amateur radio bands) then there are specific solutions you can employ depending on the problem.

[ReduceRF]

Well 25 stetzerizers (recommend level) will add 20 amps reactive currant. Also if have wiring error can also cause bad magnetic field. Which is not told by stetz.

[SunEagle]

"Dirty energy" is a subjective term. If you don't like second harmonic energy, for example, that's fine - but since all power has some level of second harmonic energy, there will be no way to ever make you happy.

If, however, harmonic content causes you specific problems (like TV interference, interference with amateur radio bands) then there are specific solutions you can employ depending on the problem.

I use to live next to a Ham Radio operator. When he turned his "beam" antenna in the direction of our house we would pick up a lot of noise on our TV which completely destroyed the picture. He gave us a "filter" that was wired in between the tv antenna on our roof (this was way before cable was even thought of) and our tv set. The problem went away.

Radio Frequency and harmonics are easily generated by most electronic devices. The problem is not that they are present but at what magnitude are they being generated. Once you know what frequency or harmonic is present it is relatively easy to find a filter or device to reduce or eliminate the problem.

[SunEagle]

Well 25 stetzerizers (recommend level) will add 20 amps reactive currant. Also if have wiring error can also cause bad magnetic field. Which is not told by stetz.

Uh. I will be checking out those "filters" to see exactly what they are. My guess nothing more than a low pass filter that keeps high frequency from getting through. But will have no affect on stopping or mitigating harmonics.

I am not sure why someone would use 25 of those filters but I can tell you that where one filter is designed to reduce noise a lot of similar filters that are not coordinated can actually aggravate the problem.

I will also add that based on another of those "filters" made by Green Wave is nothing but pure BS using fear to get people to buy their product. I will not make a commitment concerning the Stetzerizers but so far IMO it is the same "snake oil".

I did just find a website that comments those Stetzerizer filters are dangerous.

[bcroe]

Well 25 stetzerizers (recommend level) will add 20 amps reactive currant. Also if have wiring
error can also cause bad magnetic field. Which is not told by stetz.

Perhaps you don't see a lot of info here on the subject, because this generation of inverters has the issue well in hand (as
required by law). One of the first things I did with my PV system is check for radio noise, which was quite low. There was
a good quality RF filter visible in the equipment. I think you are lacking a good theoretical or hands on background, to be
making any recommendations. Bruce Roe K9MQG since 1958

[Mike90250]

........
What would you recommend then for reducing the levels in my large home with high level of DE .

To do it properly, you measure what frequency and levels of EMI (not D.E. You cannot make up garbage terms and expect a valid answer from a spacecraft engineer, We would spend weeks testing gear in a screen room and designing fixes before moving to brassboard designs)
If you have 40Hz EMI and install a very effective 789KHz EMI filter, you accomplish NOTHING. Maybe the frequency wanders during the day as heat or wattage changes, Your filter needs to be broadband enough to cover the wandering drift.
If you have -20db levels and install a -6db filter, is that enough ?

The filter has amperage limits, too much current and it saturates the inductors and becomes ineffective,

http://www.radiuspower.com/emi-filte...se-emi-filters for some simple ideas

[DanKegel]

I would suggest a double blind test to see if your symptoms actually increase when the system is on.