Grid tied system

[Aussiemike]

Good morning,
Installing a grid tied system and wondered if anyone would be kind enough to advise on the best array of panels from the assortment I have collected over the years.
I have just bought from a friend the attached inverter and have available the following panels.
The batteries we get in Kenya are no good and very expensive so have been told the best way is to go grid tied.
Thnks in advance
Mike

inverter specs.jpg

Panels	watts	voc	vmp	amps
1	500	21.2	18	5.56
2	400	45.6	36	18
2	400	21.2	18	16.7
2	400	21.2	18	16.7
4	260	38.1	30.9	8.41
1	250	36	29	8.6

[peakbagger]

Before you spend anything be sure to see if its legal to grid tie and if there are utility tariffs in place that explain how power sent to the grid is billed. In many cases power utilities outright ban grid tie or make it economically unattractive to grid tie.

If you use microinverters, the type of panel really does not matter as each panel is treated as its own string of one panel and outputs 240 volts to the trunk cable. Things get more complex with string inverters as the panels have to be matched somewhat. Obviously the microinverters should be rated for the input wattage. In most cases the microinverters are rated for input wattage and a lower inverter output wattage. Panels rarely put out nameplate wattage so the concept is to convert most of the input to the microinverter to be set to the grid while "clipping" the very rare if ever times of panel output being nameplate.

[Aussiemike]

Thank you very much for that info Mr. Peakbagger.
My doctor here is Bitcoin mining with lots of panels.
He is the one that hs put me onto this system.
He has given me the above spec inverter.
I lread have the panels and I have been advised to array them as below

Arrays (Series)	1	v	a		2	v	a
		21	16			38	8
		21	16			38	8
		21	16			38	8
		21	16			38	8
		45	18			36	8
		45	18
		174	16			188	8

There are two DC input ports on the inverter. Max 15A on each.
He is trying to tell me that to avoid putting AC back into the grid I need to balance things a little.
My question therefore is....
Is there something like a diode for stopping me giving power back to the grid?
I am informed that putting power back into the grid still causes the meter to charge me for the reverse current.
Is he correct or just taking the piss?
He is an excellent doctor but i do sometimes worry about his sense of humour.
Cheers Mike

[peakbagger]

It does seem that meters these days are shipped with an "internal ratchet" by default that total power in both directions. My household meter dating back to 1987 did not have that feature and would subtract power I sent to the grid from the power coming from the grid. So depending on the age of the meter you may get lucky but it does seem to be that most meters are set up with ratchets. Note digital meters are programmed with many options available so the utility can reprogram the meter to work in either mode.

[bcroe]

I believe the spinning disc meter I use, was originally from the 70s. The disc
would spin either direction with power flow, but it had a reversing gear so the
readout only went up. I defeated the reverse with glue, so I can keep track
of my reserve KWh ramping up and down over the year. Bruce Roe