I have an AC300 and a single B300 connected to my main panel through a ProTran 2 transfer switch. I have five 180W panels that I’ve tested but only plan to use in the event of a long-term power outage. (I’m in the process of exchanging the AC300 for the current version, which plays well with the non-neutral-switching ProTran switch.)
In a long-term outage I need more solar production, more power output, more storage capacity, and a way to run my 240V well pump. I’m anticipating installing 16 panels on my roof, which is my effective maximum number, to solve the production problem. I’m considering two ways of dealing with the other issues.
I could get a second AC300, a P030A fusion box, and more Bluetti batteries. Because of the AC300’s limitations the units would be overpanelled but I would have extra capacity in periods of reduced production.
I could buy a Sol-Ark inverter and lots of cheaper SOK or EG4 battery capacity and get a lot more production and flexibility out of my 16 panels. This second option gives rise to the question in my post.
With option 2 my AC300/B300 system is redundant. But I can still see ways that it could be useful. For example, in winter I will have reduced output because of shading on my roof. Because my five 180W panels are light I could set them up temporarily in places on my property that get sun in the winter to supplement my roof production.
At a minimum it would be nice to have a way to make use of the Bluetti’s battery capacity somehow with the Sol-Ark system. It would have to be done in a way that used the AC300’s high-wattage output in some way rather that using the B300’s meager 12V 120W output.
Has anyone thought about ways to integrate the semi-portable AC300 with permanent wired-in inverter systems?
I think building your own system without the AC300 would be the way to go. Or, use the AC300 to only run a subset of your power needs unconnected from any other system. I’m trying to solve the well pump problem myself. DIY is so much cheaper than Bluetti or any other all in one setup when your getting into split phase systems. One option I’m considering is solar on demand for my well which pumps to a storage tank during the day and use a 110VAC or 12VDC pump from the tank to the house.
following. i have 2 ac300 in split phase setup and find myself wondering if i can add growatt inverters in front of the ac300 to capture more solar and provide that as “grid” input to the bluetti’s. growatt or eg4 offer a lot more in terms of solar input flexibility. some of the inverters that interest me can run without connected batteries. it would be ideal to combine systems and keep bluetti batteries for storage but i’m not sure how to integrate that battery storage with the other new inverter. my guess is…you can’t
I’m in the same spot as you (AC300, ProTran switch, solar panels I want to expand, and eyeing the Sol-Ark). I have been also investigating ways I might utilize the AC300 in concert with the Sol-Ark.
Ideally if you could feed the Sol-Ark with DC output from the AC300 you could get close to an ideal setup and not have an AC/DC conversion loss. The AC300 can output ~240 watts on the Cigarette Lighter Port. If you could plug that into one of the PV inputs on the Sol-Ark, you could at least get ~5.7kWh per day passed through. I’ve tried to do some research on this but I think the only way to know would be to try it, and my experience with Bluetti products outside of expected behavior has not been encouraging.
Piggy-backing the Sol-Ark to the AC300 AC output seems fraught to me. I don’t think it would be reliable enough and switching from bypass to/from inverter I could see might have issues like with the transfer switch. Also, bypass could only pass maximum of ~1800 watts from a 15 amp outlet, so your entire system would be limited to that when fed from the grid.
As of now, I’m leaning towards having two separate segmented systems. But also looking for better ideas…