Comment on Easy-to-use solar panels are coming, but utilities are trying to delay them
artyom@piefed.social 11 hours agoAs I said, that’s not how that works. If you have 1200w incoming to the circuit and 300W outgoing, then the circuit load is actually decreased to 900w
BT_7274@lemmy.world 11 hours ago
Idk man. It’s probably over my head but I still don’t think the wires themselves could take it. In my thought process you’ve got more electricity flowing around on the circuit and even if it gets used before getting to the breaker things are going to be heating up pretty quick.
To me it sounds like trying to hook up a power plant to a data center via an indoor extension cord. It’s gonna melt.
BakedCatboy@lemmy.ml 9 hours ago
I think the warning you might be thinking of is that a breaker can fail to pop if an inverter/generator is on the same circuit as a high wattage device. Since some energy would go directly from generation to device, the breaker will only see the “net” energy consumption. So if the generator puts out 1500W and the device decides to draw 3000W, a 15A breaker only sees 1500, and won’t trip even though the device is pulling way too much. If the breaker was sized for the wiring, then the wiring to that outlet could catch fire due to the breaker not tripping. That’s the main reason I know of why a generator or inverter should be on a dedicated circuit, to force the energy out one breaker and in another, so that the breaker can see an accurate measure of energy and trip when necessary.
artyom@piefed.social 11 hours ago
I do know, man.
It would be both added and consumed after the breaker. Like if you had a 10A solar system connected to a dual outlet, and a 10A space heater on the other outlet, there would only be 10A flowing through the outlet, and nowhere else in the system
BT_7274@lemmy.world 11 hours ago
Yes, I was conceding that point. I was then worried about the actual romex in the walls entirely contained after the breaker. Are you able to pump as much power as you want at 15A on a 15A rated wire? There’s got to be some limit, right?
artyom@piefed.social 11 hours ago
No. You can only pump 15A. But you’ll never have more than that.