Posted on 05/03/2026 7:34:45 PM PDT by WhoisAlanGreenspan?
Interesting concept of solar panel system plugged directly into a household outlet for a do it yourself supplemental power supply. According to the video (and other sources) it's newly legal in Utah and several other states. It's also in wide spread use in Europe.
I know there are several Freepers who have solar power of different types, I've always been interested in the subject but have never gone past solar battery charging for boats or cars or cameras.
Was reading the reviews of the system on ebay. One guy in Arizona said it had lowered his bill by $20 a month. In California $20 off a $700 bill is nothing. I was really interested in this system til I read the reviews. Thanks for the link.
I agree. But my new house was built with the main breaker OUTSIDE, and I have to remove 4 screws to open the cover to access it. The lates National Electric Code is ridiculous with this requirement. So for me to shut off the main, I have to go outside, presumably in a storm or cold weather, remove 4 screws, take the cover door off, and trip the main breaker. All so that I can run my house on a backup generator or solar. That, my friends, is insane.
Actually, for my backup source, I'm getting a manual transfer switch. Although I may hold off and look into solar. Just have no plans to pay big $$$ for something to be installed by a greedy solar contractor.
That sucks. I’m guessing that is for the fire department’s convenience.
Just shut off the breaker for the circuit you want to power...a 15 amp breaker generally controls 8-10 receptacles and a 20 amp breaker goes from 10-13 receptacles.
It is exactly for that reason. For 100 years, all they had to do was pull the meter and the lights would go out, the power would be off. Nothing wrong with that, but the DEI pansies that are now running things insist on wanting more and more useless regulations to make things harder for the people.
Another neat thing that they added to the code was no outlets allowed in a kitchen island. Which renders the island rather useless. I guess someone’s unattended kid pulled a hot crockpot of food down by the cord so now they require either a popup outlet or something to have it above counter level. They did, however, require pulling a circuit to a junction box under the counter, so I put my own outlet in my island, and I may add another at the other end.
Outlets on the kitchen island are a heck of a lot safer than people running extension cords from the outlets above the regular counter to the island to power their heated serving dishes.
For light solar power usage for battery charging, etc. I should think it would be best if the solar was totally disconnected from household power outlets.
Thanks, but no thanks. This gadgetry may save on electricity bills, but how long will it take to pay for itself, and more importantly will the unit’s life expectancy exceed the payoff?
According to Gemini AI:
The “Hidden” Risks
Even if the system is safe for utility workers, there are two reasons why US inspectors are often wary of them:
· Circuit Overloading: If you plug a 400W solar panel into a circuit that already has a toaster and a microwave running, you are feeding power from both ends. The wire in the middle could carry more current than its breaker is designed to handle, potentially causing a fire without the breaker ever tripping.
· GFCI Issues: Many outdoor outlets use GFCI protection. Solar inverters can “leak” a tiny amount of current that causes these safety outlets to trip constantly, making the system annoying to use.
The Bottom Line
If you buy one of these on Amazon, it will likely work and is technically safe regarding the grid (assuming it is UL 1741 certified). However, you might technically be violating your local building code or your agreement with the utility company if you don’t have a “Net Metering” agreement or a permit.
Pro-tip: Check if the product listing mentions UL 1741 or UL 3700. If it doesn’t have those certifications, it’s a “no-go” for safety.
I think people are misled about what these devices are and what they do. They are not a “source” for backup power. What you could do is install a battery backup system, and then install enough of these to make up the difference for what the batteries would draw as they are charging. But, if you’re going to do all that, then just get a regular solar system. You can’t beat solar if you have the room for it. And, it takes some room to have enough panels pointed to drive your home off grid and charge a backup battery bank. I have a two-year old system and it takes 663 square feet of panels pointed at optimum angle to support my 13KW system. (Not on the roof!)
Also, for the past 20 or more years non contact voltage testers have been around and usually in my shirt pocket if I'm working on wiring. I can't imagine a lineman being so reckless as to grab a conductor he doesn't know is live or not without a 10 second check.
“The reason is because linemen or technicians on that line could be electrocuted. This generally requires a disconect switch from the mains.”
Yes feeding 120V AC back into a plug also feeds the panel and up the feed line to the transformer which turns it into 7200+ volts down the line current is small but voltage can kill.
Grid sensing inverters can avoid this without a disconnect, they sense and sync to the 60Hz grid phase angle and will not energise until they sense this waveform which means the grid is up and flowing they grid follow the phase angle not push active and reactive power using an internally generated phase source.
The consequence of this is two fold one they only run when the grid is active thus protecting the line man and two you cannot push power out of your meter only into other loads behind the meter again current flows towards a lagging phase angle think of it as a pump pushing against the incoming water main pressure. When you open a faucet the pressure on your pipes behind the meter drop slightly so flow happens if the pump behind your meter is slight above the now lower pipe pressure flow goes from the pump to the faucet but not out against the higher water main pressure it’s trapped behind the meter.
Grid sensing inverters do this by design they are only feeding your needs not net metering which most RPPs frown upon and will void a contract over it. Even if they do allow net metering it’s a the avoidance rate as in what what the cost of not buying the wholesale power they would have sold you at the full retail price, you will NEVER get the full retail price for power you send out of the meter.
For that you must own a LLC and form a VPP with megawatts worth of virtual capacity to sell to the wholesale power market, and then form an additional RPP if you want to sell yo retail sales so you need 3 legal entities a parent LLC a VPP and a RPP.
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