GenerLink with Lightning for Back-Up Power

[drewfaulk]

Does anyone know if the GenerLink meter-mounted transfer switch (https://www.homedepot.com/p/GenerLink-30-Amp-Meter-Mounted-Transfer-Switch-MA23-N/301961623) would work with the Lightning 30 AMP pro-power output for backup power? Obviously you would be limited to 30 AMPS and probably wouldn't want to run every appliance in the home during an outage, but this seems like a pretty simple and cheap solution. I know other solutions people have proposed have had issues with the bonded vs. floating neutrals, and am wondering if this would have the same issue. Installation would, of course, require an electrician, but seems straightforward. No more often than we experience power outages, I'd be willing to roll out a 30 AMP extension cord and plug it into the switch the 1 or 2 times a year the power goes out: I just can’t justify the $7-8k (or more) that the SunRun option costs for the very light, occasional use it would get.

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[petemill]

I'm just an amateur but I'd say it would suffer from the same issue since your neutral and ground are bonded in your main panel which is downstream from the meter. Simply put I believe it will only work if there is no bonded neutral and ground downstream from the ProPower Onboard.

In any electrical system it's only safe to have the neutral and ground bonded at a single point and it's usually the main panel. In ProPower, the vehicle is the main panel and your home main panel is the si panel. But your main panel would still be wired as a main panel and not a sub panel.

 

[drewfaulk]

I'm just an amateur but I'd say it would suffer from the same issue since your neutral and ground are bonded in your main panel which is downstream from the meter. Simply put I believe it will only work if there is no bonded neutral and ground downstream from the ProPower Onboard.

In any electrical system it's only safe to have the neutral and ground bonded at a single point and it's usually the main panel. In ProPower, the vehicle is the main panel and your home main panel is the si panel. But your main panel would still be wired as a main panel and not a sub panel.

Understood. Thank you for the explanation. I'd read that there are Generac transfer switches that somehow worked and solved this problem, so I was hoping this one would as well.

 

[petemill]

The generac transfer switches are sub-panels, so they are downstream from your main panel. Any system that works would either need to:
- Not include your main panel, and switch a sub-panel from being fed from your grid-tied neutral-ground-bonded main panel to being fed from the neutral-ground-bonded ProPower.
- Somehow separate neutral and ground bond in your main panel when you want to run from ProPower (I've never seen this).
- Disconnect the truck's ground from its connector to your panel, so the truck doesn't notice that neutral and ground are connected in your home system downstream from it. However, it also wouldn't notice if there are any problems with the circuit, especially live wires coming in to contact with appliances or other grounded metal surfaces. None of the breakers would trip as far as I know.

 

[drewfaulk]

Got it. Thank you for the explanation. For the relatively small cost, I thought it might be worth doing, but it looks like the Generlink isn't the solution I'd hoped.

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