jennyjj01 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 02, 2026 7:59 pm
A small obstacle for we ecoflow power stream owners..... as of 27 Aug, our inverter became non-compliant. No idea if/when it will re-comply
ECOFL/21128/V1
Non-compliant
26/8/2026 EcoFlow Inc. Ecoflow Plug-In Solar device/ EF-PS-800
OK. So, the status quo is:- If you want to install a PowerStream PS 800, you are supposed to get a sparky to hard wire it and submit a G98 to your DNO. It seems many DNO's accept G98 as self installed, but they might query or challenge that. If you want to use plug in cable, you don't need to submit a G98, but you do have to register at myplugin.solar and the only approved PS 800s are as parts of kits. Thus, your own mix and match of panel and inverter won't comply. Drat!
If you do connect up, the instant you send energy to the grid, your smart meter will clock the export and notify your supplier and one day they MAY get you onto a list for investigating. It's not happened yet to the thousands of Plug In Solar early adopters, but it could cause tricky questions from 'the authorities' or from your home insurer.
Now, what if you have a self installed PS-800 plugged in, sending energy to the grid, and you register it, but selecting a kit from the registration drop down? Your home insurance might be void if you have a fire, but short of that, you are off the DNO radar and they won't worry if your energy supplier does tell them you are generating. Are they going to inspect your installation and know it's not the exact kit?
so they are making it easy then...
I fall at the first hurdle - no smart meter...
jennyjj01 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 04, 2026 12:00 pm
If you do connect up, the instant you send energy to the grid, your smart meter will clock the export and notify your supplier and one day they MAY get you onto a list for investigating. It's not happened yet to the thousands of Plug In Solar early adopters, but it could cause tricky questions from 'the authorities' or from your home insurer.
so they are making it easy then...
I fall at the first hurdle - no smart meter...
That's not a hurdle, it's a boost, so long as your dumb meter is capable of, slowing, stopping or reversing in a grid feed scenario.
Graceful Degradation! Prepping's objective summed up in two words. Turning Disaster into Mild Inconvenience by the power of fore-thought
jennyjj01 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 04, 2026 12:00 pm
If you do connect up, the instant you send energy to the grid, your smart meter will clock the export and notify your supplier and one day they MAY get you onto a list for investigating. It's not happened yet to the thousands of Plug In Solar early adopters, but it could cause tricky questions from 'the authorities' or from your home insurer.
so they are making it easy then...
I fall at the first hurdle - no smart meter...
That's not a hurdle, it's a boost, so long as your dumb meter is capable of, slowing, stopping or reversing in a grid feed scenario.
It's a gotcha. Minute i submit a negative meter reading it will trigger a mandatory smart meter replacement.
jennyjj01 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 04, 2026 12:00 pm
Snip> Now, what if you have a self installed PS-800 plugged in, sending energy to the grid, and you register it, but selecting a kit from the registration drop down? Your home insurance might be void if you have a fire, but short of that, you are off the DNO radar and they won't worry if your energy supplier does tell them you are generating. Are they going to inspect your installation and know it's not the exact kit?
See my above posts
70.85 KWh so far since install. Not a huge amount but it's covering my base load fine. (Router and Fridgefreezer)
Two is one and one is none, but three is even better.
My next door neighbour has just installed two solar panels and an inverter. Panels are on garden fence (and inverter too). But they are to reduce his electricity bill. He said you have to have electricity on or it could kill someone. I don't understand all that. Can't use them in a power outage. Said it was some law passed in August that means you can now do this. It just goes into a normal plug socket.
So what's the difference between what he's done, and what preppers do?
Also, he said he is going to get a battery. But that's because he's on dual rate. He wants to charge it off the mains at night, when the rate is low. I'm a bit dubious, because his day rate is about 30% higher than normal. Again, this is not for power outages, although maybe it could be.
Personally, I think my main concern is keeping the central heating going, which a battery could do, but it would need to be professionally done, as the boiler is hard wired. Also maybe one for the fridge.
Frnc wrote: ↑Mon Oct 05, 2026 5:21 am
My next door neighbour has just installed two solar panels and an inverter. Panels are on garden fence (and inverter too). But they are to reduce his electricity bill. He said you have to have electricity on or it could kill someone. I don't understand all that. Can't use them in a power outage. Said it was some law passed in August that means you can now do this. It just goes into a normal plug socket.
So what's the difference between what he's done, and what preppers do?
Also, he said he is going to get a battery. But that's because he's on dual rate. He wants to charge it off the mains at night, when the rate is low. I'm a bit dubious, because his day rate is about 30% higher than normal. Again, this is not for power outages, although maybe it could be.
Personally, I think my main concern is keeping the central heating going, which a battery could do, but it would need to be professionally done, as the boiler is hard wired. Also maybe one for the fridge.
Yes, the plug in solar that your neighbour has will just help towards his electricity bill by generating a little. However when the grid goes down it stops working, so no good in power cuts. The batteries that some have are an extra that has a socket on the back for limiting just a few things when power is off. E.g. a freezer, a tv and a Central Heating pump. Savings by using off peak electricity are very minimal.
Graceful Degradation! Prepping's objective summed up in two words. Turning Disaster into Mild Inconvenience by the power of fore-thought
The problem with the plug in solar kits is that they theoretically could have 240V sitting across the exposed pins of a 3 pin plug. This risk is resolved by not allowing the inverter to operate unless it can detect 240V AC at 50Hz - i.e. the pug is safely inserted into a live mains socket.
There is currently no design that allows a plug in inverter to operate in a power outage. This is not only due to the exposed plug pins risk but also the risk to any power company workers, working on cables near your house.
The only option is to use something like the Ecostream integrated battery system and use the 2 sockets manually in a power outage.
GillyBee wrote: ↑Mon Oct 05, 2026 4:47 pm
The problem with the plug in solar kits is that they theoretically could have 240V sitting across the exposed pins of a 3 pin plug. This risk is resolved by not allowing the inverter to operate unless it can detect 240V AC at 50Hz
It's not just a restriction of plug in solar. It's actually a feature of many/most large domestic solar installations, where that full roof of panels does diddly squat in case of a power cut.
Graceful Degradation! Prepping's objective summed up in two words. Turning Disaster into Mild Inconvenience by the power of fore-thought
jennyjj01 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 05, 2026 7:45 pm
[quote=GillyBee post_id=248682 time=<a href="tel:1791218830">1791218830</a> user_id=7891]
The problem with the plug in solar kits is that they theoretically could have 240V sitting across the exposed pins of a 3 pin plug. This risk is resolved by not allowing the inverter to operate unless it can detect 240V AC at 50Hz
It's not just a restriction of plug in solar. It's actually a feature of many/most large domestic solar installations, where that full roof of panels does diddly squat in case of a power cut.
[/quote]
This is why i’d rather have a Jackery and solar panel rather than a plug-in setup.
