DIY Home Solar System Lightning Protection EMP Shield
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 มิ.ย. 2024
- A lightning strike near my array has convinced me to take countermeasures to protect my home and solar system. Get $50 off an EMP Shield using code "dave" and this link: www.empshield.com/?coupon=dave
More DIY home solar information on my website: projectswithdave.com
More details on this project here: projectswithdave.com/surge-pr...
EMP Shield Surge Protection Devices - comes with $25,000 insurance policy:
Get $50 off an EMP Shield using code "dave"
Home 120/240V EMP Shield: www.empshield.com/home-protec...
48V Battery Protection EMP Shield: www.empshield.com/product/emp...
600V Dual PV input Protection Shield: www.empshield.com/product/dua...
All Wind and solar models: www.empshield.com/solar-and-w...
EMP Shield Test Results: www.empshield.com/testing/
Alternative low cost Surge Protection Devices:
$12 Din Rail SPD's (not a lot of confidence in these but better than nothing): amzn.to/460j07f
MidNite solar PV protection Device -MNSPD600: amzn.to/3REDXAe
MidNite solar Home Protection Device MNSPD-300-AC: amzn.to/3ENlV7o
MidNite Solar Battery system MNSPD-300-DC Surge Protection Device 300VDC: amzn.to/3rpkadz
Related components:
My new panels - Canadian Solar Bifacial Panels: signaturesolar.com/canadian-s...
My battery bank - SOK Battery 100Ah 48v Server Rack Battery: www.currentconnected.com/prod...
Budget version of my battery bank - SOK Battery 100Ah 48v Server Rack Battery: www.currentconnected.com/prod...
Budget 48V from Signature solar: signaturesolar.com/eg4-lifepo...
VEVOR Electrical Enclosure: amzn.to/44NrUV1
DIN Rail Terminal Blocks DK10N with ground block (up to 6awg wire): amzn.to/3FkUSRn
Dinkle SS2 DIN Rail Terminal Block End Bracket: amzn.to/3RD2zK1
Dinkle DK4N-PE DIN Rail Grounding Terminal Block (10AWG): amzn.to/3ZuHwLt
DIN Rail Terminal Block Kit #1 Red/Black Dinkle 20 DK2.5N 12 AWG Gauge 20A 600V Ground: amzn.to/3PPgTO4
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Learn how to do your own DIY Solar System: projectswithdave.com/#edu-video
Sources for LiFePO4 batteries: projectswithdave.com/batteries/
Inverter Solutions: projectswithdave.com/inverters/
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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
05:26 EMP Shield Home Install
10:59 EMP Shield 48V Battery Install
12:41 Installing DIN Rail SPD - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
Thanks for taking the time to document the installation.
For PV surge, placing a service loop into the voltage surge suppressor is just as bad as placing a service loop between supressor & ground. Think of it as a series circuit. Want low impedance between wire you are protecting (to house) and earth. Long wires are bad to keep resistance low but loops are REALLY bad due to their inductance. Can use loops strategically to limit current transients. Transient is very high frequency and loops attenuate. Put loops between panels and breaker. Loops between combiner box and house. No loops in path to ground. Multiple turns on loops increase attenuation. 12:42
Agree. Lighting is mostly radio frequency energy in the hundreds of kilohertz. Loops become inductors that diminish the suppressor effectiveness. The basic rules for RF are: short leads, no loops and no sharp turns (a sharp turn is effectively a 1/4 turn loop).
Thanks for the vid. I would recommend though you run your PV into a dc isolator switch prior to the panel. Would be much safer than having to pull apart an MC4 connector to conduct any work.
Would like proof that the company that makes that EMP Shield device actually honors their $25k warranty. Other well known "surge protector" companies also flout their warranty but there is enough people who have tried using that warranty to realize they find some way to get out of paying any warranty claims. Not saying these guys don't honor it but would like more proof than just something they say. Have you checked how exactly someone files a claim with them?
Edit: their first requirement on their warranty claim is that it had to be installed by a licensed electrician.
I asked if they had any failures in the market. They said there were a few, and they had to replace a washing machine some other appliances. I didn't get a count.
"Not interested in getting hit by 500 volts." Amen to that, lol
Yeah, it could activate your muscles and clamp you on as well because it is DC!
Any system running that much voltage in a string of panels should have a fence around it. Our systems now are 1200 volts. Don't forget the capacitive voltage that builds up in a string that isn't even connected to the inverter yet. I found that out the hard way. It discharges just like a capacitor...hard at first and quickly drops.
The thing to realize is that a lighting strike (or if you're the paranoid prepper, EMP impuse) is a very fast rise-time injection of current into your system. This means its looks like a very high-frequency signal and you almost need to think about wiring stuff up as if it was RF. This is why the emphasis on short, straight conductors that don't have a higher inductive impedance than absolutely necessary. All this also applies to the path to ground, and having a low-impedance ground system, often done as a system of ground rods that are tied together.
So connecting to the far end of the long bus bar isn't ideal. And you can also get a surge induced on neutral, which is a real issue in your installation especially since your ground and neutral are isolated. I had a lighting strike that blew up a bunch of RS-232 serial and USB equipment from what looked to be a surge on neutral. You need to verify that your protection device also protects against surges on neutral.
A lot of this is pretty well understood from the broadcast transmitter application, where these antennas are often subject to lighting strikes, and it's as much about continuing operation, not just surviving a lightning strike.
Yes, shorter wires is better. I chose layout over performance, maybe future Dave will be unhappy about that. : )
If you have an actual situation where a surge protector did or did not work for you, please let me know in the comments.
Get $50 off an EMP Shield using code "dave" and this link: www.empshield.com/?coupon=dave
Get more details on this project on my website: projectswithdave.com/surge-protection/
Find More information on DIY home solar on my website: projectswithdave.com
you thought of using a lightning rod in combination with the 12 dollar device. The entire protection installation for the house and panels cost me 900 euros and consists of: galvanized conductor, copper electrode, separation box, roof attachment accessories. Almost all are OBO brand.
This closed the loop on some things that I wasn't understanding. From what I got out of watching your video both devices make a hard short, which in turn causes the breakers to pop earlier than they would of, if at all, on their own. Now, to understand why the emp devices are better than the surges that you installed at the PV box. Thanks for the video!
The device responds in less than a millisecond. Way faster than the breaker can trip.
Both are essentially MOVs in a box. With the solar SPD blocks, they are one or two chunky MOVs. This device is probably a heap of MOVs in a box with perhaps, and that's a big perhaps, one or more GDTs. More MOVs equates to a higher probability of a MOV still functioning after a large belt rather than being blown to bits. That's it really.
I used to work on the CRT TV's. The voltage on the tube isn't what hurts. What hurts is dragging your arm across the metal frame of the chassis in a 19" portable TV. LOL!!! Enjoyed this !!! ( Newbie to the channel....) I'm just getting into solar. Learning as I go. Thank you for your help ! ! !
.... (Oops... forgot this ) .... 19" portable TV when the voltage hits you accidentally. It only takes once and a chicken stick becomes your best friend.
I'm glad you're finding it helpful!
Always great to check and double check for live wires. The electrical guys who wired this house must have been angry, because the breaker for "Outside lights and plugs" doesn't turn off any of the outside lights, or plugs. I've got two different non-contact testers and it's worth it to go up and down the ladder 5 or 6 extra times to check to make sure you won't have a bad accident 15 feet off the ground.
You're now ready for a lightning strike that we hope never happens. Good job.
Years ago we had the power company install something similar to these that protected the main box as well as our phone lines and Internet. After a couple years of replacing our safety device and/or damaged personal electronics after strikes, the power company guys told me that basically it’s a gamble trying to stop lightning from jumping a 2 inch gap so these boxes were basically, an insurance policy that they would pay out in the event that you get struck by lightning. 🤷♂️ Has anyone else been told this before?
As you stated, the wire should be as short as possible. When I installed mine I put as close to the breaker! This is important to allow the lightning current to get to the surge suppressor before getting go any other breaker.
Yes, shorter is better.
You seem to be under the strange assumption that Lighting follows ohms law. It does not., Lightning takes all and any paths to ground, not just the least resistance path to ground. This is why when it comes in power lines to a home it destroys the tv but not the refrigerator, maybe takes out the dishwasher but leaves the tv in a bedroom alone, etc. If lightning followed ohms law it would go straight to ground the first path it found and only loads in that path would be destroyed. Lighting will branch out and go where it wants to.
@@mikeanonymous669 Ohm's law does not actually state current takes the path of least resistance. It flows on all possible paths proportionally based on the individual path impedance.
Did you do a video on the installation of that Vevor enclosure box?
Yes, you can see it here: th-cam.com/video/IZjISqEWglU/w-d-xo.html
EMP Sheild is a good company. I trust them and all there testing. I have them on my vehicles
What gives you that confidence?
They have been test through DHS, DOD. They are on some Government vehicles so i tend to trust them more.
@@josephmiller6866What tests did they pass and have you seen the results?
On their webpage they state that they were built to exceed a few standards like MIL-STD-188-125-1.
But that standard and the others list tests for different scenarios, some are easier than others.
I smell marketing BS but I could be wrong.
I work for the govt, just because someone put something on one of the govt vehicles does not mean it works.
More likely it means they money left at the end of the quarter and someone decided to spend it on this thing they heard about.
There has to be someone doing solar in Florida or Texas which I think is the lightening capitol of the world (actually that's in south America)But surely the lightening capital of the US. What a cool thing to do! build a system, ground and protect it, then test devices claiming to protect solar arrays. Living in Venezuela might not be as cool as it should be now. Maybe get a place in Houston Texas and build lightening tower so you can be sure to get a lightening strike to hit your array. At least the power of one. Rural and is really expensive there... Probably nearly as in Lake Maracaibo. Very heavy oil production area and metropolitan..
I believe the earth wire from the emp is sopose to go straight to a ground rod in the ground rather than being connected to a ground on the inverter
I discussed that with the tech at EMP Shield. They recommended the inverter ground lug because it eliminated the need to splice the ground wire in order to reach the ground rod directly.
@@ProjectsWithDave alright
what is your thinking on Alibaba solar tracking systems I need a 36 KW system if I go with dual axis trackers. US made stuff is 4 to 5 times the price.
Since your panels are connected to ground posts and the mounting frame has continuity one thing to help would be bonding via a very direct short piece of braid copper from each post to the nearest lengthwise stringer. That will keep lightening from 'hunting' the best ground. Braid is better than wire because it handles the Radio Frequency component as it 'looks like a big fat wire' to lightning.
Move the protection closer to the end of the rail near the ground buss bar and put as fat a wire as you can fit into it to the ground. Don't loop your ground wires, keep all protection device wires as short and direct for the same reason (it is not like you are going to amp-clamp those connections anyway). The protection block is also covering the long run to the house because cloud-to-cloud lightning can cause a very high induced voltage even though it is underground (the induced magnetic field doesn't care about dirt). Many people don't know about this, but it can mess things up easily and nobody can figure out why because they believed a lightning bolt was the bigger threat. It would be prudent to do a protection box inside the house before any equipment to cover that end as the solar array end might not dissipate all the energy.
Last but not least, none of this will help one bit on a massive direct stroke - I've seen window screen plate itself onto window glass, turn switch boxes into empty holes in the wall. So, check your homeowners and look into a rider if your PV array / house powering gear is not covered. People assume a strike will be covered and appliances might be, but PV gear is different.
Thanks for the in-depth feedback!
I’m wondering if you’re using busbars to the battery, if you can attach it to the busbars for the same results?
Also, if you have multiple battery banks, all connected to the busbars?
Yes, you can connect to the busbar instead. Everything connected to the bus bar would be protected. The support at EMP shield is very good. If you have detailed questions about your system they can help you out.
Also interesting to note that EMP Shield states in their warranty that the unit will fail after one lightning strike. The Midnite Solar unit has been shown to survive after a high surge event such as lightning. You can search TH-cam for video on the Midnite one being tested at a facility showing it continuing to work after an emulated lightning strike.
EMP shield also can survive multiple events, but it is not guaranteed to do so. I expect the MidNite solution will also work, I just chose the EMP Shield version because it seemed a little more robust and part of the cost can be counted as insurance.
true, they degrade like fuses in doing their job, they are not fit-and-forget
Depends on the technology they use to handle the surges. Some devices utilize a gas discharge tube which essentially acts like a fluorescent light bulb and lets an arc form in gas filled tube. That can take multiple hits but the gas degrades over time with each hit.
Unless you have wires that run hundreds of miles, an CME/solar storm event isn't a threat. CMEs induce large DC currents in long distance power transmission lines and pipelines (even buried ones) caused by deflection and distortion of the Earth's magnetosphere. The closer those systems are to the Earth's magnetic poles, the worse the damage. But those currents are only induced to any extent in long conductors. It may take out the grid, but not your home installation. The danger here is voltage transients that may appear on your incoming AC power from the commercial power source caused by malfunctions in the utility's equipment. Still, a small threat compared to lightning and EMP. I think the risk assessments in your survey responses were proportionally accurate.
Lightning risk varies greatly based on where you live.
If you live in Hawaii then it is not that much of a risk but if you live in Florida then you should take it seriously.
Do an Internet search for a keraunic map. It will show you lightning strike density. That value combined with you risk tolerance, cost of replacement, etc can help you determine how much concern you need to pay to lightning risk.
Great point, the risk is not evenly distributed. I grew up in Alaska, almost no lightning there.
In the box at your solar panels, there is a green ground wire going from the grounding bus bar and out the conduit. Where does it end?
The panels, and frame are all connected back to the main ground rod for the house. You can see the original install here: th-cam.com/video/_xA6qOwnYbM/w-d-xo.html
thanks for this video.
how do you like the victron(s)? i would like to use them ( i like the idea of a transformer-vs HF inverters).
I can say from a performance standpoint the transformers are great. I love my Victron inverters, they always work, never an issue with them. They power my large induction motors like the dust collector, table saw and drum sander with no issues. The Victron inverters have very low idle loss, lower than anything else I have tested. They do make a humming noise that can be annoying, so location matters. Current Connected offers extended warranty on their Victron equipment, and great knowledgeable service if you are looking for a source.
I would bump up the the 5k though for some margin: www.currentconnected.com/product/victron-48v-multiplus-2-5kva-120v-inverter-70a-charger/?ref=pwd
Or if you want to have a separate generator input: www.currentconnected.com/product/victron-48v-quattro-5000va/?ref=pwd
@@ProjectsWithDave....thank you for the information. i am leaning towards the eg4-18K, i am just worried about "all in one" types wont handle pool pump and ac compressors, at the same time. and i have heard about flickering lights with the high frequency type inverters.
i know the transformer types can handle anything ya throw at it. from what i see the down side is victron makes us buy everything "ala cart" vs the all in 1 (sol-ark/eg4-18k).
The EMP shield should be connected to the first two breakers after the supply, not the last two,
🎉
Yes, the recommendation is to connect as close to the supply as possible. The shorter the wires, the faster the response time. In my case I chose layout over response time.
On the PV surge protector what is the ohm resistance between using the den rail ground and the direction ground bar? If you're wanting to avoid a direct lighting hit you don't really want all that voltage having to run across the thin rail then the painted box before it gets to the ground bar.
I understand the install makes wiring look better and easier to install but if we're talking about possibly thousands of volt that added resistance could add up to your inverter getting fired.
Just a thought... I'm no qualified to do anything.
It would be a cool video if you could hit the box with a bunch of volts to see an explosion.
Yes for surge protection you want the lowest impedance path to ground possible. Short, high gauge wires with the minimum of connections.
The DIN Rail connector provides the shortest path to ground. The DIN rail is screwed to the case and has less resistance than the 10AWG wire.
What matters is getting low resistance at the frequencies containing the power. Impedance is resistance at a given frequency. Transients contain a lot of high frequency content. IMO, assuming the green wire on the bus bar goes directly to earth, lowest impedance to ground is achieved by connecting to the screw terminal adjacent to the screw terminal holding the green earthing wire.
Dave the EMP shield test data is mostly bogus. It’s $20 in parts and $380 in marketing.
50 year old scope probes, the test lab cut the wires to be 3 inches long, and their test mechanism is a bunch of romex…their anechoic chamber in their test data is breaking so many industry best practices
Do you have a better recommendation for surge protection?
Are you saying these don't work?
I have seen pictures of a unit cut open. Very interesting results. Looked like a varistor led and I'm guessing some type of conductive epoxy material mostly. Not much in one. I'm guessing the varistor sends the transient current to the epoxy material and dissipates it through ground.
@@HighTechLabI agree, in the 1990's I was tasked with developing and testing aircraft communication radios that could sustain lightening strikes so, familiar with EMP protection which is very similar. From looking at the EMP Shield box, its hookup, and the company's testing, I'm sorry to report that it can't possibly do what they claim -- not even close. They also assume only the power line needs to be protected at some convenient connection point to the customer. With an EMP, most of the damage to electronics is due to the E1 pulse, which is at microwave frequencies, which easily passes through most shielding and gets picked up on the circuit board traces acting as antennas to pipe a few hundred volts into circuitry that has a maximum input voltage rating of 1.8 to 5 volts, depending upon the logic type.
The fact that they charge 50 bucks to replace under warranty, tells you it costs less than $50 to make 😂. If they sold it for a reasonable cost, they would get those fat government bills!
We lost an entire large commercial solar field because an engineer didn't understand grounding as it applied to the panels and racking, and lightning struck. Our electricians told the engineer that his grounding would fail, but his books said different. I still believe all engineers should be required to spend a few years installing systems they design so they understand why we say they won't work. In my area engineering students at a well known university designed a 4 story library and were so proud of it as it was being built. When someone said the books were coming soon they said, "BOOKS ????". Seems they forgot to factor in the weight of the books in their design. Oooops.
What was the grounding failure on the commercial system and what should have been done to correct it?
@@ProjectsWithDave Not exactly sure. It was a very large system and they lost all the equipment on the pads. Our systems run over a million dollar per megawatt. But in the 24 years I was in electrical work, I can't recall one job that didn't have to be re-engineered. One job I was on was being inspected on a Monday by an engineer from Wash. DC. I asked him when he graduated. He said "Last Friday." I hope that device works for you, but I hope more that it never gets tested. Be safe my friend.
when I was a kid I was working for small village mowing graveyards and village parks for the Summer! On small rise I was mowing a graveyard on small rise that was coming down the valley! My boss knew this and come to get me because of lighting storm! While I putting the mower away in shed and waling to truck a bolt of Lightning hit tree and split in half and fell onto the bed of the truck! I it was so loud my hearing was affected for 5 minutes!
If you nearly get struck by lightning in a graveyard I guess God is trying to get your attention! : )
In Florida, our house was hit twice as a kid. My dad claims his house growing up in Missouri would be hit every couple of years... Can you just use a lightning rod as well?
I'm not an expert on the topic, but I know there are lightning rod solutions that would likely reduce the probability of a lightning bolt physically damaging your house. However, I think it is still likely you would get a surge on your electrical system that could be mitigated with a surge protector. I lived in Florida for a few years when I was younger and I distinctly remember a lightning striking a tree in our front yard. I happened to be looking out the window for that one as well. Florida is certainly more active than Ohio when it comes to lightning.
If you could only afford one surge protector, which one would it be? I would need to get them one at a time in order of importance.
If budget is your biggest concern I would apply the one for the whole home load center. It is required by code in some locations. This link is the budget brand version, it doesn't come with any insurance: amzn.to/3ENlV7o
Its good to have SPDs, but there are severe limitations to what they can do.
The main problem with surge suppressors is that they work by essentially shorting the excess voltage across wire pairs. They can only handle so many joules from the surge and to avoid a fire there is always an inline fuse internal to the device. That is basically what "fails". So if the surge is small enough to not blow the fuse, the device survives to suppress another day. And if it does blow the fuse, the device becomes inoperable. The fuse is internal to the device and mandatory to prevent the device from catching on fire.
Basically NONE of these devices can protect against a direct lightning strike, and very few can protect against more than one relatively close lightning strike without blowing the fuse and turning the device into a big nothing. What they protect against are very short high-voltage surges from not-so-close lighting strikes and other related phenomena that generally amount to less than a few hundred joules of energy (depending on the device it can be as little as 30 joules).
A direct lightning strike puts far more energy onto the wires than these devices have even a mote of a chance of protecting against.
There are SPDs that have integrated breakers and will trigger the breaker when the SPD trips. Note that regular breakers generally do not trip due to a lightning strike or power surge on their own.
The SPDs with integrated breakers will trip the breakers if the SPD trips, protecting the circuit you connect to the breaker. Thus the circuit you connect to that particular integrated breaker will remain protected because the breaker will trip when the SPD does and the SPD hopefully holds the surge off for long enough for the breaker to trip. The SPD still becomes inoperable once its fuse blows but the devices hanging of the breaker remain reasonably well protected because the breaker has tripped.
Of course, these voltage surges can be huge... big enough to arc across even a tripped breaker. But a tripped breaker offers more protection than no breaker.
An example would be something like the Siemens QSA2020SPD (this is an AC 2-pole SPD with two integrated single-pole breakers).
-Matt
Thanks for adding some detail on the limitations of SPD's, I didn't spend much time on that in the video.
I have portable solar generators. Would I be able to use the EMP shield with them? I was under the impression that it would not work with them. I have the whole house EMP Shield and an EMP shields for both my vehicles, but I am concerned with my portable solar generators. I have two that are running. I have the Bluetti AC200P, AC200Max, Two AC300 with each having two B300 batteries. The Two AC300 is not up and running yet I need two more solar panels and need 4 tilt stands. I need to get the electrician back in to create a oulet to get the MC4 cables outdoors. They want everything ready when they come and drill a hole.
For the EMP shield to work, it needs a path to ground. Are your units connected to the household ground in any way?
My best advice is to go back on the grid when there’s a lightning storm! That way, it’s more than likely your system will be safe, once the lightning storm is gone, you can turn it back on.
It’d certainly make sense to actually ground the Victron Multiplus case ground back to ground…
Yes! It is grounded. Otherwise it would be pointless to land on the case. : )
@@ProjectsWithDave you only have one wire on the post, you want another going to ground
The case is already grounded.
Let me ask this, in the lightning, solar flare, or EMP, entering on the solar panels. These devices will not protect the panels. Only equipment after the panels?
If the panels are hit directly by lightning, they will sustain damage.
They are semiconductors like so much else. They can be damaged even by nearby lighting including a good overhead cloud to cloud, doesn't have to be a direct hit. The reality of it is there really isn't much you can do about it since by nature they have to be out in the elements and they are rather big, ie quite easy to get high voltages appearing across the cells. All you can really do is ensure the frames are properly earthed (and that means more than piddly 10mm earth wire to an equally piddly rod) and have proper protection on the PV wires before they reach your solar charger / inverter.
and do not forget - surge devices are not permanent, more temporary like fuses, as in actually doing their jobs of protecting against each lightning strike steadily degrades them, so they must be swapped out after they degrade
I just stopped at EMP Shield... Thanks for the sales pitch.
Sorry if that sounded like a sales pitch. I'm just trying to share what I learn as I go. Unfortunately, In this case I can't do my own independent testing to validate the claims of any of these companies selling SPD's.
9:25 that should be a tandem breaker and not two separate breakers to isolate both circuit legs on fault condition/maintenance.
I did it that way to maintain protection on the other leg if one fails.
By not using a 240v ganged breaker you’ve set up a brown out scenario. If one leg pops but the other doesn’t you’ve got 120v on 240v circuits or no protection on one leg and protection on the other.
You should at least add a connection bar between both breakers.
I believe by having separate breakers, if one breaker trips for some reason, the other leg of the system is still protected. If the breakers are tripped, the device will not operate to protect the system.
@@ProjectsWithDave if only one trips it will cause a surge on the other leg because of how center tap works. It will blow that leg and then brown out your 240v loads. One side will be saved, the other side will blow up and all of your 240 equipment will cook itself to death.
@@ProjectsWithDaveIdeally you want to open the main breaker to the panel should the protector signal failure or the breaker on the protector opens (one leg or both). If you don't all the loads on that panel will be left vulnerable to further surges. There's various ways to achieve this, you should look into doing it.
Interestingly a very similar discussion has just taken place on Big Clive's channel regarding SPDs.
Solar Flares are a lot more common we just dont always hear about it. " Did solar flare cause blackout 2023?
A strong flare erupted from the Sun at 20:46 UTC (21:46 BST) on 7 August 2023, that has been described as a 'strong radio blackout' event. Aug 8, 2023"
How about 3” hail?
If you have 3" hail you may want to go with a vertical install like this one: th-cam.com/video/5AVO1IyfA9M/w-d-xo.html
Most of these items are a gimmick. If you drive extra ground rods and buy the biggest ground rods and run a larger conductor to them. That will help get rid of it. Most people don't realize that they don't have a very good grounding system. The electrical code is a minimum standard. That's the worst job allowable by law, if you can upgrade your grounding system, you can save your equipment
Possibly yes!
Agreed 💯, that majority of the grounding systems are very poor.
Ensuring an excellent Ground and about 25 sq.mm Grounding Cable along with proper AC SPD's & DC SPD's, one DC SPD close to every string of PV Panel and other close to MPPT(s) or inverter(s) deployed would be good.
Upon that one may add a reliable EMP Protective device, if possible!
You better read that warranty carefully. It’s is most likely not covering what you think it means. I did look it up and read it! It’s not worth much.
If it provides you a piece of mind an you sleep better then its a good purchase. Working in the electrical industry for over 25 years, I have never seen a product, commercial, or industrial to handle a direct strike. Trees, brick and stone can't handle a direct strike how can a magic black box. Think about it if it really worked they would be on every utility pole in a circuit and every home across the world. Low impedance grounding will help 5ohms or less which may require multiple ground roads, just remember your value of ground changes with soil moisture or the lack of. Tvss with high joule rating, and a multilayer approach will help. Indirect lightning or indirect emp all bets are off. Look if a emp happens and you think someone is going to warranty it, think again. but the good news is if a emp happens we wont get those telemarketer calls. Again a multi layer approach would be best, because we don't know where the direct or indirect strikes will occurs.
I agree, no box will save you from the damage of a direct strike.
If you had 20 checkpoints on the highway but only staffed the very last checkpoint, the enemy could access and destroy all assets of the checkpoints, up to and including the one that is staffed. Say goodbye to your junction boxes, diodes, wiring, mc4 connectors, as well as all circuitry on the other side of the unit. The threat of damage is systemic from every exposed conductor and resistor.
Wouldn't an lightning arrestor be useful
A guy in Kentucky I knew had a surge protector with a $50,000.00 Insurance 'policy' to cover his computer and electronics. AND when lightning hit near the building the computer and TV and all the electronics were Toasted and Fried. INCLUDING the surge protector. He could never even get the company on the phone to answer the claim since they were already going out of business. It cost him $3,000. to replace it all.
A lightning bolt that hits a surface area that size there with a billion volts is not going to be protected by a little box you can hold in your hand. I worked in a high voltage gov contract co in the early 1970's in a cage testing electronics with million volt discharges from power supplies. And lightning is several billion volts in large multi mile discharges with thousand of amps. If you look in a scientific book called "Playing with Lightning" from the 1930's it shows a picture of a building in Massachusetts where a lightning strike literally cut the entire side wall off the side of a 2 story framed house like cheese in a cheese cutter and laid the entire wall intact on the ground next to the building during a storm that moved through that area.
Bear in mind that in 1930, electronics that could get fried like today didn't even exist.
They're gonna cover $50,000.00 ???? Show me the list of the payouts that they've done.
I agree nothing is surviving a direct hit from lightning. These units are designed to mitigate surges on the line. I did ask about payouts, which they claim to have made. I can ask for a list.
In order to be able to get paid under a claim by anyone, you literally have to be written into their liability insurance policy.
didnt emp shield also claim you could emp proof your car? Sounds like bs to me...
Well, I can’t prove it works. If you don’t think the investment out ways the probability of it benefiting you at some point then I wouldn’t do it. You could always consider yourself “self insured”. You could even spend the money on some backup equipment if you wanted.
The chances of an EMP is very small. The chance of an EMP protection working is also small.
I think installing for lightning protection makes sense. If there is an EMP event, at least there's a chance of being protected.
@@ProjectsWithDave Not if you understand what happens should someone actually set off a high altitude bomb with that intent. The E series of events (look it up, not hard to find) will see all these MOV based devices failed well before the series is over. Your sensitive devices will be fried. Protection from an EMP attack is a lot more than a box of MOVs.
Proper lightning protection requires decent effort too.
What? You really think that EMP shield that can only handle maybe 40Amps through those wires will protect a battery that can do hundreds of Amps? I don't think so. Tell me how I am wrong.
It's not shunting the battery output, it is shunting a very high voltage short duration spike on the line.
@@ProjectsWithDave Yeah, that one really stretches the imagination. I doubt that all of that copper going back to all of that surface area in your cells isn't better at shunting high voltages WAY better than the EMP Shield device.
I guess I’m one of those one and 15,000 people because I have been struck by lightning and woke up in the hospital
Wow! God must not be done with you yet : )
electronics will fry in nano seconds...I would rather spend that money on spikes in ground mounted higher than the product im trying to protect.Or use flat plate collectors that reduce the risk of lightning strikes..
Question 🙋♂️ what happened after you payed all this money on an EMP protected device and a EMP hit. Your stuff is damaged because it didn’t work. Who are you going to call to complain 🤔
Intro was about 5 minutes too long. It could have been dropped and still been well over the magic 10 minutes.
Thanks for the feedback. I'm constantly looking for the best balance between information and action. It did seem a little long after I put it together, but I was having so much fun researching the topic that's where it landed. : )
It's fine. I was being a bit douchey. Sorry :)@@ProjectsWithDave
No worries, I'm always looking for candid feedback. Thanks!
Also, people really shouldn't be worried about EMPs because there's be OTHER THINGS to worry about if that were to come to pass. Like global nuclear war.
Yes, I think investing in some Potassium Iodide pills would be a better first step in that case: amzn.to/450JXq9
Emp stuff is a scam