What tests should I have run on the existing house system before I install an inverter?

I would like to make sure everything is OK.

 

Edited April 17, 20197 yr by Mistral

9 minutes ago, Mistral said:

What tests should I have run on the existing house system before I install an inverter?

Test the earth leakage. And test your bonding.

An earth leakage tester costs around R300. Beg, borrow or steal. Or pay a sparky an hour of his time.

Use a digital multimeter (DMM) on the AC voltage range and measure from neutral to earth on any outlet or even inside the distribution board. You want to see less than 1 volt, preferably as close as possible to zero.

An earth loop test might also be a good thing, but only a sparky can do that kind of thing. That's where they use a special meter to test the actual impedance of your earth connection to a spike in the earth. Must be below 30 ohms or 25 ohms, I forgot. The lower the better.

So summary:

1. Earth to Neutral voltage must be as close to zero as possible (they are bonded so ideally it should be zero, give or take a few millivolt).

2. Earth leakages tested for proper operation

3. A good earth for the whole installation.

That's a good starting point.

Would also recommend to make sure that the breaker and wires are sized correctly. And circuits are identified properly. i.e. if you switch a light circuit off that only lights and not plugs go off, I had both these problems when COC was done on my new place.

If COC done recently, then you should be good to go. 

On 2019/04/17 at 12:50 PM, plonkster said:

Test the earth leakage. And test your bonding.

An earth leakage tester costs around R300. Beg, borrow or steal. Or pay a sparky an hour of his time.

Use a digital multimeter (DMM) on the AC voltage range and measure from neutral to earth on any outlet or even inside the distribution board. You want to see less than 1 volt, preferably as close as possible to zero.

An earth loop test might also be a good thing, but only a sparky can do that kind of thing. That's where they use a special meter to test the actual impedance of your earth connection to a spike in the earth. Must be below 30 ohms or 25 ohms, I forgot. The lower the better.

So summary:

1. Earth to Neutral voltage must be as close to zero as possible (they are bonded so ideally it should be zero, give or take a few millivolt).

2. Earth leakages tested for proper operation

3. A good earth for the whole installation.

That's a good starting point.

Good advice!