The Sunny Island inverters can be used for standalone off-grid systems, and they are a great way to add battery backup to an SMA Sunny Boy inverter based grid-connected system.
Grid-Tie System Backup
To do this, the grid-tie inverter output and the Sunny Island inverter output both feed circuit breakers in a sub-panel that also powers critical loads ––in the event of a grid failure. As long as grid power is present, it feeds the subpanel through the transfer switch in the Sunny Island. If the grid fails, the Sunny Island connected to a bank of batteries acts as the source of AC power, or the “AC grid” for that subpanel. This powers the critical loads connected to the subpanel and keeps grid-connected systems running if the sun is shining. The loads are actually powered directly by the grid-tie system if the sun is shining. If the grid-tie system is putting out more power than the loads need during a grid failure, the Sunny Island charges the batteries. At night or when power production is low and load use is high, the Sunny Island provides power from the battery bank. In the morning, the batteries are recharged and the cycle begins anew until the grid power returns. If the grid-tie inverter has a 240 VAC output, a backup system will require two Sunny Island inverters or one inverter and an autotransformer.