What are CT sensors?
CT sensors (Current Transformer sensors) are electronic sensors that measure alternating current (AC). They are particularly useful for measuring electricity consumption or generation.
What Operating Modes Require Using the CT’s on a Sol-Ark Inverter?
We highly recommend all Sol-Ark installs have CT sensors installed at the correct location with correct polarity. However, CT sensors are required to be installed in the correct location and correct polarity if you wish to enable “Limited Power to Home” mode or any other combination modes that have “Limited Power to Home” enabled, and if you are planning on using grid peak shaving. Provided CT’s are also required if you are installing parallel Sol-Ark inverters.
How do CT Sensors Work in our Sol-Ark Inverter System?
CT sensors installed between the grid meter and the main service panel to measure the amount of current the Sol-Ark system is pulling or pushing to or from the grid. The Sol-Ark inverters use the reading from the CT sensors to calculate how much power to push to the main service panel in order to zero the grid usage or to estimate the consumption of the whole house.
Should I Install the Sensors Even if I’m Not Using These Modes?
The short answer is yes…. It’s very easy to do, and we recommend you install the CT sensors during the initial install if at all possible. Even if you aren’t using these modes now, you may want to use them later. If that ends up being the case, then you will have to install them after the fact, which may add difficulty or time and labor that would have been mostly avoided by installing them initially with all of the other parts of the system. This will also give you more accurate data than you’d have access to without them.