There's been a few growing pains with this new system, though.
The XW stuff has weird names in the SCP like XW6048, XWAGS and XWSCP and so on.
Sometimes Kristin likes to pre-start the generator for really heavy loads like if she's going to run the clothes dryer, washing machine, and range convection oven at the same time. With the SW Plus there was a button that just says "GEN" on it and it was intuitive because you press that and select "ON".
She looks at the XW SCP and says "What is "x-wags? What button do I press to start the generator?"
So I tell her, "That stands for XW Automatic Generator Start."
"Oh. So why can't it just say that instead of "x-wags?"
Well, it can. So I had to rename everything so it's easier for her to understand. But you'd think that the engineers that design this stuff would think of it before we, as the end user, get it.
The other thing is that the XW inverters are quite picky on gen input. Absolutely no problems with our Honda generator with electronically controlled engine and computer controlled voltage and frequency on the gen head. But with our backup generator on the AC1 input it's a different matter. The backup unit is just mechanical governor with standard old AVR regulation on voltage.
The XW's sampling of the AC inputs, and its reaction if it doesn't like it, is VERY fast. The freq or voltage drops out of spec for just 5 milliseconds and it will tell the generator to take hike and come back when it grows some hair on it balls. The XW's output is cleaner and more stable than any utility power I've ever seen, but it also expects no worse than utility grade power from generators. This is good because it protects your loads from surges, brownouts, etc., and insures you equipment has nothing but the cleanest most stable power possible. But it also means that when we're running our backup gen for its monthly exercise we have to be really careful with what we turn on, because even the surge load from the 'fridge starting can cause the inverter to spit it off.
So for anybody considering an XW Power System, don't even think about putting a cheap generator on it. It won't work. The XW is going to spend more time looking down its nose at it than letting it actually do anything because the XW figures "these are my loads and if you think you're going to try to power 'em you'd better do it right."
We didn't buy the XW Power Distribution Panel for it because we already had SquareD QO Loadcenters in the house and shop. I made a generator AC bypass for it out of a SquareD QO 100 amp box with two 2-pole breakers and a QO2DTI interlock. I also put the breaker in that panel for the welder because the welder requires 40 amps @ 240 volts.
And we put a Outback PSX-240 6 kVA auto transformer on the split-phase distribution panel that splits out power to the house Main and shop Mains
The auto transformer helps keep the XW and generator leg balanced and greatly enhances its overload capability, since 120V loads pull equal power from both legs of the split-phase output with the transformer.
So overall we're really happy with it. It was a HUGE upgrade over the SW Plus, which is a pretty fine inverter in the first place. But the SW Plus don't have the balls that the XW has. Just the transformer in the XW is heavier (and bigger) than a whole Outback FX-series inverter. The thing is built just insane heavy with copper in it.
And yeah, Ross, all it takes is money. It was not cheap. But it's sure nice
--
Chris
