Solar and battery bank: how to intelligently limit draw from incoming supply?

[LouiseSJPP]

We have a 5.5kW incoming supply, which cannot practicably be upgraded due to our remote location in the mountains.

Can I use a PV array and battery bank to augment this supply? We don't need lots of power, but with a 1.5kW water heater, a 2kW kettle and the odd 3kW power tool, we keep tripping when they all happen to be used at the same time. Plus, we're considering an electric car.

We are interested in a solar array, have space and lots of sun. The bit I don't understand is how the invertor would handle limiting its draw from the incoming supply to 5.5kW and taking from the batteries instead. Or how it would decide how to split demand between batteries and incoming supply.

Can anyone enlighten me or point me towards a good source of information?

 

[James]

Have a chat with your local victron supplier, they do several units that will do just what you are wanting to do.
limit the supply load to 5kw whilst giving you 20kw of power available is one of there units that is probably about right for you.
when your usage drops, it will charge from the grid and solar if available.