GFCI Keeps Inverter Awake

[armadillo]

Wiring my house right now. I noticed the GFCI has a tiny LED light to show it's functional. I checked around the net and it seems all GFCI's have a parasitic load. Is this true? Is there a way to have GFI protection without running the inverter 24/365? There is no permit required here in the wilderness, so not having GFI protection is also an option, but would rather have it.

[joestue]

the load might be negligible. less than 1 watt.

[dnix71]

joestue "the load might be negligible. less than 1 watt. "

Nope. The GFCI load is small, but keeping a big inverter awake isn't a small load.

If your inverter and the GFCI aren't grounded the right way, a GFCI made for grid use may not work anyway.

Simple solution is to use the GFCI test switch to disable the GFCI unless you are using that circuit.

[armadillo]

Thanks Dnix71.

[joestue]

Better not leave your cellphone charger plugged in?

For what its worth the older gfcis might have less power consumption. Its only the newer units with the led that i have actually felt a small amount of heat from.


Or just raise the setpoint on the minimum load to shut the inverter off.

[Ungrounded Lightning Rod]

Or just break and remove the LED.  B-)

You can tell what the GFCI's up to by looking at the position of the reset button.  Paint its sides red to make it more visible.

[dnix71]

Or just break and remove the LED.  B-)
The GFCI has a circuit that is monitoring current in and out. An LED wouldn't pull enough current to keep an inverter awake.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3257947  here is a long thread from some guys looking to cut their electric bills and eliminate phantom loads.
Also:
http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/forum/jlc-online-expert-forums/the-electric-shop/49110-afci-gfci-power-consumption

From a thread here http://forums.mikeholt.com/showthread.php?t=154652 a Leviton GFCI uses 0.9 tripped and 1.1 set and ready, so you can't actually disable it without installing a switch upstream to cut the hot lead. A 1.1 watt load should not be enough to cause a large inverter to go from idle/seeking to active.

[armadillo]

Thanks for the replies. I'll see if I can get the inverter to idle with GFCI active.

I use a car cigarette adapter downstream of a 24 VDC to 12 VDC step down transformer to charge my cell phone, so it's not in series with the inverter.

[richhagen]

I'm of the notion that putting a light switch to switch on the GFCI outlet might be a very good suggestion from dnix71 as that way the parasitic load is gone unless you want to use that circuit.  Rich

[ghurd]

I use a car cigarette adapter downstream of a 24 VDC to 12 VDC step down transformer to charge my cell phone, so it's not in series with the inverter.

Most eBay / dollar store type lighter to charging cable adapters are rated for 24v.
Some have stickers that say "12-24v". I couldn't tell any difference inside from those or the not stickered ones.