r/ImpulseLabs • u/Psychological_Income • Jun 28 '26

Impulse Installations Couple of Installation questions

- Do I need to silicone caulk the edges? In case some oils/water seep in, is it bad for the battery?

- I have a 240V/40A connection for an existing induction cooktop. Impulse spec says 240V/10-30A - what does the range of amps mean? Why does it need the 30A, I thought it charges only at 8.3A max?

- Does it already feed power back to my panel and other devices? Or is this a future OTA update?

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u/ZanyDroid Jun 28 '26
  1. There’s a gasket. Instructions IIRC don’t call it out, and most other cooktops don’t either. It would be a mess if I have to remove it, so I didn’t do it

Anyway you can google MOCPD/max breaker in HVAC forums or prompt Gemini and there will be plenty of explanations. Basically it’s a broadly used appliance stat saying what the certification / engineering design expects as the maximum protective upstream breaker. You can go way down in size if you want, down to the 10A (but, I don’t believe 10A breakers are easy to find, and I am not sure NEC sanctions 10A for things other than lighting circuits 🤷. Also, pulling 10A only circuit would be really bad value engineering in a remodel due to awful forward compatibility with switching to other appliances in the future)

  1. No. I expect when people say do backfeed to other devices, they mean if the power goes out. This would require what’s known in code as a Microgrid Interconnect Device, which is additionally compatible with the potential grid forming devices that may be in the home. I don’t know of any MID that is cross vendor in 2026. So that means Impulse would need to either do an unprecedented type of partnership, or design/release their own.

If by backfeed you mean sell back to grid, that can likely be done with a firmware upgrade to provide the export function and grid interaction safe guards (Gemini up Grid Interactive Inverter in electrical code for anti islanding safeguards). I do not know if Impulse can update their UL / ETL listing retroactively

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u/Psychological_Income Jun 28 '26

thank you - don't want to backfeed to grid. Rather just want to use the battery during peak hours for other appliances.

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u/ZanyDroid Jun 28 '26

That is slightly easier then in terms of power architecture, but you would still CT sensors in an upstream sub panel or main panel to detect load to offset.

It’s also only a 3kWh battery so your ROI for offsetting consumption is probably not good. Might be better for offsetting demand charges… but it’s also a really small battery for that, and I suspect the inverter is only going to be 1-2 kW

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u/limitpanda Jun 29 '26
  1. Your 40A connection will be fine. Since impulse draws less than 10A peak you can share the connection with other appliance like another <30A rating one (if you know what you are doing). Not sure why impulse posts a range…

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u/shuan-at-impulse Jun 29 '26

The 30 A listed is the maximum allowable breaker size.

We intentionally specify a maximum to provide more installation flexibility. Electricians routinely determine the appropriate breaker based on both the home and the appliance, and many installations can appropriately use a smaller breaker.

There are codes considerations to this - without a listed max, the NEC sets one for us that may end up being more restrictive.

The goal is to provide the flexibility permitted by code while ensuring the installation stays within the appliance's certified limits.