> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://learning.kent.co.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# CT Direction and Location: The Kent Arrow-to-Grid Rule

> Universal Kent rule: CT at the main incomer, arrow toward the grid on both platforms, convention-proof live test, and software direction settings.

Two decisions — where the CT sits and which way its arrow faces — cause more hybrid misbehaviour than almost anything else on a Kent installation. Both have a single, definitive Kent answer, and both must be confirmed with a live test before sign-off.

<Warning>
  **For trained and authorised installers only.** Isolate the AC conductor before clamping.
</Warning>

## Location: the grid connection point, every time

The CT clamps on the **live conductor at the grid connection point — the main incomer**. That is the only position where it sees the site's total import and export in a single measurement.

On a sub-circuit or load branch, the CT sees only the slice of current flowing through that one circuit. Every control decision built on that partial view is wrong — self-use logic, export limiting, and the display figures are all corrupted.

## Direction: arrow toward the grid — the universal Kent rule

On **both** Kent platforms, the arrow printed on the body of the CT points **toward the grid**. The Kent G3 source manual is explicit about the consequence: installed in the wrong direction, the hybrid cannot work normally.

<Warning>
  **Do not apply arrow conventions learned from other brands or online videos.** Arrow-to-load conventions exist in the market and appear in widely viewed installation content. On a Kent system, the rule is **arrow toward the grid** on both platforms, and it is confirmed by the live test below — not by recollection.
</Warning>

## Prove it live — the convention-proof test

Arrow direction can be argued; what the display shows with the grid on and PV off cannot. Run this test at commissioning and after any CT rework:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Grid ON, PV OFF">
    Open the DC switch so no PV is generating. Grid connected, battery idle.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm import on the display">
    The display must show the site **importing** from the grid. If it shows export or zero with loads clearly running, the CT is reversed or on the wrong conductor.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Step a heavy load">
    Switch on a high-current load (geyser, kettle, iron-class). The grid import figure must rise by the load's wattage, same sign. Photograph the display.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Kent G3 three-phase sites: repeat per phase">
    Step a known load on each phase in turn and confirm each phase reading rises independently on the display.
  </Step>
</Steps>

The full pass/fail criteria and the record-keeping requirement are in [Energy-Flow Test](/ct-meter/energy-flow-test).

## The software direction settings — physical before digital

Both platforms hold a CT orientation item in their settings menus. The Kent rule is to **fix the physical installation first**. The software setting describes the truth — it does not repair a miswire.

| Platform | Menu item                                 | Correct physical install     | Software fallback                                       |
| -------- | ----------------------------------------- | ---------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| Kent M1  | *Meter CT orientation (towards the grid)* | Arrow physically toward grid | Confirm in LCD Advanced                                 |
| Kent G3  | *CT direction → Forward / Reversal*       | Arrow physically toward grid | *Reversal* only when CT cannot physically be re-clamped |

Use *Reversal* only when the CT is physically inaccessible and genuinely cannot be re-clamped. Do not use it to resolve a location error or a phase-mapping error — those require physical correction.

## Common mistakes

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="CT placed on a sub-circuit because the main incomer was hard to reach">
    There is no workaround for a CT on the wrong conductor. The control logic is blind to the rest of the site. Reach the main incomer.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Arrow direction set from memory, not from the Kent figure, and never live-tested">
    The live test is mandatory. A remembered convention is not a substitute.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Using Reversal in software while the real fault was location, not direction">
    Reversal corrects a physically reversed clamp. It does not correct a CT in the wrong place.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Three CTs correct on direction but swapped across phases">
    Direction right, phases crossed is still a fault. That failure mode is on [Meter & Phase Matching](/ct-meter/meter-phase-matching).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related pages

* [CT Basics](/ct-meter/ct-basics)
* [Energy-Flow Test](/ct-meter/energy-flow-test)
* [Wrong-CT Symptoms](/ct-meter/wrong-ct-symptoms)
* [Kent M1 CT & Meter](/m1/ct-and-meter)
* [Kent G3 CT & Meter](/g3/ct-and-meter)