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axpert /infini v series


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Hi all

I have just joined and  thought that some might find this interesting . I have read thru a good couple of  topics but cant find any on the(black not green) V series or baby infini as I call it . I have just set up the black v series axpert /infini 4kw at my house, but just a bit of my history first. I have been running most of my house on solar now for 2 and half years with a " older" system comprising of  a 3kw powerstar low frequency inverter (Love it)  and 2 to 4 bats 100ah 24v system . I have lets call it 3 kw of panels which could give me up to 100a (summer peak) . and then 2 charge controllers , along with clever timers and voltage comparator to switch  the pool on depending on soc of bats. so I have a baseline of 800w load .The geysers and gas  stove/ oven  don't run thru the inverter and I pretty much had the whole house running off a 10 a breaker . Bottom line is that the house runs almost completely off solar only during the day . At night the house runs off Eskom with a bat backup. This  system could save me anything up to 10kw a day.

Now  as I said I have the new "modern "system which by all my reading is the same as the axpert 5 kva with a very similar menu  but I have the extra benefit of being able to grid tie should I wish.

this is not a review but it does run my house of  7 people as I want it to , saving  daytime usage away from Eskom . Let me explain that . It always runs off Eskom but works similar to a grid tie in that it  will subsidise the Eskom with solar until about 10.30am (winter) then there is enough sun to be completely on solar until 3ish pm (winter shade)  if that makes sense. BTW I have a power monitor on the incomer to the inverter so I can see what's what and after 10. 30 I see it floats around  zero.

interesting story while on that subject. both my owl and efergy power monitors show that I was always pulling  400 w plus(2 a on the clamp meter) never less , this drove me crazy and after a lot of mucking about and telephone calls  I installed another power monitor that  shows that I was  pulling zero  power from Eskom  . turns out it  they read apparent power and not real power, prepaid meter reads real power if I'm not wrong  , so  just a heads up for anyone trusting them . please ,I would love to hear comments on that.

I thought it was time to modernise my system as my old system basically worked off a timer and daylight switch controlling a contactor  which allowed the house to run on/off solar , and now I have no control worries.

the old system had 4  " working batteries" @ 24v  and unfortunately they only lasted about 20 months .

the new system 48v also has 4 batteries but do no work( zero  DOD ) in the "sub axpert terminology" mode , my little brain tells me that this will make my bats last longer.

if I change to "sbu" mode then the batteries  "work" but then they cycle on off at night until the sun come up and it then charges bats and runs off solar. (not my ideal scenario) .

As I mentioned  I can grid tie  with this inverter and since my DB is split ,  I can switch the grid tie on and it will feed the rest of my house Geysers ,Oven, Heater . but as Im on prepaid (brought down our electrics bill a lot) I have to be carful to not export , but with a bit of clever timing I can work around that considering I can have about 1kw excess power depending on situations .

Any way I thought that I would share that all with you guys  and since  I am an electrician and seem to have a fair amount of knowledge on  self taught solar,  so if you have any questions or comments  ,feel free to ask

cheers till next time

maxo

 

 

 

 

Edited by maxomill
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11 hours ago, maxomill said:

It always runs off Eskom but works similar to a grid tie in that it  will subsidise the Eskom with solar until about 10.30am (winter) then there is enough sun to be completely on solar until 3ish pm (winter shade)  if that makes sense

It's a self-consumption system in other words. I run a Victron Multiplus configured with ESS (energy storage system) which is similar, it can "mix" grid and solar power. Also means I can get away with a much smaller inverter, doesn't have to be sized to the peak load. It also allows using a configurable part of the battery (say the top 20%) to bridge times of low production, so instead of taking the power from the grid, you take it from the battery and recharge when there is a surplus later. IE, this system makes complete sense.

11 hours ago, maxomill said:

apparent power and not real power

Yeah, we've been discussing that for years. For example, I have MR16 downlights on big iron transformers in my house. Their combined power factor is 0.2. That means their apparent power is 5 times higher than their real power.

11 hours ago, maxomill said:

prepaid meter reads real power if I'm not wrong

Yes. Some commercial customers might have KVAR penalties, where they get a kind of penalty if their power factor is horrible. Fun story I heard of a building that cut their energy cost by some extreme amount (I don't remember) by spending the ridiculously low amount needed to by a timer device. They had two airconditioners that had a really high startup demand, but by installing the timer device, they could space the startup just far enough apart to avoid the peak penalty :-)

Also interesting stuff, read up on how the old spinning-disk meters work, with voltage and current coils, set up precisely as to measure real power. I like how old tech got it right...

11 hours ago, maxomill said:

have to be careful to not export

I believe some of the Infini's can pair up with a Modbus meter, so it can avoid feedback.

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14 hours ago, maxomill said:

Any way I thought that I would share that all with you guys  and since  I am an electrician and seem to have a fair amount of knowledge on  self taught solar,  so if you have any questions or comments  ,feel free to ask

Welcome Maxo

Always good to have more chaps to answer questions. I see you are in Edenvale and we get a fair number of questions from the PWV - are you an installer?Would you be able to help (for a fee) folk nearby?

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