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How to get off 3 Phase
Mandy posted a topic in General Discussion,
Can anyone help me.
My dad has 3 phase power at his plot - his usage in total is about R800 a month, but his bill is about 4-4.5k a month.
How do I get him off 3 phase - Eskom refused to help in anyway to find a solution. We asked them to remove the power completely, they wont
He doesnt have an income, so the cost is killing us. We want to try put in a small solar system, but no point if we cant get him off
Any suggestions
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- 5 replies
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Energy-Jason, -
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What could be the best budget 5KW OffGrid System combination
Wedaz posted a topic in Starting In Solar? Feel free to introduce yourself,
Hi Team, i am looking to go for a 5KW OFF GRID option for a rural home to power basic appliances like energy efficient fridge, lighting & entertainment. What could the best budget options on offer, i was thinking of a Voltronic 5KW VP inverter coupled with PylonTech UP5000, i already have 8 by 330W canadian panels. Could this the best inverter/battery option? I am new to solar. Kindly assist
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- 12 replies
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Do the positive and negative cables from the battery to the inverter need to be the same length?
PowerUser posted a topic in Batteries,
As the title says - do the positive and negative cables from the battery to the inverter (through the fuses) need to be the same length? What do the experts say?-
- 32 replies
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Energy-Jason, -
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"New" version of grid tie on its way
Erastus posted a topic in General Discussion,
Interesting the concept now starting to take shape in SA means that soon I will be allowed to sell to my neighbor and don't have to sell to COCT or buy from my neighbor.
Thus I can sell my excess @ let say R 1.20 and do not have to sell to a munic or Esdom.
Also means I will be able to buy from any generation connected to the grid.
Pretty much how USA & UK ... works. Ever wonder why Esdom created a third leg called distribution or networking. For this very reason.-
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- 18 replies
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Energy-Jason, -
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Real life Solar
Justipoohs posted a topic in Solar Power,
I recently restored an old farmhouse in the Kalahari just outside Upington NC. I rebuild the house with solar power in mind, but was a little scared of the assumed cost. I must point out that if I was going Solar I wanted to go 100% solar as just the standing charge on the Eskom pole is R850 per month.
Anyway, earlier this year I decide to take the plunge. The house is three bed, dining room, living room, kitchen, large stoep and a granny flat.
We also work from home full time.
We have a gas geyser for hot water and a gas range and oven to cook.
In the summer, and it's a hell of a summer in the Kalahari we use an evaporator cooler.
I did the calculations over and over again for daily kW used but still it only came to 3kw. So on that basis I installed 4x305w panels, a 3kw inverter and two 200ah gel batteries. Cost R28000
So we run a fridge freezer, a chest freezer, 2 x TV, microwave (just for re heat max 5min) lighting, washing machine 1xload per day, charge phones, laptops and the internet modem, pressure pump for the house water and evaporator.
We have not noticed the difference between Eskom and solar, the batteries seem to use 30% overnight.
My takeaway is that if you are prepared to look at alternatives to Electric stoves/ovens, and electric geysers and foresake aircon for evaporation then off grid solar need not be an expensive proposition.
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- 17 replies
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@Cef, I think I might have found a bug. I was changing my nominal power PV string values and I made them too low which pushed the efficiency percentage > 100% : Even after putting in the correct values which should give me an efficiency of around 85%, the value stays on > 100%. Restarting the application does not work. -
By MockTurtle · Posted
yeah i also got notification from coct of this 'upgrade'. i reckon this is a precursor for them moving towards time based tarriffs... ie where electricity costs more during peak times/evenings/winter. see this is why they asked for solar registrations. none of my neighbours have been scheduled for this "upgrade". but no worries i guess i'll just buy more storage and be less reliant on them as possible. -
By gooseberry · Posted
I've got a Solis 4G 4.6kW inverter connected to 2 strings of 4 450W JA Solar panels. It's connected to the grid and has the CT clamp connected. I'm seeing voltage (>180V) on the strings (both with the multimeter and on the Solis itself but I'm getting an ILEAK-PRO04 error) I'm not sure whether the leakage is on the DC or the AC side. It happens with both strings, or either string connected. I've got some Noark DC switches which I can use to switch the strings on or off. This was a self-install with a second-hand inverter. The message on the web interface is that it sometimes happens when it's raining, but it's not been dry for a few days and the issue persists. It also adds that you updating the Firmware might help but I don't have the stick to do that with. Anyone know someone who can help? I'm in the Somerset West area. I've also switched around the positive PV connecters going into the inverter as I've seen that people sometimes mismatch the + -'s going into the MPPTs resulting in this error but that didn't solve the problem. Some pics of t he install: The connection here is connecting 2 strings of 2 panels in series to give a 4 panel string. (did it this way so I can also connect them in parallel to the Axpert I'm running as UPS in case there is a long power outage) : -
Found this very interesting Sunsynk battery compatibility document that explains the communication protocols for CANBUS, RS485 & RS232 connections. Battery Compatibility v3 HQ.pdf -
One last thing, it appears that the "Gen Signal" box needs to be ticked for the inverter to connect to the generator when connected to the Aux port, even if it is a manually started generator.
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Thanks for the explanation Jay
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We are still good friends but that doesn't mean we can't argue to get to the bottom of the things! 😀 Nothing wrong with having different opinions and still being friends 😉 -
Make sure the inverters grid in/non essential is fed from before the main earth leakage and not after. -
Hi guys, I will be the first one to apologize, I did not want to create any ugliness on this forum, I am truly sorry, let us all be friends. -
Do you have the Earth - Neutral bond relay connected to the inverter?
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And the best planning would be to have a battery which matches the inverter required current and not only kW. But you refuse to understand that because, if you can type few words in a Google search bar, you get fixated by some title on few articles and think, you have become an expert on battery chemistry and longevity. On car capable of doing 280km/h, you will put not only the correct size tires but also correct speed rating tires (at least rated for 280km/h). You won't put tires rated only at 120km/h because that's the maximum allowed speed on the roads.
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Why wont they remove the power? I guess he can just stop paying and they will eventually disconnect him anyway. Get the offgrid solar and then stop paying haha. I would also try to keep on getting them to disconnect the power the legit way. -
By Thee Mister EX · Posted
Hey Guys.... I need help. 10X330Wp 5kw Sunsynk(CT coil) 2x3.5kw Pylontech Lithium pack. The unit is running perfect on the UPS output without AC present. The moment you introduce AC. The Output Earth Leakage trips. I have separated the neutrals(Eskom and Inverter) and we having this issue. Eskom loads and Inverter loads have earth Leakage. -
By JpPaulKruger · Posted
If it’s on a plot, it’s most probably eskom directly. And they will bill you for line/pole rental as well. -
Hi, did they bother to find out why they were having trouble mixing the Pylotech packs? No use arguing about this because even on this forum, with a quick search, you will see that some users were having the same problem mixing the US3000C with US3000B or US2000 and they have managed to fix tha twith a simple FW upgrade. If they have bothered to find out, they would have learned that with a simple firmware upgrade, their problems would have been fixed. The later FW allows you to mix different Pylontech packs, just update your US3000 or your US2000 to the latest version and your problems will be solved. Again, the manufacture says you can mix the packs, they wouldn't say that if they have not tested that it is possible to mix them. Their experience seems to be limited
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