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Our picks
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Solar. Holy Smokes!
coachpotato posted a topic in Starting In Solar? Feel free to introduce yourself,
Good evening all,
I'm new to the crazy world that is solar. I'm looking at getting my first system installed and my word, there is a [email protected] load to learn.
- I stay on the south coast in the EC
- I have an asbestos roof that faces approximately NW and SE. It is a very low pitch, I would guess below 20. The old building plans I found don't indicate what it is.
- I have a large rear garden where I could build a NE facing structure (that could double as an entertainment area). The wall is 8.8m across and there is about 18m of grass to the shed. I can't go too close to the shed because the neighbors have a huge tree there that would block the low winter sun.
- we use about 26 units a day
- 0.75kw pool pump running 10 hours a day
- 150L kwikot geyser is outside and on a Geyserwise. Running 6am - 9am and 6pm - 8pm and set to 60 C.
- 0.75kw DAB water pump pushing water form tanks into the house.
- home office running about 200W 14 hours a day.
- lots of LED lights. a gate motor, security alarm, etc.
After checking what some friends have installed (all have Goodwe), and how they using their systems, I'm leaning towards:
- 12 x JA Solar 455W Mono MBB Percium Half-Cell Silver Frame MC4
- 2 or 3 x Pylontech US3000C 3.5kWh
- Sunsynk 5kW Hybrid Inverter
I'll split the house on essential and non essential circuits. Essential would be home office, all lights, fridge, alarm, gate motor, water pump that get used day and night. Non essential would be all plugs, geyser, pool, oven, stove, dishwasher, washing machine, etc. I hoping that there is excess solar, then it can be used on the non essential circuit when the sun is shining.
1. Do you think that the system above would work nicely?
2. I assume the non essential circuit must still go through the inverter if I want excess solar to go into it? This would mean that I need the 8kw Sunsync?
3. If Eskom goes down, would the solar still be producing power or does it kick over to batteries?
4. I can get one of those Geyserwise Titanium PTC elements if it would make a difference? It is just 2 and a half people showering every day, and washing dishes once a day.
Your opinions would be greatly appreciated. If I'm way off, please let me know.
P.S. I still don't understand the neutral / live bonding thing on the Sunsync/inverters. That is a story for another day... I need excess brain power for that.
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- 12 replies
Picked By
Energy-Jason, -
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Scammed by Priest, Growatt 5kVa stolen
SolergyAdmin posted a topic in Industry, Product Hypes, Fads & Rants,
Hey all,
Happy Christmas Eve!
Wish it was happier for us....
We were tricked into purchasing a 5kVa Growatt and selling it to a Pastor Wesley Solomon at Founders Memorial Congregational Church in Coronationville.
He claimed to have been scammed too many times that now only did COD and would not pay a deposit.
Hubby delivered the Inverter, ther grounds keeper signed for it and produced a cheque.
Cheque was completely legit, problem was it was donkey years old and the account didnt exist anymore.
Conned out of 10k the day before Christmas.
Be safe and careful guys, these people really dont give 2 hoots what position you in and what your family is facing.
December has us R22250 down so far and a R21500 loss on a vehicle due to age....
Down and out but we managed to get the kids at least a lil something.
Merry Christmas all, take care.-
- 14 replies
Picked By
Energy-Jason, -
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Victron DIY Install
PierreJ posted a topic in Member Installations Showcase,
Got the sign-off from CoCT about a month ago, so my DIY solar project is finally done and dusted. Thanks to everyone on the forum that provided advice - I probably would have stuffed it up if it wasn't for you.
The whole project took about three months of evenings and weekends to finish, and was a welcome distraction from the current state of the world.
4 strings of 4 Canadian Solar 400Wp poly panels in series, facing NNE.
Another string of 4 Canadian Solar 400Wp panels in series, facing WNW.
All five strings are paralleled together for a combined 8kWp.
This is my main DB. CoCT installed a new split prepaid meter. According to the technician that installed it it has built-in reverse power blocking. I have tested it to see what it does when I try to feed in power in to the grid, and it charges me in both directions. That is perfectly fine in my opinion - much preferable to it tripping when there is momentary feed-in.
Grid power is measured by an ET112. There is a breaker that connects the main DB to the solar installation in the scullery:
Top-left is the AC DB. Top-right is the DC combiner box. Bottom left is the Multiplus II 5kVA inverter, and bottom middle the SmartSolar 250/100 MPPT. The SmartSolar was initially running a bit hot for my liking, so I mounted it on a 6mm thick aluminium plate which brought down peak temperatures from 82C to 65C. Bottom-right is the Victron Cerbo. The battery cabinet on the floor contains 5 PylonTech US2000 batteries for a total nominal capacity of 12kWh. I've set it to 80% DoD:
Close-up of the DC buses.
Close-up of the AC DB, with and without cover.
Close-up of the DC combiner box, with and without cover.
The geyser and oven, as well as the swimming pool DB are connected to the main DB, so those are unpowered when there is loadshedding. The AC DB in the scullery is connected to the output of the Multiplus, so all the essential loads stay powered when grid power goes down.
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- 12 replies
Picked By
Energy-Jason, -
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Sunsynk 8kw Inverter
Leshen posted a topic in Member Installations Showcase,
Hi Guys. My new installation. 24 x 390w JA Mono solar panels with an 8kw Sunsynk inverter and 2 x 5kwh Bull Lithium batteries. More pics to follow soon...-
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- 164 replies
Picked By
Energy-Jason, -
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Poll: Super capacitors as reliable battery storage
Backbone Energy posted a topic in Backbone Energy,
This poll is designed to generate useful and engaged information from both consumer and installer. With the developing hype of super capacitors, we want to investigate and determine the right conclusion as to where its role is in South Africa presently and potentially in the next 4 years.
Please take the poll and share so we can all benefit from the results.-
- 0 replies
Picked By
Energy-Jason, -
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Hi ive gone through most of the posts here and your issue does seem a bit strange. Before I installed my inverter I had an efergy meter for a little while before. My efergy would over read compare to the Eskom bill I would get. When I installed the sunsynk, it differed a lot from the efergy and I was also concerned. After 2 months of comparing the solarman export data to the eskom bill, I found it pretty accurate. Perhaps less than 5% off. I have a smart meter with no user interface so just rely on my bills. do you have access to a clamp meter. Maybe you can check how much current you are using with mainly resistive loads turned on and then work out the kWh over a 10 minute period and see how much the meter moves. Is there any possibility that the meter is “faulty”. Back in the day, I heard that there were ways to get it to be “faulty” with a little help from some people. -
Hi all I am contemplating the following configuation of panels and MPPT. According to the Victron calculator, it is still fine. What do you guys think? Would it be riding the MPPT too hard? -
Hi Coulomb, Just to let you know that I finally got the part and installed it, unfortunately I did not get the result I was hoping for. I think you are spot on the DSP probably needs replacing. I found some guys in Pretoria who does repair work on the Axpert inverters, I will take it to them in due course. Thank you once again for your help, much appreciated. -
I would suggest highest power rated panels like those 455 watt ones or higher if roof space is limited. If you generate more power you can use more and you can store more. If you have lots of storage but not enough production you might struggle to charge your batteries. -
You can reach out to @Leshen, his done a few installs in and around JHB.
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