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Dear Powerforum Community,As the owners of Powerforum, we’re excited to share that Powerforum Store (PTY) LTD now offers fully financed custom solar and renewable energy solutions! In partnership with approved, legitimate solar installers, we’re making it easier for you to switch to clean energy without the upfront costs.Our financing package, fully compliant with South Africa’s National Credit Act and all relevant laws, includes:Custom-designed solar systems tailored to your needsProfessional installation by certified expertsDelivery of all componentsComprehensive after-sales support for long-term reliabilityWhether you’re aiming to cut energy bills, go off-grid, or embrace sustainable power, our flexible financing options cover everything from design to installation.Get in touch today:Contact: Wimpie BronkhorstCell/WhatsApp: 067 189 7084Email: [email protected]: www.powerforum-store.co.za

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Contact Wimpie Bronkhorst on 067 189 7084 Phone or Whats App [email protected] SpecialsVictron MultiPlus 48-3000-35-32 & SmartSolar MPPT 250/60-Tr1 x VIC-MULTIPLUS-II-48-3000-35-32 Victron MultiPlus-II 48/3000/35-32 2400W Inverter/Charger1 x VIC-SMARTSOL-MPPT-250-60-Tr SmartSolar MPPT 250/60-Tr 12/24/36/48V-60AOnly R15 294.00 Vat Included Excluding DeliveryEasySolar-II 24/3000/70-32 MPPT 250/70 GXStorage Systems - Hybrid InverterAll-in-one solar power solution  The Easysolar-II combines an MPPT Charge Controller, inverter and AC distribution in one enclosure. This makes for easier installation and a simpler wiringIntegrated equipment description:1 x 3kVA 24V Multiplus-II Inverter/Charger1 x 250/70 MPPT Charge Controller1 x A GX device with a 2x 16 character displayOnly R20 908.00 Vat Included Excluding DeliveryVictron MultiPlus 48-5000-70-50 & SmartSolar MPPT CAN 250/85-TrStorage Systems - Hybrid InverterThis part is made up of the following items:1 x VIC-MULTIPLUS-II-48-5000-70-50 Victron MultiPlus-II 48/5000/70-50 4000W Inverter/Charger1 x VIC-SMARTSOL-MPPT-250-85-Tr-CAN SmartSolar MPPT CAN 250/85-Tr VE.CAN 12/24/36/48V-85AOnly R23 182.00 Vat Included Excluding DeliveryVictron Multiplus 48-8000-110-100-100 & SmartSolar MPPT CAN 250/100-TrStorage Systems - Hybrid InverterThis part is made up of the following items:1 x VIC-MULTIPLUS-II-48-8000-110-100 MultiPlus-II 48/8000/110-100/100 6400W Inverter/Charger1 x VIC-SMARTSOL-MPPT-250-100-Tr-CAN SmartSolar MPPT CAN 250/100-Tr 12/24/36/48V-100AOnly R34 069.00 Vat Included Excluding DeliveryVictron Quattro 48-8000-110-100-100 & SmartSolar MPPT CAN 250/100-TrStorage Systems - Hybrid InverterThis part is made up of the following items:1 x VIC-QUATTRO-48-8000-110-100-100 Victron Quattro 48/8000/110/100/100 6500W Inverter/Charger1 x VIC-SMARTSOL-MPPT-250-100-Tr-CAN SmartSolar MPPT CAN 250/100-Tr 12/24/36/48V-100AOnly R43 756.00 Vat Included Excluding DeliveryVictron Quattro 48-10000-140-100-100 & SmartSolar MPPT RS 450/200 TrTR Storage Systems - Hybrid InverterThis part is made up of the following items:1 x VIC-QUATTRO-48-10000-140-100-100 Victron Quattro 48/10000/140/100/100 8000W Inverter/Charger1 x VIC-SMARTSOL-MPPT-RS450-200TR SmartSolar MPPT RS 450/200 Tr 48V-200AOnly R70 165.00 Vat Included Excluding Delivery

Hi all, with all this new BS from Eskom I am planning to bid the grid farewell soon. My installation is pretty new (Nov 2024) so far I have not switched on the grid again (although Eskom is charging me around R4500 for electricity per month).

I have made it through the cloudy days pretty well with the batteries being at about 40% the following morning. When there is full sun my batteries are around 48%.

My question is how will the system perform in the winter? What will I need to add to make it through?

I am planning on having a standby generator just in case, but obviously don't want to use it. 

This is my setup currently:

16 x 545w panels, 2x 5kw Deye inverters, 3 x 5.12kw Volta stage 1 batteries.

Geyser only heats during the day (but planning on moving the geyser to gas) I also have a gas stove/oven.

I am located on the Northern side of Pretoria.

I would greatly appreciate any advice.

My inverter is installed in my garage and during summer it gets quite hot in Bloemfontein. When you park a hot car in there it gets even hotter. I realized the Inverter DC side reached temperatures of near 90 degrees during midday. I installed 3 x 120mm computer fans on top with a temperature controller switching the fans on and off. The thermistor is attached to the heatsink. The heatsink temperature is about 20 degrees below the internal temperature indicating by the app. With the fans the temperature stays below 60 degrees. I 3D printed the bracket and bought the temperature controller from an online store for under R200 with a 12V powersupply. Is anybody is interested visit Thingiverse:Thing6468217 to get the STL files for the bracket. (Search Sunsynk 5kW)  

Good day

I would like some advice from people who managed to install a system greater than what you are using with sufficient battery storage as well. Basically if you switch of eskom for a day you are still running.

Have you saved or reduced your Account and by how much taking into consideration clouds,rains etc.

 

thanks

Good morning, everyone.  I'm new here, and I'm hoping to mine a bit of the knowledge on here.

My story is simple.  I currently stay in a small town in a house with a small backup solar setup.  I bought the house with 2 x 450W panels, a Mecer 2.4kW inverter and 2 x 12V100AH gel batteries installed.  I hated the setup from the start as it's installed in the living room and the inverter isn't particularly quiet, but alas, I needed the backup in case of loadshedding (I work from home).

Eventually the gel batteries couldn't keep up with Stage 6 and so on load shedding, not getting enough time to charge to float between uses, and they gave up the ghost.  I DIY-replaced the two gel batteries with a Sunmagic 25.6V 150AH LiFePO4 battery.  The new lithium battery allowed the inverter to actually use it for what it was made for, and I set it to use the absolute minimum power from the battery, and charge via solar.  It's been working well-ish.

Anyway, time passed and we viewed a smallholding outside of town, put in a bit of a lowball offer (based on the work the place needs) and it got accepted.  So now we're moving.  However, the transformer costs on the smallholding is simply outrageous, so I'm going to take the place off grid.  It's not a big place and we don't use a lot of electricity (we work smart, using around 20kW a day, max 30kW a day when it's really cold and we run some heaters around the place.  Stovetop is gas, everything is LED and energy efficient, but the geyser is still electric.  We're not going to change that right now, it's a future thing.

So, what I want to do is simply not register the Eskom pole to my name when I buy the place, and they'll then cut the house off.  I then want to install a solar system that'll run the house.  The house has plenty of roof space (around 450 square meters), the DB is in the garage (so I can put everything in there, under roof, outside the house), and we're good to go.

However, the finances are a worry.  I need to finance the whole shebang as all cash we have is going into security on the smallholding.  So I searched around and found Solar.co.za and I'm wondering if they're legit, how it works, etc.  They have a rent-to-own system that's essentially financing the whole thing on their side, but I can't find much about them online, except for mixed reviews on HelloPeter.

So, here I am.  Can anyone recommend me a rent-to-own solar company that'll do what I need at around R3k per month?  From the solar.co.za guys I can get 16 x 455W panels, 2 x 5kW LuxPower inverters, and 3 x HinaESS 5.14kW batteries for ~R2,900 per month.  That's perfectly in my budget, and if I install a generator I have alongside that, I should be fine even on rainy days, right?

I hope to learn a lot, and expect a TON of questions from me!

Hi all, I have an 8kw Sunsynk inverter and started feeding back to the grid a week ago. Exciting times! However, the grid at times is being fed from my batteries which I don't want. Does anyone know how to adjust the inverter settings to prevent this? I would like the first priority of the pv generation to cover our load requirements, then charge batteries, then feed the grid but not from batteries even if they are fully charged. Any ideas?

Lets Start Here

Due to unreliability of Eskom and faults in my area I have decided to go the solar route.

This is not a solo effort I'm a noob this thread will serve its purpose and place as a tutorial for whoever would like to know how and what needs to be done under the careful watch of forum members into building a solar system from scratch as a noob please note your input is valuable and will be much appreciated, I will include cost and sizing and all small detail where I can provide it.

Hopefully you can learn and make your own small system

These are the main components below however there minute details such as capacity of Dc Breakers, SPDs, the correct AC Breakers from the main board to the AC Disconnect, Roof Mount and Accessories, wiring, placement of panels and testing and balancing of system, there is 10 critical components which depends on your budget

(Sizing and Full Specs will be done once I get an idea)

Equipment

Solar Inverter

Battery

Solar Panels

Materials:

DC Combiner Box (Breaker and SPDs/Fuses)

AC Disconnect Box (Breakers)

Battery Fuse

Earth Spike

Earth-Neutral Bond

Wiring

Roof Mount

 

Hi Guys 

Just wanted to share my latest video on installation and connecting your inverter to Home Assistant using the new RS485 shield and ESP32C board. 

Makes life much easier to set the thing up, no soldering and you only need to connect the power up inside the inverter to a 12V power supply and the RS485 cables so dead easy. 

You can get the board and an ESP32 from https://smarthomeintegrations.co.za/ for R400 and get delivery in a day or so. 

Slipx06 (Paul) has also included some cool new YAML code to calculate Daily energy production and consumption in the ESP32 and send that info to HA as well. 

Let me know what you guys think of the video please

 

 

Attention, Installers! Gear up for the electrifying Solis South Africa Roadshow 2024!

 

Whether you're a seasoned Solis supporter or a newcomer intrigued by our offerings, this roadshow promises an immersive experience like no other. Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your installation game and stay ahead of the curve.

 

Venues:

4 June- Soli Deo Gloria, Northriding, Randburg

 

11 June – The Capital Hotel, Zimbali, KwaZulu Natal

 

13 June- Hotel Verde, Cape Town

 

25 June- The Boardwalk Hotel and Convention Centre, Port Elizabeth

 

RSVP now by clicking on the link to fill out the form, and we'll be in touch to confirm your participation. See you in a city near you!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0074EJdy3OyTAL6adQ8qRe9HBTekln0TQp7Kcy5mqxXHz_w/viewform

Hi

We want to plan the aircons and the solar together. We live in a hot climate near Kruger. It's nearly 30 deg and sunny on most winter days, summer is hotter.

House Layout

So we have a house layout that looks like the attached image.

Small Squares 16m2


Large Left Squares 36m2


Main Rectangle: 65m2 (lots of glass as well)




Aircon Usage Times

Bedrooms we'd run at night. (smaller squares on right and larger squares on left)


Living Area - only run during the day (large rectangle in middle)




A Few Quick Questions

Would you recommend 1 aircon per room?


Or would you recommend a multi zone system? https://acdirect.co.za/product-category/air-conditioner-multi-split/three-zone/




What is the best setup for solar? 

Hi

I have moved to the Philippines and there are some inverter features that I do not recognise when I lived in the uk. Any help appreciated.

1.  Limiter & Clamp.  I understand that here (and some other countries) if you send power back to the grid they charge you for it.  So inverters have this Limiter with a clamp that makes sure no power is backed to the grid.  But.. Surely, if all power to the house comes through the inverter, grid and solar, and the inverter is set to not export, then you dont need any limiter clamp set up right?  The inverter would only be taking power from the grid when there is not enough solar to meet the house demand.  Am I wrong?

2.  Smart Loads.  Some inverters (Deye etc) have a smart loads function, where if grid power goes out the battery only supplies loads in the smart load circuit.  This is to protect the battery and make it last longer.  essential loads only.  But it means moving loads from the main circuit breaker box to a new box, assuming you can isolate the required loads.  Seems like a big faff (English for annoying waste of time).  isnt this what system sizing, circuit breakers and battery settings are for?  

Thanks in advance,

 

Hi Everyone,

Thought I'd share this because I have noticed a few people concerned or frustrated with the fan noise from the 8kw Sunsynk inverter. I couldn't install my inverter in the garage because I do a lot of woodwork in there and I know the dust would cause issues in the fans and heatsinks. So its mounted at the end of our passage where it meets with the garage through the door. The noise at night was really an issue for me. During load shedding the fans would usually kick in. Specially when the aircons where running. This is obviously when the inverter was doing a lot of work and required cooling. Then also after load shedding when the batteries were charging the fans would come on intermittently. Bloody irritating when trying to sleep.

The following pics is what I came up with. 5 decent quality 92mm PC fans on the vent side to constantly pull air through. Now these fans don't have the CFM or static pressure rating of the built in fans. But they are dead quite and they keep a constant steady flow of air over the heatsinks. On average, they keep the inverter 10-15 degrees cooler according to solar assistant. I have only had them in for 5 days now and the temperature has never gone over 55 degrees which is the trigger point for the built in fans. I ran all 4 aircons plus the air fryer for 30 mins and the inverter got up to 49 degrees. But when idle, it sits at 35-40 degrees. I am still waiting for a full sun day with load shedding where the MPPT's and the inverter are under a decent constant load to see what happens. Today the MPPT's where hitting around 8kw peaks while charging, and about 4kw on the inverter and it never went over 41 degrees.

I have mounted the fans about 10mm of the exit vent so none of the holes get blocked. The idea is that when the internal fans kick in, that air can just blow through my external fans. For now, I have just hot glued the fans to the wall and hot glued a piece of trunking cover to side(proper life hack style =D). I am busy designing a decent 3D printed bracket to hold all 5 fans and clips onto the vent hole at 4 points. No alterations have been done to the inverter at all so no future warranty issues. The fans run off an external 12v supply. I have wired it through a sonoff switch with the idea to control them through home assistant based on inverter load and temps.

 

I'm ready to press go on my install (very excited). Would love some thoughts on the chosen setup, and if you have any recommendations for installers in Cape Town Northern suburbs, please DM me.

Here's what I'm looking to set up:
2 x Solis 6kW Inverters (S6-EH1P6K-L-PRO)
32 x Jinko Tiger 560W (JKM560M-72HL4)
Axe Struct Mounting system (Railed Roof Top)
SolarMD SS 4143 14,3kWh
 

Mock up of the roof attached. Mostly East / West, I've added summer / winter sunrise, midday, sunset lines to show morning and afternoon sun. I can't mount on the north facing roof (geometry won't allow).

My thinking is to have 4 strings of 8 panels per string, with the strings of each MPPT split East and West. So MPPT1 String 1 East and MPPT 1 String 2 West.

Was looking at 5kW Sunsynk inverters initially because the software is apparently pretty good, but the panels I'm looking at are 13.6A (over the Sunsynk rating of 13A), and the Solis 6kW at the same price looks like it makes sense with the additional headroom. Unless I'm missing something.

The equipment above comes to R185K excluding shipping. I'd still need fuses, wire, connectors, DB board, breakers, conduit etc etc... and of course the installation.

Does this look about right for a setup?


 

I have a holiday cottage where I'd like to add some load shedding backup power. I want to wire it directly to some circuits on the DB, and only need it to power some lights, a router and a TV for about 4 hours (maybe boil a kettle if possible).

It would be a huge bonus if the system was quiet as the DB is in one of the small bedrooms. Having fans whirring away while guests are trying to sleep isn't going to be cool 🤣

What's the most affordable, long term solution here? Any specific products come to mind?

Hello Everyone I am very pleased to inform you of our flash sale on Magneto Energy lithium batteries Longi Solar panels and Greenrich inverters.  Contact [email protected] via email or whatsapp and cell call on 067 189 7084 Wall mount EVO100 - 5kWh - R18 786 VAT INCLUDED EVO200 - 10kWh - R37 571 VAT INCLUDED EVO280 - 14kWh - R52 877 VAT INCLUDED IMS305 - 7.6kWh - R27 830 VAT INCLUDED Rackmount IMS306 - 9.6kWh - R35 345 VAT INCLUDED Longi 430 Watt (11 amp) Solar panel prices R2.56/wp ex VAT - 5 pallets an up R1 265,92 VAT INCLUDED Per Panel R2.68/wp ex VAT EXW - Minimum order is a pallet (36) R1 325,26 VAT INCLUDED Per Panel R2.86/wp ex VAT EXW - loose R1 414,27 VAT INCLUDED Per Panel These Prices are Retail Prices Installers please contact us for Installer Prices  We are also offering the Greenrich (SOLIS ADVANCED) Inverters and if you Purchase them with the Magneto Battery Range you get an extended 10 Year warranty on the inverter. Prices on the Greenrich (SOLIS ADVANCED) Inverters  Greenrich Inverter powered by Solis Hybrid 5KW, 10 Years Warranty - R17 773,25 VAT INCLUDED  Greenrich Inverter powered by Solis Hybrid 6KW, 10 Years Warranty - R19 797,25 VAT INCLUDED Greenrich Inverter powered by Solis Hybrid 8KW, 10 Years Warranty - R29 790,75 VAT INCLUDED We also have a Portable Power Product By Magneto Energy available - R34 618 VAT INCLUDED Magneto Renewable Energy 3kW PPS.pdf

Hey everyone, here’s a quick explanation of how Powerforum and Powerforum Store can assist you with all your renewable energy projects.  What we offer: Our company has established strong agreements with all the top solar equipment companies in South Africa. Additionally, we have strong partnerships with leading inverter and battery manufacturers both in South Africa and internationally. This enables us to offer you competitive prices on any equipment you may need. Our online store only reflects a fraction of the products we can supply you with. We have an advantage over many other companies when it comes to specifying products for your unique Renewable Energy requirements.  The team: Our team bring years of expertise to the Renewable Energy industry, engaging in various projects nationwide. We have access to a large group of highly experienced engineers in the field of the renewable energy thus allowing us to provide you with the best possible advice when deciding on products to go for. We understand that Renewable Energy is an investment in your future peace of mind and quality of life. We work closely with trusted and accredited installers across the country, and we will guide you through the entire process to ensure that the project is completed to the highest standards.  After sales service: It is important to understand that all renewable energy products come with either a 5- or 10-year carry-in warranty. This means that the consumer is responsible for the cost of removal, transport, and reinstallation of the product if it fails under the warranty conditions. It is not the responsibility of the supplier, manufacturer, or installer to cover these costs. This is an agreement that you, as the consumer, agree to when purchasing these products. Nevertheless, we strive to make this process as easy and fast possible. Many of the quality products we offer support remote monitoring, configuration, and fault diagnostics, which allows us to determine if a product needs to be returned for warranty repair. In most cases, the issue can be resolved remotely, such as by changing a setting or updating firmware, at no cost to you. Only in severe cases will the hardware need to be returned for repair or replacement.   Our pride: We take pride in our commitment to provide excellent service and support to our clients. Many of our members can attest to the fact that we are always available and willing to help when experiencing problems or when advice is needed. We have many happy clients who continue to rely on us for their renewable energy needs. By choosing to partner with us, you not only receive quality products and excellent service, but you also support our efforts to maintain a trustworthy and reliable platform for all. With over 27 000 members on our forum, we remain committed to honesty and transparency. Additionally, your support helps us keep the forum free from commercial advertising, cookies, and clickbait, providing a better experience for all members.

Hey All

We have another Awesome Powerforum Store Review and Lucky Draw Giveaway of a very nice Lithium Battery and some other soon to be disclosed goodies on its way....

Thank you to the Team at Magneto Energy for providing us with equipment to test and review and the best part to let us give it away to one of the lucky members on our forum.

Terms for you to be eligible 

Must be a Power Forum Member. Yes even NEWB's Can win the product in the lucky draw.


Must be willing to give feedback on a thread you create on your experience with the product.


Allow the Manufacturer to communicate with you to get realworld information on how their product performs and some technical feedback for future improvements.


If you win the product it must be installed by a qualified technician NO DIY Installs Please we need to support the professionals in the market.


Provide us with nice photos of your Installation on the thread you created. 


Cost of delivery or collection of the prize is for the winner.




We will Post more details on the giveaway in the next couple of days. 

Thanks for your Continued Support. 

Powerforum Store

Hey Guys  We have another Awesome Powerforum Store Review and Lucky Draw Giveaway of a very nice Lithium Battery and some other soon to be disclosed goodies on its way.... Thank you to the Team at Magneto Energy for providing us with equipment to test and review and the best part to let us give it away to one of the lucky members on our forum. Terms for you to be eligible  Must be a Power Forum Member. Yes even NEWB's Can win the product in the lucky draw. Must be willing to give feedback on a thread you create on your experience with the product. Allow the Manufacturer to communicate with you to get realworld information on how their product performs and some technical feedback for future improvements. If you win the product it must be installed by a qualified technician NO DIY Installs Please we need to support the professionals in the market. Provide us with nice photos of your Installation on the thread you created.  Cost of delivery or collection of the prize is for the winner. We will Post more details on the giveaway in the next couple of days.  Thanks for your Continued Support.  Powerforum Store UPDATED LINK TO GIVEAWAY   Hey All here is the link to the Lucky Draw Giveaway Follow the Link to enter https://app.viralsweep.com/sweeps/full/ab6695-152749?framed=1  Terms and conditions are in the document.  May the Luckiest Person Win!  Magneto_Email_EnterandWin.pdf

Vital to being able to keep within the inverter output limits (and avoid importing expensive grid power unnecessarily) is having the means to display the relevant information in an immediate and accessible way. That's what I told my wife, anyway.  Really, I'd just scored a bunch of old RC servos on ebay for £5 and I wanted to play with them. 😉   In context:   It uses 6 servos, a Wemos d1 mini clone and a tri-colour LED.  Dial faces are 3D printed, with a filament change from white to black (which turned out much better than I imagined, TBH). The servos only had around 90° of sweep angle, so I 3D printed some little holder/gearbox things to get over 180° and provide a shaft for the needle to go on, plus some 'steampunk' needles.   All run buy the obligatory D1 mini and held together using the very latest in 'twist and tape' technology.   Yee-haw! 🤠 It gets fed the data from 'node-red' running on a Victron CerboGX via UDP packets over WiFi, updating as often as the data changes (approx 3 second intervals).  The LED changes colour according to state, so 'All OK' is green, 'You're getting very close to/exceeding the inverter output limit, so if you don't want to pay for grid, don't turn anything else on' is red, then blue for 'dumping power into the hot water tank'. It's by no means silent in operation.  I originally made a single-servo version for just PV generation and coded it so that the meter movements were gradual (a kind of PID to get from one value to the next), but apparently it 'sounded like we have cockroaches' when it made it's ticky-scratchy transitions between values, so the big version just jumps between values with a 'zzziiiiiup!' sound. It's actually quite reassuring to have an audible indication when the sun comes out for 5 seconds, or it starts charging at night. I'd also put a little radar sensor in there, with the aim of having it detect when there was nobody around, so it could stop displaying to save power/noise.  Unfortunately, that meant that every time you entered the room, all 6 needles would suddenly move at the same time, making you jump out of your skin and spill your horlicks, so we just leave it 'on' all the time now. There's also a basic web UI, so you can see the same data on your phone or whatever, plus it's useful for troubleshooting:   I had fun and learned loads making it - and now it's become a family game to try to cook dinner without making the red light come on. 🙂   Libraries used are 'ESPUI' and 'servo', plus 'arduinoOTA'.  Code, FreeCad file for the gearbox & stl file for the arrow-head needle are all in the attached zip. Power_meters_v2..zip

Vital to being able to keep within the inverter output limits (and avoid importing expensive grid power unnecessarily) is having the means to display the relevant information in an immediate and accessible way.

That's what I told my wife, anyway.  Really, I'd just scored a bunch of old RC servos on ebay for £5 and I wanted to play with them. 😉


 

In context:


 

It uses 6 servos, a Wemos d1 mini clone and a tri-colour LED.  Dial faces are 3D printed, with a filament change from white to black (which turned out much better than I imagined, TBH).

The servos only had around 90° of sweep angle, so I 3D printed some little holder/gearbox things to get over 180° and provide a shaft for the needle to go on, plus some 'steampunk' needles.



 

All run buy the obligatory D1 mini and held together using the very latest in 'twist and tape' technology.


 

Yee-haw! 🤠

It gets fed the data from 'node-red' running on a Victron CerboGX via UDP packets over WiFi, updating as often as the data changes (approx 3 second intervals).  The LED changes colour according to state, so 'All OK' is green, 'You're getting very close to/exceeding the inverter output limit, so if you don't want to pay for grid, don't turn anything else on' is red, then blue for 'dumping power into the hot water tank'.

It's by no means silent in operation.  I originally made a single-servo version for just PV generation and coded it so that the meter movements were gradual (a kind of PID to get from one value to the next), but apparently it 'sounded like we have cockroaches' when it made it's ticky-scratchy transitions between values, so the big version just jumps between values with a 'zzziiiiiup!' sound.

It's actually quite reassuring to have an audible indication when the sun comes out for 5 seconds, or it starts charging at night.

I'd also put a little radar sensor in there, with the aim of having it detect when there was nobody around, so it could stop displaying to save power/noise.  Unfortunately, that meant that every time you entered the room, all 6 needles would suddenly move at the same time, making you jump out of your skin and spill your horlicks, so we just leave it 'on' all the time now.

There's also a basic web UI, so you can see the same data on your phone or whatever, plus it's useful for troubleshooting:


 

I had fun and learned loads making it - and now it's become a family game to try to cook dinner without making the red light come on. 🙂

 

Libraries used are 'ESPUI' and 'servo', plus 'arduinoOTA'.  Code, FreeCad file for the gearbox & stl file for the arrow-head needle are all in the attached zip.

Power_meters_v2..zip

Hi,

I'd like to introduce myself, and my small setup. 

I'm Bianco, a Dutch male, and my wife and I moved to Spain 2 years ago, where we live on a small piece of rural land, in Aragon. We are completely off-grid. 
Therefore I Hired a friend two years ago to install a solar system. he and a friend installed a Voltronic Expert 24V 3Kw, with 6 320 Wp Solarpanels, and 2 Ultracell 316 Ah Gel Batteries, and I paid good money for it.  After 1 year and a bit, every thing shut down at 2 in the morning, whilst the day before was a clear and sunny day. In the months after that, it started happening more and more. Well long story short, The Batteries were fried. After contacting the "friend" He basically told me he could do nothing: A bit like: Shit happens. 

After studying I chose to do it myself. The panels were fine, so they are still there. I bought a new Inverter, another Voltronic Axpert, 5Kw, on 48 Volts And two Pylontechs US3000C

All connected, everything works fine. in the (hopefully near) future we'd like to add another Pylontech to the bank. Its enough for us. We have a TV, and we mostly watch during the day (if we do), and no dishwasher, washing machine or other heavy stuff, besides a Nespresso, but that is also only used during the day. The only thing that is a big consumer is the waterpump, but on a timer, controlled by Domoticz. During non-solar hours, it is off. 

So I have a raspberry in the bedroom, wich is equipped with Domoticz, wich controls most of the lights, and a few other stuff. In the Batteryroom, there is another raspberry, wing contains Solarassistant, and monitors the Pylontechs via the Inverter.

I'm still looking for a way to connect the Pylontechs Directly to the raspberry, I read something about the console port, but can seem to find if you can connect it at the same time as the port to the Inverter.

So, Newbie in Solar, but I like learning about it, and helping. 

If anybody knows something about connecting it to a raspberry, (or maybe my way of thinking is wrong) much obliged.

Greetings from a cold (+2), but Sunny Spain.