Solar Power

Solar is all really maths ... and no, I am not the expert on maths. I am using a guy named Bill, from around San Francisco, brain power here. Having been on this site for a while, I see very few calculations here on i.e. size of panels required for the time devices must run taking into account inefficiencies. Calculating Load in WH Power rating (watts) * Number of hours the appliance is used (hours) = WH Battery Bank calculation Wh x 1/Battery voltage x Number of days of storage x 1/maximum discharge = Ah @ Battery Voltage Array required for Charging a certain battery bank Ah x Charging Voltage x 1/0.77 panel+controller derating x % rate of charge (in f…

How many solar panels can I safely connect to my inverter,below is the spec sheets for both, I have been given different answers? ecco specs

Dear Powerforum community members. I recently installed a Deye 8kW inverter with 10 x JA 540W panels and a couple of batteries. Panels are two strings of 5 each facing the same direction and having the same slope. Works like a charm except a curiosity that I picked up. In the morning one string is subject to partial shading (PV1) due to the house structure until about 10h15. On a cloudy day with distinct clouds interspersed with full sun both strings track one another closely until about 7h00 when the unshaded string (orange color) moves ahead slightly and attains the maximum power as appropriate for the irradiance level and cloud cover. The partially shaded str…

Most solar calculators online quote you a payback that never matches reality. They assume you use every kilowatt your panels make, that prices stand still, that your battery lasts forever and that the cash you sank into it could not have earned a cent anywhere else. So I built one that does not pretend. You put in your real numbers and it shows you two figures side by side - the rosy payback a salesman quotes and the realistic one you are actually likely to get - then it breaks down exactly what eats the gap. Wasted daytime generation, panel degradation, the battery you will replace once down the line, financing interest and the higher fixed charge some municipalities sla…

Hi Everyone, My solar setup is: 12x 550w solar panels, 2 x 5kw Deye hybrid inverters in parallel and a 1 x 10kWh Life Po4 battery. The system was installed about two months ago and I'm using Solar Assistant to monitor the system. I have a CT clamp installed (Let's assume it is installed correctly). Recently I changed the "System Work Mode" setting on the inverter from "Zero Export To Load" to "Zero Export To CT" so that the system can provide power to non-essential loads. After enabling "Zero Export To CT" I noticed the "Load", "Solar PV" and "Grid" power values on the Solar Assistant dashboard dropped to much lower values compared to when I had the "Zero E…

Hi can anyone tell me why is my inverter putting power out at the power in from Eskom

Hi Everyone, Not sure if this is the right section, but it is related to Solar in a way. Long story short, my solar installation will be using 2x 16mm2 3-core SWA cable, to and from the inverters. My DB in the house is 2x 16 way I think, flush in the wall with steel face plate. My question is how would a sparky generally introduce the cable into the DB, when there is no space in the conduits available? Can it be mounted with saddles on the wall and then have the wall chipped away on the side or top of the DB face plate for it to slip though? Of perhaps put it in trunking next to the side of the face place and again chip out the wall behind the trunking for it to enter t…

Seems like Eskom will join us: Eskom breaks ground on R1.2-billion Lethabo solar plant https://techcentral.co.za/eskom-breaks-ground-on-r1-2-billion-lethabo-solar-plant/281908/ However, this could kill people at home if Eskom doesn't obtain permission from consumers!

Hi all, I have axpert clone(5star) without internal bond relay. My question relates to external bond relay activation. I use solar panels, no simple activation of bond relay contact(no) when eskom drops out. Will it be ok to a) connect bond relay coil in parallel with bypass relay coil(not sure if driver transistor can handle 2 coils in parallel) or b) get signal from before driver transistor of bypass relay and employ my own (2n3906 or cmos? ) transistor for activation of bond relay - should there be a delay (500ms?) after activation/deactivation of bypass relay?(rc timing needed) I was wondering if b), if there is a way to pick up signal from control board (CN11?) witho…

I currently have a 10Kwh Freedomwon battery. I want to add an extra battery. Is it a must that I use the same installer I used for the setup or I can shop around? Is it a must that the installer must have "sharing" in my system? Can I remove the installer from the sharing? Pros and cons for this.

Where can I get a new Wi-Fi dongle

Good day, Has anyone tried the following product before? EPEVER WiFi Adapter 2.4G RJ45 D I know the RJ45 is not a ethernet port. https://www.epever.com/product/epever-wifi-adapter-2-4g-rj45-d/?_gl=1*6hmq1v*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2MbPBhCSARIsAP3jP9xSyg-ZX_qYqcRGp3mDli5lJhvYhNNL43IEkzrXz4WE4bzV2caPzdMaAutMEALw_wcB or https://www.epever.com/product/epever-ble-rj45-d/?_gl=1*flmrn2*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2MbPBhCSARIsAP3jP9xSyg-ZX_qYqcRGp3mDli5lJhvYhNNL43IEkzrXz4WE4bzV2caPzdMaAutMEALw_wcB

Hello to the Victron fundi's! Interesting question re max PV on charge controller: SmartSolar MPPT RS 450/100 with 2 arrays E-W each 8 x 460W panels mounted 45 deg to horizontal. Want to add a North-facing array, but no free MPPT. Could E + W arrays parallel on one MPPT? (Cannot put 16 panels in series, 16 x Voc = 624V, max spec 450V.) Panels Imax 14A but would rarely exceed 10A on both E + W. . Now, sticker on controller says 20A max, but manual is all over: on P10: Max operational inbput current for each tracker is 18A, but also: Connecting PV arrays up to maximum of 30A. on p47: Max operational PV input current 16A per tracker, yet also: Max PV array size per tracker …

Good day, I am searching for some accessories that goes with my solar geyser panels retrofit geyser installation: Anti-Theft Mounting Clips Brackets with Rubber Seals & Screws BTW. I am new to this solar venture. Regards

few years on.. Hi all, I have 48v 5kw fivestar working well for last 3 years. Last night we had eskom.power failure, inverter ran until.bat. voltage dropped to 45.5v. at 1am. No way I can restart the inv., - error 03. I managed to charge bat. direct from pv through series resistor at 10A ( but not much sun today.) Bat. voltage currently at 48.6v. What should min. startup voltage be? Or did eskom break my inv. when power went off at 1am? Same thing happened a few weeks ago but I managed to restart inv. after a few tries - I do not remember what bat . voltage was.

Good day. i know there has been "millions" of posts on this Inverter. i have an Mecer sol-i-ax-5p that is stuck in Host (Master) mode. i also have to ad that the AC/INV and CHG lights stay on solid. No flashing Firmware version 74.40 i can't Re-configure Parallel Settings (Setting 28) The setting stays on PAL (Parallel) or Master, the setting to SIG (Single) is not available. The problem that i'm experiencing is that although the inverter says that the battery is charging it as a matter of fact is not. i was wondering if the HS could cause this. i replaced my PS Plus 5KW inverter with the sol-i-ax-5p. my solar panels and battery worked fine with the PS Plus 5KW. Now wi…

Hi, Our panels and inverter are 2 years old and we will be moving house sometime this year. I am worried about damage to the panels during the move and the cost of reinstalling everything compared to a new set-up. - Has anyone every move their panels to a new home and is it safe and cost-effective? - Should we rather install a new system at our new home?

Good news for people with solar power in South AfricaEskom has extended its free registration period for households and businesses with hybrid and grid-tied rooftop solar power systems under 100kWp.

Hi guys, I have a stack of 4 Pylontech batteries 1 x US5000C, 2 x us 3000C and 1 x US2000+, all working nicely. However, Battery View will connect all 4 batteries individually, but when I try to view the stack I get an error message as per the attached pic. Can anybody help me out here please?

Inverter keeps shutting off PV input randomly. I have to shut everything off and after a couple of minutes back on thennit works again untill the next day.

I have a dual Victron Multi II 3kva setup with 250vMPPT and a stack of pylons. I recently purchased a house and will lily have the opportunity to move my setup before my previous house sells. The new house has a sunsync 5kw. I am seriously considering taking my existing setup and just swapping it. Any ideas/Suggestions? Existing setup is mounted on a wooden panel so should be "fairly" simple to swap.

Hi everyone, I’m seeing a flat plateau in my PV production curve during peak hours (as shown in the chart from 2026-03-10), and I’m trying to understand the root cause. My system specs: ∙ Inverter: Felicity 5kW with dual MPPT inputs, each rated at 15A max ∙ Array: 7 panels × 580W = 4,060W total ∙ Measured voltage during plateau: ~300V ∙ Measured current: 11.2A – 11.8A Observations: ∙ Production ramps up normally in the morning, then hits a hard ceiling around 3,500W and stays flat for several hours instead of forming the expected bell curve ∙ pleaee ignore a noticeable dip and spike around 15:25 , it is because the battery almost full+ no load and grid was off ( s…

Hi everyone! I have an existing solar setup that I'm very happy with, and it provides me with plenty of power over summer. It might be worth it for me to add another 8 or so 550-600W panels to help me balance out my winters too, but then I'll have quite a bit of excess power throughout the rest of the year. I'm in Cape Town where they have a cash for power programme where they pay R1.38 per unit, but there's one detail that's missing from the CoCT site. An electrician told me that you're only allowed to feed back in up to 25% of the capacity that your house's feed-in power is. So I assume that means that if I have a 60A supply, I can only feed back 20A? Is this even true?…

Hey In some forums and discussions about photovoltaic systems, I have seen installers and users advising people to manually open the PV DC breaker (disconnect the solar panels from the inverter) when a thunderstorm approaches. The reasoning usually given is that the long DC cables between the PV array and the inverter can act like an antenna and may pick up electromagnetic pulses or induced surges from nearby lightning activity. According to this argument, disconnecting the array could reduce the possibility of a surge entering the inverter. However, I am personally skeptical about this idea. Lightning is capable of traveling through kilometers of air, so it is difficult…

Hi all, I recently cleaned my panels with water and a squeegee. I noticed that these marks do no go away, and is causing heavy dirt build up due to lack of centre supports on the panels. Here is a side picture showing the lack of support in the centre of the panels I cleaned the panels in the end of November, had to clean them again yesterday since the accumulation in those spots is very hectic and seems to put the panels in bypass mode for those rows of cells. here is a video https://photos.app.goo.gl/QxJgjDmDBUVqC7Dd7 Here is some data for the difference observed, both days 26°C outside as per weather station. Y-PVT = yesterday 23% difference when cleaned. My qu…