Starting In Solar? Feel free to introduce yourself

Hi Guys! I am new to Solar! Have a few questions to ask regarding batteries.

Im not sure which section to ask this question, so I'll drop it into the newby section. I have an existing system and I would like to increase my PV capacity. I had a quick discussion with my original installer, who said that I need to stick with the same or similar size panels to what I already have. Further research shows possible alternatives. Please help on which way to go. Current system: - 8kW sunsynk inverter (2 MPPTs) - 12 x 420W Canadian solar panels 48VOC, arranged in 2 strings of 6 panels each, to the two MPPTs. Intended upgrade: 3kW of additional panels. Something like 8x 420w or 6 x 550w, mor…

Hi everyone, Matu here from the Eastrand, tired of Eskom. Thanks a million for this platform, the information i have acquired just from reading around is massive/impressive. The current system to be installed in the next week: 8Kw Deye inverter 2x 5.1 kw Volta batteries 10x 545w Panels (JA) Still have many questions with regards to my geysers, geyserwise, inverter settings, app connectivity, devices comms and solarman but I will get there with some more reading 😀 Estimated daily consumption of +-20kwh and hoping to draw in +-26kwh as per online calculators. Any red flags or any advice to ask the installers? Has anyon…

How can I tell if this is a TNS or TN-C-S setup? Or does someone know if this is TNS or TN-C-S?

Good day i am a new member of this forum. My name is Derek my professional qualification is a electrical engineer, but got into Peacan farming in the Upington area for the last 8 years.I need some advice from expert solar installers. I do have a very knowledgeable electrician but he admitts that solar and dc systems is not his strong suit.I am deciding on which system to install hence seeking advice either 5kw or 8kw system. My power consumption from the farm house is very moderate varies between 680kwh to 760kwh monthly. The farm irrigation pumps and general consumption is covered by a 80kva diesel generator. The way i see it( and it is here were the solar boffins come i…

Hi All Sure you have heard these questions before however here goes. We installed Solar system live 15 June 2023. First weekend, the long weekend the battery reads 99% at 6pm but 14% by 6am and I did not know what was draining it. in the mornings. The installer came out and said two things needed. 1. We must install geyserwise and change form 4kW to 2kW element and 2. He needs to adjust setting so that battery does not discharge so low, but accesses ESKOM to keep charged when it needs to. All done at additional cost and the battery now never drops below 90%. Draws on Eskom fortunately Eskom has also played along with no or less load shedding. My questi…

Hi All, Long time lurker... I am in the process of planning a build of my new house where I want to include an Inverter and some batteries from the start. (solar to follow a bit later) Looking at the SunSync 8KW and some Hubble batteries (As I want to support local), the idea is to run everything through the inverter. (Stove will be gas) Electrical plan for the DB board location below. So, from my point of view, the DB board and prepaid meter is in the wrong place as there won't be sufficient space. Any suggestions for where to place it?

Hi All,unfortunately or fortunately here by us we dont have a huge selection of products that the installers are comfortable installing,obviously Sunsynk is no 1 and then we have hubble,my question being I have seen some info that sunsynk batteries are eather all 0.5c batteries or some are now 1c batteries? If they are 0.5c that means you will need 2 for a 5kw like the Dynesse batteries,but im hoping you guys can guide me to getting the wright ones.I understand they 1c aswell but also dont think running the batteries flat out the whole time does them any good but ja,id like to start off with 1 x Inverter 1x battery and a couple of pannels we are not heavy on Electricity s…

Good morning Power Forum Members I have been a member here for the last 3 years while reading up and most importantly saving up before embarking on my Solar installation which I have somewhat begun with the purchase of a 2nd hand GoodWe 5048D-ES 2 months back. I am now at the point where we have the funds to buy some of the Pannels and batteries to get us started and then start to look for installers to quote on the installation. My goal with this post is to share the ideas I have in my mind and draw from the experience of the members on this forum. please feel free to make suggestions/comments on what needs to be addressed so that I save myself some heart ache …

Hie guys..Please assist i have finished stringing solar panels and battery set up. Now i dont know how to connect Ac Out cables to DB board. That is E L N...i am offgrid so i want to feed power to the house from inverter through DB box

Hi, In order to save costs I want to mount the panels to the roof myself. I have a few free days coming up. When I do this what do I need to do with regards to wiring in order to hand over to an electrician to complete the installation Can I run the solar DC cables to were I want the inverter? Use metal galvanized tube on the outside of roof as conduit and then use PVC once it moves inside? or is it metal all the way? Im planning on 2 strings of 6 panels each. Does each strings cables need to be in a separate conduit? What do I need to do with earthing the panels? Do I just attach the earthing clips to the panels and leave the rest for the electrician? …

Hey every1. Excellent website - a goldmine of info - thanks guys. I'm busy building a home in the Durban North area and would like: to see what options are available what I should consider during the construction phase. quotes for an installation please Might installers get in touch? Thanks and cheers.

Hi guys. Please assist me how to string 6× 450w pannels for a 48v system to a 5kw Mecer Charger inverter to 12v 200ah × 4 batteries . I do not have a charge controller , will it be an issue or have any effect to my system since the inverter has a charger? Please let me know if the pannels should be in parallel or series

We have 24 260 wp panels installed with 2 combiner boxes to 2 Mecer 5 kW inverters installed in parallel. Currently due to various constraints, we have 12 panels connected to one of the combiner boxes in 3 strings of 4 panels in series. These are showing Voc of 139v but wildly swinging Amperage from zero up to only 7 Amps and barely charge our bank of 6 Mecer M3000 batteries. Tried to use the system in PV mode during recent load shedding but it could not support the relatively small load requirements of 1.1kW and went to battery mode. I guess our question is why we cannot seem to get the PV system to produce this relatively modest load?

Hi everyone, I am very new to solar and need some advice. I will try and give as much info as possble and also have a few questions. We are looking into a solar investment but are unsure about what size system to get. We are essentially looking for a system that can almost or completely take us off the grid. I would like to save as much as possible on my electric bill as well. We don't have alot o appliances etc, (or so I think) so my idea is to get a 5kva inverter with a 10-12kva battery and 8-10 solar pannels so that the system can have enough battery storage to get us off the grid or 90% off the grid. Is this even possible with a 5kva? …

Hello Everyone! Goodoldgaz here. Im not exactly new to inverters and solar and renewables I am electrician by trade and just dig the idea of sustainability and more specfically "self sustainability" . i am however new to forums and finding it kinda challanging navigating around not even sure that this is where introductions are made but Hello

Hey Guys, we bought a house with two 5kw mercer inverters, 4 Li-ion batteries & 16 x solar panels have no idea the capacity of the last two items. Because of our lack of knowledge or explanation from the owners, we inadvertently killed the inverter that was linked to 10 of the solar panels & 2 of the batteries. We have been running on 6 panels, 1 inverter & 2 batteries trying to cope with loadshedding & providing enough power to run a 7 room house along with everything else after an electrician hooked up the entire house to run on solar as it was split into two different systems before the inverter died. I have been using the 1kva-5kva User Manual on …

Hope this is the correct place to announce myself.

Good day i thought ill introduce myself formally, and start a topic so i can add information and experiences on a regular basis. LOADSHEDDING is the main reason/cause for me joining, and the main reason i have a backup system. started off with a small Mecer UPS, fit for a computer with two small 12v batteries that i used to keep the router going. batteries died as they where about 9 years old. then connected them to 2 x 105Ah Royal batteries that was destined to be thrown out as they where past their 50% lifetime (from a massive server UPS system) they lasted for some time, and I wanted to add more batteries, (i had 6 in total) the small UPS did not…

Hi Forum, I'm new to this forum and to the world of solar, inverters and batteries. At the moment I have two UPS's protecting my servers by shutting them down during loadshedding. Is there a checklist / shopping list available of everything required for a complete installation? Everything from cabling, to fuses, switches, distribution board, etc. In other words, If I want to buy everything required to go solar, what is on that list? I did some searches on the forum but couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. Let's say I want to buy a Sunsynk 5kW Single Phase Hybrid Inverter with Dyness Lithium Ion Battery 4.8 kWh and 6 x 455w Canadian S…

Hi, I'm considering a 3,5kw inverter with 24v 100ah battery. Basically I just want to be able to run the lights and the microwave. A few extra appliances (electric blanket and a fridge or two) would be nice. Considering adding solar to offset the eskom bill slightly. The two fridges use around 500W. I'll be downscaling on a microwave that will either use 1450W or 1250W (depending on which size I go with). When running on battery power (with 80% DoD, gives 80AH of useable capacity): 1) If for example, the constant current draw is 30AH, and then I switch on the microwave which draws 70Amps for 10mins. The microwave draw is less than 70AH …

Hi all! So so new to solar community, I purchased this Inverter due to the price and apparently being able to connect up to 8 via a dongle. I have 4 200Ah Allgrand VRLA gel batteries connected in s/p with 2kw of panels. So here is a conundrum for all the inverter specialists out there. This is my third post, hopefully someone will reply. I'm running this This inverter has no battery selection type setting, no bulk setting in user mode, in fact there is only a user mode. Battery settings as follows. 1. Equalization. Which is a big no no for gel and according to Allgrand spec sheet. 2. Float 13.6 Allgrand spec 3. High voltage cut off. …

I am new to the forum and just saying hi.

Hi All My family and I have had enough and after many hours of research, we have gone ahead with an installation that we will improve over time: 5Kw Deye Inverter Dyness Dyness 5.1kWh Lithium battery 6 PANEL MONO 550W TONGWE We are in the process of changing behavior, where we don't switch on Microwaves and Kettles during loadshedding. The only concern I have is how do I maintain this system for a long life span. How do the DEYE Inverter and Battery Warranties work

Hallo! So, according to Wiring Unlimited from Victron (https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/The_Wiring_Unlimited_book/43562-Wiring_Unlimited-pdf-en.pdf), if I have a 30Amp PWM and I want to add panels, I need to have a 35mm2 cable when I have 15meters: But in the same manual, they say Solar Cable is 4mm2 or 6mm2. The MC4 connecters looks like 4mm2 as well? So how do I size my cable when I am pulling 30amps over +- 30meters?