Buchan

Thanks for the comprehensive answer Marius. The reason I had asked originally was I was getting quotes for installation, and one of the installers stated something along the lines of "Victron is the only inverter the City permits to over-size the panels above 3.5kW". I ended up going with a Sunsynk 5.5kVA, 5.4kWp of panels a Revov 5 kWh LiFePo4 1C battery, and the installer set it up so that if feed-in is enabled, the maximum will be 3.5kW. However they recommended against selecting the "Feed-in" option on the registration form, so I won't be enabling that. The system was installed a few weeks ago, just in time to save me from a day of load-shedding. On sunny winter days, by running the geyser at peak solar output and the pool pump the rest of the sunshine hours using smart timers, I seem to be able to cover about 90% of our consumption. I'm awaiting the registration process to complete, so I won't be sure of the savings and pay-back period for some time, but I'm hoping for about 5 years.

Hi, I am just another working-from-home computer professional trying to not lose too much productivity. I have decided to try and fund a whole-home UPS by adding solar, thus I am out of lurk-mode. I am requesting quotes from a number of installers in Cape Town, based on my own assessment of my needs (~4kWh usable battery capacity, 5kVA inverter with PowerAssist or equivalent ability to supply max of 5kW during load-shedding or up to 10kW when Eskom is up, 4-5 kWp solar to pay this UPS off ASAP). However, having read a lot, I was confused by the Table 1 in https://resource.capetown.gov.za/documentcentre/Documents/Procedures, guidelines and regulations/Requiremenst for Samll-Scale Embedded Generation.pdf No.of Phases | Service Circuit Breaker Size |Maximum Total Generation Capacity (kVA) 1|40A|2,3 1|60A|3,5 1|80A|4,6 "Generation Capacity refers to the total output capacity of the generator. For PV systems in particular, this refers to the maximum output of the inverter as limited either by hardware,or by software settings. The system designer/installer will provide guidance here." Thus far I'm looking at either Victon- or Sunsynk-based systems, initially with a capacity of about 5kW, but with the ability to expand later up to 8kW (if we need to be self-sufficient). What is the implication here on: 1)Maximum solar generation while grid-tried. E.g., can I get to 5kWp solar, or is 4,6kW the maximum solar while grid-tied? 2)Expanding in future, e.g. having 2x 5kVA Multiplus IIs, or an 8kVA Sunsynk? Is this permitted, assuming feed-in is disabled (requires a current sensor?) or limited by the inverter (and which models support this, and why isn't this indicated on the approved inverter list)? Or, must the inverter capacity not exceed 4,6kVA? (I didn't find an answer to this question on this forum, or anywhere else, so if it is here, feel free to just answer on what I should be searching for.) Thanks in advance.