MariusM

I believe you, but with LA that is dangerous and shortens the life of your equipment. Luckily it seems like most new installations are lithium. In some case practicality might trump other considerations, but that doesn't make them untrue. https://www.victronenergy.com/upload/documents/Quick-Install-Guide-MultiPlus-12V-24V-48V-3000VA-50A-EN_outlines.pdf

This is 100% correct, but the "below the inverter" result is the wrong thing to do: those same explosive gasses are also corrosive in a lead-acid battery (and not necessarily heavier than air). So you don't want to mount it below the inverter, as the gases will get inside and either corrode the components or build up and explode. So you want good ventilation for lead-acid so those gases can dilute to harmless levels into the atmosphere. For lithium you can mostly do what you want, except for heat and in some cases mounting the battery on its side is also bad, since that could put more stress on the internal cell links as they are usually not designed to carry weight. Depending on the battery, they could break off internally, but the manual will tell you what's allowed.

You're not actually supposed to do this. The whole "AC and DC cables cannot be in the same trunking" is actually two different things: AC and comms cable, which is usually DC or DC-ish, should be separated because of interference. Properly shielded cable mitigates this. Cables with different insulation requirements should be separated, i.e. your AC operating at 240V should be away from your DC operating at 48V, unless the 48V cable could also safely handle the 240V in terms of isolation. Your PV cable, which could operate at 600V or 1000V on certain inverters, has a much higher isolation requirement than your battery DC or AC, so it should actually be separated from both of those. Again, you don't have to do that if all the cables (including comms) are rated for the highest voltage (and required shielding is in place), but it's still good practise, together with labelling everything nicely. (If only your comms cable is a problem, you can stick it inside a flexible conduit inside the trunking. Surfix for AC is also fine since it is practically in its own conduit then, which is also why you're mostly allowed to use it as-is in roof spaces. Twinflex is not okay since it doesn't have the sheath, so it needs an additional conduit. But all of this is complicated and usually works out more expensive than just using separate trunking.) You don't want to make maintenance in 6 or 12 months more dangerous than it needs to be because things that kill and don't kill aren't super clear.

Item: Victron BlueSolar MPPT 150/85 VE.Can original "tall" model Age: 6 years (last 3 years in storage) Price: R 8 000 Payment Method Accepted: Cash / Instant EFT Warranty: none Packaging: none Condition: As-new Location: Northern Suburbs, Cape Town Reason: Not needed. Shipping: Buyer's account Collection: Northern Suburbs, Cape Town Link: Datasheet / Manual I was very happy with this model and it went into the garage when we moved. It’s the original VE.Can version and can pair with a Venus / Color Control, but can’t be controlled from ESS automatically. It still works as designed based on voltages, report stats to Venus, but won’t scale back automatically to prevent feed-in when running grid-tied. You could setup some SOC or other conditions for the Venus relay and wire it to the remote enable input on the MPPT, which is what I was doing previously. If you’re using lead acid, lithium without a management connection, off-grid, or just like relays, it should work well for you.

Based on the original docs and the amendment linked here, I summarise my understanding: Essentially, the rules have been relaxed ("clarified"), so in your case, "B. Grid-tied hybrid SSEG" @ 60A service connection) applies: Maximum feed-in 3.5kW, if you feed in. Can be software-controlled based on original docs. Inverter size can be no larger than 13.8 kVA ... Maximum battery charging current from grid: 15A (Can be software-controlled, see caveat in doc) If you want to switch your essential loads back to the grid, you have to use a "ON (inverter)-OFF-ON (grid)" change-over switch between inverter output and grid. Also: Your exact inverter model(s) must be on the city's list Things that don't matter to CoCT: Panel size / maximum wattage. You can over-provision panels up to your inverter limits. Battery capacity (specifically noted as "unlimited" in amendment section B.3) Battery charging current from solar, essentially up to your inverter limits. This may be difficult to separate from the 15A limit if your inverter does not / cannot distinguish based on installation wiring. SSEG residential generation size limitations (2020-08-14) (003) (4) (1).pdf