BigC

Maybe Antonio has answered his own riddle .. with two inverters configured correctly, blending is a cinch .. (in my limited knowledge of these machines). And you get 10kW for the cost of a Sunsynk/Deye.

My point exactly .. sure don't want to waste all that free energy. I don't get why you need a timer .. unless you are off grid, or shaving your municipal energy as much as possible.

What I'm trying to achieve is to NOT install a separate water heating system, particularly a PV type. They don't share solar power with any system. So all one needs to do is live on the grid, but minimize your consumption, based purely on the size of your PV array, and have a smallish battery to tide you through load-shedding. I think I have my answers now. Thanks . . .

Thank you all for your wonderful input. I will certainly review all the data. What it does mean for me is that I can settle for a 9k inverter rather than 21k. Given that a decent battery and panels will cost a similar amount, my budget looks quite reasonable. What packages allow such wonderful graphics?

Thanks Antonio .. I helped a friend install a Growatt .. it does not not blend power from both sources .. hence cuts off the PV completely if insufficient power. I guess that is why they are cheaper .. they only need one inverter stage, not two (if that is indeed the correct explanation). I had my eye on the small Mecer 1200W machine but have no in depth knowledge of it.

Hi folks I grow weary from trawling the internet, peering at supplier websites, and pouring over inverter specifications, without much happiness. It would seem that the better and bigger hybrid inverters can 'blend' power from the mains with solar power. For a small system this is ideal as you can start with a small PV array to supplement your mains usage .. particularly if you are trying to stay below the next most expensive electricity supply 'tier'. The addition of a smallish battery will then provide some insulation from load-shedding as well. I therefore throw myself at the feet of all the experienced and helpful forum members, and request guidance on what small inverters can satisfy this requirement .. apart from the likes of the Sunsynk/DEYE inverters. Many thanks!

Thanks for confirming that Coulomb. And thanks for the additional info .. that is new to me.

If I am posting erroneously in the wrong arena, pls feel free to put me right . . . Whereas I think I understand inverters fairly well, there is no doubt that the devil lies in the detail. In this load-shedding environment, my first concern is to preserve the charge in the 5.5kW Hubble battery, and recharge as quickly as possible to protect my essential circuits from LS. How then do I configure the inverter to use as much of the 3kW of solar available, without it blending in battery power when the load exceeds the solar power, which happens easily in our cloudy weather at the coast? There are so many ingenious methods and devices used by so many clever folks on the forum, but it would seem to me that either I need way more battery (costly), or a Sunsynk (not so costly) that can blend in mains with the solar (if I understand this correctly), or maybe even another el cheapo inverter in parallel, but configured differently. Thanks in anticipation . . .