Arandoza

Hello Henty, Usually using a UPS as a standby long duration power backup, more than +/-30 mins is generally not recommended, as UPS's are typically not designed to run for long durations, and also need a good few hours to recharge batteries once discharged, so if load shedding is frequent in the same day they probably wont recharge fully. Also if the UPS has a Battery run test function, do not use it monthly or weekly as it basically emulates a power failure to determine the max duration the ups batteries will hold, however in cycling the batteries you are effectively using up cycles on them. Is it possible to set the Depth of Discharge on the UPS? to what level of Discharge? Usually this is not somehting one can usually set? And the deeper the depth of discharge, combined with the battery chemistry, will determine the typical lifespan of the batteries. Typically deeper DOD = Shorter life (Many Less Cycles). Check the battery spec sheet for info on this. I expect this ups problably uses Sealed Lead acid, or Sealed Gel Batteries, which should perform ok, provided a shallow DOD, maybe max 15-20% of capacity, if the DOD is closer to 50% one will expect a much shorter lifespan (no. of cycles) from the batteries. Does this ups have a battery management system? (BMS) built in? The odds are with 20 batteries per string and 4 strings you are going to find the batteries get unbalanced, and add to the risk of sudden voltage drops, when taking load, and then the ups will tend to drop the load? If it has a BMS with the ability to balance each of the batteries per string then this would mitigate this risk, and help with battery lifespan. Also with a string of 20 batteries, bear in mind that each battery adds resistance, so one typically finds that as one moves along the battery string each battery has a harder time getting properly charged, meaning batteries on the outer edges of the string will be less unbalanced, but as one works towards the center of the pack are more unbalanced, again increasing the risk of dropping the load as they become more unbalanced. Other factors that influence performance are related to the battery specs, for example the Max.Discharge rate per battery not being exceeded and trying to keep the discharge rate at a battery in line with what the batteries are designed for? their standard discharge rate? Typically once batteries get old they drop voltage quickly, under load, once load is removed the voltage will bounce back, this could mean a failing battery or that the battery is unbalanced? Have a dig on the forum on lead acid batterys and battery balancers, as well as the BMV-702 units, it will give some insight into the challenges with lead acid, sealed lead acid, gel, agm batteries and why most solar users are moving to Lithium btteries, like pylontech, freedomwon, bsl etc. We also use some small 1500va ups's just to carry a few pc's once the load drops, and we find we replace the 12v9ah batteries typically every 2 years. Each ups uses 2 x 12v 9ah, and we pretty much always find that one of the two battery's fails (Voltage drops dramatically when under load on one of the batterys) and then causes the ups to easily drop the small load of +/-100 to 200 watts after about 30 seconds, instead of holding for 2-3 minutes to shutdown. Fortunately we only have to replace about 6 batteries on the 3 x ups's. My guess would be that with your 80 batterys being replaced evey 18 months they must cost you in the region of R16K to R31k for new batteries? For that kind of money one would probably be better off looking at the pylontech lithium units. As every 18 months you could buy another pylontech unit or two, and add it to the pack, so effectively growing your capacity? I hope some other forumites are able to give you further advice.

Have you checked the Cabling from the Array? what voltages are you getting? It maybe a bad cabling connection in the array or from the array to the inverter? I have seen a case of the MC4 connectors melting (Bad Crimp? / Connection) and causing a problem like this, once replaced system worked again. Also what about cloud flare effect? is it possible the panels performed extremely well and the overloaded the MPPT? Maybe restart the unit and see if the MPPT starts operating again? I assume the 13 pieces = 13 x 280w panels? each with VOC 38.2 = 496.6 VOC total at STC if in series?

If I understand your question correctl? You are expecting to have one Array of 9 panels, possibly cabled in series and or parallel and the one array, but connected to 2 x MPPT controllers? This is not possible. If you split your panels into 2 Arrays, maybe 5 panels for the one array and 4 panels for the second array then each array could be connected to it's own MPPT controller. However The Voc & amp values would probably not match your MPPT controllers?? and so not perform correctly or efficiently? The key thing is to match your panel configuration (Series and or Parallel) to your MPPT VOC and max Amps the MPPT can take. More details on the Panel specifiactions and MPPT Specifications as well as what Inverters and Batteries you are expecting to use and in what configuration would be need to give a better answer. Most of the 3kva inverter/charger/mppt all in one units like the axpert units don't typically have such a high VOC? Unless you are looking at one of the 5kva units then the VOC goes typically to around 450 voc? More info definately needed to give a correct answer.

You can check setting 13 (Setting voltage point back to battery mode whenselecting “SBU priority” or “Solar first” in program 01) and try to put it at the maximum setting of ful, so the battery must be full before it will switch back to solar and battery? This would mean that in the late afternoon it would be less likely to switch back to battery, due to the low solar input and its porobably still filing the battery?

area or location?

Have also been considering a similar implementation. But the limited info I found seemed to suggest that the UP5000 did not have the extended warranty? from 5 to 10 years if you registered? compared to the US3000c. Also If I recall correctly the UP5000 was not compatible with the US3000 or US3000c? However the US5000 product is fairly new in the market and i am not sure these answers are correct? Lets see what the experts advise..

Novel idea :) But I think I can make more than 26.9c an hour with my time :) 100w per hour ? 1000w from Eskom R2.69? One may be better off bitcoin mining :) or adding some panels for money spent making / buying the dynamo ?

What is the load that the Inverters are carrying just before they try to switch to generator? Maybe it's too high? and causes a surge that causes the genset to trip? Or maybe a electric motor that is running somewhere? Fridge, freezer, Pool, water pump, UPS, etc that then causes a huge surge when it tries to switch over? Maybe try turning of circuits on the DB board - all them at first and see if the inverter will switch over to genset mains, if it then takes the load, power up each of the circuits and wait a few seconds between turning on each second for the genset to catch up to the load? One maybe able to idnetify whcih db board circuit it's related to? Alternatively if it still trips the genset with no load, only the inverters, then check for Live Neutral hasn't been reversed when comign from the genset? With my small 3.5Kva genset I have to turn come db circuits off, while running the genset as I have some items that seem to spike the load too high and then the genset will trip/stall. Very annoying. I suspect my 3 or 4 ups's that are in the house cause it, as they are switching ups's and probably cause a large spike as they switch back to mains etc. Not a problem when running on solar, but only when running on genset at night with load shedding Also found that one should not really exceed about 50% -70 % of genset rating for long periods, more than 40 minutes as the genset can overheat and trip out. With your diesel version it will probably prefer at least a 50% load and max 75% load? to reduce the risk of glazing the cylinders, from too light a load, from what I understand.

A good existing and durable product for this are pool heating panels. See link below. Do stay clear of the heating panels with thin tubes between the upper and lower main connecting pipes as the thin pipes thend to perish over time. The one below looks like corrugated cardboard where the water flows thru and is durable and stong. https://swemgat.com/products/pool-heating-3-solar-panel-diy-complete-kit?_pos=9&_sid=d266cdfe5&_ss=r Alternatively a Heat pump that is run from PV? Normally heat pumps for pools will draw 3/4 of the power from the environment, and only 1/4 from eletricity?

A.k.a Greenskyenergy - definately a scam google showed that www.thewattstor.co.za cached page had an address as below 2 Peddie Rd, Wadeville, Germiston, 1422 Green Sky Energy, 2 Peddie Rd, Wadeville, Germiston, 2000 http://www.greenskyenergy.co.za/ When checking it out on google maps green sky energy pops up as being at this location with lots of comments that it is a scam. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Green+Sky+Energy/@-26.2710863,28.1712433,15z/data=!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x1e951a6f8f2f541b:0x360dea8997cf6b81!2s2+Peddie+Rd,+Wadeville,+Germiston,+1422!3b1!8m2!3d-26.2708963!4d28.1711572!3m4!1s0x1e951bdf6c85b28f:0xb80354fb374ddc4f!8m2!3d-26.2708963!4d28.1711572 ironically I see Full Circle Solar is just a few streets away from the address. Full Circle solar is not fake :)

Just a thought, the panels lose efficiency after about 3-5years and drop by around 5-10% anyway, so get panels that wont exceed your VOC, 335w or similar,try to keep each string the same, and add to existing array. Alternatively if you had multiple arrays pointing say east and west, one could use existing panels to carefully oversize an array, position the panels in such a way that enough get direct sunlight say in the morning, the oversized portion getting less light, and it swops around in the afternoon, that way it will give a you a more flat peak on your PV curve, you will generate on one array for more hours, and not exceed your MPPT limits? It will depend on your system configuration, and may need some experimentation.

Also check your TP valves (overtemp/overpressure) on both geysers,as I have seen these leak slowly and drop the temp overnight substantially, and consider if you don't have a hot water leak somewhere on one of the hot water pipes. I once had a evacuated tube geyser that failed to heat, via solar or electrically assisted, only to discover that the galvanized pipes had sprung a leak somewhere and the leak was not coming thru the walls or floors? They ended up running new piping to the taps and this sorted the problem. we could only find the issue with all taps closed and hen monitor the water meter, took a photo of the meter and 5 minutes later took anouther photo, we found the meter was turning over very, very, slowly Good luck

Greetings all, Today I went thru to the offices of preston systems as per their website, (Below), to try and make a purchase. New Road Office Park, 5 New Rd, Glen Austin AH, Midrand, 1685 Tel: 011 504 2250 [email protected] www.prestonsystem.co.za However when I arrived and security asked whom i was their to see, they advised that Prestonsystems.co.za appears to be a scam as they are not tenants at the office park as per their website. They also advised I was the 10th person today to arrive and that if i wanted I should call them and tell them I was at the office park to see what they could advise? I tried calling but got no answer, except for the autoprompt? So it would appear that these guys are scammers? Beware? Fortunately we checked them out before trying to make any online purchases.

We implemented 3 systems and have been pleased with the results 1. Backup water Municipal water with 1890l storage, pumped to taps for basins, showers, geyser, kitchen and washing machine, with a bypass option if no power or pump fails. 2. 1000l Grey water temporary storage tank, with pump which runs off PV or mains depending on weather / time of day we run it purely used to irrigate the garden. 3. 2 x 5000l and 2 x 1890 l tanks for rain water, used purely for flushing toilets running off a 3-400watt pump which runs off PV or mains depending on time of day used. Also have a first flush diverter and rain strainer to keep debris (Leaves, bugs, twiggs, bird poop) out of the tanks. This system also has a municipal topup bypass for when the tanks run dry and we have to use municipal water. Our water consumption dropped to 12-14 kl per month from about 21kl per month typically. Also the rain water tanks seem to last us from about mid May2020 to first week of September 2020 for toilet flushing at which point we had to turn on the municipal water to fill one of the tanks to 25% capacity (Float valve installed low in the tank to achieve this. So we don't waste municipal water, once rains begin again this is turned off again ) The only thing I would like to do is increase the rain tanks capacity, so we don't have to switch back to municipal water, before the rains return, provided there is sufficient rains worst case in drought conditions the rain tank system would have to use municipal water for toilets. Have also been considering using rain water for the washing machine, probably with a bypass option. As we have seen with the recent rain that the water is a bit dustier than usual, but is expected considering the thanks are just starting to refill with the rain, and the sediments in the tank have probably been stirred up. The only thing I think we are also missing is for the hot water taps, the diverter valve which diverts the initial clean cold water from the pipes, that comes out of ones Hot water taps, and instead of it going down the drain (to our Grey water tanks) it rather goes to our rain water tanks. The additional pipework neededto return to the tank is the problem, chasing into walls etc. so if you are planning and haven't built yet, consider allowing for these extra return pipes ? http://baobabwater.co.za/products/redwater-diverter/ https://www.eco3.co.za/red_water_diverter.htm

Folks are also taking the easy option and plugging in these types of globes with battery backup. Not sure how well they work though? https://www.google.co.za/search?source=hp&ei=GiFiX8fRFaO3gwft6bL4CQ&q=light+bulbs+with+backup+battery&oq=light+bulbs+with+back&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQARgAMgIIADIGCAAQFhAeMgYIABAWEB4yBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeMggIABAWEAoQHjIGCAAQFhAeMgYIABAWEB4yBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeOggIABCxAxCDAToFCAAQsQNQwzVY8V5g9XhoAHAAeACAAecCiAHEK5IBBjItMjAuMZgBAKABAaoBB2d3cy13aXo&sclient=psy-ab#spf=1600266536310

The key thing with geysers is to be sure they cannot overheat and create super-heated steam and then explode. The Two safety's to prevent this are usually the Thermostat (mechanical type cutout) that wont allow the geyser to over heat, and the Pressure / temperature valve on the geyser outlet. With the geyser wise units they also have a mechanical cutout safety on the electronic temp sensor, as well as built inelectronic safety that will stop powering the element if there is no increase in water temp, within 1-2 hours. This prevents a faulty temp sensor / geyser overheat, and also stops one from burning out the element if the geyser runs dry. check the damage a super heated geyser can do in the articles below. https://kemptonexpress.co.za/95113/geyser-explosion-survivor-has-lost-everything/ http://www.durban.gov.za/City_Services/water_sanitation/Geyser_Warning/Pages/Geyser_Warning_Installation.aspx https://kemptonexpress.co.za/94972/geyser-flies-through-the-roof-at-rhodesfield-flats/ Be Safe

Our dishwasher has two heating cycles of about 10mins each over the 1h56 minute cycle. It then draws around 3kw to heat For around 10mins per heating cycle , and wash. Lg dishwasher. I recently investigated a newer dishwasher and found that our 8 year old one is still pretty close to using around 1.2kwh and around 13 liters per wash. So the expensive dishwashers seem to get that down to around 1kwh and 6-8 liters per wash, so not worth the cost for gautengers, but if in the western cape may consider saving of 5 liters worth the R16k?? The lg automatic washing machine setup favorite wash program is a short “cold wash”, with 1400rpm spin cycle, total duration 39min 15 for spinning, weighing, spinning faster, etc. it seems to draw around 3-400 watts during the spinning which is set to 1400 rpm, to reduce moisture content and drying time. pool pumps startup current is high and then The draw is around The size of the motor, so 0.5kw or 0.75kw etc no surprises here. pool pumps are where one can save the most if running them from solar - from the house, or if you go variable speed motors, or maybe even independently solar driven if you want to convert only your pump to solar. Personally I think that one should simply increase the solar on the house and use the additional power wherever needed rather than tying it to a single use like pool pump or pv panels dedicated to a geyser

Hi Dros, if the panels are in 3S4P configuration you could try to cover the 3rd panel of each string ? Effectively shading it completely. Until your installer could get to you? Not sure how practical this is? Good luck, hopefully the over voltage on the mppt hasn’t caused any damage? alternatively it maybe safer to simply isolate the array from the mppt altogether, to prevent any risk of damage.

There are many models and variants of the AXPERT 5KVA, and as I recently found as well that models I had were not compatible with the newer versions on the market. I ended up having to buy three new units The communications cables were the same as far as the eye could see between the old and new versions. What makes and models of the axperts do you have ? check the nameplate on the side for the specs? Also both / all inverters must share the same battery bank. Also older units had a power factor of 0.9 and the newer ones I understand are now a power factor of 1.0 which can be one of the reasons for the incompatibility.

Hello J. Nortje, Both units sold. Kind Regards, Arandoza

Also curious if they work with the Axpert’s?

What application would one use with an axpert inverter to read the inverter values and post them? Do you have an app to do this yet?

I am running 2.88 version from centurion solar, and all is ok. It included Emoncms on the pi, and could be setup to feed both a local and cloud instance of emoncms. If you have a look on the centurion solar and then on the iccsoftware websites one almost gets the impression there was a falling out? If I recall correctly the ICC site talks about advanced reporting only being supported if you buy a specific version of the pi version including the pi and hardware from ICC? And the version numbers of the software are 2.9x, where as the centurion solar ICC software just states there are no further software updates, in the pi version when you check for updates? not sure of this is related to your issue? What problem are you having exactly?

For the panels typically, 3 in series and 4 strings per array, per inverter. mppt VOC 145 v panel pmax 37.4v. X 3 = 112.2v just bear in mind to consider the pmax is at 25 deg c and in cold conditions the 112.2v will increase - refer to the spec sheet for the panels, if very cold and clear sky’s and pushing the inverter hard, it maybe possible that the panels per string get close to the 145voc of the mppt. Also a consideration maybe the discharge rate of the battery packs, each pack with 3 inverters that could potentially pull 12kva, will the packs be able to discharge at a fast enough rate if full 12kva being used? I see the maximum discharge rate is 100a for the lithium ions you mention above, which would equate to 4800 watts max, probably a bit less due to losses, per battery pack and. Inverter set of 3. This maybe an issue in cloudy weather, as clouds pass by and if the inverters are running hard over 5000 watt per inverter set of 3? Sounds like you have a monster of a system planned It’s going to take a bit of wall space for the 9 inverters Good Luck and I expect some of the experts of the forum will be able to give really good advice.

Agreed, Am also looking for a place to get the Solar Spanners - The Plastic ones The crimper Also has a large range of DIE sets available, as well, for ethernet, RG59, and other various electrical connectors etc. I was quite impressed and the Crimp on the 6mm seems to be HUGELY better than the ones I did previously with other General Crimpers. The only thing I would like to find is a Crimper DIE set that can handle 10mm Solar Cable? but have not found that so easy to find.