PicHopper

I installed a Sunsynk 8kW inverter with a 10/8 Freedomwon battery in 2022. This is working perfectly, but I still end up with some 150kWh to pay City Power at the end month due to using appliances when the battery is low(ish) or at night. I want to upgrade the battery to have more storage, potentially allowing me to go completely off-grid and disconnect entirely from City Power. I have tried contacting Freedomwon to find out the cost of an upgrade and tradein, but no response has been received after 2 weeks. Does anyone have any suggestions on a potential tradein or re-sale of my current battery?

Further to this, I would like to know what the position would be for someone who installed solar panels, inverter and battery in a retirement village? Would the retirement village need to submit, or would the individual user? Seems very onerous for an 80 year old to get this all sorted out….. they just want their kettle to work!

I installed a solar PV system at home in 2022. 8 Panels, 8kW Sunsynk Inverter and Freedomwon 10/8 battery. Proper installer with CoC at the time. I have a Post paid (smart) meter that was installed around 2010. In the media, I have been hearing about registration of the solar system with City Power. Before I contact them and get fined or something like that….. Could someone please give me an indication of what is needed - I’ve read the PDF from City Power - so know that they have a list of requirements. If anyone has the name of a reputable entity that will help with the registration, I would appreciate that very much! Potential costs would also be very useful. I am sure there a re plenty of people in the same boat, soo this may be quite a useful resource…. Thanks!

I had this issue as well. It was resolved by our electrician who took the battery in to Hubble. I understand that they updated the firmware, and we've not had an issue since!

Hi Ayoob Thank you for the feedback - I so love it when we can share our experiences with others! I will have a look for that Elon smart water and send you a PM if I don't come right. I appreciate it!

Thank you for clarifying... Are there any specific makes of heat pump that are more effective than others? What is the appropriate size for: 150litre geyser 100litre geyser 50 litre geyser I may need two geysers due to the layout of property. one small one for the kitchen / scullery and a larger one for two bathrooms. Thanks for your inputs

I've been doing some research regarding geysers and other hot water options. I saw something of interest on the Kwikot website: https://www.kwikot.com/product-category/solar-pv-water-heating/sol-pve-system/ I then tried to search for who designed and manufactures these and I found this: https://poweroptimal.com/elon-range-2/ The idea of using a DC element in a geyser is a good one, as DC is a more efficient tech. I would like some feedback from people who have this installed as a solution? Any experience or ideas would be welcome! Thanks!

I see now what the issue with a heat pump freezing is: The cold water input to the Heat pump circulates to the heat pump and if the temp falls below zero, the water in the pipes (and the heat pump) might freeze, causing blockages of the system, or damage to the unit. Hmmmmmm.

This sounds rather like preparations for the end of the world and a Zombie apocalypse! There will be different scenarios if the grid stays off for 2 days when compared to 2 weeks or more. That will be a very different issue! I do not believe that we will have more than a couple of days outage at worst. There will be intermittent outages in various areas, whilst the grid stabilises and that might take some time. I think that the biggest problem will be communication. All cell phone towers will stop working after 6-8 hours (battery life expired!). Fibre may remain in areas that the ISP's can keep things running with generators until the fuel supply is exhausted. Radio and television (which we all use via IP networks today) will also be affected! No "Family Meetings" possible................. Makes you think!

@Steve87 - thank you for the open and honest feedback. I also lean towards the single system, which means that there is one item to keep running and is simpler to install and manage. I was hoping to get some experience from someone who perhaps started with a single 5KW and then expanded it... The majority of the feedback is to simply go for a straightforward 8KW system. Many thanks all!

I've been researching alternative ways for heating the geyser..... I was checking on the Kwikot website for integrations with heat pumps, and found this: https://www.kwikot.com/product-category/solar-pv-water-heating/ The Kwikot web page is promoting the Elon Solar PV Water heating system. It appears to be a DC heating element fed directly from the PV Panels. I am not sure if there are batteries inside the box, but it does appear to be a system that can work if the geyser heating element is DC. It must surely be more efficient than running a geyser on 220v from an inverter that converts DC to AC.... Does anyone have one of these installed, and what is your experience?

Thank you - this is very interesting. I also don't understand how the refrigerant used in the Heat Pump pipes could freeze ? Many thanks!

Thank you very much for the info - its great to see how other people's systems work, and report. Each one is different!

Thanks for the insight - How does the 2 x 5kW inverters behave? If you could share a pic of the management software / app / website that would be awesome.

Hi Manie Thanks for the feedback - could you perhaps indicate where this is installed? Climate appears to have a bit of an impact. Also the makes and model of geysers / Heat pumps? What should I consider?