Rodbuilder

I have doubled my battery capacity and feel I have now reached the point of maximum “savings” from my system as I can now run on my batteries for 8 or 9 hours, effectively throughout the night.   Bear in mind I am not off grid.
The only way I could possibly still increase my saving would be more battery as I do not use all the electricity I generate and could save it that way, but the capital expenditure could not be justified.    Another option could be to run my stove and oven from my Inverter, but that seems a bit "risky", its to easy to work in the kitchen and have geyser on as well as stove and then quickly switch on kettle🙄
I also heat my Geyser from my PV.
We are at the point of maximum solar generation and minimum night duration!
So only my Oven/Stove need the grid. I am considering changing my electric hob to a Gas/Electric more from a point of convenience then anything else.
I have been told this installation is not allowed in S.A. Gas and electric next to one another, can someone enlighten me?
Note the point I have made in the past, the effect of CTC’s fixed tariff structure, and my expectation that they will continue to increase this fixed cost; my units used from the City has reduced by 64% but my Rand savings by only 44%
See new graph.

I did not think I could go lower then in Nov but we did, R390  and 90 units.
We had very good sun and we are becoming experts at managing the system!
I have also installed a Gas cooker and if the weather pattern holds then in theory we should go even a bit lower for Feb, lets wait and see.
As I said before, we can never save as much as those who are completely off the grid, but we're doing pretty well I think.   Currently we run totally on PV from around 22h00 to around 16h00 the following afternoon.

I went through very similar situation and as described above.   I also eventually contracted another installer to do the registration with CtC at a cost, which I recovered from the original electrician who defaulted on his agreement.   I wrote to the The Electrical Conformance Board of South Africa (ECB)  https://ecb.org.za/ and explained how I got done in and by who.    What happened between the parties I do not know, but 2 weeks later I received a very sad and apologetic phone call  and the culprit reluctantly agreed to pay the costs of the other installer to finalise the registration, which he did.😁

I went through very similar situation and as described above.   I also eventually contracted another installer to do the registration with CtC at a cost, which I recovered from the original electrician who defaulted on his agreement.   I wrote to the The Electrical Conformance Board of South Africa (ECB)  https://ecb.org.za/ and explained how I got done in and by who.    What happened between the parties I do not know, but 2 weeks later I received a very sad and apologetic phone call  and the culprit reluctantly agreed to pay the costs of the other installer to finalise the registration, which he did.😁

I went through very similar situation and as described above.   I also eventually contracted another installer to do the registration with CtC at a cost, which I recovered from the original electrician who defaulted on his agreement.   I wrote to the The Electrical Conformance Board of South Africa (ECB)  https://ecb.org.za/ and explained how I got done in and by who.    What happened between the parties I do not know, but 2 weeks later I received a very sad and apologetic phone call  and the culprit reluctantly agreed to pay the costs of the other installer to finalise the registration, which he did.😁

I went through very similar situation and as described above.   I also eventually contracted another installer to do the registration with CtC at a cost, which I recovered from the original electrician who defaulted on his agreement.   I wrote to the The Electrical Conformance Board of South Africa (ECB)  https://ecb.org.za/ and explained how I got done in and by who.    What happened between the parties I do not know, but 2 weeks later I received a very sad and apologetic phone call  and the culprit reluctantly agreed to pay the costs of the other installer to finalise the registration, which he did.😁

Bellville must have changed since I lived there.🤭
I live in Fish Hoek now, even more wind and benefit would be that wind is on nearly 24/7 including night time.
I believe those things are expensive, especially in relation to their power generating capability.

Bellville must have changed since I lived there.🤭
I live in Fish Hoek now, even more wind and benefit would be that wind is on nearly 24/7 including night time.
I believe those things are expensive, especially in relation to their power generating capability.

The mistake I made was to use Grid volts i.e. 220 volts in my calculation, that's why I got to a very high number.    I could instinctively see it was incorrect.
Thanks again, this is now clear.

I really appreciate all the input from you guys, is extremely helpful!
This is a very nice forum with no rudeness and other BS.💯%    I also like the software!
Today I am installing another battery, expensive for a pensioner but I think well worth it.   I will be able to run on battery throughout the night (or nearly) and will program the inverter at some point to charge from grid only at certain times.
I have been heating my 400 W Geaser from the battery & PV for 2 month now and this is working well and I see no negative consequence.   I do this manually at the moment and switch on when there is good sun outside.   Usually I run the geyser for about 3/4 hour in summer.   Winter will be another learning curve for me.
 

Caution is the better part of valor!!!!  Do be careful. 😀

It's all been said above, but I'll try to summarize briefly.
You could do this using KWh or Ah as the base for calculations. I prefer to use the KWh because that takes care of the fact that your DC and AC are running at different voltages.
Batteries have a Capacity - usually expressed in KWh. e.g. A 5KWh battery can provide 5KW for one hour. or 1KW for 5 hours. In theory. That answers the question: HOW MUCH power is stored? Batteries also have a "C" rating - usually expressed as a simple number with "C". e.g. 1C, or 0.5C. This basically tells you how much of the battery's total Capacity you may use in one hour. You could convert it to a percentage - That makes more sense in my head. 0.5C = 50% of Capacity per hour. That answers the question: HOW FAST can the power be delivered? My battery is 4.8 KWh, 0.5C. This means that I should only pull 50% x 4.8 = 2.4KW max load at any time. If I do that I could (theoretically) pull that load for 2 hours. (Except - don't do the full 2 hours because you don't want to go below about 20% SoC.)

So - check your battery spec - if you have 5KWh 1C (mentioned by one of the responders above) - you should be able to pull 5KW from it, but it will only last an hour (less 20%).  So please check your battery's specs.  And, if you have two batteries, then you can ADD them together. Effectively you have a 10KWh Battery, still with 1C rating...
And then set your Inverter to limit the current accordingly - that will protect your batteries from accidental abuse and damage. (PS, though may battery is rated 0.5C, I set my Inverter to max at 45%, or 0.45 C.)

I am not correct, the Sunsynk app does allow you to make setting from your software.   You do need to obtain the required permissions from Sunsynk.

I really appreciate all the input from you guys, is extremely helpful!
This is a very nice forum with no rudeness and other BS.💯%    I also like the software!
Today I am installing another battery, expensive for a pensioner but I think well worth it.   I will be able to run on battery throughout the night (or nearly) and will program the inverter at some point to charge from grid only at certain times.
I have been heating my 400 W Geaser from the battery & PV for 2 month now and this is working well and I see no negative consequence.   I do this manually at the moment and switch on when there is good sun outside.   Usually I run the geyser for about 3/4 hour in summer.   Winter will be another learning curve for me.
 

I have a Sunsynk inverter and yes it does have a CT coil.   It is largely the Pre Paid meter I don't want but have been told it's a lost cause to try and argue with CtC.    Does anyone have a registered on grid system without the Pre Paid meter and blocking device?

System installed May/June 22
Am on grid and have been managing my Geyser to try to maximise solar use.   I have many years of Municipal account data, and my electricity use has always been very stable at around 420 pm.
Roughly 50% decline in units used from City but because of fixed portion of tariff  not 50% reduction in Rand cost.

The constant battle between the upgrade itch and sanity/reasoning 😜
My YTD grid consumption is around 700kWh (vs a bit over 13,000kWh total YTD load). More than 50% of those 700kWh result from the 3 winter months Jun-Aug. While the itch is constantly there to add more panels (eliminate winter months grid usage) or add another battery (get away from the small now-and-then grid usage early mornings after the kids played lots of PS5 the night before), the financial investment for either one of these options would be more than R20k. And with my YTD grid usage, the payback period is simply too long for that to make any sense.
So sanity prevails (for the time being) 🙃

I have Municipal account data since June 2008.
Our monthly electricity use has been fairly stable till June 2022 when my PV panels became a factor.
Average monthly usage based on 30.5 days for 24 months till June 22 (before PV) was around 425 units or then about 14 units per day. Were only 2 persons in the house and use power conservatively.
Since June 2022 this has decreased slowly to 9.36 units per day for Sept 22, that equals a saving of 4.64 units or 33%
I have been considering this, it seems a relatively small saving if I consider that many days the solar provides nearly all the electricity the house needs during daylight hours.
If I then convert the saving to Rand it actually looks worse (4.64 X 2.88 = R13.38 pd = R408.18 pm) This would be a pretty reasonable saving, but it is not true when I look at my account as there are all kinds of Factors effecting the actual amount, of which the crucial one is a fixed charge portion of the electricity account. There has also been a tariff increase. My monthly saving has in actual terms taken from my account only been about R150 pm.
The fixed portion of the electricity account is only set to increase as more people decrease their electricity consumption.
Only my stove and oven are outside the inverter, so that is a given that I can not influence and for the past month I have done everything possible to run the house fully from the sun, even my geyser when I am at home.
Although the monthly saving is not crucial, it does play a role and seems to be much less then I had reasonably anticipated. In coming month I expect to increase my saving somewhat, but will see.
I also notice I seem to be using much more grid electricity then others, but “if you use little you can only save a little”
I must compare the readings from my inverter to those provided by the City.
I pay the City of Cape Town.
 

I need to go out but quick response, I'll add more later.
Main differences between us:- I need to warm geyser from PV, can do most days but today not, raining and heavily overcast and I need to be home to keep an eye on it. I have only 5.5 kw battery, I know that is not enough to carry me through the night, but often switch off grid around 04h00 and then charge battery from PV.   Is a bit tricky as around 07h15 I make breakfast, coffee machine, kettle, toaster etc.    I have that taped but wifey not so much.   I could run around 6 hours at night, but that leaves no load shedding margin. Obviously we have electric stove and oven which runs outside inverter.   I don't know quite how much that uses but probably around the same as the geyser My guess is that is already a major part of the issue.
I can see Sunsynk app details.
10 X 640 panels, also facing N.E.
Sunsynk 8 Kw Hybrid
Hubble 5.5 Kw battery
At the moment I am trying to learn how, what this all works to decide what I want to do about it.   Not keen to spend more unless it clearly pays for itself.   As to Pre Paid meter, I don't like that idea, just another hastle and wont change that unless clearly worth while.

2109279141 2022-09-10 06:51:14 56 - DC_VoltLow_Fault leads to an Battery issue.    Your comment the same, I tried the switch without effect, someone else said Hubble has a reset button underneath......... Whalah!! 
Problem gone!
Thanks for your help, has been a stressful few days.

I have been a lurker for a while.   Retired and live in Fish Hoek, Western Cape.
During June 22 I took the plunge and purchased a Sunsynk 8 Kw inverter, Hubble
5.5 Kw Battery, and 10 X  JA Solar 460W Pannels.
This was just in time before the latest load shedding saga. 
I plan to learn how this system works and how to optimise the settings to and maximise my benefit.
I have today switched of the grid and ran the system under cloudy conditions, and ended the day with my geyser hot, battery fully charged and zero cost for power.   I will now have to switch on otherwise no dinner for me!
Only my stove and oven are not on my system and will remain that way.
 

I did a similar thing today for the first time switched off the grid.
Then systematically switched on stuff to establish what can and what not and made notes of usage.   If I exclude my oven/stove and manage my geyser, can run everything but do need to keep an eye on it and train partner to do same.
Was getting 4.5KW PV with very overcast conditions around 11h00.
I need to learn how to manage battery, so it does not charge at night from grid after load shedding.
What I don't know is if it may not cost more to keep on charging/discharging battery (in reduced life span) then the value of the extra energy generated.
Unfortunately electricity is one area I am not very familiar with.

Thanks for all the welcomes!
Was looking at Gas Electric but for the moment have two primitive portable gas stoves.   Just two mature people living here so can manage most things in life.
 

I have been a lurker for a while.   Retired and live in Fish Hoek, Western Cape.
During June 22 I took the plunge and purchased a Sunsynk 8 Kw inverter, Hubble
5.5 Kw Battery, and 10 X  JA Solar 460W Pannels.
This was just in time before the latest load shedding saga. 
I plan to learn how this system works and how to optimise the settings to and maximise my benefit.
I have today switched of the grid and ran the system under cloudy conditions, and ended the day with my geyser hot, battery fully charged and zero cost for power.   I will now have to switch on otherwise no dinner for me!
Only my stove and oven are not on my system and will remain that way.
 

I have been a lurker for a while.   Retired and live in Fish Hoek, Western Cape.
During June 22 I took the plunge and purchased a Sunsynk 8 Kw inverter, Hubble
5.5 Kw Battery, and 10 X  JA Solar 460W Pannels.
This was just in time before the latest load shedding saga. 
I plan to learn how this system works and how to optimise the settings to and maximise my benefit.
I have today switched of the grid and ran the system under cloudy conditions, and ended the day with my geyser hot, battery fully charged and zero cost for power.   I will now have to switch on otherwise no dinner for me!
Only my stove and oven are not on my system and will remain that way.
 

I have been a lurker for a while.   Retired and live in Fish Hoek, Western Cape.
During June 22 I took the plunge and purchased a Sunsynk 8 Kw inverter, Hubble
5.5 Kw Battery, and 10 X  JA Solar 460W Pannels.
This was just in time before the latest load shedding saga. 
I plan to learn how this system works and how to optimise the settings to and maximise my benefit.
I have today switched of the grid and ran the system under cloudy conditions, and ended the day with my geyser hot, battery fully charged and zero cost for power.   I will now have to switch on otherwise no dinner for me!
Only my stove and oven are not on my system and will remain that way.