Cory

My apology for the long winded explanation, I hope it helps. My installation is Canadian Solar, Victron Multiplus Inverter and Freedom Won storage. In terms of application I would think these things are pretty standard. Standard configuration is for essential circuits to run regardless of Eskom. Ideally, there should be sufficient capacity in both PV and battery to be off grid  which of course is frightfully expensive. Hence the “Self consumption” configuration like mine, which manages important loads during grid failure.
Come darkness and whilst Eskom is online (but PV is sleeping), the inverter feeds both essential and non-essential circuits, until battery reaches the preset discharge level (mine’s at 50%) then the feed for the non-essential circuits is disconnected and essential circuits only are powered. This will last until the battery fully discharges or reaches lowest state of charge setting (mine is 20%) and will then disconnect everything.
Come sunlight and Eskom is online, the system will focus on charging the battery, whilst drawing on Eskom for both essential and non-essential circuits. As the battery fills up, the system will start sharing PV to total loads and battery charging. When the battery is full, the system will focus the PV to the total load and borrow from the battery. Technically, for few hours a day, the system runs “off grid”.
During loadshedding, feed to non-essential circuits are disconnected, only essential is fed until the battery reaches total discharge as above.
During loadshedding and sunlight, essential circuits only are fed and the battery is charged. The inverter then will balance drawdown from the PV and battery, ideally to charge the battery whilst feeding the essential circuits. If the essential circuits load exceeds the PV capacity, inverter will use max PV and draw from the battery, until the battery reaches discharge preset and all is disconnected. Note, during loadshedding, excess PV capacity will not be fed to non-essential loads. Non-essential circuits are fed only when Eskom is online. Maybe this clarifies your question?

My hubble AM2 needed a firmware update to get it to 100% SOC.  Hubble also suggested draining the battery to zero then charging again... but thats what caused your issue....

Hi @Corydisconnect the battery from the inverter & start the Sunsynk up using Grid power. Once she's started up try to connect the batteries. 

yousuf2217, you could put non-essentials on the Aux output of the Sunsynk. You would probably need a bigger inverter, more batteries and it may interfere with your normal solar harvesting.

So they responded cash upfront only. I offered to collect and now they’re silent.

They name several individuals with professionally taken pics. But none of these persons show up on LinkedIn or Facebook. They also quote their products VAT free. Language on their www is clumsy. At first I thought it’s “lost in translation” until I could not find their management members on any social media. I’ll place an order and ask to pay cash on delivery. Let’s see how that goes..

I offered to purchase their products on condition that I pay cash, credit card or instant EFT on collection from their warehouse or office. They now simply don’t respond.

You’ll be surprised how little space it actually takes. My power station takes up 900mm by 2m and being Victron it’s quite bulky. I board-mounted it coz it’s a nice idea. Plenty space for more batteries and another MPPT also in that same area. Of space it right, why not raise it up, above head height. You don’t really need access. Wall hang the Sunsynk and Hubbles and MOU them either beneath or next to each other. Caution though, if you’re at all tight for space, always mount your equipment higher than the car boot/bonnet, in case there is a parking mishap. Further, think about human trafficking past your equipment, that it won’t get bashes or used as a “shelf”. If you do have floor space, you may also consider mounting everything into a 19” rack. Have a look at the Revov www to see what they do

Remember the Inverter does not have to reside next to the DB board if you have the necessary ducting in place.  This is normally only done to avoid running cables through existing spaces.
Therefore your no1 priority is to ensure you have identified the Inverter location and provision the necessary ducting to;
Main DB board, PV Roofing feeds to all arrays Earthing facilities (may be external spike) Possible Generator AUX feed (future) etc. I have three DB boards in the house, yet installed Inverter and its own DB's in garage with underground feeds to main house DB.
Then some other criteria to manage are;
Enough space for inverter and batteries (wall or cabinet) with sufficient ventilation (If on back wall of garage) two cars arrive home - hot engines - increases env temperature The noise of cooling fans (already mentioned by Milan188). Appearance - as you mention avoid using walls such as entrance for cable feeds Lastly ensure you have space for expansion - additional batteries, etc. You never have enough (overcast days) and if Eskom does not turn things around, you'll need the extra. Good luck and enjoy!
 

I offered to purchase their products on condition that I pay cash, credit card or instant EFT on collection from their warehouse or office. They now simply don’t respond.

I offered to purchase their products on condition that I pay cash, credit card or instant EFT on collection from their warehouse or office. They now simply don’t respond.

I doubt whether the scammers would make use of any Escrow agent. And whilst gullible people exist, the scammers will continue with their "business model", sadly.

Would be of benefit if there was an Escrow Agent in SA that could protect both parties, especially in the "online" business environment where the sellers don't hold stock at their premises. 

 

My approach is that I collect personally. Unless of course, it is a company I know well or a well established business.

So they responded cash upfront only. I offered to collect and now they’re silent.

Definitely a scam website. The domain is 13 days old. Prices to good to be true. 
Please report using the attached form and send to [email protected]
Can also call (+27 11 314 0077) More info here https://registry.net.za/
Lets get this site taken down before someone looses their solar savings.
COMPLAINTS_FORM.pdf

They name several individuals with professionally taken pics. But none of these persons show up on LinkedIn or Facebook. They also quote their products VAT free. Language on their www is clumsy. At first I thought it’s “lost in translation” until I could not find their management members on any social media. I’ll place an order and ask to pay cash on delivery. Let’s see how that goes..

The likely reason for this is that the neutral, when Eksdom is AWOL, is floating and not tied to ground, most likely, check if there's a voltage between earth and neutral behind the inverter (AC Voltmeter), I guess, with and without Eksodm,  be careful, 100+V could be there...
If there is a voltage once commercial power is gone, then you need to implement a automatic switch that will bond earth and neutral on the output side of the inverter, once commercial power is absent...

@Cory This is custom made for my Sunsynk system, but if you know your way around sensors, modbus, linux nodered then you could probably make it work for just about any system.
All opensource, no licenses or fees involved

Step 1 - here
Step 2 - here

Thanks everyone for the advice.
I finally installed the following by EnergyPivot from George;
6 * Canadian Solar 460W, Victron SmartSolar MPPT 250/60, Victron MultiPlus-II 48/5000/70-50, Freedom Won E-5000 Modular LiFePO4 battery, Victron Cerbo GX & Touch GX with long range WiFi.
Great people to work with, quite neat installation and very prompt service.

 
 

Thanks everyone for the advice.
I finally installed the following by EnergyPivot from George;
6 * Canadian Solar 460W, Victron SmartSolar MPPT 250/60, Victron MultiPlus-II 48/5000/70-50, Freedom Won E-5000 Modular LiFePO4 battery, Victron Cerbo GX & Touch GX with long range WiFi.
Great people to work with, quite neat installation and very prompt service.

 
 

Thanks everyone for the advice.
I finally installed the following by EnergyPivot from George;
6 * Canadian Solar 460W, Victron SmartSolar MPPT 250/60, Victron MultiPlus-II 48/5000/70-50, Freedom Won E-5000 Modular LiFePO4 battery, Victron Cerbo GX & Touch GX with long range WiFi.
Great people to work with, quite neat installation and very prompt service.

 
 

Just get an 8kW Sunsynk inverter & a supported LFP battery. Grow from there. I agree with the statement above regarding CAN compatibility between bands. It's something to be aware of.

Hi Corry,
Assuming you have about 500W sized panels your quote sounds normal. However I personally think you may oversize your system.
With my 10x 330W panels, and 4x at the back, 6kw inverter I generate more than 400kw/units in a winter month. However, I stay in Gauteng and we have less cloudy days in the Winter than at the coast. PS in the winter my South facing panels creates little power.
Furthermore, I reconfigured my system three times as I learnt my personal needs and environmental impact. However, I could do this myself and did not need to pay more because of reconfiguration.
If you consume 320 units in the Winter you may need less capacity. You may consider to install less and expand later. The inverter should be adequate from the start, the rest can expand.

Yes, I shopped for best prices from about 5 different suppliers across SA. Furthermore I had no installation costs. One can easily save 20% on equipment shopping for the right product at the right time. My panels I got for less than 2K a piece, inverter for 21K, battery 21.5K. Then again I started my investment nearly 3 years ago.