PRP

You can buy them now from Geyserwise in Centurion. I bought mine last week, R1500 for the full TSE kit with the Tuya module on it.

I can hear the noise from my 5KW as well, but it soft. Could just be my hearing... Here are some spectrum captures to show it from my mobile: - One right next to the inverter - One In a bathroom with door closed (silent for baseline) - One in the my office with my laptop and Monitor I feel like I can hear the noise even if very soft but I could just be paranoid now. Next to Inverter Office Baseline

Thanks I have but he is flat out at the moment.

Hi Can anyone help with some references for an experienced Panel installer? I have 7 Panels to mount on a tiled roof. Looking for someone who will do a compliant job and a water tight one as my plastic underlay isnt all intact. The usual suspects are busy and understandably focusing on complete installations and not just Panels. JHB North Thanks a ton edit to specify area

For people who need crimping assistance the battery centre in Fourways Crossing did mine for free.

Look here https://www.liteglo.co.za/product-category/circuit-breakers/?filter_circuit-breaker-application=change-over-switches&query_type_circuit-breaker-application=or&product_orderby=price for some ideas

Interesting article on the heating cost https://www.capetalk.co.za/articles/409118/opinion-the-cost-of-making-a-cuppa-tea-gas-vs-electricity

From https://www.solar-shop.co.za/ I see they are already out of stock now, were 5 available on Tuesday. Yes definitely BYD Battery (Buttons on the front)

My Sunsynk Battery just arrived (5.32) The manual / datasheet has a slightly higher Ah rating (104) reported than what is on the website -> https://www.sunsynk.org/byd-battery and it shows 100A MAX discharge and 5000W I have asked Sunsynk again on email to confirm the BMS will report and allow 100A (1C) draw but no answer yet. Will report back once it is installed.

Thanks Steve, appreciate the practical advice. Have sent you a DM.

Morning Does anyone know what the typical maximum load is on the roof hooks you buy locally (like these -> https://pvstore.co.za/products/roof-hook-eco-basic-no-wood-screws?_pos=1&_sid=45d7279ed&_ss=r) I am putting 7 x 550W Panels (27KG each) side by side in a portrait config (2 x 8m wide tracks, Trusses ~700mm apart, 17Deg Pitch) I was planning on using one roof hook on ~every second trusses (so 12 of them) BUT... I used the Renosul Configurator (https://www.renusol.com/en/configurator/) to do a sanity check and it failed the Static load test (@190%) for the hooks (rails and clamps OK) even when putting a hook on every trusses. To make it worse it still failed with three tracks, only way I could get it to pass was to use 4 (so 40 hooks) which seems totally nuts. Putting a hook on every trusses means 20 of them so each hook will be carrying ~10kg, this sounds reasonable but I am now I am paranoid Any advice?

So I can get an AM-5 for R34700, an AM-2 for R29500 or an Sunsynk BYD for R32700 I called Sunsynk and they confirmed the BYD battery is 1C but when specifically asked this over email no answer yet. Not sure if the extra R4K odd for the AM-5 is worth it or if the Sunsynk extended warranty is also worth it as if you look at the small print after 5 years it just covers the costs of the parts, not the labor. I like the Hubble is local

Not really, need to research a bit. Been focused on the batteries everyone talks about on this forum. The Sunsynk BYD Batteries look to be in stock everywhere now and the datasheet states 5000W maximum power so surely the BMS must let the inverter draw this? Edit CATL -> BYD

I would not rule out EFT. I just purchased a Sunsynk from Solar-shop and after my EFT got my inverter couriered arriving two days after payment. Need to remember the merchant fees are not negligible for these guys.

The point is to not cycle them at 1C daily but to have the capability to do it for short periods to avoid it tripping. Voltex AM5 price has jumped to R38k from R31k on Monday when I called and they had 64 in stock. Now I don’t know what to buy anymore. My inverter is sitting there in its box just waiting

This is concerning. I am holding out for a Sunsynk BYD battery to get the extended warranty but if the BMS limits it to 50A I will rather get the AM-5!

Fantastic , thanks! FYI my network charge is R486 pm excl! 0-600kwh tariff is R1.83/kWh vs 600+kWh tariff of R2.82/kWh

Thanks for the assistance. The higher tariff isn’t based on time of use but rather anything over 600kwh per month. 300-400kwh means 10-13kwh per day so I am hoping a 4kw array will cover this on average per day.

Fantastic explanation and I love the Red part, properly laughed!! Of course part of the investment is a change of habits, daytime running for dishwasher, washing machine, pool pump and Geyser (Dropping to 2KW element + Geysewise) My idea is to heat the water up in the day to as much as the Geyserwise will allow (65Deg?) to use it as an "Energy Store" and then only heat it up to 50DegC during the night for the morning showers.

My logic here is the panel install is more than 2 x one panel cost so I thought I would maximize one roof and put as much as I can on one string. The cost of 5 panel install vs 7 is so close. If I put 7 panels on one string can I not just add 5 on the other string IF I upgrade in the future? I thought the total power was shared between the two MPPT so no issue to have 4kw on one and 2.5kw on another. My roof is at ~20 deg slope, in JHB and is around 10 Deg off North so I also assume I wont get the full ~4KW anyway. Fully agree. Very difficult to pull ones self out of the rabbit hole and reinstate logic once you are in deep and emotionally invested. Everyones desiresand essentials are different so I guess this is why we see such a varfiety of systems on here.

Has anyone had any experience with the very new AM-5? Voltex has stock of them for R~31000 which seems pretty good. I am leaning towards this now or the Sunsynk battery if I can find the correct BYD model at a decent price.

For me I just took my monthly usage and divided by 30 to get an estimate. I hear you, knowing exactly what consumes when helps to plan. I feel like I already have my heart set on the 5Kw SunSynk. It just makes my life so much simpler with the Geyser, Pool Pump and Stove on the non essentials being fed by excess PV. I see 5KW as the min battery needed to get by with a 4 hour load shed slot. I will put the panels up at the same time as the rest of the system given the price to install the panels it makes sense to fully utilize one roof I have and put ~4KW in one shot. Then I can start save some money already and monitor and see how to tweak and optimize the system potentially with more storage in the future, more PV on a second roof, etc. Thanks to everyone for all the guidance, I have the Inverter and Panel ( 7 x 545W) done, still just going back and forth with the battery...

I hear you about the Geyser, I will try add a blanket. There are 4 of us, two kids shower once a day and the adults 3 times on average (two morning sometimes at night as well) Also have a 750W pool pump which runs for a 2 hours in Winter and around 4-6 in summer. We dont use the Oven that much after getting an air fryer which cooks in 1/2 the time. Having the information about the loads upfront is great but in the end I see the solution as the same, ie Solar with main loads during peak production. I am starting off with what I see as a minimum battery 5Kwh and min solar (~4kw from 7 panels on a single string) and after I have some solid results I can plot the way forward. I am hoping I can save the R1200 a month with just this and not need extra storage + solar, but time will tell. From reading here lots it seems everyone under estimate the solar and storage requirements and add more soon after install. I am really hoping my difference is I am not trying to cut my bill totally, just drop the 300-400kw from the higher tier tariff.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Difficult to see where I could reduce the consumption as a whole vs moving when it is consumed. We have a 200L 4KW Geyser which is set to 65DegC. With Solar will try schedule one the heating of this ( considering a reduction to 2/3KW element) during the peak solar time (after mornings showers) and then accept that I will need to still do one heating early morning before morning showers. Other than that all lights are LED, only a single Inverter Fridge/Freezer and appliances are pretty new with good energy ratings. We dont have a tumble dryer or big PCs. I am with Eskom Direct so the ~R500 base network charge wont go away. Total bill is ~R3000 (R500 Network, R1100 - 600Kwh @ cheap rate, R1200 R400Kwh @ higher tariff). I have upped the budget to ~R100K now and see R30-40K as a life style investment (security, convenience, etc) and the R60-70K as a solar investment which I hope to payback over 5 years if I can just save 400Kwh a month on the higher tariff (4Kw solar array hoping to get 14Kwh per day)

Fair enough. Just trying to get a gauge if I could say boil a 2kw kettle with a microwave running including a base load of say 500w. If the sunsynk will limit to 74A (through BMS limit) I don’t see the point of the 148A or 180A specs.