Chaos

There was an existing Generator Changeover switch present so there was no need to double up on this. So for cost effectiveness we used the Gene Changeover & we wired the Gene directly into the Gene Port of the Sunsynk via an suitable sized MCB. 
A Changeover switch is compulsory. You need a way to isolate the Inverter & use Eskom in the event of a fault. The AC surge protectors are a choice. 
However, on the DC PV side it's also compulsory because the panels are located in a high potential lightning prone zone so Type 2 SPDs are the order of the day. 
The AC DB must have the Grid, Load & or Gene MCBs. If the inverter will be placed a long distance from the main DB then you need to add some Isolators at the Inverter location to allow work to be carried out safely without a shock hazard from someone else at the DB location.
I do have DC PV pics please see the other Showcase pics I have added. You will find pics there. 

Been a great experience working with @Steve87 through this install. Although there were some delays, my brief from the beginning was to take his time, do it when he could...no pressure. He kept me updated every step of the way and I am very, very happy with the install. He and his team are incredible as is his electrician (Who once worked till almost 9pm one night to make sure we got up and running)
I have LOTS to learn still, it's almost like learning a new language. But for those considering an install my advice is go for a bit higher spec than you think you need. More is never regretted!
Btw, the install is even neater that it appears in the pics. He really does a lovely job of tucking everything away, running trunking etc. And is pedantic about how things need to be done. No shortcuts here!
I'll update performance as we go along, but it's great living as though there is no loadshedding. We can even use the stove, microwave and kettle at the same time, if needed and not often.
 

Battery is going on the floor, underneath the inverter. I had to make a choice on whether to install on the patio, where pedestrians may see it and decide to do some shopping, putting it in the garage which was inconveniently far from the board, or installing it inside, in the entrance hall which is still out of the way. Decided to go for indoors, and instead of hiding it..make it a feature 🙂
Doesn't take up much space, noise is negligible and it doesn't look bad at all. I figure solar installations are something to show off and be proud of nowadays. Steve does a neat job that doesn't look out of place and I've only had good comments about it. I could have hidden it with some mods, but I'm ok with it. The FW battery is classy looking and doesn't look industrial.

Been a great experience working with @Steve87 through this install. Although there were some delays, my brief from the beginning was to take his time, do it when he could...no pressure. He kept me updated every step of the way and I am very, very happy with the install. He and his team are incredible as is his electrician (Who once worked till almost 9pm one night to make sure we got up and running)
I have LOTS to learn still, it's almost like learning a new language. But for those considering an install my advice is go for a bit higher spec than you think you need. More is never regretted!
Btw, the install is even neater that it appears in the pics. He really does a lovely job of tucking everything away, running trunking etc. And is pedantic about how things need to be done. No shortcuts here!
I'll update performance as we go along, but it's great living as though there is no loadshedding. We can even use the stove, microwave and kettle at the same time, if needed and not often.
 

Been a great experience working with @Steve87 through this install. Although there were some delays, my brief from the beginning was to take his time, do it when he could...no pressure. He kept me updated every step of the way and I am very, very happy with the install. He and his team are incredible as is his electrician (Who once worked till almost 9pm one night to make sure we got up and running)
I have LOTS to learn still, it's almost like learning a new language. But for those considering an install my advice is go for a bit higher spec than you think you need. More is never regretted!
Btw, the install is even neater that it appears in the pics. He really does a lovely job of tucking everything away, running trunking etc. And is pedantic about how things need to be done. No shortcuts here!
I'll update performance as we go along, but it's great living as though there is no loadshedding. We can even use the stove, microwave and kettle at the same time, if needed and not often.
 

Battery is going on the floor, underneath the inverter. I had to make a choice on whether to install on the patio, where pedestrians may see it and decide to do some shopping, putting it in the garage which was inconveniently far from the board, or installing it inside, in the entrance hall which is still out of the way. Decided to go for indoors, and instead of hiding it..make it a feature 🙂
Doesn't take up much space, noise is negligible and it doesn't look bad at all. I figure solar installations are something to show off and be proud of nowadays. Steve does a neat job that doesn't look out of place and I've only had good comments about it. I could have hidden it with some mods, but I'm ok with it. The FW battery is classy looking and doesn't look industrial.

Been 4 months since I joined, and at that stage solar was just a distant thought. But that didn't last long when we started to get stage 6. So I made some plans, put myself into debt forever, and took the leap.
Stock shortages have been interesting. And are only going to get worse. But I wasn't in a rush. This forum has been invaluable, especially for finding the right installer.
Steve has been amazing the whole way, and dealt with all my constant irritating phonecalls and silly questions.
I am over the moon to be "part of the club" and consider Steve's work to be impeccable.
I'm in the final stages now. Have the system mostly up, with a few things to do. But I have the battery connected and as I type this, I'm at the end of of 4 hour load shedding and just finished cooking dinner on the electric stove with no issues.
Barely noticed the shedding today. Those considering getting an installation....do it.

Looking forward to learning the finer aspects and tweaking, and the final stage of installation. But I'm up and running. Install looks great.
@TimCam If I'm not mistaken, we went with 26 degrees or close.

I am sure Steve will update and we are very close to the finish.

Been 4 months since I joined, and at that stage solar was just a distant thought. But that didn't last long when we started to get stage 6. So I made some plans, put myself into debt forever, and took the leap.
Stock shortages have been interesting. And are only going to get worse. But I wasn't in a rush. This forum has been invaluable, especially for finding the right installer.
Steve has been amazing the whole way, and dealt with all my constant irritating phonecalls and silly questions.
I am over the moon to be "part of the club" and consider Steve's work to be impeccable.
I'm in the final stages now. Have the system mostly up, with a few things to do. But I have the battery connected and as I type this, I'm at the end of of 4 hour load shedding and just finished cooking dinner on the electric stove with no issues.
Barely noticed the shedding today. Those considering getting an installation....do it.

Looking forward to learning the finer aspects and tweaking, and the final stage of installation. But I'm up and running. Install looks great.
@TimCam If I'm not mistaken, we went with 26 degrees or close.

I am sure Steve will update and we are very close to the finish.

You made an excellent choice regarding  product ,  if it helps , we are all in debt due to the exorbitant cost of product / system , but I cannot imagine life anymore without my solar system. As the Englishman says :  it is what it is.!

Been 4 months since I joined, and at that stage solar was just a distant thought. But that didn't last long when we started to get stage 6. So I made some plans, put myself into debt forever, and took the leap.
Stock shortages have been interesting. And are only going to get worse. But I wasn't in a rush. This forum has been invaluable, especially for finding the right installer.
Steve has been amazing the whole way, and dealt with all my constant irritating phonecalls and silly questions.
I am over the moon to be "part of the club" and consider Steve's work to be impeccable.
I'm in the final stages now. Have the system mostly up, with a few things to do. But I have the battery connected and as I type this, I'm at the end of of 4 hour load shedding and just finished cooking dinner on the electric stove with no issues.
Barely noticed the shedding today. Those considering getting an installation....do it.

Looking forward to learning the finer aspects and tweaking, and the final stage of installation. But I'm up and running. Install looks great.
@TimCam If I'm not mistaken, we went with 26 degrees or close.

I am sure Steve will update and we are very close to the finish.

Been 4 months since I joined, and at that stage solar was just a distant thought. But that didn't last long when we started to get stage 6. So I made some plans, put myself into debt forever, and took the leap.
Stock shortages have been interesting. And are only going to get worse. But I wasn't in a rush. This forum has been invaluable, especially for finding the right installer.
Steve has been amazing the whole way, and dealt with all my constant irritating phonecalls and silly questions.
I am over the moon to be "part of the club" and consider Steve's work to be impeccable.
I'm in the final stages now. Have the system mostly up, with a few things to do. But I have the battery connected and as I type this, I'm at the end of of 4 hour load shedding and just finished cooking dinner on the electric stove with no issues.
Barely noticed the shedding today. Those considering getting an installation....do it.

Looking forward to learning the finer aspects and tweaking, and the final stage of installation. But I'm up and running. Install looks great.
@TimCam If I'm not mistaken, we went with 26 degrees or close.

I am sure Steve will update and we are very close to the finish.

Been 4 months since I joined, and at that stage solar was just a distant thought. But that didn't last long when we started to get stage 6. So I made some plans, put myself into debt forever, and took the leap.
Stock shortages have been interesting. And are only going to get worse. But I wasn't in a rush. This forum has been invaluable, especially for finding the right installer.
Steve has been amazing the whole way, and dealt with all my constant irritating phonecalls and silly questions.
I am over the moon to be "part of the club" and consider Steve's work to be impeccable.
I'm in the final stages now. Have the system mostly up, with a few things to do. But I have the battery connected and as I type this, I'm at the end of of 4 hour load shedding and just finished cooking dinner on the electric stove with no issues.
Barely noticed the shedding today. Those considering getting an installation....do it.

Looking forward to learning the finer aspects and tweaking, and the final stage of installation. But I'm up and running. Install looks great.
@TimCam If I'm not mistaken, we went with 26 degrees or close.

I am sure Steve will update and we are very close to the finish.

Been 4 months since I joined, and at that stage solar was just a distant thought. But that didn't last long when we started to get stage 6. So I made some plans, put myself into debt forever, and took the leap.
Stock shortages have been interesting. And are only going to get worse. But I wasn't in a rush. This forum has been invaluable, especially for finding the right installer.
Steve has been amazing the whole way, and dealt with all my constant irritating phonecalls and silly questions.
I am over the moon to be "part of the club" and consider Steve's work to be impeccable.
I'm in the final stages now. Have the system mostly up, with a few things to do. But I have the battery connected and as I type this, I'm at the end of of 4 hour load shedding and just finished cooking dinner on the electric stove with no issues.
Barely noticed the shedding today. Those considering getting an installation....do it.

Looking forward to learning the finer aspects and tweaking, and the final stage of installation. But I'm up and running. Install looks great.
@TimCam If I'm not mistaken, we went with 26 degrees or close.

I am sure Steve will update and we are very close to the finish.

Been 4 months since I joined, and at that stage solar was just a distant thought. But that didn't last long when we started to get stage 6. So I made some plans, put myself into debt forever, and took the leap.
Stock shortages have been interesting. And are only going to get worse. But I wasn't in a rush. This forum has been invaluable, especially for finding the right installer.
Steve has been amazing the whole way, and dealt with all my constant irritating phonecalls and silly questions.
I am over the moon to be "part of the club" and consider Steve's work to be impeccable.
I'm in the final stages now. Have the system mostly up, with a few things to do. But I have the battery connected and as I type this, I'm at the end of of 4 hour load shedding and just finished cooking dinner on the electric stove with no issues.
Barely noticed the shedding today. Those considering getting an installation....do it.

Looking forward to learning the finer aspects and tweaking, and the final stage of installation. But I'm up and running. Install looks great.
@TimCam If I'm not mistaken, we went with 26 degrees or close.

I am sure Steve will update and we are very close to the finish.

Another happy customer, I bet.
What angle to you set for the panels?
 

Having deployed a heap of Livoltek as well as FreedomWon Batteries. They both have DC MCBs that offer great protection & I have tested both. The FreedomWon takes it a step further with that ABB breaker which is just in another class as compared to many other cheaper options. It even integrates with the Orion BMS to trip as a function of the SoC at 10% SoC left. 
Protection to me is the following: In the event of a single failure will the existing infrastructure have sufficient protection to not cause a fire or not be damaged. 
Let's discuss this in the following way: Let's say you have a cluster of Batteries in Parallel like a Trio of FreedomWon batteries & they are 3 X 10/8s. So 10kW = 200A DC discharge rating at 1C. So 200A X 3 = 600A DC draw capability. 
So each battery has a 200A ABB DC breaker. If one trips, the other 2 still have protection. So no problems to over stress the remaining units. The inverter will Power trip & probably spit out DC_Bus under Voltage or something similar. 
These batteries are integrated via Busbar, so you connect & disconnect via this isolated Bus Bar. For sure before you work on such system the Inverters & DC battery Bus is isolated & the bus Bar is not powered at all. All isolators off & the inverters are depowered. The Sunsynk 16kW MAX further even has a seperate Battery DC MCB inside of its wire basket. 
So to me you can fork out for the 600A Keto fuse set but it is serving absolutely no good purpose except hanging like a decoration. Or you can also add 3 X 200A ketos & once again they offer zero value. 
Similarly on any Sunsynk Inverter there is a PV DC isolator on each machine. So you remove the inverter & want to isolate that PV inverter strings. Your first point of PV DC disconnection point is the inverter. There after the fuses. You isolate & remove the inverter so the question is now how to isolate the PV string? Pull out the fuses & remove the fuses. Absolutely no way that that PV Array can now use energy. How is fitting a DC isolator externally going to add better safety & value than 2 empty fuse housings? 
I see 3 profound issues here in our Solar installation work here in SA: 
1) Lack of access to the latest SANS code docs. 
2) Lack of fundamental understanding of why to do something, just we interpret & follow like sheep. 
3) Master electricians that are placed to uphold the Code of fundamentals that so many of them are not qualified or comfortable to signing off on. I say this with the most utmost respect to them. I really take my hat to off to some Gentlemen that I have asked to carry out an assessment or inspection & that have shared their discomfort at working on DC systems as well as the Neutral/ Earth bonding required when a Sunsynk needs this bond during Islanding. 
We have a far way to go yet. I guess it's like politics & religion. Everyone has their own belief. 

So true Canadian Solar panels that are 545W do not have a sticker that looks like that. The genuine stickers are quite wide with no spelling mistakes. Also, the "Optimum Circuit Voltage" should actually be Open Circuit Voltage, so again an indication that it is fake. Also no serial number on the sticker, another clue.

Eish guys, it's a clash of two things here. The massive need to rollout solar infrastructure & the massive knowledge gap of how this equipment is integrated together. 
In my opinion there are 3 types of installers. 
1) The bandit who wants to make a quick buck & get away with murder. 
2) The electrician type who understands the AC side very well but has some ignorance & shortcomings on the DC side & inverter & interfacing side. 
3) The good blend of Good knowledge in all areas of AC/ DC as well as system integration. 
I think there is massive scope for consultancy in the ins & outs of good outcomes in the solar installation market in SA. I hate to see anyone pay school fees or be robbed. 
 

Difficult to understand for the newcomer to this world, but you always start somewhere.
You must visualize the circulation of Alternating Current Energy as if it were Water.
A hybrid inverter Imports Energy from the Grid (Grid Input) and Exports Energy to the Grid through the same connection point in the Inverter. Once the different configurations have been made according to the hybrid you buy, the excess PV that is not consumed (Essential Loads) can be used to charge the batteries, if there is even more surplus, the energy is directed backwards (from the same connection point). of the Inverter with the Grid (Grid Input), that energy will feed your Non-Essential Loads first and if you configure it and you still have Surplus, the rest will be Exported to the Grid.

So I've been watching some of the well under priced solar panels for sale on places like Facebook marketplace, and wondering if they are either stolen, or whether there are fake panels being imported and sold.
Tonight I saw a listing for Canadian Solar panels that were too cheap to be legit. Not that I'm shopping...my order is placed with a reputable installer and awaiting stock. So this was just for curiosity.
I guess the attached pic answers that question. I highly doubt real Canadians would print on the label "MODEL TRYPE" instead of MODEL TYPE and also "Rire Rating" instead of "Fire Rating" Also... CLASS C is in capitals but the L in CLASS is lower case. I doubt a big company like Canadian Solar would make such entry level mistakes.
I guess that answers that question. Buyer beware! Counterfeit panels are clearly flooding the market.

So I've been watching some of the well under priced solar panels for sale on places like Facebook marketplace, and wondering if they are either stolen, or whether there are fake panels being imported and sold.
Tonight I saw a listing for Canadian Solar panels that were too cheap to be legit. Not that I'm shopping...my order is placed with a reputable installer and awaiting stock. So this was just for curiosity.
I guess the attached pic answers that question. I highly doubt real Canadians would print on the label "MODEL TRYPE" instead of MODEL TYPE and also "Rire Rating" instead of "Fire Rating" Also... CLASS C is in capitals but the L in CLASS is lower case. I doubt a big company like Canadian Solar would make such entry level mistakes.
I guess that answers that question. Buyer beware! Counterfeit panels are clearly flooding the market.

I think you might be OK. The fans are loud and high pitched though. If they disturb then just try this. 
The input side is just the 3 holes with the 3 built-in fans. They blow into the unit. I didn’t want to interfere with their functionality. My thinking was rather put 5 fans over the much larger exit side and cause less restriction. 

Looks good! Maybe I dodged a bullet, but seems if I had stuck with the slate installation you would have it well under control.
A lot more effort, but shows it's completely do-able and you need to get someone who understands slate properly.
Note: This isn't my installation, but I have a similar situation...luckily with an IBR area that will make life easier.
That's a good looking install Steve.

What he said.

Not JHB but in PTA i resorted to submitting my readings manually on the portal even before we got solar. This was after 3 months of abnormally high estimates (4, 6, 3k). There was a steady decline in the number of units but they didn't say / do anything about it. They then changed all of us to Pre-paid so its even more in my control