pilotfish

Now you can parallel up to 9 units, this is a serious piece of kit! R10,500 for the 5kW and R8,000 for the 3kW (not sure why anyone would save a couple of pennies on the smaller unit). Data sheet attached. FCS-Axpert-King-3Kva-5Kva-Data-Sheet.pdf

Careful there! 60 module panels (often 200 - 250W) will normally have operating voltage of around 32Vp and and open circuit of around 36Voc. 72 module panels (often 275-330W) will normally be around 36Vp and 42 45Voc The 145Voc limitation of many MPPT will allow 3x 60mod series panels with no problem but you are pushing the envelope with 3x 72mod panels - I wouldn't like to be the lab rat, I think it is a good idea to avoid published operating limits when you have no idea of the safety margin allowed.

So I popped over to the Megasolar web site and scrolled down to latest news where I found this; http://www.megasolarsa.com/nuclear-vs-renewable/ Huh is that not a blog by Jason Sole - the one and only who has nothing to do with Megasolar??? So if you rob a bank and then change your name, are you no longer a bank robber?

Fault 4 = low battery warning It says that your batteries have dropped below the setting in Menu 29 - you could lower the setting back to the default of 42V which get rid of that warning, but you would be killing your batteries taking them that low (if they aren't already damaged).

I must say that I agree with Chris that this should be a separate system. I would have a panic attack if I couldn't exercise a reasonable level of control over consumption which would be difficult in a shared situation.

The standard requires a mechanical interlock so I dont believe that this meets the standard.

I am not yet sure of the transfer time, I am going to pick to pick one up and give it a test. In a common c/o the one contactor opens fully which closes an aux terminal which then closes the other contactor and vice versa - but in this case all 4 terminals are driven by a single coil so 2 are closing while the other 2 are opening (hopefully break before make), so it may well get very close to the 20ms margin.

There is a simple (and relatively cheap) solution for Axpert (and I am sure others as well). ACDC sell a contactor with 2x N/O and 2x N/C contacts, a 220V coil voltage is one of the options. D12008 12amp R430 (3kVA system) D25008 25amp R800 (5kVA system) D40008 40amp R1600 (2x 5kVA in parallel) By using a relay output from either BMV or Axpert to control the contactor (I still need to investigate the details) you could very easily create a mechanical interlocking changeover, so that Grid/Inverter never meet. It would operate similarly to a generator auto changeover switch, which is completely legal everywhere. Problem solved.

Not me, I just let it run. Switching is the nerve wracking part for me because it is so often when things go pear shaped (in general, not Axpert in particular) so I prefer to accept the minor loss of an idling Axpert. With that new monster bank of yours it should be a yawn!

@Manie knows about this bug and has already released v1.5.1 which addresses it.

At the absolute minimum you should install the HA-02 referred to in the posts above. Without BMV/ICC your Axpert settings are voltage based and very inaccurate - but if you want to give it a go and hope for the best then try the following; Menu 05 = USE Menu 12 = 47/48 (48 is better but may cause early switching when high current is drawn and battery voltage sags momentarily) Menu 13 = If your system is mainly for Eksdom backup then go high like 56, otherwise the default 54 is ok Menu 26 = 57.6 (Vision battery is @ 14.4 to 14.7, = 57.6 to 58.8, but with Axpert you want to avoid the 60V mark) Menu 27 = [if batteries are cycling daily I would use high number like 56, if batteries are mostly standby then 54/55) Menu 29 = [I think 46 is OK, 44 at a push, but the default 42 is too low] The Geyserwise Solar system is is a great system, it is usually a +/- 1kW DC element and a +/- 2kW Grid element in one and controlled by a Geyserwise Max controller - you will need about 3x 300W panels for it to work properly on the Hiveld. It will heat the water using the DC element via the 3 panels during sunlight hours, and then switch to grid mode to boost the temp if required at a time and temp according to your settings (normally 55C at 4-6 am and 4-6 pm). No plumbing involved which is the benefit.

Haha - you are a real sweatheart @SilverNodashi, of course it was a stab because I have no idea of the actual equipment ratings - I was just making the point that putting that type of equipment onto a small solar system is not a great idea, but is possible with a seriously big installation. But while we are nitpicking at each others posts lets take a glance at a couple of your own howlers; @Radar never mentioned what aircon he has and what era it stems from - a small split type modern inverter aircon (9 to 12 BTU) may draw the type of numbers you are talking about - but there are lots of others types of aircon (non-inverter, bigger model, central etc) that will draw MUCH more than that! A small solid plate is about 1kW a large plate about 1.5kW, so a common type of hob with 4 plates may draw up to 5kW will all plates on the go. Then you have a grill element and top and bottom bake elements of around 2kW/1.5kW/1.5kW depending on the model - so the oven alone would draw up to 3kW depending on bake (heating or holding) or grill mode. So you could be drawing up to 8kW preparing for Christmas dinner. We normally install a 32amp CB (about 7kW) to oven/hob combo, and on the odd rare occasion will need to upgrade to 40amp to accommodate the homeowner. Are you talking about a 100L, 150L, 200L, 250L....? A 2kW is standard in a 100L geyser element is designed to reheat the water from 15' to 55' in 2.5 hours, so 65' will probably take closer to 4 hours as losses increase with higher temp gradient - in a 250L geyser that should increase to about 10hours. So put a 2kW in a 100/150L by all means, above that is a bit dodgy. ...otherwise your post is right on the money

I like #3 - I would be happy to have another Axpert.

Just remember that with a single string if any one of your panels is even partially shaded your output will take a serious dive, like putting a kink into a hosepipe.

If it says 0.13kW then yes, if it says 0.13W then no - but I am not familiar with the Synerji, I believe it is an Axpert copy.

Dodgy assumption! Hold on before doing that! If your inverter DC input is 12V as assumed by @plonkster then yes, but I dont recall you stating the DC input voltage of your inverter. If it is 24V then the answewr is NO! Please let us know your inverter DC input voltage for a correct answer.

@Marcb I recommend that you take a look at this website http://www.solarpaneltilt.com/ which shows that the difference in average annual production between fixed and 2 adj. is 4% (of a full tracker which is optimum) which hardly seems worthwhile. The difference between 2adj and 4adj is 0.5% which is definitely not worthwhile. Fixed Adj. 2 seasons Adj. 4 seasons 2-axis tracker % of optimum 71.1% 75.2% 75.7% 100% I agree with @Coulomb that if you are going to do a fixed tilt then favour a winter bias and forget about it. So in RSA you could use your latitude +10' and sleep well.

If you post 1 more (total 5) then you will get download rights - so reply to this then you can download.

SANS 10412 [7.12.2.1] requirement - power on indicator (visible or audible). I think a 24hr buzzer would be a PITA so I didn't bother to mention it previously.

Basically a simplified version of the DB requirements are as follows; Grid Main Switch Inverter Main Switch A label at the Main Switch indicating that an Alternative Supply is in use A label stating that in an emergency BOTH Grid Main and Inverter Main to be switched off An indicator lamp after Inverter Main Switch to show that alternative power is present on the DB

I think that adding around 20% panel is a good idea, but for sunny days not for cloudy days. The thing is that your 3kWp will seldom produce that amount of power, even at midday on a bright sunny day. Adding 20% is more likely to get you to that maximum when required, and your MPPT will limit it on the rare occasion that it may be able to exceed the rating. As it turns out I am living through a perfect example right now... It is an intermittently cloudy day in Joburg and close to midday - my panels have been putting out around 900W under cloud, adding 20% panel would raise that to about 1100W and certainly not worth the effort in my opinion - then the sun came out and raised the output to 5200W, and extra 20% would put me at around 6000W (max on my parallel Axperts) which would certainly be worth the effort. So the point is that it is a good idea in my opinion, just don't expect a major boost in cloudy conditions.

You are correct, what I was referring to is that while in SBU there are effectively 2 operating modes - a [solar and/or battery mode] and a [utility] mode. I have never used [SOL] mode but my understanding is that it would operate in a very similar way during the day when PV is available, the difference being that at night when no PV is available it would switch to grid irrespective of battery state. This mode may well be a good option for you on a small bank.

Also consider flashing the latest AussieView patch from @Coulomb and @weber Coulomb - Patch Instructions.docx 01 AussieView Manual.pdf dsp_LC1_72.70c.zip If you do so your warranties may be history and any resulting damage is your own fault. Having said that it is in use by many Axpert users with great benefits.

Contact @Camel on the forum.

There are 2 modes [Solar/Battery] and [Utility]. When in [Solar/Battery] mode it will use whatever Solar is available (which may be zero at night) and augment that with battery if required.