SunDayFunDay

This is going to be a long thread, hopefully I can keep it simple and easy to understand 👍

Its coming.. My first obstacle is relocating the DB, its not ideally located I will post pics over the weekend. You can see and let me know what I should do. 😮‍💨

Lets Start Here Due to unreliability of Eskom and faults in my area I have decided to go the solar route. This is not a solo effort I'm a noob this thread will serve its purpose and place as a tutorial for whoever would like to know how and what needs to be done under the careful watch of forum members into building a solar system from scratch as a noob please note your input is valuable and will be much appreciated, I will include cost and sizing and all small detail where I can provide it. Hopefully you can learn and make your own small system These are the main components below however there minute details such as capacity of Dc Breakers, SPDs, the correct AC Breakers from the main board to the AC Disconnect, Roof Mount and Accessories, wiring, placement of panels, testing and balancing of system. There are 10 critical key components to any solar system, some of which depends on your budget** (Sizing and Full Specs will be done once I get an idea) Equipment Solar Inverter** Battery** Solar Panels** Materials: DC Combiner Box (Breaker and SPDs/Fuses) AC Disconnect Box (Breakers) Battery Fuse Earth Spike Earth-Neutral Bond Wiring Roof Mount

Anybody know if setting up this genny to a DB board is safe, in the scenario, I am looking into splitting the db and running a manual changeover (after the non - essentials) to the essential side... ANYBODY WITH SOME SKILL OR KNOWLEDGE, PLEASE SHARE.. THANKS

Mornings Techies, I have a question here about my generator I recently purchased, Brand New Ryobi 6900k out the box, any assistance regarding connecting this to a manual changeover switch to power a few circuits and maybe splitting the db between essentials and non - essentials as to not constantly flip breakers.. I will either DIY if easy or get a electrician if necessary... thanks in advance! responses will really be appreciated👍

You probably have a floating earth somewhere or it could be a earth - neutral bond... or it could be the inverter pushing back into the grid.. get it sorted ASAP!!

If it is not normal pre installation, it shouldn't be the new normal. post pics of your DB wiring to and from the inverter and your essentials and non essentials board you can tell by the wiring alone, start with the type of system you are running (inverter and battery)... its hard to advise when you dont know whats what..

Choice and decisions @Bobster.💀

Currently stockpiling long life milk.. just buy a extra few while at the shops... Trust that it will get bad very soon.

Best not to be penny wise pound foolish, its one of those situations, i'll gladly take your 2c 🤣 for now I am bind with 2 options a inverter with panels and add a battery later or go the Genny route until the day comes.

thank you @WannabeSolarSparky will have to research a bit more but from what I see Sunsynk is what most people are buying...😁

Ah... I see the math is pretty simple I thought it was complicated LOL.... is the Sunsynk 5kw dual output AC or is that the entire AC OUTPUT RATING, You have any idea about the passthrough current if needs to pull from the grid on the cloudy days?

I am learning slowly but surely!!!

what's the amp rating/limti for AC Output for the 5KW Sunsynk???

This is entirely true, thoughts about fuel barrels filling my garage was a big NO... cost for the whole system also affects the choice and circumstances are dictating, what we needs to be done.. I keep my wallet very tight I haven't bought a backup for the router or ONT as i dont see value for money but like I was saying circumstance are tough with Eskom they are making it unbearable, the gardener cannot even cut grass. in the long term Solar is the best option by far considering the state of our SOE and these sporadic breakdowns which results in the changes of stages, at any given time....

5kw is not bad, short term for use during load shedding and to cut the electric bill, depending on the pockets of course - most homes these days need about 15kw upwards to be fully independent and battery storage is a must for night time usage whether the SOC is capped or not, usage will dictate the size of the battery bank, your load or startup voltage of appliance running simultaneously will dictate the size of the inverter or requirements... For me (Loads): Its the Double Door Fridge, Chest Freezer, Lights, Alarm and CCTV, Gate Motor, Router, ONT and TV Set Up... It doesn't seems bad in terms of load but I am not sure about startup voltages ect would have to do some digging around to find out all the technical jargon..

those inverter are just a eye sore for me, knowing their capabilities and being a bit tech savvy buying those gives me the butterflies, especially considering the fact that everybody is selling them, I am not even enthused by the price point and even more so by their features, running a kettle would be justified if it gets damaged its cheap to replace but monitors, routers tv sets and fridges is not worth the risk. I have eyes set and pockets ready for inverter that you know is value for money and at least it wont be in the way of the dogs which run through the house 🦮

We've managed to get our bill down by +-R1700 with switching the geyser off after about a hour or two.. I also have faults and hotspots that need to be sorted out, we have a ceiling fan and every time we switch it on goes on the wire (in the db) heats up had sometimes the entire circuit connected to the fan trips the E/L and the individual circuit, the geyser burst a few times and circuits tripping.. it was like this when we moved in and its the same problem, I'm on a mission to sort it out we even had the insurer check it out the wire still heats up for the ceiling fan and occasional tripping of the circuits connected on the same line, the geyser seems fine for now haven't had a problem for while with the geyser.. gate motor is also completely not working or powering up..

yeah I see people poking at my cost cutting maneuvers, suffice to say the battery bank capacity alone for 3 - 4 days of rain will chow my pockets in all honesty!! 🙄

My DB placement is also not ideal, anybody know how far away the Inverter can be placed from the Main DB???

okay, I now understand point of reference would mean power source on a cloudy or rainy day, knowing now. I would have the option to split the DB between essentials and non essentials and have a point of reference for the inverter (standby battery) or use the current DB with a Genny which can feed the Essentials and Non Essentials in the night time, would this work...

fully understood but if a the grid collapse how does anybody using solar have a reference point for the inverter to sense frequency? would the output requirements not be autosensing???

I only predicted capacity for night time use and you are 100% percent correct, I might need more than just 3 to 5KWH for the 3-4 days hence grid-tied/hybrid might be a better option and the cost to add additional capacity at this point adds a heavy financial upfront is why I wanted the genny connected...

recommendations for inverters which can cater to the desired application??

so the battery again also does not have the tech to charge and discharge at the same time???