RichardH89

I also purchased my 8kw Sunsynk Inverter from them last week, which arrived within 2 days of payment in Paarl. So also very happy and definitely recommend them, price and service was great!

Thank you @GreenFields I will enquire about the 605W panels, my installer said he is sitting on some 550W Canadian Solars at the moment, availability is almost king for me at this stage TBH. Thanks for the inputs, will definitely consider the AUX load route, see my previous post about the CBI Astutes, not sure what will work better? Or can I do both?

Apologies for only getting back to this now. Work/family/house kept me busy. Correct, my wife is savvy enough when it comes to elec usage and tech (she's into programming/systems building), so hoping with her being at home that she can also observe and manage the system initially. I will be putting my 2 x geysers and pool pump on CBI Astute controls, hopefully, I can get this linked up with Home Assistant without to much hassle. Will probably end up doing the same for the oven and "non-essential" AC isolators.

This is what swung me towards the all-on-essential side, read somewhere of people generating great output, but having nowhere to dump it after the battery is charged, geysers on temp, etc. My wife WFH and I am fairly flexible, so between the two of us we should hopefully be able to "manage" the system until we get the hang of it. Also, I reckon I will be over-panelled in the summer, but want the extra panels for the shorter winter days to help out there (and make use of the SARS rebate). Eventually hopefully sit on +-20kw batteries also for longer nights and increased load shedding.

Inverter to be installed in the garage - lucky to have a fairly big garage, thought of adding a drywall partition room in the garage for dust proofing, insulation, etc., will just need to ensure temp control through extraction fans/something similar. The garage also quite removed from living areas. So the fan vs no fan is not really an issue for me. TBH, have not thought of 2 x 5kw inverters, will investigate cost difference. But from my (limited) understanding, I think the 8kw should work for us. Thanks for the info!

Thanks Peter. Loads are big, but we try to be very aware of usage. I would like to have some automation built into the system where, for example. pool pump only gets run when PV production exceeds usage by enough to run the pump of PV. I have thought about going the Sunsyk battery route, I would like to go that way, just have not seen many reviews/user feedback about them. Also quite like the feedback on the Greenrich WM5000?

Thanks Bobster! Very valid points. 5kw will definately become an issue when domestic is here and washing/ironing/etc. is happening. My second geyser serves the guest bathroom and one of one of my kids' bathroom. Has probably only been on for 10-15 days in the past year when we have guest sleeping over. But would like to able (through some management) to get it up to temperature when the PV production allows me to do so. If not, keep it off on low PV days and have kids shower in other bathroom. Again, valid input and I will look at not having everything on Essential side, maybe 1 x geyser, pool pump and stove off of essentials. We mostly use the 24000 BTU AC, so maybe only have that one on essential, rest off? COC, surge and lightning protection is a definite, although we don't see much lightning this side, I have hear some scary stories.

Thank you Mzezman! No particular reason for not having a look at the AM5/10's, see they are LiFePO4, so perhaps they are worth a look...I agree with the 1C vs 0.5C discharge. Will factor this into my equation.

Hi forum, INTRO: Long time lurker, been soaking up the wisdom for a while now. I made the decision to go Solar. Based in Paarl, WC. HOUSE: Family of 6, 4 kids 8 years and under. All lights are LED, major appliances incl. gas hob with electric oven, 2 x 3kw 150L geysers, 1 x 24000BTU, 1 x 18000BTU and 1 x 12000BTU non-inverter A/C's, 1 x 750W Pool pump, 1 x fridge/freezer (energy efficient), 1 x large box freezer. We have a domestic on weekdays, so all washing, cleaning, ironing, etc. can occur during the day. Wife WFH. Our average electrical consumption for the past 18 months is 822 units/Kwh, fairly conscience about usage, June-August is a fair bit higher due to heaters/etc. But working on reducing this. PROPOSED SYSTEM: 8KW Sunsynk Hybrid inverter, 10kw Batteries (to be scaled in future), 12-14 +-545W panels. No desire to go fully off-grid, but I obviously want to be as independent as possible. I have a North facing roof (0-degree Azimuth I have been told), and +-20% pitch (if my building plans are anything to go by). Would like to future-proof the system, i.e. be able to expand panels and battery capacity as budget allows. Hopefully put everything on the essentials side, with a bit of smart planning/automations sure this would be possible? ASK: I have received 4 x quotes, all within R224K - R243K. I have also (today) contacted the Powerforum Store to have a look at purchasing the materials directly and getting someone reputable to do the installation. I am pretty settled on the Sunsynk inverter, but as for batteries, I have been going in circles. Initially thought Hubble AM2 5kw as I could get them at a very good price, but the more I read the more I felt uneasy about using them, I know there must be 100s (maybe 1000s) of super happy clients, but there seem to be a lot of unhappy clients out there as well??? So my ask is, what else do I look at? Pylon UP5000's look pretty good? Is it worth paying the premium for the Sunsynk battery to get the extended warranty? Greenrich? HELP, please. If there are any flaws in my thinking please point these out to me...I will proceed as soon as the Power Forum store can assist with a quote for the material to compare the two options. I look forward to any, and all feedback.

My old man knows Chris (think he is the owner), and they have been around a while. I know he has purchased a few things like panels and inverters from them in the past, so from my side, they seem reputable for what it is worth.