seant

The Victron inverters work well with Fornius inverters , instead of replacing the Fornius I'd look at getting a Multiplus II , maybe a 5Kva which you can parallel up or with 3 units configure into a 3phase connection. And some very knowledgeable Victron people here.

Let's be real here, can you imagine the bickering that would go with sharing solar with your neighbours. No you ran your aircon more , no you ran your tumble dryer to many times, etc.

I'd look at dropping probably 2/3 of the height of the tank below the ground it will make it easier for the return of the water from your grow beds.

The basic sonof switch as far as I remember switches 220v through a single pole relay, the issue is the water solenoid runs of 24v . You will have to tinker a bit more with the sonof switch or get one that has a set of contacts that don't switch through the supply voltage of 220v

For the fish tank depending on how big you need it to be , about 1000l I would use an IBC tote if its larger volume use a pond liner and either dig a hole in the ground or use welded mesh as a cylindrical frame. Your grow beds, what type did you have in mind? Deep water or flood and drain. If its deep water you can use the same pond liner , if you use gravel as a grow media that can damage the liner. Do you have enough space to put the system in a tunnel, to keep the fish tank water warm enough in winter? Have fun , it's quite rewarding when it all comes together

Well when the lights go out, sods law has it at about meal time. If you want to mitigate the hunger of load shedding put a gas stove in . Get a few rechargeable lanterns, at least then you can read a book after a hot meal. Or get some earplugs and a generator, possibly a good short term solution on a budget. Even those aren't cheap But if you miss things like WIFI and a TV maybe a hairdryer, then dig deep it could cost a heap of cash to go solar. If off grid is what's required then that's a whole different budget which will have an on going cost. Certainly the DIY part can save you a fair bit assuming you are willing and able. Don't forget the school fees, cause mistakes are costly. This forum is a fantastic source for information. So " I just want to have a few lights and maybe the tv too" is a tricky thing to put a price on

If your inverter can supply 58v and even a bit more (for a 14s) then you can but I'd recommend a BMS like batrium, Orion etc . In fact pretty much like the above post.

Hey they are both blue so should be a good swop

Wot no separate holes for the neutrals.. looks neat ,like the idea of hinges.

The sizes on DIN and SAMIT breakers are different which is why you have gaps and they don't seem to fit like they should. The ones you are using have a universal rail fitting to fit either type, but they are a DIN rail size switch sot hey fit DIN rail boards better . I prefer to use the Schneider switches .

48v setup will lead to doing you bit to stimulate the economy by spending a heap of your hard earned cash , 😉 But honestly I cant think of a good reason. Maybe 2 strings of batteries instead of 3 . I'd just go for it and see how it works.

Change it to 48v............

Is it a stand alone , if you're running fibre to it can you run power? is the solar for backup or the main power source? I'm assuming one pole with 3 cameras. How many days of autonomy do you need? And the range of the wifi link, is it line of sight?

I've had water temp down to 9°C and the fish were a bit sluggish but fine. I have to agree, insulate the tank and erect a tunnel over it .

I'm with you get a yacht

Dealing with sengen can be a real pain in the posterior. They have quoted me one price and invoiced a different price , then wouldn't release the good without payment in full, and that order was more than two weeks over due. Oh that was fun. I cant say I like dealing with them.

That's a fair bit of power you're using, what type of business are you in. Is there a different way to save some power without so much solar/generator use?

Yes that's fine , thought I want to use my coffee machine and the Mrs needs to use the hairdryer so for me the 5kva unit was the answer. Some folks run their geyser off PV power . So , if say eskom is out for a week, then you are going to end up using some not so critical items and if you don't have the reserve on a 3kva unit to do so , then consider getting the 5kva unit . If you want to run the borehole pump which I'm guessing could draw around 2kw maybe more on start up so with a few other thing running you could be close to the upper limits of the 3kva MP II .

The other thing to think of , is if the grid is down then you have no supplement electrical supply it kind of limits your options. So if the geyser is on at lunch time then don't try the microwave oven etc. on a 3kva unit, or a better example is in the morning the coffee machine wont work together with the hair dryer.

Look at an Oz company , Batrium , doing BMSs configurable for a variety of different lithium chemistry.

In the leaked eskom docs I really like the comment about breaking the company up into smaller sections so there is room for growth

Bosch A+ energy efficient side by side fridge,freezer in great condition. Great for bringing down your power usage on your solar install. R4900 for the pair.

Like Jaco said most heat pumps circulate water , so the short answer is yes . Check for a spare a way to plug in the temperature probe and if there is a port to circulate the water(I doubt there is) or see how you can adapt the plumbing to do so. You can T into the cold water inlet and find a way to return the water apart from the hot water supply outlet, maybe a T on the expansion side or banjo valve to replace the TP valve .

Didn't Sweden do just that, burnt all their plastics waste. And in Brasil a large portion of their land fills are wrapped up to extract methane which is either used for heating /cooking and some produces electricity. There are so many options but well yes.

Ha ha you lost me at government