robkowa

Hello Power Forum I got my solar system in 2024 when you could still get a tax break and Discovery Bank was running promotions. It was from Rubicon, with Sparki as the local installer. Little did I know that 2 years later, Rubicon would have left the Retail solar market, and Sparki must have gone belly-up, they're not answering calls anymore. Solar panels are supposed to last 25 years, but the companies that install them often don't last 2 years! So much for that. I've recently added some more panels,and used 2 electricians from Sparki whose numbers I still have. But they don't seem to know what they're doing. I'm having a problem with inconsistent readings, and the batteries not charging/discharging when they're supposed to. Solis support says “the CTs are in the incorrect position” - whatever that means. Now I'm for the lookout for a good inverter electrician as I need this problem fixed, and have a second inverter and 4 more panels to install on a 35º incline. If you call the big brand names, they demur: if they can't sell you their own equipment, they won't do installs.. Help... I need a professional electrician/solar panel installer who is not a chancer but won't break the bank. Any recommendations/experiences? Thank you! Robert

Wow, that's certainly an incredible amount of kwH for you buck (R1900 per kWh). That's A LOT better than the R4042 per kWh for the UZ Energy Power Lite (best price I've found is R20700). Battery prices are sure going down.... But as they say, if it's too good to be true, it usually is. What's the downside here? Is the Kynee of lower quality?

Hi Beat, thank you for your answer. I got the original vendor of the battery to reply to me, in the meantime, and he said, quote: "Unfortunately, you won’t be able to connect a Synapse (5k0-LV) to your Powerlite as they are not the same battery. The 5k0 is manufactured by WECO." I think this must have to do with the compatibility of the BMS...? He recommends, instead, a UZ Energy Power Lite, because the "Synapse Powerlite is a white labelled UZ Battery [...] It’s identical to the “Synapse” branded Powerlite and can be connected together." Why do manufacturers and vendors have to make it so complicated... I've spend a whole day on the internet already trying to figure out which battery to get. R

Dear Forum members the company that installed my solar system (Rubicon) appears to have given up the ghost (or at least, all interest in the retail solar home installations business), so I'm left to fend for myself when trying to expand my current system. I have a 5kwH Synapse Ultra Hybrid inverter with a Synapse Powerlite 5.12kWh/51.2 V battery. I would like to add a second battery, but I’m having trouble to source another Powerlite. There seems to be just one company that sells this exact model, at an inflated price. But Synapse have a very similar looking battery, the "Synapse Lithium battery, 5kW 100Ah 6000 Cycles @ 1C 10 Year BMS Warranty". This battery looks to all intents and purposes identical in the specs, it's certainly the same chemistry, same company, and I presume same software, the only difference being that it is 5kWh, whereas the Powerlite is 5.12kWh. Is it safe to mix and match these two batteries? Thank you for any advice! Robert

If we were in a bar now, I'd buy you and Scorp007 a beer! Mysteries removed. Thx

Aah, the light bulb is starting to go on... Why can the documentation that comes with equipment worth over R100 000 not contain 3 simple sentences like your first 3, sending users instead scrambling for info on the internet...? One would think that that shouldn't be so hard. Also, the grid load arrow being drawn as if it came from the inverter was throwing me. The sums all work out, and so does your explanation. But what are those two areas that are using power: "grid load" vs. "back up load"? I thought at first that back up load refers to the electricity used to recharge the battery, but that's obviously not right given the numbers, and the graph. So the name doesn't make sense to me... Sorry, noob questions.

Hi All I'm battling to make sense of the Power Flow graphic of my SolisCloud app, connected to a Synapse Ultra Hybrid 5kWh inverter (image attached). Looking at the numbers, I've figured out that the differential between PV and Grid Load (Grid Load – PV) equals the differential between Grid and Backup Load (Grid – Backup Load). And that Backup Load + Grid Load is referred to as "Total Consumption" in the stats in the App. But I can't translate these mathematical relationships into something that makes physical sense. The app manual and inverter manual are utterly unhelpful. Help...! Robert

Hi Powerforum 5kWh system installed yesterday… excited to join the solar club. A quick newbie question: I have a 5kWh Synapse Ultra Hybrid inverter, which comes with the SolisCloud app for control. I find the documentation and manual a bit … let’s say insufficient for noobs. Having trouble to make sense of the “Powerflow” graphic, especially the meaning of “Grid Load” and “ Backup Load” (“Grid”, “Battery” and “PV” are fairly self-explanatory). If there is an arrow flowing from inverter to “Grid” does this mean that I’m feeding electricity back to Eskom? And if so, why am I feeding 0.2 kW into the grid at night? And how can my grid load be 0, at any one time? Confused. Anyone with the same inverter and app? Cheers Robert