james naidoo

I'm very focused on efficiency for my solar system, and I'm wondering how the Lumo batteries perform when it comes to charging and discharging with these inverters. Are there noticeable differences in efficiency between Deye, Polytech, and FoxESS when paired with Lumo batteries?

If i read this correctly you are barely using any Grid. WOW.. if i may ask what was your KW usage before going solar ? does you Batteries Last during the night ? and are you setup for Solar / Utility / Battery or Solar /Battery / Utility


I am doing 12 x 650w Bi Facial
4 x 550 Canadian
4 x 5.7 KW batteries
 

Hi Moolmanj.
Here is my system.
Sunsynk 8kw inverter
12 x 335 w JA solar panels on MPPT1
8 x 560W JA solar panels on MPPT2
20kwh batteries.
Everything is on the inverter.
Here you can see the amount of KWh I have used from Eskom for the last 4 months
Still fine tuning the system
 

Good day
I would like some advice from people who managed to install a system greater than what you are using with sufficient battery storage as well. Basically if you switch of eskom for a day you are still running.
Have you saved or reduced your Account and by how much taking into consideration clouds,rains etc.
 
thanks

Thank you for replying, I was wondering if you could use the alternator as a source of power to charge the battery while driving as an addition to the panels. So if I was driving at night, the alternator could slowly add some charge to the battery. It was just a thought I had, hadn't really done much research on it, my thinking was just to see if it can be done, even if only certain systems/inverters could actually use the power coming from an alternator. This is a very informative answer. Thanks again!

I'm curious what the alternator would be doing in the system you're thinking of. E.g. Are you replacing the batteries? So instead of having a 12V battery feeding the inverter, you want to put an alternator?
Typically inverters state what power they can take in the INPUT, e.g. Petrol/diesel Generators, DC is usually batteries., Solar or Grid AC (Eskom), but in ALL cases, there are working parameters that the INPTUT source must meet (Hz, V min and max etc). I do not your an alternators specs, (how suitable or clean the power it produces is), to feed into an inverter, but i highly doubt a typical inverter can handle the power coming from al alternator effectively. 
Lastly, looking at the image below, it looks like it only wants AC or Solar in... The built in battery provides the DC voltage. So bot sure where you wanted to put the alternator?

Good day. I am looking to install an inverter and panels into my caravan. I have enough space on the roof for 3x large panels (+-500w panels). Ive been looking at victron for their modular type system but it is quite pricey. I have also been looking at UPS/power stations as an alternative just for like 2 lights, a fridge, tv and a router. I found this one UPS that has connectors that work with the normal panels with the mc4 connectors. Its called Lumo Powerall, it can handle about 1500w of solar and has a decent bypass feature. Im just curious can you connect these types of systems to an alternator as well?

in your inverter box should be the manual, the diagrams are in there.
Or go here:
Image Search
I do not think those diagrams are suitable for SSEG applications. I may be wrong, I am sure some of the installers here on the forum could guide you on that.

If you were talking about the diagram @WannabeSolarSparky posted on Thursday - it is from the Sunsynk manual with some editing I guess. 

Usually pointing to the grid(That's how mine is connected), and definitely placed before the incoming main breaker on the LIVE(Brown or red usually) line.
If after installing the ct your readings look wrong then swap the ct coil wires at the inverter or check and make sure your settings are correct.

Hi, I need some help. I have 3 Lumo 5kwH batteries connected and a Deye 5kW inverter. I wanted to ask, for the CT connection which direction must the arrow face? Towards the inverter or towards the grid supply? Also where is the correct place to connect it? Before the main incoming breaker or after the breaker supplying AC to the inverter?

Good evening. Please send us an email: [email protected], a support technician will get in touch with you to have a look at your system. Alternatively, you can send a message to our whatsapp line: [+27 60 968 5145] that’s available Monday- Friday (07:00-16:00 CAT), Sat-Sun (08:00 to 16:00). 
 
 

No I haven’t tried that. Thanks for the heads up. Is Freedom Won support available via WhatsApp call. Am not in SA. 

Have you tried shielded lan cable for the comms cable to the battery, especially if it's next to the power cabling. 
Freedomwon support is excellent, give them a call. 

Can anyone help find out why my battery just randomly drops off power and cuts supply to load as shown please. Pv production is bad and erratic as it’s an overcast day. Inverter is Solis s6 6kw. I’ve had to switch off my fridges so I can try and get my battery to charge as high and as much as possible before nightfall.

Hey dude, between Spring and Fall is Summer, why would you run a heater in Summer 🙂

Thanks people...I will give it a go this winter...I feel a lot better and more relaxed regarding the can and can't with the inverter etc.

You can. I am running 4kW of heating elements on my solar system every day, from spring to fall, without any issues (Europe).
Also, charging EVs from my off-grid solar quite often. It's 7kW of load.
With your system a couple of heaters will be no problem.

Maybe those peeps you have spoken to are being a bit too cautious?

A heater is simply another appliance pulling current, like those of us who run electric geysers for hours per day of the system or pool pumps etc, seems like there is no difference so to speak.

Manage your loads so you dont trip your system, which can be hard or not hard to do...also your time of use settings will determine your battery level you want to consume.
I'm running 2 x households of the system so that just means double of everything basically, have had no issues and no trips to date (touch wood).
Remember these devices - Inverters and Batteries are purpose built for this to supply/charge/discharge as and when the load requires it to.
A friend of mine also has 2 x 5kVa Deye's...they have a constant load of like +5000w at any point in time almost 2yrs now...albeit he only uses his 2 x batteries if the grid fails.

I've not heard that before. Though there will be cases where people plug in a heater, something goes pop, and so the heater gets the blame.

A resistive load? Well then you couldn't iron or use a kettle. Or use an incandescent light. 

Thanks for the feedback,  much appreciated. Will try as advised...won't have need for the whole day...

I run two 3kw oil heaters on our system often in mid winter - albeit at the 1kW setting.  This is off a 5kW Deye.  They cycle on/off during the day when working from home to keep the two rooms occupied liveable.  They do chow power - but they are probably the simplest form of load for an inverter - a constant resistive load.  There is nothing that makes them "incompatible" with a solar system.
The reason installers say you cannot run them is because they assume people are going to flatten their batteries too quickly and run them into the groud (underspecced system) and then complain - especially during load shedding when there is no grid available.  If you understand how much power your heaters consume, and manage your battery levels accordingly, there should be no issue running them within reason - as already said by others.
I just wanted to add that, assuming you're not off-grid, and there is no loadshedding, you can draw +-15kW from two Deye's in Parallel - as long as the grid is available.  It will "pass through" the excess that is over the 10kW inverter capacity from grid instead and won't trip.  So your chances of tripping anything is very minor!  (In addition, if items such as your geyser is connected as non-essential equipment, their usage won't 'count' towards the inverter's trip limit either - they will just draw any excess that the inverter cannot provide from the grid directly.)
 

The installer set the discharge limit...it's currently at 115ah. So, basically the heaters won't damage the inverter/batteries...it's more to do with the soc of the batteries and managing the load on the inverters when using the heaters so I don't go over the max load of the inverter/s

It is possible with a Deye inverter to put a limit in the battery discharge level, and on the discharge power rate, within the settings, to manage it in line with what your battery's specifications demand. And as I said earlier, in your setup with 2x5kW inverters, and 4x5kWh batteries, check the maximum discharge rate per battery and per inverter, but you appear to have enough capacity on-hand to handle your loads.

That time of morning we get dressed for the day etc...food was prepped the previous evening...there is almost no load in my house untill 07h30 when my sprinkler system comes on..that time of morning a microwave won't throw me over the limit. My biggest concern is that the heating "element" may cause damage as per some people's advice that I spoke to.
 
I can manage the time the heater is on when getting up and leaving the house manually, so if there isn't enough battery, then I will adjust the time I run the heater