Solo

Nice!

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Some interesting commentary at the FB link below https://www.facebook.com/share/p/6jWyJgp4C1L54hYz/?mibextid=oFDknk

I am a trustee on a body corporate with a shared roof. We are considering solar, and the 2 options are: 1. Body corporate owns the roof. 2. Owners share the roof. It is likely that Opt 2 will be chosen, due to the complexity of obtaining agreement on Opt 1 My question is, how does one choose the panel size, as the roof space can be better utilised if we use 3 rows of 450W panels vs 2 rows of 550W panels? Using landscape instead of portrait layout is also possible. The issue is that smaller panels are 1.7m high, large panels are 2.3m high. A 6m roof will not take 3 rows of 2.3m panels, but it will take 3 rows of 1.7m panels. Other panels sizes are 1.9m or 2.1m high As newer panels come to market, the older panels are phased out, so in a short period, the original design layout is obsolete, as the panels can no longer be sourced. Any advice would be appreciated!

This is a follow up on my previous post, requesting advice on a solar application form. https://powerforum.co.za/topic/29856-body-corporate-solar-please-comment-on-draft-application-form/#comment-205373 Thanks for the replies! We have an installer lined up, and are now deciding on the best panel layout. The roof is 2 rectangular spaces facing East and West, each roof is 6m *16m approx. 200 sqm in total. The requirement is to be able to provide 8 panels per body corporate section, there are 10 sections. The best roof is East facing, ideally every section should have access to 4 panels on each roof. We came up with two layouts: Layout 1 has 2 rows of 550W panels on each roof, vertically mounted, and 1 row of 550W panels horizontally mounted. The horizontal row may not be needed, if not all sections take up their solar option. Layout 2 has 3 rows of 450W panels on each roof, vertically mounted. This would maximize the use of roof space on the best roof space (East facing) When we showed the layouts to the installer, he mentioned that maintenance on 3 vertical rows of panels, with no space between rows, would be difficult and expensive, to replace a faulty panel would require taking out adjacent panels. Washing of panels would also be quite difficult to implement, how do you reach the panels if the whole roof is covered (It is a 3 storey building)? The 2 layouts can be viewed at the links below https://rhls.co.za/solar1.jpg https://rhls.co.za/solar2.jpg At present, layout 1 is the preferred option, because of the installer advice. But we would be interested in the forum’s views, would 3 rows of panels without any free roof space for maintenance walkways be a maintenance problem? How much space is recommended for maintenance walkways between or around panels, if roof space is available?

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Evening all, I am a trustee on a body corporate with mixed residential and commercial (Wexford Park in Durban) One of the commercial units wants to install solar for the usual reasons. This is tricky in a complex, as the roof space is shared, and there are many aspects to consider, safety, fire risks, future expansion and maintenance being some of them, not to mention that one needs owner approval, conduct rules etc! I have drafted some guidelines, and an application form with request for details. I would be interested in any advice or comments from the forum. The document can be accessed at the link below https://rhls.co.za/solar.pdf TIA

A Mecer 5Kw inverter was working fine, but the batteries needed replacement. The inverter was powered off for a few days, the batteries were replaced, and when the inverter was powered back on, all worked except the display was blank! The display buttons, LEDs and audio beep still functioned, just no display. a few hours later the display came back to life! Any suggestions as to the cause?

Hi Daniel, I might be interested in the Fronius. Please can you email me on [email protected]?

Can I have it please

Hi Keith, I am indirectly involved in a very similar retirement village setup in KZN (South Coast) The developer supplied a basic load shedding backup unit for every unit , which worked OK, with some limitations. Installations are between 1 and 5 years old. The issues were many though: 1. Who insures the inverters and batteries? 2. Who is responsible when the units fail, and upgrade/replacement is required? 3. Most residents do not understand how the units operate. The current situation is that residents are now installing their own much upgraded solar systems. The developer still supplies basic systems, no solar Maintenance on the basic systems is moving away from the body corporate/developer to a 3rd party (still in progress) Adrian

I am aware of this, also one cannot adjust the float or bulk charge voltage, only the charge current. I was wondering how you monitored the battery state of charge? One could measure voltage with a meter, or just treat the Pylontech as a lead acid and hope for the best.

I assume you are not using any comms cable between inverter and battery? So the battery BMS controls the charging, based on voltage?

Our estate uses 24V Mecer lookalikes, with 2 * 12V 105AH Enertec deep cycle batteries. A very common event is that 1 battery gets tired after 2-3 years, and either will not hold a charge, or will not charge beyond 12.5V I know it is not good practice to replace 1 battery only, as the batteries are now unbalanced, but most of the above failures are due to unbalancing anyway. What is the worst that can happen if one replaces 1 battery only, and monitor the balancing going forward with a voltmeter? If the older battery fails, it was due to be replaced anyway. If the new battery fails, that would be a good reason not to mix batteries, but why would it fail if the charge voltage was correct? I am trying to avoid scrapping a battery that still has a few years life, or is this really not a good idea? Would welcome your views.

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This looks interesting:) Defy is launching a hybrid solar mains fridge and freezer this month (Feb 2021) 3 * 30W panels come with the appliance and use solar power to keep the fridge or freezer powered when the sun is out, falling back to mains as required. https://stuff.co.za/2021/02/11/solar-hybrid-fridge-freezer-south-africa/ https://www.businessinsider.co.za/defy-launches-solar-powered-fridges-freezers-in-sa-costs-under-r6000-with-panel-2021-2 https://www.defy.co.za/solar-hybrid

Thanks for the suggestions! I presume Sonoff would need an App or Wifi connection? After some research I am looking at one of the following 1. Sinotimer (12V option available) TM618 Universal Input 5V 12V 24V DC/AC 7 Days Programmable Weekly Timer Module for Gate Automation and Solar Controls Usage: The TM618 timer MODULE can open or close kinds of electrical apparatus and power automatically, according to the preset time, the items can be streetlight, neon light (sign), billboard, electrical appliances, broadcast equipment etc... 2. Omron H5F (220V only, no battery backup) • Up to 12 ON/OFF operations (24 for pulse-output operation). • Special holidays can be handled easily with the holiday setting function. • Adjustments for sudden schedule changes can be made easily using output override and automatic return operation. • The operation program can be checked easily with the program check function. • Enables pulse output operation and summer time setting. • Incorporates finger-safe terminals. • Conforms to UL, CSA, and CE marking. • Meets a variety of mounting requirements: flush mounting, surface mounting, and DIN track mounting.

Question for the techies out there:) I am a trustee for a body corporate, mix of commercial and residential units. Access control is the normal sliding gate. The current Centurion gate motor does the job just fine, but we would like to tweak the operation slightly The Centurion gate controller has a built in timer, and we use this to open the gate at 6am and close it at 7pm (Mon to Sun) The gate has to stay open 6am-7pm for the commercial units (medical centre), but after 2pm Sat and all of Sun, we would prefer the gate to close. The current setup does not allow for different times at weekend. Previously we had a separate Majortech style timer, mains powered with battery backup, but it was unreliable, compared to the current 12V Centurion timer. I would like something more like a Geyserwise controller, or inexpensive PLC. Very reliable. Preferably 12v powered Relatively easy to program. What do the experts recommend? I have never used an Arduino or Pi, but if they are the answer am prepared to give them a go. Thanks!

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Very informative thread, thank you!

This is very normal. I have noted this with Enertec batteries, and the battery data sheet confirms it, there is a sharp drop initially to approx 24.8V within the first 15 minutes, then a long flat discharge of several hours to 24.0V

Hi iops, Slightly off topic, but I would like to ask you about your Synapse 3.0+ 24V inverter, as the residential complex I live in on the KZN South Coast has a few of these units installed, together with many CBSolar 24V inverters and a handful of Mecers The CBSolar inverters have been the standard for 2 years and apart from a few failures have performed well. We are still getting to know the Synapse and Mecer. One issue we have noted with the Synapse 3.0+ is that the fan runs continuously, this is not the case with the CBSolar and Mecer. Do you know if the Synapse is a Voltronics, or a clone? Who supplied the unit to you?

I understand that when [05] is set to Use, that this enables [26] [27] [29] What are the results of using Fld and Agm? Fld seems to force 26,27, and 29 to the default values? Does Agm do the same? When would one ever want to use Fld or Agm? It is very confusing to have setting 5 default to Fld, not realizing that it has an impact on other important settings!

Veerry interesting, thanks McDuffy!

Hi McDuffy, How do you measure your battery voltages - external voltmeter, Axpert display, or RS232 port and PC? I would really like to see a comprehensive test of the Axpert performance, but using lab equipment to accurately measure volts and amps. Not sure I trust the measurements displayed by the Axpert Regards, Solo