Greglsh

Hi All, we have added the Sunsynk version tracker to our free portion of our PVBiz Web App. You can check the top 10 latest versions per inverter rated power as well as the 3 most used versions. - It gets updated weekly
This covers all 1Phase Low Voltage and 3Phase High Voltage. Low Voltage 3Phase are combined for now and work in progress
https://app.pvbiz.co.za/sunsynk-fleet-versions
Let me know if you have any questions or feedback :)

I have a bit of a different take personally. I view things from a ROI point of view. I would get 1 10kW and not care for redundancy. Why? Modern inverters last for years. Why have 2 to plan for an outcome that will happen once in say 5 years? If one is grid connected, use it. That is your silent generator right there. Will it kill a person to use the grid while getting a replacement inverter or the inverter repaired? I dont think so.

If one of the 2 inverters dies after 5 years and it cant be repaired, you are stuck with one small inverter and will be forced to buy 2 again. The other will be sold for next to nothing on the used market. I could see it working if the 1 10kW is that much more expensive than 2 5kW inverters which I am skeptical it is.

I have no redundancy for the inverter and am not grid connected and have no worries. But I operate from a perspective of not spending time or money on repairs. When the inverter fails, I get another one the same day or the following day and in 30 minutes I can install it. The broken inverter will probably be listed for sale and be of use to someone else willing to repair it and give it life again.
But I also dont/wont spend money on inverters that cost over 20k. I will stick to the Axpert clones that retail for cheap. I can get a 6.2kW for around 6k or a 11kw for around 10k. This is from brands that have been around for years now because I dont believe the big name brands last longer than the clones out there.

That is my take basically. I have no generator (I hate them) and have 1 inverter only. I spent 3300 on it and it has run flawlessly for a year. When the time comes as mentioned, I can purchase and install it in a matter of hours. For people grid connected, there is no reason in my opinion for the word redundancy to be a point of discussion unless it takes weeks/months for an inverter to get repaired and you have constant power cuts.

I don't think that timers save you money, but you can control when it heats so mine only heats when the sun comes up so probably costs the same but my solar is heating most of it. Is this the type of "lagging" you guys are using on your pipes?

I think @Virwat has it. My geyser is insulated with a layer of isothem (not an actual blanket that you buy from a shop), and the hot pipes are insulated from the geyser to the wall with the same material. The hot pipes radiate heat, so there is a gain to be had by reducing those losses.
Do timers on a geyser save money? This is an old and inconclusive debate. But we can cut our losses from the geyser once it is heated. Or we can heat it more efficiently.

Heater blankets for geysers may be efficient if you have one that's mounted on an outside wall. I am not convinced it makes much of a difference inside the roof .
Pipe insulation on the other hand will make a bigger difference as the pipes themselves will heat up quicker whilst eliminating radiative losses to the surrounding cooler air.

My take on geysers is that the thicker the polyurethane in the geyser the better, 60mm, preferred or more, but have not found geysers with more. And then pipe lagging, on all the pipes, cold inlet, hot outlet (for at least 2-4 meters, maybe even better, if it can be almost to the tap and overflow/TP valve and pipe to reduce losses. One problem I have with lagging to the tap is the pipes are not lagged in the walls and hot water pipe loses a large amount of heat to the walls in winter.
Timers make no difference, has been my experience, or so little it's negligible. However if you are going to be away for for few days, turn the geyser off, it will save some power, as the geyser will not have try and maintain the geyser temp.
The amount of energy used to heat the geyser from, is pretty consistent, but obviously variable based on the starting temp and resultant temperature.
So all a timer allows for is remote control or a way to load shift, not really reduce the energy required?
One larger geyser is better than many, but can cause more water wastage? due to initial cold water in the pipes? unless you are draining the water into grey water tanks and using it in the garden? or if you have a diverter valve under the counter with each tap that drains the cold water to an alternative pipe which go's to a JOJO tank which can then be used for other uses, once the water heats up the valve allows the hot water out the tap rather than diverting it. Can't recall what the diverter valve is called but saw them some years back. as a water saving otion. Downside Is one has to have a third pip for the initial cold water diversion, at each tap, and or bathroom etc. so best if you are planning to build or do renovations / upgrades.

Last thought is to charge batteries first, keep load low, until fully charged, especially in winter, and then only start heating the geyser with "excess / available" pv power :)

Yes a geyser blanket can be worth the cost on your 150 L geyser(s), but how much you’ll save and how quickly you recoup the cost depends on a few key factors about your usage patterns, insulation quality and your system’s electricity costs.
A geyser blanket adds extra insulation around the hot water cylinder, reducing how much heat your water loses to the surrounding environment. Less heat loss means, less frequent reheating cycles, lower energy consumption to keep water at temperature and less draw from grid or batteries. On a 150 L geyser without good insulation, typical daily standing losses are about 1.5–2.5 kWh/day. With a good blanket installed, those losses might drop by ~30–50% (0.5–1 kWh/day saved).
So, potential daily savings 0.5 kWh to 1 kWh per geyser per day. That’s about 15–30 kWh per month per geyser just from reduced heat loss. Also insulate the pipes hot and cold around the geyser especially the first few meters to cut heat loss.
With your Astute smart switches, you can avoid heating outside your main usage window and set the right thermostat temperature around 55–60 °C is generally enough for showers or baths without wasting energy heating hotter than necessary.
Kwikot Geyser Blanket
Reduces domestic electric water heater and solar water heater heat loss For in ceiling domestic water heater and solar water heater installations

I don't think that timers save you money, but you can control when it heats so mine only heats when the sun comes up so probably costs the same but my solar is heating most of it. Is this the type of "lagging" you guys are using on your pipes?

I don't think that timers save you money, but you can control when it heats so mine only heats when the sun comes up so probably costs the same but my solar is heating most of it. Is this the type of "lagging" you guys are using on your pipes?

I would rather spend my money on pipe (hot & cold) lagging

Glad to hear you on the mend, keep well.

Morning guys and ladies on the forum. I am feeling much better this morning due to the fact that I am in the medical ward instead of Icu or high care. I just want to take a moment to thank each and everyone for the well wishes and especially @Scorp007 my friend that passed the message on. It is very scary when it happens, can't breath and your heart start racing and you are overcome with anxiety, it goes through your mind is it a heart attack but I thought when it happened it felt like a blood clot same symptom as in Mauritius until I became unconscious. Later semi conscious with all these pipes and monitors. The physician and pulmanologist want to change my blood thinning regime from Xarelto to Warfarin.
Again thanks to all for your support.
God bless

Faulty internal auxiliary power regulator
Inside the Deye there’s a small low-voltage regulator module that powers: LCD screen, RS485/BMS/COM board, microcontrollers and logic supply rails. If this regulator is unstable or failing, you will see screen flickering / dimming / dying and or communication chips reset or die and BMS communication fail resulting in no battery charging.
Main inverter still runs (because main power stage has separate supply)
This is extremely common on units 1–3 years old that see heat cycling. If the inverter are still under warranty log repair, replacement by your installer or supplier. Do not attempt to fix this yourself unless you do have the skills but opening the inverter will void your warrenty.

Beat, read this tech note regarding cable lengths and importance of using the same thickness cable for all the batteries

I agree with @frivan . Solution 1. Busbar on pos and neg diagonal take off to battery disconnect. Solution 2. Diagonal cable take off. Positive from battery 1 to pos side of disconnect. Negative from battery 6 to neg side of discconect. Equal length inter battery jumpers.

DiY, I'd say, get some (16 or 32, depending on kWh wanted) 314Ah EVE cells, a 150A or larger JK BMS (or two, depending on the amount of batteries involved, normally 16cells per battery) and voilla, mine is compressed, but not enclosed, in the garage on a angled steel narrow structure, with ply wood as the base for the batteries to sit on... not planning on moving them, but if I must, then I will break down the batteries and move the cells individually to their new home...

Ok, thanks @stefan44 , @Greglsh and @Stefan Cornelissen
@Greglsh , I'm off grid, so it hardly ever does what yours seems to do, unless some clouds come in after the batteries are full and we run off those for a while before the sun returns, but even if we're down to 92% SoC before sunset, at this stage the lowest morning SoC I've seen is probably 45%, so not too panicked about the lower SoC late afternoon, unless the next day is supposed to be cloudy, then I try and minimise the consumption overnight, I guess I need to get off my lazy butt and add the other 2 batteries, to have a combined 60kWh and thus no more panicking :-)
Ok @stefan44 on your settings... 30mV for balance to cell max voltage seems a bit skraal, meaning it won't get much chance to balance before things drop out of range, just looked at yesterdays charge, 3.400V by 12:00, 55V by 12:22, and effectively if that was my setting, probably not 20 minutes later cells would be 3.400V or less and thus end of balancing... ok this was on my worst battery and there was 26mv delta between the cells once 55V was reached...
I'll do some more homework, maybe can start balancing earlier, say 3.400V and then bring cell max voltage down to, maybe 3.480V so 55.68V for the pack...

Just my 2 c worth, I have DIY batteries so don't have either of these. If this was me I would keep the LBSA batteries, pay the 4k to get the old one sorted out, then purchase LBSA batteries for any new ones. To me the LFP battery chemistry is safer.

Hi there. I got hold of LBSA and we have been communicating. The New pack has a problem where the SOC drops away to fast. the voltage shows 50V but the SOC shows 8%.
I had to send a lot of pictures of it fully charged and under load.
I will drop it off at their shop in cape town in order for them to check.
The old pack cant be converted to the new style because the cells are bigger and wont fit in the new cabinet. I still need to hear from them if the cant add a smart BMS to the old pack.
The Hubble batteries only run n max 52,6v where the LBSA run on 56.2v and as mentioned above uses different technologies.
I will wait until the LBSA is back then sell the Hubble batteries add the difference and get another and then save for another until I have 4.

So some of us fortunate enough - me included - who got this new Beta that has the PV Forecast in it, will only be prompted to license at the next Stable release.
Not all Beta enabled users/devices received this Beta and as such are delayed from receiving the request to subscribe to license...at this point.

I very much enjoy the sunsynk software.
5kW still going strong!
J

Living in the Free State (RSA), we regularly experience sub-zero temperatures over night during the winter. It is known that lithium batteries do not perform well when cold, and can be damaged if charged when below freezing temperature. My inverter and 2 x 10kWh LiFePO4 batteries are housed in my unheated garage, and I've been quite concerned that the batteries could become too cold to operate optimally. After some trawling of the internet, I concluded that it would be best to isolate them in a "box" of polystyrene sheeting, and to add two small (7W each) heating mats below the batteries to add a small amount of heat to this "box".
I initially used some duct tape to just stick the panels together as a "proof of concept" pilot project, and then added the heating pads, purchased from a local pet shop (sold as reptile heating pads...) after the first week of operation. After a second week of careful monitoring, being concerned now to not over-heat the batteries, I proceeded to properly build a box using 2x25mm thick polystyrene sheets as walls, and an insulating "floor" made from fibre-cement ceiling board mounted on a 6mm plywood sheet, and raised off the concrete floor with some 38mm x 38mm pine brandering for the two heating pads (placed in shallow wooden boxes and covered with a thick layer of kitty litter to act as a thermal mass below the batteries).
Here are some photos.
The un-insulated batteries, showing the insulating "floor" and heating pad boxes with kitty litter...

The duct taped temporary box...

...And the final enclosure before final fixing to the wall

So far, temperature variation during the last week ranged from about 14 degrees C minimum to 17 degrees C maximum, even though we experienced a few nights of zero degree C minimum air temperatures in the early mornings. We expect some typical -4 to -6 C lows in the next week or two, and I will report back on performance after the next cold fronts.
I am quite pleased with the outcome of this little project.
Your feedback, comments, and constructive criticism will be appreciated.

Item: ~16kWh Bank
Age: Brand New
Price: R41 900
Payment Method Accepted: Any
Warranty: 1 Year Ltd
Packaging: All if required
Condition: New
Location: JHB North
Reason: Just building Batteries
Shipping: Yes
Collection: Preferred
Link: Ask and i will provide info.

PM in interested. We can discuss details and options.

@Greglsh ,
Please read the sticky (1st post) on the classified section, and edit/amend to get traction.

Thanks for all the replies. We ended up going with 28 x 550w Canadian Solar panels, 3 x Luxpower SNA-6000 inverters and 6 x 5KW Revov batteries that the installer supplied at the same price as Ecohub. I bought a second hand 36U cabinet that we put on it's back for the batteries.

We did have some issues with the installation, some code on the inverters was wrong so it couldn't communicate with the batteries. Turns out Luxpower changed the code from their manual to the actual inverters for some reason. Then the system kept on tripping the earth breaker, turns out the previous owner of the house had a 20A earth breaker installed so when the inverters were pulling power from Eskom it tripped the whole system. Installed a 63A earth breaker and now it is humming along very nicely. Today will be the first time we have it running 100% so will see how it goes.