isetech

I deal with this crap on a daily basis ... the problem in the electrcial industry is not the standards (they change all the time to attempt to create a safer environment for YOU) ... its the customer support ... no policing in the industry ... it seems we dont have enough suitably qualified people working in the DOL to investigate illegal installtations ... another issue ... you as the customer have to file a complaint ... then pay for the investigation ... then get quotes to get the installation bought up to standard ... pay for it to be done ... then claim all the costs from the contractor who did the illegal installation ( I wish you luck with that ... you gonna need it)
To clear up something else  ... yes YOU as the customer are responsible for the electrical installation on your property ... it is your responsibilty to employ the services of a sutiably qualified person/company to carry out work on your property ... if you want to DIY ... and break the rules or get someone to sign over the project on completion without even following the progress ... or advising you of the correct proceedures ... its all on YOU. 
I know of installations which have been signed off without the inspector even visitng the site ... then people cry when the insurnace company rejects claims ... It is not pleasant when you get called out to an investigation where a 2 year old child is dead because some clever dick decided ... disconnecting his stove DIY ... leaving the wires exposed ... was a cheaper option.
I went to a fire where fortunately the aircon exploded and blew out across the room and hit the kitchen cupboard ... waking up the eperson who was asleep in the  granny flat... it pretty much saved her life ... the building was guttered ... until it happens to you or you see the result of your actions ... rules and regs are not that important
Now with every man and his dog being experts in this field ... it just makes it that much worse. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I made the mistake of thinking Ellies would offer good service and support, F%^& was I wrong. After weeks of frustration trying to suck an inverter out of Ellies, eventually after weeks of emails (15 emails) I was told they have no stock
I decided to shop around, sent out a bunch of emails and waited patiently for a response, I should have done this in the beginning. I got a response from a company within a hour, I had the installer application email before the close of business. 
I dont know if it is just the person who is on the ball or the company in general, my experience dealing with this company has been such a pleasure. Ellies should send their  sales team to this company for training. 
https://herholdts.co.za/
 
 
 

I have been doing load tests on with a 3 KVA axpert inverter and 2 x 100 amp/hr gel batteries , loaded with a constant 400 watt you will get over 3 hours of backup time. 
Ramp the load to 800 watts and you will get less than an hour. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

As an eletrical contractor I have installed hundreds of timers for people to "save money" (which I personally dont believe is true ... but hey if you want a timer ... I will install it for you) from years of doing it ...it generally takes a couple weeks or one cold bath and the wife is on the blower to get it removed or bypassed ... money for jam ... like installing geyser blankets ... I dont beleive they save money ... but if the customer wants one ... who am I to judge. 
Which is pretty much what happened in our house this week ... I have been fine turning the timer to see if I can actually save money ... taking bath/shower times into account ... the wife decided to have a shower after a trip to the beach ... the unit is bypassed and will be connected to control the lights in the house while away on holiday next year ... I will leave light switches on and set shedules for various lights to switch ... the same thing with the security lights ... I will set the alarm programable outputs to randomly switch on the security lights.
The beuty about the ASC ... you get to monitor the usage (KWhr) ... so the big question that everyone is waiting for ..." did I save electricity ?" yest I did 2 Kwhr per day on avaerge ... my daily average consumption was around 6 kwhr per day ... with the ASC bypassed my average consumption around 8 kwhr per day ... the question you need to ask yourself ... "do you want a happy wife ... happy life" or would you rather save 2 kwhr per day and stand in the shower in luke warm water at 9.30 pm because someone didnt stick to the schedule. 
I am told the ASC rating 30 amp resistive (AC1 ) and 10 amp (AC3) rating to allow for inrush current.  
 
 
 
 
 

One of the most common faults with earth leakage units ... mixing up neutrals and series connecting earth earth leakage units. 
Add in an inverter with bonded earth/neutral ... even semi skilled sparkies get confused.
Understanding the SANS regs helps with positioning of the earth leakage in the circuits. 
One of the most common comments I hear ... "but it has worked for years now suddenly".
Make sure the earth leakage devices are not in series and make sure the neutrals and allocated to the correct neutral bar ... then make sure you earth neutral bond is before the earth leakage ... as close to the inverter as possible. 
I still need to see one of those external neutral/earth bonding units.  
 

A circuit breaker is installed to protect the wire from overload.
A general rule of thumb: 
10 amp - 1 mm wire 
16 amp - 1.5 mm wire
20 amp - 2.5 mm wire 
30 amp - 4 mmm wire 
40 amp - 6 mm wire 
50 amp - 10 mm wire 
60 amp - 16 mm wire
"mm square" not actually mm in width. 
Free standing stove - 6 mm wire with a 40 amp mcb
Hob - 4mm wire  with a 30 amp mcb 
ELU - 4 mm wire with a 30 amp mcb 
Geyser - 2.5 mm wire with a 20 amp combo breaker. 
The installation must be designed as per the SANS regs ... these values are just a guide line. 
 
 

I have found that people get lost in the figures, KVA,  kwh ratings, electricity account figures, etc and loose  focus on the important stuff. 
The important stuff being the part that you understand your load requirements and time of use.
If your electricity account is R10k and you install your whole roof full of panels and a small inverter with a battery suitable for the inverter, you going to be pretty screwed if you entertain in the evening and run heaters, a sauna/ jacuzzi or aircons etc, or have tons of security lights around the property, etc.
Like the C rating and cycles of your battery, if you only use a small percentage of the total power of the inverter, because you want a long backup for your security system, then a 0.5C battery could be ideal which will also reduce the DOD adding years to your batteries, if you understand what it is you looking for, choosing the right equipment is simple. 
My point - focus more on the important stuff, then design a system around it. It's trying to find a person or company to take the time to understand  your specific requirements and create long term solution becomes the biggest challenge.
This industry has become a means to a quick buck for many due to the lack of understanding, I find it rather amusing when customers request I sit in on meeting with installers. "baffling people with bullshyte" comes to mind  
 

You can use an energy control unit to assist.
https://cbi-lowvoltage.co.za/sites/default/files/downloads/CBI_ECU_SERIES_DAT_3PAGES_854KB.pdf

They should update their website data sheets
 
https://www.sunsynk.org/manuals

The Sunsynk inverter
PV input current is 11A+ 11A 
PV voltage (100V-500V) VOC to be considered when selecting panels. 
MPPT range V - 125-425V 
 

From my little knowledge gained since I started doing research into solar.
It is more about your requirements, there is no one solution that will suit everyone, even though most installer will tell customer that it is the case. They are learning the hard way. I have seen it on a few cases where a customer had a "standard" system fitted and now sit with a R100 k system which is pretty useless.
Make sure you understand exactly what you want from the system, spending R100K on a rough idea of what you want is going burn you in the long run.
You need to understand the capabilities of the inverter, you need to understand what the difference between a backup system and a true hybrid system. If you are just looking for a simple backup system with now feedback into the non essential part of the elctrical installation and there are no "special" requirements, then maybe a R11 k inverter is all you need, make sure the battery capacity is suitable for your application, this is another issue I see on a regular basis. Fortunately most customers just suck it and live with what is given to them because they dont know any better. Trying to find a person who knows better is a far bigger challenge than trying find the right inverter. 
The bottom line, make sure you fully understand what it is you are trying to achive.
 
 

Like most things in this country, you just smile
So the challenge is to find a C1 rated battery at a reasonable price, compatible with a Sunsynk inverter.
 
 

I made the mistake of thinking Ellies would offer good service and support, F%^& was I wrong. After weeks of frustration trying to suck an inverter out of Ellies, eventually after weeks of emails (15 emails) I was told they have no stock
I decided to shop around, sent out a bunch of emails and waited patiently for a response, I should have done this in the beginning. I got a response from a company within a hour, I had the installer application email before the close of business. 
I dont know if it is just the person who is on the ball or the company in general, my experience dealing with this company has been such a pleasure. Ellies should send their  sales team to this company for training. 
https://herholdts.co.za/
 
 
 

The EV market is about to take off ... solar systems will become an important component of your electrical installation. 
That is why I am spending so much time doing research into solar systems ... I need to understand everything about it ... so that I can design a system which can expand with my budget. 
I keep hearing the same ol same ol ... sorry we cant upgrade your system it has to be completely replaced. 

You missed out the most critical part ... "monitor".
Buy, install and then monitor. Why I say the most critical ... spending all that money and not know what the system is doing over a period of time, just doesn't make financial sense. 
If the system is designed installed and 100% efficient ... that is great news ... but if not then you need to tweek it until you get it operating as efficiently as possible. 

You missed out the most critical part ... "monitor".
Buy, install and then monitor. Why I say the most critical ... spending all that money and not know what the system is doing over a period of time, just doesn't make financial sense. 
If the system is designed installed and 100% efficient ... that is great news ... but if not then you need to tweek it until you get it operating as efficiently as possible. 

You missed out the most critical part ... "monitor".
Buy, install and then monitor. Why I say the most critical ... spending all that money and not know what the system is doing over a period of time, just doesn't make financial sense. 
If the system is designed installed and 100% efficient ... that is great news ... but if not then you need to tweek it until you get it operating as efficiently as possible. 

and cabtyre ... training cable ... armoured cable etc ... it gets complicated ... especially when you start installing wiring/cabling in roof spaces ... some people feel that if the roof space is closed ... there is no need to install conduits ... lets wait and see if there is a note attached to the COC " closed roof space" ... if that is the case ... the entire roof space would be deemed an enclosure ... just like a control panel or junction box ... which is a topic on its own. 

Its a common sight for me to see this type of crap wiring ... normally the response from the customer would be ... "but its worked like that for 20 years, why are you saying its illegal ?" 
Open wiring ... has a code .. .but that type of wiring would be a code violation.
Open joints taped up like that ... are code violations.
Using blue wires as a neutral or earth/CPC ... it gets interesting ... because we use the blue as a phase wire ... however in a domestic installations ... people seem to feel it is ok because the cabtyre neutral is blue ... you are allowed to wiring up your house using cabtyre ... provided you take certain regulations into consideration ... personally I would put a short piece of heat shrink on the blue wire to identify it is "black/neutral" or green/yellow for earth ... or even strip the insulation  if the blue is used as the earth wire. 
Just looking at those pictures (a bit difficult to see what is actually going on) ... I don't see a green/yellow earth.
I am assuming they didn't issue a COC ? 
A tip for anyone who calls an electrician ... every single semi skilled or skilled person in the electrical industry has some form of identification.
For example an eleconop 1 /2/3 
Electrician 
Single phase tester 
Installation electrician
Master electrician 
Each skill level has limits ... except a master electrician. 
If you call an electrical company to install a plug ... the person who installs the "isolated wiring" could be an elconop 1/2/3 for example ... however as soon as the wires are live then the minimum level would be a qualified electrician.
It is your responsibility as the owner or person renting to make sure the electrical work is reasonably safe ... so you as the owner would need to verify that the people dropped off on site are suitably qualified to carry the work they do ... as crazy as that sounds. 
My advise to you ... when people are dropped on site request the staff wear their card with their skill level ... in fact request a copy of each person skill level. 
The pictures above look like a labourer (unskilled person) did the wiring. 

Problem solved ... fuse and wiring on the pole replaced "again". 

Issues such as an inverter having a factory fault and not powering on. 
Another inverter had a faulty connector block which was sorted in a day. 
So I have always had great service. 

Take note of this thread .. .this is a discussion about a few silly plug sockets ... add a string of panels ... an inverter and a couple kwh of batteries ... suddenly the risk becomes a reality.
I deal with insurance assessors on occasion ... for small ... medium and large claims for electrical damage due to surges ... lightning and fires ... you want to make sure you have all your ducks in a row. 
 

Some thing to think about.
I have been using battery operated power tools since they first came out many many years ago ... since back in the days of NICD 
At the moment I have about 35 batteries used for site tools ... makita 18V ... Hilti 14,4/22 and 36V and a a pile of 10.8V.
We talk about battery cycles ... SOC and DOD.  How long do they last?  Thats the big question, some of the machine batteries are older than 10 years ... not such a great run time anymore.  
I have lost 2 X Hilti 36V batteries and 3 X 18V makita batteries. The makita batteries are used and abused more than the Hilti batteries, in fact I was a little disappointed when they both failed in a lot less than 10 years ... it could have something to do with all the vibration form the using the hammer action all the time or just crap batteries ... I dont believe they achieved more than 500 cycles ...but Hilti didnt have the equipment to test the batteries ...they only had a device to inform me that the battery was dead and I had to fork out another R10K plus vat. 
The makita batteries on the other hand, only failed after 10 years and most of them are still operating. This is the part which I believe is important ... The makita machine which have a star, will shut the machine off to prevent  damage caused by a low battery. The 3 batteries which have failed where all used in the blower which doesnt have a star and I inserted them into the charge straight after using the batteries which at the time were still hot from using it.  ... something I don't do anymore ... I normally take the battery out of the machines when I finish using it and pop it in the charger (regardless of the time of use) ... I now put the battery on the shelf, next in line to be charged.
Think about your solar setup ... if you discharge your battery fast which will result in the battery getting warm/hot ... then suddenly you switch on the charger and start pumping 100 amps back into the battery ... could it damage the battery.
Most of the information I read about damaging batteries, has to do with temperature management.  The last set of gel batteries, replaced under warranty ... the first question asked "do you have a temp. probe in the battery compartment?". 
Do you manage the temperature were your batteries are kept and do you manage the temperature when the batteries are being discharged and do you have a time delay to allow the batteries to cool before recharging  ... especially if you are discharging to as low as 10 or 20 % ... is it as important as the rate of discharge and the DOD? 

Take note of this thread .. .this is a discussion about a few silly plug sockets ... add a string of panels ... an inverter and a couple kwh of batteries ... suddenly the risk becomes a reality.
I deal with insurance assessors on occasion ... for small ... medium and large claims for electrical damage due to surges ... lightning and fires ... you want to make sure you have all your ducks in a row. 
 

Once you have the COC ... I would suggest you send these pics to your local AIA (authorised inspection authority) ... or if the company is a member of the ECB or ECA and let us know their response. 
Did you send the pics to the person who will be issuing the COC ? 
Just a note ... without a site visit and a full understanding of what was requested and where these cables are installed  ... a person can only assume certain things. 
Something seems strange about this installation ... why they didnt they use 2.5 mm  Twin+E ? 
Why did they use red/black and blue ?  ... are there ferrules under the tape or is the wire just twisted together ? 
Was this done in South Africa ?