LPG

Thanks for the information. The roof is mounted on wooden rafters. One more question. Do I bolt rails to the hanger bolts or are there clamps that attach directly to the bolts ? Cheers Larry

Hi Guys I need to mount 4 panels on a Poly-carbonate IBR roof. What type of mounting do you recommend ? I ask such a strange question because there are no "Solar Shops" within 100Ks, so I cant just go to the shop and ask. Much appreciated LPG

Thanks, The first page of the UZ battery spec shows Max Continuous Discharge current 100 A. On top of the next page I see the spec continues with :- "Normal version only supports 0.5C 50A". The spec is intentionally misleading. Cheers Larry

Hi Guys Q1 :- I am using a 5kW Sunsynk Inverter and a 5.1kWh UZ battery L051100-A1. Under battery type I set :- Lithium. Activate ticked. CAN ON, BMS_Err_Stop unticked, Charge Amps 40A, Discharge Amps 100A. The battery spec indicates that the max continuous discharge current is 100A and the inverter spec indicates max battery input 120A. When I try to draw over 70A ( kettle and microwave together, 3600W, ie 72A ) the inverter runs for about 30 Seconds and then cuts out. Do you have any idea why it refuses to provide the 100A. Q2 :- When I press Esc on the inverter to see the bar graphs, the SOC bar stands out large, the other bars are all very small even when eg. PV is at 3000W. Is there a way to change the scale of the other bars ? Thanks Larry Green

Hi - I also had a flat line on the SEMS portal from the 5th till the 11th. I was away at the time, with no internet access so I didn't notice. When I came back and saw the flat line, I reset my WiFi router and everything was up and running again. I have noticed a couple of times before that the SEMS portal flat lined then seemed to came back again by itself. I suspect that I noticed the WiFi problem and reset it each time. Only later did I see the SEMS flat line and didn't couple the two. I am now quite sure that my flat lines were due to the WiFi dropping connection. Cheers LPG

Hi Rclegg I grappled with all the questions you have asked for a year before I designed and installed my system. The answers you have received above are excellent. Here are some things to think about before making final decisions :- 1. Make a list of all your power consumers and estimate / measure their monthly consumption, to understand where your power is going. 2. Try to reduce your consumption as much as possible :- replace all your light bulbs with energy efficient ones. Fit a solar geyser (it will pay for itself within 2 yrs). Assess your fridges and freezers (these are probably the number 3 consumer after your Geyser and Cooker) . Gas cookers are a good idea but are expensive to buy. (I use a solar geyser but still use my normal electric stove). 3. You mentioned that your initial objective is to live without load-shedding and later to upgrade to solar power. Make sure you go for a system that allows for such an upgrade. There is a lot of debate about what "Hybrid" and "Grid-Tied" mean. Read until you understand what the options there are. 4. See if you can arrange to visit people who have systems installed. First prize would be a qualified person who did the design and installation themselves and has it up and running. One question :- Where do you live? All The Best LG

Hi Bobster I see we have very similar systems and hope you can give me some advice. Do you use the PV Master app ? Can you select the different modes of operation ? My system is working fine but when I try to set General Mode I get real crazy results. The system tries to feed the grid using my battery power. I have to keep it on Backup mode. Cheers Larry

Hi Guys Thanks for your responses. Take The Estate. The documents you provided are a good start. I will have a close look and decide on my next step. Thanks

Hi All I am sure we would all like to be approved, if the municipalities could be trusted to act in a reasonable responsible manner. But can they be trusted? Has anyone applied and / or been approved in Ekurhuleni? If so can you provide some guidance? I tried to ask the municipality for their requirements. Their response was to ask for my account number. So that was the end of that discussion ! Regards

My SOC on the semsportal reads correctly. I have a Goodwe ES and one Pylon US3000 battery. The SOC corresponds with the SOC number of LEDs on the battery. Cheers

Hi Guys Thanks for a great forum. I have been reading it with interest and learned a lot. I am in the Boksburg/Benoni area, and am just starting to look at Solar. My objective is save on my power bill, not get irritated when the tariffs go up, and have backup power when Esshcom goes down. I have a solar geyser, energy efficient lights and a closed cycle wood burning heater for winter. There are only 2 people in the house. My average monthly consumption is around 435 KWA/month. 10.3 KWH day usage, 4.2KWH night usage = Total average usage per day 14.5KWH. So far I'm thinking:- A 5KVA 48V Grid tied Hybrid system. I could probably get away with 3KVA but think that's cutting it a bit fine and don't want to regret going too small. 10 Panels of 330W should give me usable power of around 330 X 10 x 80 % = 2649W . 2649 x 6 hrs per day = 15.9 KWH per day to feed my 14.5 demand. Could add 8 more panels if req. Battery backup 1 Pylon 2.4 KW. Hopefully only needed occasionally at night when we have a cloudy day. I am not sure what the KWA rating is of these batteries ! The controller I have been looking at is the Goodwe GW 3648D-ES 4.6 / 4.6 . Just one problem it is a bit expensive. Does anyone know of a good, more cost effective Grid tied Hybrid controller ? Does Aspert have a Grid tied Controller? Would it be better to go for the new 400W panels ? Will I get away with only one Pylon battery, I see many people use two? Does anyone have experience with Ekurhuleni Municipal approvals ? I would appreciate your comments and advice. All The Best LPG