Off_grid

Good day, Did you find the software? I also have REVOV C8s-1P-220-52.6 batteries pairs that work with an external Tian BMS connected to each pair.

I was also thinking to go to about 58.5kWh on a sunny winters day. This is 40 x 380W panels at 5.5 hours per day (30% loss included). "On a clear summers day it should give me 74.5kW. On overcast days I will use the generator to boost batteries levels if needed. I see that if I buy 2 pallets (56 panels) I can get them at R4.63/kW (AE-Solar Mono panels). Warranty looks very good, but not sure how they measure up against the more popular Canadian solar panels when it comes to price, performance and reliability. I will buy a few spare panels. Still have a few appliances to change, but will expand on security which might cancel each other out.

@DeepBass9 Thanks, that sounds like a very good idea as good batteries seems to be close to 50% of the total project cost. See my calculation on the fixed grid fee. Paying that will cost me close to 500,000.0 over the next 10 years if there are no major increases.

@phil.g00 , big money it will be but I believe it could be paying for itself in less than 10 years. Still busy doing some calculations on this. In the last 6 years the monthly Eskom installation charge went up from R1648 to R2540 per month. With the current financial crisis at Eskom this will increase even more rapidly in the years to come. If I take this fixed monthly fee, escalate it at a moderate increase of 10% per year, I will pay a minimum R453461.20 over the next 10 years without using a single watt of electricity. Just doing this calculation was an eye opener for me In the short run I should maybe looking at a phased approach by only installing 50% of the planned battery capacity and only run essentials like CCTV, Lights and Alarms off the battery while using eskom supply for the rest. We still have the old meters that can be turned back if I push energy back into the grid when I have excess supply during day time. Will just make sure I keep my eskom usage as close as possible to 0kWh. I currently have 3 phase supply, but plan to convert the house/office to single phase as it sounds easier to implement. Not 100% sure if this is correct, but this is my understanding for now. In my workshop which is only used occasionally, I will use my existing 12kW 3 phase generator to run the 3 phase machinery and other high current single phase machines when needed. One of the small rooms inside the house will be converted to house the batteries and inverters. The plus side of this is that the temperature can be kept to about 25 degrees as it will get cooling from the evaporator. So batteries and equipment will be very close to each other and in a secure location. Going East/west orientation on the panels is also something I am considering but I will have to increase the number of panels. Aiming for Lithium at the moment as I do not have any knowledge on OPV's. Can you recommend any good AC-Coupled inverters so that I can investigate this. No sure how expensive this alternative will be. Thanks for your thoughts and information.

Thanks Stoic, we have done quite a bit to reduce our energy usage and brought it down from about 70kWh to about 50 and going down. Geysers and stove replaced. Aircons replaced with Evaporator for cooling and Anthracite stoves/heaters for heating . Borhole pump also changed to solar and use the Wind-pump to water the garden. Not sure if we will manage to go below 40kWh, but yes we can still do a lot. Reason why we use so much is because the house is used as an office too, so there are always people working on Laptops and screen (32" LCD TV's) during daytime. Security and perimeter lighting is also consuming a lot at night, which are essential on a farm in a remote area. If I size for max 50kWh and I manage to bring it down steadily, I will have more backup for those rare occasions where the sun is not shine a lot for a few days in a row. Not that that happens here very frequently. But I am still aiming to reduce my usage at night as the good batteries are extremely expensive. Mind sharing with me the details of your off-grid system. I know every installation is different due to many factors, but sometime you get very good ideas from what others have done. Thank you for your reply and advice. Much appreciated.

Hi Jaco, Thanks for the welcome. Must say that this is one of the best forms I have ever joined, filled with lots of information. Too much information for e newbie like me to know where to find what I need. I will update my profile with the required info, but I am from Lichtenburg, about 60km West of Lichtenburg in the North West province.

And a special thanks to member Mr T who already gave me some information and advice!

We decided that we will go Off Grid very soon but will keep the Eskom utility active for a few months once installed. So I contacted 3 Solar installers and provided them with our usage and requirements. Each of the 3 gave me a design and components list, but all 3 were TOTALLY different and I formed an opinion that most installers are in it to make BIG money out of you rather than what is best for your requirements. This made me realise that I will have to do my homework and ask for some help and suggestions from people with knowledge and experience in this field. Suggestions on the design and equipment as well as other comments and Tips and Tricks will be appreciated . This is what our needs are: Go totally off grid as soon as possible (because we pay about R2540.00 pm only for the Eskom network and facilities per month regardless whether we use electricity or not). Back-up power will be provided by a 12kVa Generator Use one of the following 2 battery options (unless there is a very good reason to use something else) - Pylontech US3000 or Blue Nova 52V LifeYPO4 Stick to products with a good reputation, warranty and support We use 1.8kWh per hour at night. (Mainly Security systems such as Alarm, CCTV, Security lights outside, a refrigerator and 2 Freezers) During daytime we use roughly 2.5kWh per our on average Total kWh is 56kWh per day. We are in the process of reducing the total requirment by replacing certain components) Geyser and stove replace with Solar and Gas. Pitched corrugate iron roof that face North with a total span of about 20m (First 10m of roof get some shade till about 9am. Other 10m if full sun the whole day) House/Office also have about 7m of pitched corrugate iron roof facing East and 7m Facing West (with no shade during daytime) We aim for a battery bank of 32 to 42kWh (Usable between 25.6 and 33.6kWh). I would appreciate any advice of the design, size and components to use. (Various Victron components were on most of the installer's lists)