FixAMess

How about a tech comparison and actual user experience view?  I agree we need to get over the sunsync hype, there are many cheaper, good quality options out there that provide what most households want from an inverter.
 

Or get the Solis S Pro 8K about R33K incl vat and a far superior inverter both on specs and SA warranty support

Just a thought - you will need to maintain/paint your flat roof waterproofing layer every 3 years if you have an existing warranty on the waterproofing..
Take that into account when considering the layout.

I have 4 X US3000 Pylontech batteries and regularly check up on the cells with Batteryview and yes, every single battery has over voltage errors logged. Usually when one introduces a new battery to the bank it takes a few cycles to settle down, irrespective of whether or not all the batteries are charged to 100% then left overnight to equalise etc. The point is, I have taken care not to wreck the batteries but there are still issues logged.
So who knows....I don't have a problem with the pylontechs but will they last 6000 cycles, 10 yrs? I doubt it. I'm sure in 10 yrs time the battery technology will have changed so much that our current day batteries will not be supported anyway.
 

I've started importing Solar batteries into SA and just to give you an idea of what testing the batteries are undergoing. I'm old-fashioned, I must believe in the product and feel confident that it's a quality product. Just a few of the tests conducted below;
1) Charge and discharge repeatedly at the specified C rating and then to measure the drift of the cell Volatge before and after. (A quick way to see if the cells are inferior or poorly matched). This is done over a 2-week period, constant charge, discharge at 1C.
2) Inspect internals of the battery, cell origion, construction, wiring, BMS settings etc.
3) Actual vs specified Ah, drain to 100% DoD repeatedly at C rating (1C in this case)
We basically punish the battery (painfully so) to see what it can actually do.
We then also test compatibility of battery with different inverters, does it talk nicely to the inverters.
All this to make sure the battery does what it says on the label....
Oh yes, the BMS did shut down the battery when we overloaded the battery current draw, both charge and discharge!
 
 
 
 

First signs of something wrong is when you notice Ghosting or a floating Neutral.
Look for some low wattage LED's etc lights.
When Eskom is off, and you notice a very faint glow even when the light is off, it means that power is somehow being fed to it at a low voltage, too low to light it up, as if it was on.
I have always had this and never knew why, until I became familiar with the issue.
I tested the Voltages from my inverter out L/N and Earth, when Eskom was on and when it was off, any boom. Yup confirmed. When Eskom was on there was Zero Voltage from my inverter out between N and E, but the moment we went to load shedding, I had a 82V reading, as well as a 132 V reading between L and E.
Voltages from Mains when Eskom was on was L-N (230V), L-E (230V) and N-E (0V), same with the inverter output when not load shedding.
After the neutral earth bond relay was connected, the readings are now the same whether Eskom is on or off, meaning when we are load shedding, I have my bonded Neutral Earth back, and readings between Inverter Out N and Earth is 0V.
and you guessed it, that faint glow from the LED lights are gone, all good.
 
I actually noticed this at my neighbour as well when we were load shedding and their outside external LED security lights at 5pm (before they come on) were faintly glowing.

Get a socket tester and plug it in when Eskom power is off, inverter in islanding. Use a socket connected to the essential side ( inverter output. )
Tester to use below, plug it in and check the 3 led lights on this tester L-ON N-ON Earth-Off.
OR check with a multimeter between N and Earth should be 0V.
 
 

Most inverters with a 2x current peak for 10sec will start pumps. It's only when you have high enertia machine that starting becomes problematic. Compressors without unloading valves, some huge fans and equipment with flywheels etc. 

The MPPT in any inverter will take care of itself. You need to observe the MPPT Voc or open circuit voltage limit. Yes you will lose a bit of power but it won't destroy itself trying to max out in amperage. 
The panels don't dictate how many amps is drawn. The inverter makes that choice via the MPPT. In the same way that if you connect a 15kWh Lithium battery to a 5kWh Sunsynk the battery is capable of 300A but the inverter doesn't destroy itself because of the potential. It can only draw 100A & it does so when required full stop. 

The inverter is not directly connected to the grid on the essential side. Only the non essential has nothing between it so comms go through. Just accept it. 
Essential comes from DC from the battery / solar to get 220V AC in simple terms. No direct connection to grid. 

Are those fuses going to handle the 350A 10ms peak discharge?

What fuse size do you fit to match those discharge rates?

AFAIK no power will go via the grid input that is also used as the export wiring when the grid is off like during LS. This is one of the most vital points to get a grid tied approved. 

I just went through this exercise...Remove panels, paint 2 coats, reinstall...
It took me and 2 others 1hr to remove 8 panels.
Prepare for paint, paint, dry, 2nd coat..
Reinstall panels, also took 1 hr.
Sad thing is I found where the installer had taken shortcuts on connecting the rails. There is a small connector that slides into the end of the rail to connect them. He did not use them and I could not see when inspecting because they were covered by panels.
Lesson....Inspect each phase of the install.
Roof
1) Placement of brackets to rafters/beams...Make sure tiles are in tact and repositioned correctly. Also correct spacing and insertion of brackets
2) Make sure rails are installed correctly, all joins dealt with
3) Panels are installed correctly, wiring tidy and placed in conduit if that i what you required.
 

Unfortunately, most of the marketing hype, is just that HYPE.
Look at Greenrich
Discharge (1.5C - recommended 0.5C) ...So what is it a 0.5C battery or a 1.5C battery..How long will it last at 1.5C?
It would be really informative if a comparison could include the following;
1) Cell manufacturer - EVE, CATL, TAFEL etc.
2) BMS - PACE etc.
Most cell are marketed as e.g. 100Ah cells, this is a minimum acceptable at manufacture, but when manufactured they are usually > 100Ah..So Greenwich (again, Im sorry) says theirs are 119.6 Ah - are these 120Ah batteries that fall below the manufacture 120Ah quality threshold? If you look, all their batteries are weirdly specced vs the rest.
I suppose it depends what one considers quality to be;
1) Support
2) Warranty
3) Compatibility with inverter...
I expect that once the market in SA matures we will buy batteries like we buy car batteries, which one is available at the time and lowest price. The market pushes all these suppliers to provide the similar warranties in the long run.
 

Hello
To those who are looking at batteries and are as overwhelmed as I was, here is a spreadsheet that I created that contains as much information as I could gather on majority of the batteries on the market. Please note that I focused on mainly 1C batteries and batteries that were recommended. I left prices out of the equation because they fluctuate too often. The info was pulled from the battery data sheets and warranty documents.
I have not made a decision as to which battery to go for, it will most probably come down to stock availability and price too but the front runners for me are Greenrich, BSL and Sunsynk. 
Does anyone know if the Sunsynk is a true 1C battery? I am not sure about this as there is conflicting information out there. 
Feel free to fill in the gaps if you have the information that I was not able to obtain.
This took me a really long time so I hope this helps someone.
 
 
5kWh Battery comparison.xlsx

LeRoux_Optimum_2016.pdf
Above study done by Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, 
University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Hence my point. 6 man hours to remove and refit is quick, but add the production downtime while you prep, paint and wait for it to dry, plus the risk of electrical shock and damage to panels. Far better to do it before the install.

I just went through this exercise...Remove panels, paint 2 coats, reinstall...
It took me and 2 others 1hr to remove 8 panels.
Prepare for paint, paint, dry, 2nd coat..
Reinstall panels, also took 1 hr.
Sad thing is I found where the installer had taken shortcuts on connecting the rails. There is a small connector that slides into the end of the rail to connect them. He did not use them and I could not see when inspecting because they were covered by panels.
Lesson....Inspect each phase of the install.
Roof
1) Placement of brackets to rafters/beams...Make sure tiles are in tact and repositioned correctly. Also correct spacing and insertion of brackets
2) Make sure rails are installed correctly, all joins dealt with
3) Panels are installed correctly, wiring tidy and placed in conduit if that i what you required.
 

This...
We had an electrical fault in our street, V was sitting at 170V +...
The constant on,off of loadshedding kills elec equipment, so one wonders what it does to the inverter...

1) The ability to supply, essential + non essential without exporting to grid .
There's no CT coil so one can't prevent feedback to the grid if export is on. If you have a prepaid meter you won't be able to use the non essential feed.

IIRC, the SNA does not have a CT coil, so you can only supply power on the essential side, from 1 AC output . To supply power to the entire house, essential+non essential, 2 AC output (but not feedback to grid) you need a CT immediately afterthe escom meter..

IIRC, the SNA does not have a CT coil, so you can only supply power on the essential side, from 1 AC output . To supply power to the entire house, essential+non essential, 2 AC output (but not feedback to grid) you need a CT immediately afterthe escom meter..

Below you can see the damage on one IGBT. This one wanted to explode, the legs were heavily bent, the screw helped from total explosion.this is what I like about an inverter, it fails in style, it announces its pain visually  and leaves a mess as to say : look no further, here is the problem. And if you cannot see it, you will smell it out.

Home Assistant: https://www.home-assistant.io/
PaceBMS: https://github.com/Tertiush/bmspace
mysystem32: https://github.com/mysystem32/hubble_lithium_am2
Solar-Assistant can display most of the Hubble AM-2 information: