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Craigm

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Everything posted by Craigm

  1. Doing the quick maths on a quick google search for wind turbines - assuming you can spin it at full capacity, call it 1500 minimum hours to break even just on the wind turbine. Happy to move this one to file 13, just not worth it.
  2. I have a bicycle and an indoor trainer. Would it be worth it to rig up a dynamo to the sunsynk aux port? It would work like a wind turbine, but powered by pedaling. I might train a bit more if I saw $ returns! Google doesn't show much, except for 100w versions, which isn't worth the effort and cost. Worth it, or file 13?
  3. Thanks Achmat. I understand that for the daytime run. But how does the nighttime run work? I dont want to run batteries down to power the geyser, I'd rather pull from the grid. If that's possible.
  4. Correct. But when the grid is down, the generation is limited to the consumption on the essential load only, which means 4kW generation potential pushing out only 300W and the rest being "wasted". When the grid is down, it only powers the essential circuits. My question is specifically around the scenario when the grid is down. I currently run the geyser from 12:00 and 14:00, whether there is sufficient PV or not (pull from grid if there's a shortfall). But if the grid is down during this time, cold shower for wife and cold shoulder for me!
  5. I have been running my system for a few months now. - 8kW Sunsynk inverter -5kW array - 2x 3.5kWh pylontechs A generator changeover switch was installed in the house already, so I just had this routed into the Aux port. In hindsight, not worth it as I haven't needed to run it at all and I wouldn't mind taking it out if necessary. I also have a geyserwise controlling the electric geyser (3kW). Geyser is connected to the non-essential side of the DB. We've had some power cuts over the last few weeks which left me with cold water at kid bath time (wife was not impressed). With loadshedding again this week, I run the risk of not having hot water if the grid is down when my geyser is scheduled to run. Yet I "throw away" plenty of power that I could be pumping into the geyser. I have done some reading and consulted the manual, and it seems like the aux output might do the trick. However, I am not sure how to go about setting it up wrt the changeover switch. Is there a simple DIY "smart" solution, that will changeover depending on conditions? Or change it manually, but remotely? For example, I want to heat the geyser from the sun early afternoon (or when batteries are charged and load is less than generation), but from the grid in the early hours of the morning (or when cloudy), but I don't want to have to physically flip a switch. It must be "wife friendly" for when I am not home. Any ideas on how to approach this or what products to look at? Wifi enabled (e.g. Sonoff type device) would be ideal, but I am not a sparky or a programmer, so I need something simple. Cheers Craig
  6. Same same, but opposite. I think? Attached picture shows the slight orientation to the west. So, theoretically, I should start producing slightly later than a perfectly oriented array, but generate slightly better than average into the afternoon. I am not worried about my setup, I just like to understand how it works.
  7. I had my system installed about three weeks ago. I'm still getting to know all the intricacies, which I am enjoying. I am wondering if my PV generation graph is "normal"? Today was a good generation day without much cloud, so a good day to analyze. My generation gradually trickled up to about 300w and then shot up to 1.46kW at about 8.45am. It seems to do this daily, but today there were no clouds. At the end of the day, it trickles down, no sudden spike like in the morning. Does this sound right? System spec: 8kW sunsynk inverter, 12 x 420W Canadian Solar panels and a couple batteries. 40 degree pitch, facing about 340 degrees. No shade at all. Grid was up during the entire time in question. Attached is a screen shot of the days generation, showing the query.
  8. I ended up going for the sunsynk. I've had it running for about 3 weeks, no complaints!
  9. Success!!!! I contacted HARMAN (who took over Adobe AIR) and they provided me with a link to the runtime. Small download, install and it works. Here is the link for anyone else who might face the same challenges as I did. https://airsdk.harman.com/runtime
  10. Here are the installation instructions. I just have no idea what step 3 means. Install the AIR SDK in Windows Download the AIR SDK installation file. The AIR SDK is distributed as a standard file archive. To install AIR, extract the contents of the SDK to a folder on your computer (for example: C:\Program Files\Adobe\AIRSDK or C:\AIRSDK). The ADL and ADT tools are contained in the bin folder in the AIR SDK; add the path to this folder to your PATH environment variable. https://help.adobe.com/en_US/air/build/WS2d8d13466044a7337d7adee012406959c52-8000.html#:~:text=Install the AIR SDK in Windows&text=To install AIR%2C extract the,to your PATH environment variable
  11. Correct, it is on Windows (I have tried using Win 10 and Win 7). I do not see a .MSI file in the root, but I found 2 through a search, but these fail when I run them.
  12. My laptop recently went into hospital for a format. I tried installing the efergy app (eLink) but I am having trouble. The app requires Adobe Air, which is no longer supported. The SDK is available, which I have downloaded, but I do not know how to install it or point the program to the right bits. Google seems to focus on IT gurus. I contacted Efergy who's response was "You can download a SDK version of this item (https://airsdk.harman.com/download) and you can download and install after you accept the terms and conditions." Download complete, but how to install? No .exe in the root folder or the install folder. I have just moved into a new place and intend to install a solar system in the next few weeks, but now I am unable to analyse my usage to make sure that I spec it correctly :( Can anyone help please?
  13. I agree on the hot water - I will look into this in future. Same story with the stove and moving to gas. I have an efergy metre - it has been great to be able to analyse my data. In my previous place, I analysed my geyser consumption when considering a solar geyser. By simulating the scenarios, I was able to determine that I would save approximately 30% just with a geyserwise, which meant that that solar geyser capital would take a lot longer to pay off than everyone promises. At the end of the day, I saved that 30% anticipated and the geyserwise paid itself off in 3 months! Well worth the investment and effort. Data is gold!
  14. Thank you FixAMess, this is excellent information! I appreciate your efforts.
  15. Thanks GreenFields, good points. Refer previous post for my consumption and peak stats. Consumption is optimised as far as the wife will allow Short of putting motion sensor lights in the bathroom, I think I have done all I can. One additional thing I will consider is to change the geyser element from 3kW to 2kW, if necessary. Pool could maybe run a little shorter. The system will be grid-tied. Where can I find the municipal maximum supply requirements? Could it be more than 6.5kW, which is the max the inverter can take? I found the following calculator https://solecsa.co.za/sizing-tool/ With my data, it suggests a 5kW array. I am open to looking at any other calculators you can recommend. The next big question will be, what size panels
  16. Thanks for your response Vassen. Thanks for the max PV size the inverter can handle. I suppose that is the ultimate (but costly) objective. Objective of system: Cost reduction, minimise electricity bill. I do not want to go off grid, I am happy to use Eskom to supplement. The wife wanted loadshedding backup, which is why I got the battery. I am undecided on whether to cycle the battery daily. It's just enough (or maybe just short) to get us through the night on essentials only. We'll get another battery when funds allow, short term objective was to keep lights on for loadshedding. Peak loads, unmanaged, isn't more than 7kW. Generally we are well under 5kW. I am looking into the deep hole of home automation to explore ways of moving peak load to peak PV generation time. Peak loads include geyser, pool pump and dishwasher, all can be programmed to run when optimal. The wife is open to managing peak loads when the system is installed (check the monitor before putting the kettle on kind of thing). Idle essential load is <250W. Daily average consumption is in the region of 20kWh. Likely to start increasing as the baby gets older. I have the analogue meter Not sure if I can count on spinning it backwards though, I am not sure on the technicalities/legalities on doing that in Pretoria. I am open to it, if its possible. I am in agreement in principle to start off and add more if necessary. But it adds to the cost to have to add more later (extra delivery, installation etc.).
  17. Hi all Based on the very helpful advice on this forum, I have decided on a system. I will be getting a Sunsynk 5kW hybrid inverter and I have already bought a PylonTech US3000C on a Black Friday special. I am happy that this part of the system is adequately spec'd for my needs. How do I size the PV array? I cannot seem to find much guidance on this, other than get 5kW of panels to match the 5kW inverter. Is this all there is to it? Does it need to be "overspec'd" to cater for weather/seasons? I don't want to to go overboard and then have too much surplus that I cannot use, spending more than required. Under spec'ing results in reduced potential savings. How does one find the balance? I am in Pretoria. My roof is 45 degrees, facing NNW. Shade is not a problem at all, at any time of the day. Any advice on how to go about sizing the array? Cheers Craig
  18. The sunsynk is better than? The Deye?
  19. I had a chat to one of the guys at Solar Advice. They have rebranded the Deye and will be providing the support for them. They got 100 of them. I have the manual. Would anyone with the Sunsynk be keen to do a quick comparison? I don't want to kick myself later for saving the 2.5k if it's not worth it.
  20. Thanks to everyone for your input, I really appreciate it! This is a great forum! I think I am going to go with the Sunsynk 5kW. Now to find one. Any recommendations on where to get one at a good price? Preferably local (Pretoria). Any current specials, or Black Friday specials? I can only install in Feb, but I doubt prices will go down by then (might go up?).
  21. I hear you on the lithium batteries. However, what I intentionally did not mention in my OP was that my startup budget is around R70k. If I go R30k inverter, R20k panels and (thumbsuck) R20k installation, I hit my budget. The wife wants backup lights "for the system and investment to make sense to her". The extra battles we face! So batteries are on my radar, but might not make it into the initial install. Same story with the panels. As I do not know what my loads will be exactly yet, I am speccing a smaller system to get it up, then will happily add panels as required. I will look into the best panel closer to the time, but I have access to a commercial solar distributor that might be able to help me with panels. I have enough space for all panels to have full sun, no trees nearby. My only concern is that the pitch of the roof is high, might result in a different challenge. I think its about 45 degrees. Panels will face NNW I want the whole house to run on solar during the day. My current daytime idle load is 250-300w, so the system should not have to handle much more (except the additional pool pump which will run in the day).
  22. This is exactly my intention, nail on head! My idea at the moment, is to set the pool to run when the PV gets up high enough, and then (if I stick with electric geyser on AC) to heat the geyser early afternoon, turning the pool off for the time if required.
  23. Thanks Richard. For this reason, I do not want to overspec the number of panels. I would need to establish my load patterns first and flatten them as much as possible and aim for zero grid consumption during the day. Any feedback to the grid I would consider "bonus" and am not factoring it in to my payback/breakeven point calculations. Its easy enough to add panels later on if necessary.
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