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Craigm

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Everything posted by Craigm

  1. Thanks for the link Richard. I understand the theory, but the practical implementation is tripping me up. The automation and tinkering is above my competence (I should have studied engineering instead of finance ). I now understand your previous automation comment. I would need an automated solution as I would not be able to monitor and manually switch things on and off. Plus my wife might be a little upset if I forgot
  2. I've been told it's an analogue meter, but haven't seen it yet. Based on this, my intention was to use the grid as a battery, with only small lead acid battery backup for lights in loadshedding. In this case, load vs generation balancing would be less important, right? As the meter would spin both ways, as opposed to very slowly or not at all.
  3. Thanks for the explanation. I'm missing something though. Using a hybrid system means that any shortfall can be taken from the grid? So if the panels generate 2kW and my load goes up to 3kW, wouldn't the additional requirement be drawn from the grid? Am I understanding correctly?
  4. Vassen, thank you for your comprehensive response. It does resonate with me. Except the 80 degree water, crikey! My geyserwise is set for 36 degrees for my showers (a bit warmer for the wife ).
  5. Do you mind elaborating on your first statement? I have looked at the geyserwise pv option before, but I will give this another look in the my new context, thanks!
  6. 100%. I must say that based on the feedback, the sunsynk is looking mighty appealing.
  7. Thanks for your feedback. When you say a decent monitoring system, do you mean on the inverter itself? If so, would the goodwe or sunsynk suffice? My intended backup battery load would be small, only including lights and some small appliances.
  8. I'm with you. You lose the potential energy that you could have used once the water is at temperature. So with the goodwe and the sunsynk, can you set the inverter to stop feeding into the grid if the net effect on the meter is a credit? For example if you go on holiday and don't consume as much as normal. More panels is better, but you can have too much will will create a problem.
  9. I see you had a challenge with an update. I also had a look at the thread on the Sunsynk, will definitely consider this, thanks! At the price point, it is appealing! Thanks for your response!
  10. Hi guys My situation has changed since my first into post here, so I thought I would ask again. I have bought a new house in Pretoria, which I plan on being in a while, so I am ready to invest in a solar system. New house has a pool, so I know I am in for an extra R1k electricity bill per month, plus a granny flat. These additional factors make me think that the packback period is going to be shorter and therefore a worthwhile investment. If I spend R60k investment and save just the monthly pool cost, payback is just over 5 years, happy days. (this is my simplistic projections, I'm sure savings will differ from month to month). Anticipated daily use of around 20kWh. My intention was to go grid-tied with a PV array. My wife wants backup for loadshedding, just on lights and limited plugs (router and maybe TV). So I was thinking of going hybrid, with a Goodwe ES 4.6kw, around 8-12 400w odd panels (for now) and a couple of lead-acid batteries (backup only, keep cost down for now). I have three questions with my intended setup. If I am investing in a system like this, is it worthwhile to get a solar (EV or plate) geyser as well? Or should I rather invest in a couple more panels, push back more into the grid during the day and stick to Eskom via Geyserwise controller before shower time? I am purely looking at cost saving, there is an installed gas geyser as backup for SHTF days. Just installing a Geyserwise TSE saved me 30% in my current house, paid itself off in three months! So if I installed the Geyserwise anyway, is it worth putting in a dedicated solar geyser? If I exceed the 4.6kw load on the Goodwe while the grid is up, will I have issues? Or is this rating for backup (battery) only and unlimited when drawing from the grid? What are the alternative inverters that I should look at for my intended purpose? Should I go bigger? Backup load will literally by lights and TV, maybe the fridge. Thanks, I appreciate any advice. Cheers Craig
  11. I am looking at this Geyserwise PV option at the moment. A lot of the information available points to the PV solution being more expensive. However, I have been quoted just over R15k for the system (not installed, but I can DIY). Quote includes 3x 375W Candadian Solar panels. This price seems reasonable in comparison to other options at the moment. My concern though is, will it heat the water quick enough during the day? My intention would be to heat it hotter than I need it during the day, my wife shower and kid bath in evening, and I could hopefully still be able to shower in the morning. We also wash bottles and dishes 2 or 3 times per day. No appliances draw hot water. The usage pattern wouldn't really make a difference with any solar option. Current usage (winter, Pretoria) is 11kWh average per day on my 3kW 200l geyser, based on the usage pattern described above.
  12. Apologies for confusing the two scenarios. Scenario 1 Small computer UPS, with the 7Ah battery replaced with something like 100Ah. Load runs through UPS and battery charges through UPS. Scenario 2 I have a Ctek charger and a bunch of 12v 7Ah batteries. I will run 12v DC lights on these batteries. I can also run the WIFI off of one of these batteries. To do this, I can connect the router and ONT to the battery via a created-for-purpose cable (not connected at all to AC). My question here is, can I connect the Ctek to the battery to charge the battery and power the appliances concurrently, with the battery taking over when AC fails. No other input, other than the Ctek. I hope this explains my question better. I did some more sums, the minimum load is 6A (3A for cameras and DVR, 2,5A for router and ONT). What is the Growatt model number? I am willing to "build my own trolley" if I can find stock of the components. I was going to order a trolley with the following spec, but obviously this is a much higher spec than to run only the internet and cameras: - Axpert Pure Sine 3000VA - 2x 100Ah AGM Deep Cycle batteries - Trolley Waiting time - 8 - 10 weeks through Geewiz, confirmed yesterday. Price - R13k - therefore this is my budget Open to all suggestions, thanks guys
  13. So that is part of my question. I am not sure about the size of the charging units on these models. Any ideas? The extent of the info I have on this unit was included in the post. My usage during the day would be low. Internet is 2.5Ah max, DVR is about 2Ah, cameras I'm not too sure. So let's call it 10 amps per hour consumption. So with a 1A charger, I'd only be OK for 1 x 2 hour loadshedding period per day. Is my maths correct? If so, this limitation will be a problem. I have a Ctek MXS 5.0 charger which I got to charge 12v 7Ah batteries for DC lights dotted around the house. However, I have been advised to not have the charger connected to a battery while the load is also connected, as the battery would then not last very long. Is this correct? What makes a UPS different to this setup?
  14. Hi all Based on current needs, I need a small UPS type of solution. It needs to run a 8CH CCTV kit, wifi and ONT during loadshedding. I'll go a bit bigger to allow for a TV and LED light if I am home. I looked the the trolley UPS options, but once I had settled on one I was happy with, I discovered the lead time was 10+ weeks. So now I am looking at alternatives. I want to go with Pure SIne wave, which limits the options. One idea I am considering is to get a PC UPS and then add a bigger battery, say 100Ah, to allow for longer run times. I can work around the logistics of the battery not fitting in the housing. Something like a Proline UPSI3000-G2 (Proline Innova Tower 3000VA Online UPS. 3000VA/2700W, Pure Sine Wave with AVR.LCD Display, 220V/50Hz. 12V/7Ah Battery, 1x USB port,1x RJ11 Port, 1x IEC C19 in, 6x IEC C14 Out, Black, 1 year warranty,Typical Backup time 5 min). Mecer and Eaton are also options. Any reasons to not go this route? If this is doable, any brands to avoid? Thanks in advance for the help.
  15. Thanks @Fuenkli. I didn't expect that answer at all, but it's refreshing to see the honesty! Based on my consumption, I know my break even point is far far into my future. I did the sums on a solar geyser (based on consumption at the time) and it was a 30 year break even period. I wont be in the house that long. Decided not to go that route until something drastically changes. The trolley option I view as a pure cost and will be for convenience only. I hear you regarding the subsidy. But I am also cognizant of the fact that panels might be taxed at some point, which we cannot factor into our calcs at the moment.
  16. She is coming in April, so will still be small in winter. I have a portable gas heater which we use instead of the aircon. But we will have to see how this goes. Tumble drier, together with other electricity guzzlers, are swear words in my house. I have managed to get my consumption very low due to the lack of these sort of appliances (no tumble driers, pool or borehole pump etc). I even managed to convince SWAMBO that hairdryers aren't that great I have checked, both the optical unit and the router are 12v (1A and 1.5A). I havent started looking at charging units yet though, so I will check back in with you if I do go this route. Based on my requirements, I think if I go for this size unit, I might as well wire it into the DB. I agree on the overworked part. The company that I work for has some involvement in solar in some of our subsidiaries, (they focus on distribution and large commercial designs and installations) who just haven't had the time to help me look at my tiny residential system requirements. And I guess it is only going to get worse (better?). Based on this, once I have a solid design, I will try to source the parts through these guys, depending on brands obviously. Thanks for this. Maybe I should start another thread on first time parenting advice?
  17. @Igubu thanks very much for your repose! Thanks for this. I think I will take this off the table for now. It is not a primary objective. However, if I do end up going for the hybrid option, I can consider this at a later stage. Grid tied (no batteries) doesn't line up with my objectives of my current system requirements, so this is also off the table for me. I need the batteries for "outages". Could you suggest some inverter options that I could look at? I looked at my efergy monitor data and noted that my average peak is 2.8kw. Average idling consumption is <350w. I can manage consumption to ensure that peak does not exceed 3kw. However, I am also happy to go a little bigger (I do not want to buy a small inverter and cry in a years time when its too small). Thanks for this explanation. I think, based on the info I have thus far, that I need batteries and the panels can come later. But I'll be itching to get these on as this is where the cost saving potential is. Thanks very much for the offer. I am based in Pretoria.
  18. Hi guys I grew up with an interest in electronics, playing with peg boards and electronics kits. I was heading towards a technical career, until the world of finance called. I still do the odd DIY project with DC and AC and get my hands dirty, but nothing hectic. Electrickery can kill you, so there's a healthy respect there. I, like many, am becoming increasingly frustrated with the loadshedding situation. I have managed fine by just being prepared and dealing with the inconvenience. However, I have a little one on the way (due late April) which changes things. I cannot leave my wife and newborn at home with no electricity, especially due to the fact that I have no cell signal (I live in a cell signal dead spot). So it’s time to make a plan. I have an efergy power monitor so I know what my average daily consumption and peak consumption is. I have reduced my consumption pretty much as far as I can, by decreasing geyser temp, changing to LED lights etc. I use about 4.5kwh per day (excluding geyser and stove) and apparently that’s pretty low. Based on my interest in electronics and gadgets, together with the consumption and backup requirements, I have started looking around at various solutions. This forum was mentioned on another forum that I am on, so I came to check it out and am amazed at the amount of knowledge that is here. I have A LOT of reading to do! Originally, I started off thinking small. I need to keep the internet going for about 3 hours at a time. I checked my “box of random cables” and found that an old nokia 3310 charger fits the router and an old printer power supply fits the optical unit. I thought of cutting these cables and attaching to a decent 12v battery. Charge the battery when AC available. I could probably do this under R1k, as well as get some extra batteries and cheap Chinese DC lights/LED strips dotted around the house. Bit of a hassle and manual intervention required. But ticks a box and is cheap. OR….I looked at the long use UPS options. A basic inverter with 2 lead acid batteries in a trolley format, plug relevant appliances into trolley. Lots of cheapies around and most have high voltage variances (only the 5kVa Axpert was ±5%, others were 10% or more). This option, with 200ah, was about R11k. More capacity, can run more appliances, still a bit of hassle, requiring extension cords etc. But ticks more boxes. OR….If I am going the inverter route, do it properly and wire into DB. Run all light and plug circuits. Don’t feel loadshedding. Happy days. Extra $$$. Then I think to myself, if I go this route I must add panels, and if I add panels, I might as well get a hybrid inverter and feed back into the grid (I have a rotational meter). Here I was looking at a Goodwe 4ES 4.6kva with 2.4 - 4.8kwh and add some panels. And then I got a quote from an installer with a Schneider 4kw, Pylontech 4kwh system at R150k. At this point, I get despondent and take a long walk to forget about it. The slippery slope catches me and by the time I stop to look up, I have a system that way exceeds my budget and requirements. I am going to read up more on this forum and hope that the slope isn’t so slippery this time round. I am open to any and all advice, I really appreciate it. Cheers Craig
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