giorgos

If the inverters are set correctly, they can't affect much the solar generation.
Victron has proven reliability with excellent back up service, Sunsynk however has a better "round trip efficiency ".
Both are highly recommended for home installations in SA

Beat, read this tech note regarding cable lengths and importance of using the same thickness cable for all the batteries

Panel effieciency is determined by the amount of sun falling on the face of the panel at exactly the right angle.The most effiecient mppt voltage point is 370vdc so 7 x 50v = 350v in the sweet spot. The only slight diffrence at a higher voltage would be less I²R losses in the cables but would be negligable between 350v and 450v.

Just to clarify the theoretical diffrence between 10 panels east 10S1P( not possible on 1mppt due to voc limit) and 10 panels North 10S1P(neither possible 2nd mppt due to voc limit) will give you total output power of 11.2kwp. Should you configure 7S1P East,(Mppt1) 7S1P North(Mppt2) and 6S1P West(Mppt3) you will stil get total output power of 11.2kwp with negligable power output diffrence the only diffrence in the latter configuration the power will be spread across the morning to the late afternoon without the midday peak.

That is exactly what i would have done. 10 panels facing North in 2 strings of 5 to Mppt 1 using both inputs( paralleled at the mppt). Same with the East string into Mppt2. Each mppt running at 250v Voc 26A Imp. This inverter is a beast you can connect 15.6kw solar input between the 3 mppt's 26A/ mppt. With the new layout did the installer use 1 mppt for East and 1 mppt for West.. This is how it should be 7s1p North mppt1 7s1p East Mppt 2 6s1p West Mppt 3.
Your solar installer created a lot of extra work for himself not fully understanding the connection configurations available on such an effiecient machine. 3 Mppts 6 string inputs @ 15600w of solar input.

You should get the Voc value of your exact solar panel model, multiply that by the number of panels in the string, that will give you the max voltage you could see on the inverter in any situation.
The installer shouldn't have to test install and then decide it's too high etc. Nevertheless it was a good decision not to have 10 panels, that looks too close to the max of 500v. 8 or maybe 9 panels may probably be fine, but we need the voc value of your panels to decide that.
Point to note, with a east / West split, your peak power will be less but your panels will work well early morning and afternoon. So a more accurate comparison would be to compare the kwh generated for the entire day. Compare the two setups.
I would leave the east and west panels (since they are already installed) and add another to the north facing, voc dependant.

Hi @Denns , you must use earthing/grounding washers.

Hi guys, those of us that have invested in a solar system and are located near Cape Town, we are will get a shock when we see the new rates that are designed to punish us.
The less electricity you buy, the higher the increase will be.
Go the the https://web1.capetown.gov.za/web1/rtcalc/ and see how the new rates will affect you.
The less electricity you buy, the higher the increase will be.
mine will be 20,84% higher for the same services,
I find these proposed increases to be criminal. They are mafia style extortion fees.

We have until tomorrow, 2 May to object, send your email to [email protected]

the blue power of Victron, reliable inverters that would most probably last for a life time

this one used to run backwards but unfortunately it was replaced with a prepaid one
WhatsApp Video 2023-09-19 at 22.14.23.mp4

Something like this:Only the Neutral.

Hi @Jay-Dee
The main reason for using an interface to the battery rather than just reading the battery voltage and working out the SOC from there is that it is not possible to get an accurate SOC in lithium batteries using the voltage because of the way that voltages rise in lithium batteries.  As you can see from this picture, the voltage difference between a 40% & 80% SOC on a lead acid is 6V, on a lithium is 0.5V. Voltages changes on lithium batteries is not linear the way it is with lead acids with big voltage changes only happening at the top and bottom of the SOC's.  

Most battery BMS's actually have a shunt in them that enables the BMS to know how much power has travelled through it in both directions and what the SOC is sitting at. Trying to get an accurate battery SOC from the voltage on a lithium battery is not possible. 

Please find the Entry Forum. Good Luck!
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Please enter to be randomly selected to win this great Victron kit.
We have decided not to bulk email this out to all 21 000 + forum members as we feel it is fair that regular users should win this prize.
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This is one of the items Estimated Value R18000.00 
Phoenix Inverter 48/3000 - 230V VE.Bus
Storage Systems - Battery Inverter
The Victron Phoenix inverters is powerful off grid inverters and can be used in parallel or 3-phase configurations
Heavy duty pure sinewave inverters
Extra start-up power to power up heavy loads
3-phase and parallel operation
Fully programmable

Datasheet-Phoenix-Inverter-1200VA-5000VA-EN.pdf

Fans definitely help to keep the temperature down. On an average day the built in fans switch on 29 times. With the external fans this is reduced to 6 times as internal fans are still required when batteries are charging. This will most likely vary depending on the size of your system. I have 3 x 5.32 Batteries and 12 x 550W panels. I plan to install a sonoff basic to turn off the fans at night.

This has been running for a couple of days on a smaller system 2x 5.3 batteries and the internal fans hardly turn on anymore. 

Done
 

Done
 

Having a generator to charge your batteries during the cloudy days via the inverter it means that you can be off grid for good
 

I got the same problem after replacing the common 16Amp plug of my fridge with a surge protected plug ( by Zak speed). I have a professional solar installation with Victron mulriplus inverter and every time the loadshedding starts and while the Victron takes over the earth leakage trips.
If I try to simulate the problem by switching off  the mains manually, the EL will not trip.
So I removed the surge protected plug for now while looking for either another make ( perhaps Ellies) or another solution to protect the fridge.
 

Like I get where they are coming from, but how about outlawing asbestos roofing like the rest of the world instead of taking away their ability to get solar? This ish is outlawed around the world, but we're ok with it as long as you don't put a solar panel on it 🤣

Hi guys, 
Have a look at the below YouTube link at 7:40 minutes. It has the pin outs. 
 
 

Funnily enough @PearlJam& I will encounter this exact issue at his installation site that we start in the coming week. 
Here are system diagrams to assist you @RakeshZA. Here is diagrams for the meter to assist. Bear in mind that they have swopped around the meter & it's upside down in the diagram with the inverter. Take special note of the Pin numbers & you will see what I mean. 
So to keep ppl in the loop with why a meter is required over the standard CT coil. The CT coil is supplied in the box with a 10m twisted pair of cables. However, this can be extended by another 10m. At now 20m in my Installation plan at @PearlJamsite we are too short for the CT coil. 
HEnce we need the Chint Meter to step in. Here are some Sunsynk manual extracts that explain the problem.
 

Thanks @mien - the screenshot help
That was exactly my suspicion. No idea why installers wire things up that way. Makes me wonder how well they actually know their stuff...
+1
@mien For your understanding - and that you can educate your installer: The MPPT in the Sunsynk has a startup voltage of 150V (as per the Sunsynk spec sheet), which means that the MPPT only starts up when the voltage on your panels reaches 150V. Now it appears that the MPPT actually does seem to start up a around 125V - otherwise you would not be generating any PV at all currently. The max MPPT voltage is 425V, which means your installer can easily combine the strings into a single string (resulting in 260V) and you will still be well within the limits of the MPPT. The other positive effect of this will be that you will start producing PV a bit earlier in the morning (because the 6 panels reach the 125V/150V earlier than your 3 at the moment) and also produce a bit longer in the evening.
You can probably add another 3 panels to that string if you want (finances and roof space allowing).
Only upside out of all of this is that your installer has already pulled 2 sets of cables from your roof to your inverter. So if in future you want to add more panels and put them on your 2nd MPPT, you don't need to pull any additional cables.

It is very important that you install the CT. If you extend the CT cable make sure that you twist them in the same direction as the original wire. If you don't twist the cables you will get interference which may affect your CT readings. Make sure that the arrow on the CT points to the inverter.