recre8

I'd say go for it. I have the 100A switch over products from TOMZN and never had an issue. There is a video floating online of the copper braid that they use inside in the conducting path and they look beefy.

I wouldn't necessarily trust it to run at 63A continuously, but with the normal fluctuating power load of a house I don't see any problem. Best is to install it the way you want and monitor the temperature (by feel) when you know heavy loads are being pulled, e.g. tumble dryer together with kettle and geyser on etc. How often have you tripped your mains breaker?

I'm helping a friend install an Axpert King 5kW (Synapse brand) inverter. Does anyone have specs on the amount of AC passthrough current the device can handle (in ECO mode)? For clarification, that would be the max current the device can handle when grid power is available and the inverter simply bypasses. The Deyes and Sunsynks clearly show their maximum passthrough current on the label, but I haven't been able to find anything concrete for the Axpert devices. I currently specced the input and output terminals to 25A MCBs (5.7kW) but I have seen a few post of forum members stating that passthrough is more likely to be 40A?

For the solarman loggers there is a secret menu where the mode can be switched to station only. Access the logger with a browser and log in. Then go to “http://xxxxxx/config_hide.html” Not sure if the new Sunsynk logger also has this.

Ah update... did a quick google search. There IS a South African standard (VC8036 / SANS-556-1 Lowvoltage switchgear Part 1: Circuit-breakers) BUT the regulator published an amendment stating that: So it seems that as long as you have ISO or EN certification on your switchgear, SABS compliance is implied and the insurance man can't deny your claim based on that.

Also wondered about that, but I did notice that almost none of my Schneider and Hagar breakers have SABS logos on them. And I definitely trust them way more than the MES rubbish I had in before which did have the SABS logo. I did notice that all my breakers have EN60947 certification (google says BS EN 60947-6-1 - Low-Voltage Switchgear and Controlgear). I don't know if we have a local equivalent of such a certification, but then again, having a SABS brand on something nowadays means it'll likely catch fire upon first use. Ultimately, I think the insurance companies only look for an electrical CoC being in place.

FYI I see the SANS 10142-1-2 standard was published sometime late last year and then shortly thereafter withdrawn again. https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202203/45954gen850.pdf

That looks like one of the older all-in-one models that have the relay that cuts your power inside the unit. These are no problem for solar installations. The newers prepaid meter split the system so that your actual meter (that cuts your power) is in a tamper-proof box out on the street and you only have a keypad to the meter. Eskom uses PLC (powerline communication) which sometimes an inverter will cause trouble with. Tbh, sometimes even running a fridge on a circuit can cause communication issues with these things. The newest installations City of Cape Town has done have all been with RF (radio) keypads so no issues there. Some of those meters are set up to detect current feeding back into the grid as tamper and to trip in that case. Should that happen though, if your installation is registered with the city, they will come out and replace your meter. FYI, those meters do allow small amounts of current to be fed back since this is a normal occurrence where a motor for instance turns off and the back-EMF is fed back to the grid. They usually have a threshold of a certain amount of energy for a limited period (15s). With a proper installation and CT clamp installed correctly you shouldn't run into those issues anyway.

When I did my installation the new SANS 10142-1-2 something something SSEG requirements were still in draft state. Has this now been finalized yet? I've come across a few drafts of the spec and there are a few places my installation won't be compliant. My cables are all in plain PVC trunking indoors and standard electrical 20mm PVC conduit outdoors. Judging by most of the installations on the "Member showcase" forum section, most other intallations also use PVC. I can't really find any installation that uses metal conduit. Then there is also the myriad of hazard and warning labels that are required now. It's easy enough to buy a pack of them, but the draft document doesn't really clearly state exactly which stickers need to be used and where they need to go. How did you guys go about it?

@RatBag I cannot for the life of me see how the supplier can think this is normal behaviour. What would be the point of the unit then? If you still have the unit, there something you should perhaps test. These units are all the same, with different labels printed on them and they all "prefer" Source A. That the only reason I bought mine labelled as Generator and City Power (despite using it for solar)... simply because the City Power is labeled as Source A. Try swapping your sources as per your example connection photo with Source A = Eskom and Source B = Inverter and see if that perhaps results in the functionality you are expect. I can tell your for certain that both my units follow the following logic when in Auto mode: A present + B present = A selected A present + B missing = A selected A missing + B present = B selected In my case (with solar connector to B at the bottom and eskom connected to A at the top) the unit wants to stay in position A. When eskom fails, it jumps to B and the moment Eskom returns, it will go back to A. EDIT: Video found on Youtube showing the behaviour I have (timestamp 4:10)

It definitely sounds like your unit may be faulty or something inside isn't making contact. The 2 seconds delay for the relay also doesn't sound right. My units (100A units with generator and city power icons) switch instantly to whichever source is available. If both are available, it stays on Source A. If either one of the sources fail, it switches to the source with power. To my knowledge these units don't have overcurrent protection built in and rely on you having overcurrent protection upstream, which would be required anyways.

Sounds like it might be. Post a photo of your setup.

Hey. They are still going strong after more than a year. I don't use them to switch daily though, but they do cycle whenever loadshedding hits. Haven't had any issues. Only thing I have noticed is that the green LED isn't as bright as the red one, but that's about it. Otherwise I would recommend them.

Hmm my 5kW Deye didn’t switch over to UPS this morning when loadshedding hit. As the grid went down, so did my power. Checked the inverter: screen is off and doesn’t light up when you touch it. The blue power switch LED is on though. I restarted the battery and inverter. Inverter powered up like normal. The log shows F34 AC_Overload_Fault for the event. A few minutes later, UPS power came on and everything seems fine again. I’ve only ever seen this during or directly after a firmware update. My load was about 300W at the time and battery at 70%. There doesn’t seem to be any information about what this error is exactly. There are other codes that describe overcurrent etc in the manual that are well documented. F34 seems like a code the manufacturer doesn’t expect to happen. The other codes in the 30 range seem to be related to Grid AC, not load.

My Deye was updated to 3.3.77.4 a few weeks ago when I reported the issue to Deye. The update did not fix it.

I'm returning this one because I bought the other way more expensive one: https://za.rs-online.com/web/p/power-line-filters/7546061/ Judging by the datasheet, the lower current version (1-4A) shows OK-ish (20dB) attenuation around 15KHz with differential mode noise. Might be worth a try.

Interesting... question is whether the switching frequency changed in hardware or in firmware? Likely it should be in firmware given that its a simple PWM. But I agree that it would then invalidate the NRS certification.

I installed a filter specifically to get the Eskom keypad working. Still having issues in my house certain times of the day, but at least the other houses on my phase now have communication. The filter didn't do much to the high-pitched noise though. A filter operating at such a low frequency would also be quite large physically. The level of the noise the inverter produces is just far to much for the filter I bought to fully manage. But it should in theory be possible to filter out the high pitched noise with an external filter. Practically, the manufacturer should have done it.

I have a 5kW Deye that I installed about two years ago. Same internals as the Sunsynk. I could never hear the high pitched noise, but Eskom recently installed split-prepaid meters which use powerline communication (G3-PLC operates on the powerline at 35KHz to 95KHz) to connect the keypad in your house to the actual meter outside in the street, I did some investigating. The noise the inverter creates is so bad that it actually prevents not just my keypad from communicating, but everyone else on the same phase as me while the inverter is connected to the grid. There is a significant peak at 15KHz which is in the audible rand and is the high-pitched noise everyone is hearing. The inverter also creates harmonics a few orders down, meaning that every 15KHz there is a peak. I am seriously questioning the inverter's NRS certfication which requires harmonics to be with a reasonable range and interoperation with other main signalling devices (such as the Eskom prepaid meter). Attached is a frequency domain analysis on the powerline with the inverter on. You can clearly see the harmonics at every 15KHz. Also attached is a frequency analysis in the audible range showing a peak at 15KHz. This was taken in my kitchen where there are no appliances or audio devices that produce sound. I contacted the manufacturer regarding the issue and their response after upgrading the firmware was to buy a powerline filter. This shouldn't be necessary if the filtering in the inverter is adequate. Once again, no idea how they achieved NRS certification.

I'm doing the E/N bond in the main DB. Definitely before any E/L. In my case I bond the neutral of the UPS side of the Deye to earth using a normally closed contactor. My primary reason for this is because I find it neater having a DIN rail mounted contactor in my DB than a relay of dubious origin in the inverter's panel. Secondly, the Deye/Sunsynk only switches off the relay output after it synchronizes to the grid. By default this is 60 seconds after grid is restored. I just prefer not having the earth-neutral bond made for longer than is really necessary. Here is a diagram of my DB if helps https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jR_KdiXjaSKleup5vDDYBpVIsFYQQkRp/view

Yeah, I believe that according to SANS the earth-neutral bond may not be done past the point of supply (i.e. Eskom or municipality). I opted to rather have a contactor in my DB board to do the earth-neutral bond instead of a relay with the inverter's outputs. The contactor closes and bridges earth-neutral whenever grid is lost.

I actually have two very similar ATS's on my setup. As other have said, you don't really need the transfer switch if your loads are all connected to the UPS output of the Deye... BUT there is a caveat. In my case my loads can easily exceed the maximum passthrough current of the inverter. Imagine the dishwasher, tumble dryer and washing machine all running at once. This is where such a switch comes in handy. The loads are still on mains, and even when the loads are at 7kW, the inverter feeds back it's maximum 5kW. If you were to 7kW through the inverter, it would shut down. I feed my ATS's with Grid on Source A and Inverter on Source B, so it will automatically switch back to grid when loadshedding ends so that my loads aren't passed through the inverter. These switches make a hell of bang due to their fast switching so sometimes I just put in manual and switch over to Source B when I know loadshedding is coming. My setup definitely shows the load of the house whether the ATS is on grid or inverter. Like others have said, your installer probably didn't install the CT correct... most likely connected it to the wrong spring terminals in the inverter if you get a zero measurement all the time.

Deye and Sunsunk are actually the same product. Deye is just the OEM manufacturer. Sunsynk is a rebranded version of Deye inverters. In South Africa Deye and Sunsynk actually have the same support company. I believe the Sol-Ark products in the US are also rebranded versions. The MCU (Inverter) firmware is done by Deye and each licensee manages their own HMI (The LCD display) firmware.

Out of interest, since Section 12B does not apply to individual tax payer and their income tax returns, do you guys know of any expense that can be claimed on your Personal income tax return with regards to a solar installation? I asked taxtim.co.za and their feedback so far was that a percentage of it can be claimed for you home office electricity, but no feedback as of yet as to how to calculate the portion.

Hi @pete boy You can mail service(at)deye.com.cn and provide them with your logger serial number. Also tell them in the email the reason you want it is because of the clipping. Incidentally I noticed on the Sunsynk blog they hired someone as the technical manager of "Sunsynk / Deye SA". Seems like Deye and Sunsynk have the same support channel now? You could maybe message him if you don't manage with the service email address.