bushman10

I am living in Paarl and grid tie and feedings back. As long as my rates & taxes account does not show a + at their financial year end all is good. The reason is that they are not geared for actually paying out money to ratepayers and then I will have to declare it as income and then pay tax on it


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Thanks@plonkster. Overall seems like a pretty nifty LBB (little blue box).
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Victron uses RS232? Well, maybe they confuse the names, because I think the only piece of equipment that uses that is the older mk2 serial unit, most people now use the mk2-usb. They have some other deprecated protocols (an RS485 protocol on the older Phoenix inverters, and VE-Net), and there is the internal protocol between inverters (ve-bus) that you are not supposed to mess with (it's like BMW's K-BUS... only for internal use). Currently only three protocols are used for 3rd party connectivity, 1) can bus (nmea2000, for interfacing with marine equipment), 2) ve-direct (which is TTL-level serial, not RS232), and mk2 (which is usually usb now).
So strictly speaking that is not quite true, though at the same time, I think they broad implication is that when people say they support "all" inverters, they really mean "almost all" inverters.
However, there is a standard that is becoming industry standard, known as sunspec. Sunspec is usually layered on top of modbus, layered on RS485 (RTU iow), and this is supported by many inverters (at least SMA and Fronius as far as I know, as well as some Lithium battery BMS systems). I have a feeling those Schneiders might even support that.
As a programmer, I'm a little amused when people worry about can vs rs485 vs rs232... those are layer 1 and layer 2 things (assuming 7-layer OSI model). The difficult parts, the parts that cost time and money, are layer 3 and up.
On the software side, we end up with a "character device", something that spits out sequential data if you open it and read it like a file, but cannot be forwarded and rewinded (randomly seeked) like a file. It literally all looks the same from the software side. If you plug in an RS485 converter, an Victron MK2, a Victron VE-Direct, they will all show up as "serial ports" on the OS side. On Linux, the can bus shows up as either a network device or a serial device, depending on hardware.
Also, RS485 is also just serial, the difference lying in using differential signalling, which allows longer distances. The data on top of it, again, is the real hard work. I would think that if this is the stumbling block, then adding a RS232->RS485 converter should solve it... but of course it won't, the issues are deeper :-)
Edit: Can't reveal names just yet, but I have heard on the grape vine that a supplier of Lithium Ion batteries is switching its BMS from RS485+Modbus to a canbus solution... once again calling question if there really is an "industry standard" :-)

This is really remarkable. If I remember correctly, these fridges were about R8 000 each. Can't find the invoice now. But, if one takes the huge energy saving fact into account, it makes sense to buy them. I bought them in 2014 and I have never thrown any food away since then. So think about it... (And no, I am not a Bosch rep.)

@superdiy - yes the Smart Meter is in the courtyard outside at the connection point where Escom comes into the property.

One phase at a time. Busy rewiring DB to get all lights, plugs,and some aircons to run on the phase the Victron is on. What I am doing now is the start of a process and it kicks off with the best equipment that I can afford to allow me over time to get to an ideal state which in my opinion will be completely off grid. Lots of things will change over time such as getting rid of 3 phase aircons and replacing them with single phase and then getting off 3 phase muni etc.
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Generation
2 x 5kW Schneider RL5000s inverters
10 kWp Solar array (40 Panels)
Back Up
10 kW Victron Quattro 48V Inverter
8.8 kWh Battery (8 x 180Ah)
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I have received the good news today that Paarl municipality have approved - "Your application to install and commission a photo-voltaic embedded generation system has been approved". The conditions are pretty generic but the interesting one is - "c. That exported energy into the municipal network may not exceed the total of energy normally imported from the municipal network. "

My application forms to Paarl municipality has gone in for them to buy back power. Unfortunately the dude dealing with it is on leave until 18th. Will keep u posted on progress.
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My deal with the supplier is that they need to manage the entire application process. If the application fails then I am not buying the kit as the kit and installation need to comply to all the Muni standards. If the application succeed then the deal goes ahead. Once the installation is starting I will post pictures
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My application forms to Paarl municipality has gone in for them to buy back power. Unfortunately the dude dealing with it is on leave until 18th. Will keep u posted on progress.
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