Been here and the whole solar internet for the past two weeks studying everything. 

After having 4hours of LS in a 10hour period in Bfn decided to pull the trigger all the way. 

Had the sunsynk 5kw for a week or two and just wanted to do the PV and inverter but André wrestled my arm to a full system. 

So getting the following (skipping the boring stuff like fuses and isolators etc cause we all hopefully know we need those) 

Sunsynk 5kw Hybrid

10 x 540w Ja Solar Panels 

1 x Hubble 5.5KW with Cloudlink 

1 x Hubble 5.5KW

All panels facing North. Living in an old Municipal house which we bought in April, its a duet but we live on top so have the roof. 

Geyserwise also on the way and will be utilising 2 of the 540 panels for the DC element portion. So 8 panels for the sunsynk. 

Still have West and East roofs open which could take 4 to 6 panels each. Planning to connect these to the 2nd string and another mppt later on but still need to work out exactly how to charge batteries with a 3rd party mppt. Any help appreciated.

So ja will be making an install showcase thread soon to add some pics. 

So you are installing 8x540 watt=4320 watts on one string on a 5 kW inverter, the total string voltage and current is within specs, just not sure about all that extra power on one string, though  @Sc00bs, I believe has over 12 kWp on his 8 kW sunsynk and don’t he has any issues 

4 minutes ago, Tariq said:

So you are installing 8x540 watt=4320 watts on one string on a 5 kW inverter, the total string voltage and current is within specs, just not sure about all that extra power on one string, though  @Sc00bs, I believe has over 12 kWp on his 8 kW sunsynk and don’t he has any issues 

Hi Tariq, 

What do you mean "all that extra power"? 

Appreciate all feedback. 

Looking at the datasheet for the 540W JA Solar panel, it looks like it has a max power current of 12.97A. The max PV input current on a single MPPT for the Sunsynk 5kW is 11A, so at full sunshine a single MPPT might not be able to utilise the full power output of the array. I believe the 8kW Sunsynks have 22A on their MPPTs.

Not sure if this matters too much though, as long as the voltage range of the string is in spec you should be fine. It's just the max PV power output might be less than you expect.

He is probably doing a string of 5 panels per mppt. It sounds like he has a good installer.

Your installer gave you good advice on installing panels rather than just an expensive UPS.

@Sir Rodgers, with a firmware update, the 5 kW can handle 13 amps, i have 540 watt panels on my Sunsynk 5 kW

@Buyeye, maybe i misunderstood @JoeSlow, thought you said you would be installing 8 panels on one mppt facing North,is that correct

Edited November 12, 20214 yr by Tariq

@Tariq Ah, thank you for this information. I did not know that. So you can just download an extra 2A then? 😉 Technology is amazing these days. But on a more serious note, that might make me consider using 540W panels myself for the system I am planning.

2 minutes ago, Tariq said:

@Buyeye, maybe i misunderstood @JoeSlow, thought he said he would be installing 8 panels on one string facing North.

Sorry that part made no sense too me. Maybe I was suggesting to him that connecting 5 panels per mppt would be a much better idea and connecting his geyser to the Inverter. 

Maybe a 2kw ptc element with his geyserwise connected to the inverter makes more sense.

The installer already gave him good advice I'm not sure what the point of separating the panels from the most efficient part of his system which is the sunsynk inverter.

27 minutes ago, Buyeye said:

He is probably doing a string of 5 panels per mppt. It sounds like he has a good installer.

Your installer gave you good advice on installing panels rather than just an expensive UPS.

Well no, actually 8 panels on the one string. The other 2 panels is for the geyserwise. Reason they separate is I'm running between 2 to 3kw of crypto miners.

So to prevent too much wattage being drawn I'm splitting them apart. If the Sunsynk can dedicate one string to a specific load I might reconsider.

 

28 minutes ago, Tariq said:

@Sir Rodgers, with a firmware update, the 5 kW can handle 13 amps, i have 540 watt panels on my Sunsynk 5 kW

This is good news. My unit was built in June 2021 so maybe already updated.

19 minutes ago, Buyeye said:

Sorry that part made no sense too me. Maybe I was suggesting to him that connecting 5 panels per mppt would be a much better idea and connecting his geyser to the Inverter. 

Maybe a 2kw ptc element with his Geyserwise connected to the inverter makes more sense.

The installer already gave him good advice I'm not sure what the point of separating the panels from the most efficient part of his system which is the sunsynk inverter.

As per first reply going with 8 panels on one string. 2 panels on the Geyserwise.

Reason: might add a west array and then want the 2nd string available.

Probably many ways to approach this but we learn as we go. Being as efficient as possible I understand is key in the investment one makes here so no comment goes unnoticed and I appreciate.

@JoeSlow The issue with dedicating pv panels to one task is that when that task is done then they have nothing else to do.

If you connect all your panels to the sunsynk inverter you can setup your db to have essential and non essential loads with heavy users being on the non essential side.

The obvious issue with 8 x 540 watt panels is that they are over the mppt limit on 5kw sunsynk which I hoped your installer would have picked up.

With all the panels on the inverter you can power everything including the geyser and maybe spin the meter backwards when the geyser is hot.

2 minutes ago, Buyeye said:

@JoeSlow The issue with dedicating pv panels to one task is that when that task is done then they have nothing else to do.

If you connect all your panels to the sunsynk inverter you can setup your db to have essential and non essential loads with heavy users being on the non essential side.

The obvious issue with 8 x 540 watt panels is that they are over the mppt limit on 5kw sunsynk which I hoped your installer would have picked up.

With all the panels on the inverter you can power everything including the geyser and maybe spin the meter backwards when the geyser is hot.

That was also my worry that once water is hot thats it. Was thinking to dump some of teh hot water in my 6000l swimming pool to heat it up a bit but not sure is 150l will do anything to it.

Installation is next week so we'll plan it all out then and tripple check limits and decide on the strings.

Can one add additional mppts later to just charge the batteries? Cause my main plan is to get around 20 to 30kw of battery storage. Need to run the crypto rigs during the night on battery. I'm hosting some rigs for a friend at home. About 2kw and he's paying for it so in essence paying for my solar system.

 

Thanks for the advice we'll check the array config again

 

15 minutes ago, Buyeye said:

@JoeSlow

The obvious issue with 8 x 540 watt panels is that they are over the mppt limit on 5kw sunsynk which I hoped your installer would have picked up.

8 x 540 JASolar panels are not over the MPPT limit but exactly the max, this inverter can handle on one MPPT. See my calculations for those panels here:

 

@Buyeye, my 5 kW Sunsynk mppt ( after a firmware upgrade ) can handle 13 amps , I have JaSolar 540 watt panels and the inverter does not clip, and this is straight from Sunsynk

Edited November 12, 20214 yr by Tariq

@Tariq @JoeSlowI have to apologize I can't find the information that I was thinking about. Can it pull the whole 6,5kw from one mppt?

Edited November 12, 20214 yr by Buyeye

Haha well if what @Tariq says is correct(Seems it is from above screenshot) then I'm very happy! Thanks Tariq!

 

7 minutes ago, Buyeye said:

Can it pull the whole 6,5kw from one mppt?

It would be hard to get over 5,5kw on one string , max mppt working range is 425volts x 13 amps =5,525kw absolute maximum . I would personally keep it lower than that though haha ,maxing out the mppt that hard cant be great for it i would assume.

Just an FYI.

Each panel is 49.6 VOC so that times 8 = 396.8V which is a little over the 370 PV Input but still in the 100v to 500v range. Should be safe for spikes occuring.

I am running 8 panels with similar figures and they sit between 300-350v mostly,so 9 panels will still be very 'safe' and well within range .

Edited November 12, 20214 yr by Nexuss

the 5 kW is rated at 6500 watts total, so 3250 watts per mppt is recommended, @Sc00bs, we waiting for your input, as you have over 12 k w on his 8 kw Sunsynk.

8 minutes ago, Tariq said:

the 5 kW is rated at 6500 watts total, so 3250 watts per mppt is recommended, @Sc00bs, we waiting for your input, as you have over 12 k w on his 8 kw Sunsynk.

It can make more than 6,5kw ,you can set the solar array size in the advanced menu more than 6,5kw and it will make more than 6,5kw . I have 7,3kwp East/west split. Everything over 5kw is only on the dc side though so its unlikely to go that high often unless you have a massive battery bank to charge .

1 minute ago, Nexuss said:

It can make more than 6,5kw ,you can set the solar array size in the advanced menu more than 6,5kw and it will make more than 6,5kw . I have 7,3kwp East/west split. Everything over 5kw is only on the dc side though so its unlikely to go that high often unless you have a massive battery bank to charge .

That is very impressive because that is what @JoeSlow is planning to do. He is planning on a massive battery bank.

10 minutes ago, Nexuss said:

It can make more than 6,5kw ,you can set the solar array size in the advanced menu more than 6,5kw and it will make more than 6,5kw . I have 7,3kwp East/west split. Everything over 5kw is only on the dc side though so its unlikely to go that high often unless you have a massive battery bank to charge .

This sounds great!

Jip going for big battery bank. Was going to start with 3 x Hubble 5.5s but decided to stick to 2 since I dont know what unforeseen expenses might arise in the install and then the funds are not available. Will hopefully add the 3d Hubble by mid December

@JoeSlow is running crypto miners still so profitable to pay for this whole system? 😀

If you are going for a really large battery bank i would suggest you look into using LiFePo4 batteries for extra longevity . Hubble AM2 uses a chemistry more suited to people running only one or 2 batteries(higher energy density /higher discharge and charge rates ) but shorter lifespan.