On 2022/01/05 at 8:36 AM, Tariq said:

@Vaal, you can go over the 6500 watts, the only negative is that except for battery charging, the inverter can't invert more than 5000 watts, the rest will come from the grid, main reason to go over 6500 watts is for winter or cloudy days.

also remember, try not to go over  450 Voc and anything over 13 amps will be wasted due to clipping.

I agree with you @Tariq. The main issue is how to balance the Max. VoC, more so in winter. In summer, due to heat, the panels may be less efficient. I would say calculate your VoC with enough of a headroom of about minus 10-15%, depending on location. Places say in Limpopo will have different effects from CT more so in winter weather. Food for thought. By the way, has anyone had any experience with a Deye/Sunsynk inverter needing MPPTs replaced either one or both and how seamless or trouble-free was it getting parts?

Edited January 6, 20224 yr by Moffat
Additional information and question.

13 hours ago, Terminal3k said:

What about landscape under the pool? 

never had to do it, but i suspect it is a lot more work as the rail mounting structure has to be vertical, due to clamping zones

Would it be possible to have a part of the panel hanging over the edge of the roof? The "free floating" part from the edge to the mounting rail which is about 300mm on a JA 535w  panel. (2200 - 1600) ÷ 2 = 300mm per side. 

On 2022/01/07 at 8:05 AM, Tariq said:

never had to do it, but i suspect it is a lot more work as the rail mounting structure has to be vertical, due to clamping zones

The rails don't have to be vertical for landscape installation. Here is the guidelines from JA Solar installation manual:

22 minutes ago, PowerUser said:

The rails don't have to be vertical for landscape installation. Here is the guidelines from JA Solar installation manual:

Yes, but you have to use a lot more rail per panel with horizontal rails in landscape...

On 2022/01/04 at 1:22 PM, Terminal3k said:

Thanks all. 

In the manual it says max DC input of 6500w - so the panels can be more than that? 

PV input voltage is 100v~500v

Mppt range 125v~425v

So I must keep my voltage under 500v for the panels? 

Sorry for my noobness. 

Keep it at about 450v. If say in winter, which is colder and you suddenly have solar, your voltage could go quite high hence why most people recommend the range of 450v, including videos from Keith at Sunsynk online.

3 minutes ago, Moffat said:

Keep it at about 450v. If say in winter, which is colder and you suddenly have solar, your voltage could go quite high hence why most people recommend the range of 450v, including videos from Keith at Sunsynk online.

Thanks! The video I saw was about the 8kw inverter for 450v. I assume it's the same for thr 5kw?

2 minutes ago, Terminal3k said:

Thanks! The video I saw was about the 8kw inverter for 450v. I assume it's the same for thr 5kw?

Sorry, given this information attached, I would recommend going 400v. Source: https://www.ellies.co.za/product/5kw-sunsynk-hybrid-inverter/

It is the same Voc, 450 volts for both the 5 kW and 8 kW

4 hours ago, PowerUser said:

The rails don't have to be vertical for landscape installation. Here is the guidelines from JA Solar installation manual:

Didn’t know that, would have thought there would be too much flexing of the panels under high wind loads, but if the manufacturer says it is ok, then you are good to go

Hi just some light from my side I have the Sunsynk 8Kw and 7.5kwh panel is more than I require Voc are around 260v of 3 strings. My 14kwh pack is charged by 12pm and my usage is around 1.5kwh. So depending if you feedback to grid or have a 30kwh pack then more panels would be good. After 12pm my solar panel are on relax mode as my meter does not allow feedback. Generation stars around 7am and end around 4 to 5pm.

Edited January 10, 20224 yr by Raj35

2 minutes ago, Raj35 said:

Hi just some light from my side I have the Sunsynk 8Kw and 7.5kwh panel is more than I require Voc are around 260v of 3 strings. My 14kwh pack is charged by 12pm and my usage is around 1.5kwh. So depending if you feedback to grid or have a 30kwh pack then more panels would be good. After 12pm my solar panel are on relax mode as my meter does not allow feedback. Generation stars around 7am and end around 4 to 5pm.

Thanks, 

Are you strings East / west facing? 

5 minutes ago, Terminal3k said:

Thanks, 

Are you strings East / west facing? 

6 Artsolar panels 400watt  facing NE at 35° , 6 facing NE 5° tilt , 3 Canadian facing NE  35 ° and 3 facing NW 35°. The 6 Canadian are 445w I have seen 2800watt from them.

Edited January 10, 20224 yr by Raj35

On 2022/01/07 at 8:56 AM, Vaal said:

Would it be possible to have a part of the panel hanging over the edge of the roof? The "free floating" part from the edge to the mounting rail which is about 300mm on a JA 535w  panel. (2200 - 1600) ÷ 2 = 300mm per side. 

I wouldn't do it. Distance from edge of panel to edge of roof should be specified by the manufacturer of the fastener (Renusol, Schletter et al) and calculations are made taking into account wind speeds at your location.

Check out this https://www.pvgreencard.co.za/Solar PV Guidelines - Digital Spread High-res.pdf

See page 55, the recommendations are to take 28m/s for most of SA, (unless you are in CT or PE I guess where it would be much higher).

Edit: Note that you don't have to use rails. Sometimes individual fasteners like Renusol Metasole+ (for IBR roofing) is far cheaper than rails.

Edited January 10, 20224 yr by YellowTapemeasure

3 hours ago, YellowTapemeasure said:

I wouldn't do it. Distance from edge of panel to edge of roof should be specified by the manufacturer of the fastener (Renusol, Schletter et al) and calculations are made taking into account wind speeds at your location.

Check out this https://www.pvgreencard.co.za/Solar PV Guidelines - Digital Spread High-res.pdf

See page 55, the recommendations are to take 28m/s for most of SA, (unless you are in CT or PE I guess where it would be much higher).

Edit: Note that you don't have to use rails. Sometimes individual fasteners like Renusol Metasole+ (for IBR roofing) is far cheaper than rails.

But on pg 60 they show that the mounting holes in the panel frame are ¼ of length from the side. So that means to me that the panels are anyhow not supported up to the edge. On my roof there is a purlin running about 70mm from the edge of the ibr sheet and my plan is to mount a P2000 rail onto that purlin but if I use the panels mounting holes there will be about a 300mm overhang by the panels.  Eish

10 hours ago, Vaal said:

But on pg 60 they show that the mounting holes in the panel frame are ¼ of length from the side. So that means to me that the panels are anyhow not supported up to the edge. On my roof there is a purlin running about 70mm from the edge of the ibr sheet and my plan is to mount a P2000 rail onto that purlin but if I use the panels mounting holes there will be about a 300mm overhang by the panels.  Eish

I looked at page 60, didn't see the diagram, but I understand your statement. The problem is that a panel overlapping the edge of the roof acts like a sail in the wind, placing additional stresses on the mounting. The ultimate authority on whether the mounting can take it is the mounting manufacturer, they would either specify or assume a minimum the distance from the edge, relative to anticipated wind speed.

On 2022/01/10 at 6:18 PM, Tariq said:

Didn’t know that, would have thought there would be too much flexing of the panels under high wind loads, but if the manufacturer says it is ok, then you are good to go

Would be more concerned about the wind getting underneath the panels and ripping them off the roof

So, I learnt something new today about my inverter 🙂 

Sunsynk 8kw specs say 10400W Max solar power. 

I learnt that the 10.4kw limit is split between the MPPT's @ 5200Watts per MPPT

Saying this however, the max amount of power I have produced on one MPPT is 5400watts, perhaps since the firmware update, there does however seem to be a cap per mppt as mine pull back on the power at 5.4kw.

 

On 2022/01/11 at 9:08 AM, YellowTapemeasure said:

I looked at page 60, didn't see the diagram, but I understand your statement. The problem is that a panel overlapping the edge of the roof acts like a sail in the wind, placing additional stresses on the mounting. The ultimate authority on whether the mounting can take it is the mounting manufacturer, they would either specify or assume a minimum the distance from the edge, relative to anticipated wind speed.

So taking this into account how do people mount the whole array on a single pilar where there is no roof. The actual pilar has to take all the strain and not the panel mounting. 

15 minutes ago, Scorp007 said:

So taking this into account how do people mount the whole array on a single pilar where there is no roof. The actual pilar has to take all the strain and not the panel mounting. 

The same engineering approach applies. Need to take into account wind speed and other forces (like gravity) acting on the array, and ensure that the manufacturer's specifications and instructions for mounting the array are followed.