Bl4d3 Posted March 25, 2022 Posted March 25, 2022 Hi all So we recently installed 2 x Sacolar Sunforce 5kw high voltage inverters (Growatt SPF 5000 ES). We upgraded from 2 x Axpert 4kw/5kva clones low voltage. Master Inverter Panels: 9 x Canadian Solar 365w Slave Inverter Panels: 4 x JASolar 535w panels Previous panel configuration was 3s3p on master and 2s2p on slave due to being low voltage. We changed the panel configuration to 9s1p and 4s1p which gives us a voltage of 360v and 160v respectively. Now the issue we are facing is that on the master (9 panels) we used to get close to 3200w output but with the new inverter we dont get more than 2600w. Slave we used to get 2000w but now we dont get more than 1600w. Did we perhaps stuff something up? Perhaps the other inverters were just inaccurate? Am I perhaps looking at this too finely? Quote
JapieSkapie Posted March 25, 2022 Posted March 25, 2022 7 hours ago, Bl4d3 said: Hi all So we recently installed 2 x Sacolar Sunforce 5kw high voltage inverters (Growatt SPF 5000 ES). We upgraded from 2 x Axpert 4kw/5kva clones low voltage. Master Inverter Panels: 9 x Canadian Solar 365w Slave Inverter Panels: 4 x JASolar 535w panels Previous panel configuration was 3s3p on master and 2s2p on slave due to being low voltage. We changed the panel configuration to 9s1p and 4s1p which gives us a voltage of 360v and 160v respectively. Now the issue we are facing is that on the master (9 panels) we used to get close to 3200w output but with the new inverter we dont get more than 2600w. Slave we used to get 2000w but now we dont get more than 1600w. Did we perhaps stuff something up? Perhaps the other inverters were just inaccurate? Am I perhaps looking at this too finely? Could be completely unrelated, but my solar input was limited to 3000W on my 8 x 540W JA solar panels, until I upgraded the firmware on the inverter. Now I'm getting up to 3800W. Just an option to consider. On the Growatt 5000 ES. Quote
abeetude Posted March 26, 2022 Posted March 26, 2022 8 hours ago, JapieSkapie said: Now I'm getting up to 3800W. @JapieSkapie is that your Spike MAX (Short period / burst due to clouds etc) or Peak AVG (Mid day sunny conditions / hour)? I have 8 x JA 540's as well, north facing with a bit of shade until 9AM and getting Max 3.7KW (short period) Quote
JapieSkapie Posted March 26, 2022 Posted March 26, 2022 29 minutes ago, abeetude said: @JapieSkapie is that your Spike MAX (Short period / burst due to clouds etc) or Peak AVG (Mid day sunny conditions / hour)? I have 8 x JA 540's as well, north facing with a bit of shade until 9AM and getting Max 3.7KW (short period) You may be right. My batteries are usually fully charged before I reach a consistent high solar throughput. Up until that point it climbs up to 3.5kW. I only see the 3.8kW when it is cloudy and the throughput is intermittent. I assumed it was because it was later in the day. I'm still learning... abeetude 1 Quote
Froggie Posted March 26, 2022 Posted March 26, 2022 How did you guys get CoC on your installations with these inverters? Quote
JapieSkapie Posted March 26, 2022 Posted March 26, 2022 57 minutes ago, Froggie said: How did you guys get CoC on your installations with these inverters? It was provided by the installer. But I'm in Gauteng. I heard the rules are a bit different in Cape Town. Quote
Froggie Posted March 26, 2022 Posted March 26, 2022 2 hours ago, JapieSkapie said: It was provided by the installer. But I'm in Gauteng. I heard the rules are a bit different in Cape Town. That's great! I was under the impression you can't get CoC with these inverters. Clearly I was ill-informed Quote
P1000 Posted March 28, 2022 Posted March 28, 2022 On 2022/03/26 at 5:19 PM, Froggie said: That's great! I was under the impression you can't get CoC with these inverters. Clearly I was ill-informed If the inverter is not NRS097-2017 approved, then you cannot get a CoC anywhere. Most electricians (IME) do not know this, so they don't check... That said, I don't know if this inverter is approved. Quote
Bl4d3 Posted March 28, 2022 Author Posted March 28, 2022 On 2022/03/26 at 5:19 PM, Froggie said: That's great! I was under the impression you can't get CoC with these inverters. Clearly I was ill-informed These inverters are not 'grid tied' and are considered as "Passive standby UPS utilised as off-grid hybrid SSEG" Therefore the CoCT approved inverter list does not apply. You may also not pull more than 15A charging from mains (25% of mains breaker), this can be limited by Software (60A at 48v). CoC can still be issued as these inverters dont fall under SSEG, they only need to conform to SANS 62040-3 which is merely a only a specification of UPS performance. These inverters conform to it. Please also note, the Sacolars are basically Growatt SPF 5000 ES, they are made by Growatt and Sacolar is a Growatt company. These are not Axpert Clones. hoohloc and zsde 1 1 Quote
Swys Posted October 11, 2022 Posted October 11, 2022 On 2022/03/28 at 11:15 AM, Bl4d3 said: These inverters are not 'grid tied' and are considered as "Passive standby UPS utilised as off-grid hybrid SSEG" Therefore the CoCT approved inverter list does not apply. You may also not pull more than 15A charging from mains (25% of mains breaker), this can be limited by Software (60A at 48v). CoC can still be issued as these inverters dont fall under SSEG, they only need to conform to SANS 62040-3 which is merely a only a specification of UPS performance. These inverters conform to it. Please also note, the Sacolars are basically Growatt SPF 5000 ES, they are made by Growatt and Sacolar is a Growatt company. These are not Axpert Clones. Thank you. Followed a similar installation, but CoCT now asked for proof that the inverter cannot feedback and that it complies with the SANS 62040-3 standard. How does one go about this? Quote
zsde Posted October 11, 2022 Posted October 11, 2022 On 2022/03/28 at 11:15 AM, Bl4d3 said: Please also note, the Sacolars are basically Growatt SPF 5000 ES, they are made by Growatt and Sacolar is a Growatt company Do they use the same firmware and are they interchangeable to parallel with each other? Quote
PureBlood Posted October 15, 2022 Posted October 15, 2022 On 2022/10/11 at 1:31 PM, zsde said: Do they use the same firmware and are they interchangeable to parallel with each other? They are the same unit in a different box and can be used together, only problem if you buy , you will need to check they both have the same firmware, that is because some boards have changed and the firmware is also some other numbers unlike the 040 firmware the new Growatt may come with 067 firmware , the factory tell me they do not play well together, Quote
zsde Posted October 15, 2022 Posted October 15, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, PureBlood said: 040 firmware the new Growatt may come with 067 firmware This is the question. Do they also use the same Firmware and Firmware numbering. The problem with the 5000-ES started even before the 067 Firmware versions. I have the original 5000-ES. Since then they released a batch which has the exact same 040 series Firmware but the comms boards were not compatible with the originals and one would have had to update the original comms board with the new one, or find an original comms board for the later version. Then they released the latest 5000-ES (still no name change) with 067 series FW. So there are 3 differing 5000-ES that cannot be paralleled amongst one another barring hardware changes. Would love to know where in this mess do Sacolors fit in in terms of Hardware and Firmware versions/numbering ? Edited October 15, 2022 by zsde Quote
PureBlood Posted November 3, 2022 Posted November 3, 2022 On 2022/10/15 at 10:40 PM, zsde said: This is the question. Do they also use the same Firmware and Firmware numbering. The problem with the 5000-ES started even before the 067 Firmware versions. I have the original 5000-ES. Since then they released a batch which has the exact same 040 series Firmware but the comms boards were not compatible with the originals and one would have had to update the original comms board with the new one, or find an original comms board for the later version. Then they released the latest 5000-ES (still no name change) with 067 series FW. So there are 3 differing 5000-ES that cannot be paralleled amongst one another barring hardware changes. Would love to know where in this mess do Sacolors fit in in terms of Hardware and Firmware versions/numbering ? Sorry have not been around here for some time , had a chat with the fellows at the factory and they seem to say that the new and old board can be connected in parallel, I have not tried this but thats what they tell me, And the Sacolar units are the same as the Growatt and have also had the same changes , the first unit and then the first but with new comms board, and now they all coming with new 067 MCU and new comms board. zsde 1 Quote
zsde Posted November 3, 2022 Posted November 3, 2022 (edited) 39 minutes ago, PureBlood said: had a chat with the fellows at the factory and they seem to say that the new and old board can be connected in parallel, I have not tried this but thats what they tell me, And the Sacolar units are the same as the Growatt and have also had the same changes , the first unit and then the first but with new comms board, and now they all coming with new 067 MCU and new comms board. I am wondering why Growatt would market the same product under a different name? Seems rather strange if they are supposedly the same. Would be interesting to know if anyone has actually ended up paralleling the Sacolar with the Growatt. If they are the same then that shouldn't be an issue. Edited November 3, 2022 by zsde Quote
PureBlood Posted November 3, 2022 Posted November 3, 2022 (edited) 9 hours ago, zsde said: I am wondering why Growatt would market the same product under a different name? Seems rather strange if they are supposedly the same. Would be interesting to know if anyone has actually ended up paralleling the Sacolar with the Growatt. If they are the same then that shouldn't be an issue. They all out of the same factory, Sacolar is part of Growatt and all the same only the case is different. And today they tell me they can Parallel with old and new that was not the case when I had chatted to another fellow at the factory some time back. Edited November 3, 2022 by PureBlood zsde 1 Quote
zsde Posted November 3, 2022 Posted November 3, 2022 21 minutes ago, PureBlood said: They all out of the same factory, Sacolar is part of Growatt It's all a bit of a "mystery" market if you ask me. Seemingly the High Voltage Inverters are Growatt with Sacolar branding. But then there are Sacolor low voltage Inverters that are not Growatt but Axpert clones, like this one Sacolar - WiFi compatible- 5KVA / 5KW Pure Sine Wave Axpert Type Inverter / 80A Low Voltage MPPT https://shop.thesunpays.co.za/collections/axpert-inverters/products/sacolar-wifi-compatible-5kva-5kw-pure-sine-wave-axpert-type-inverter-80a-low-voltage-mppt-parallel Just trying to understand whether these low voltage Axpert clones then also originate out of the Growatt factory. Quote
PureBlood Posted November 26, 2022 Posted November 26, 2022 Yes they all out of the same factory, im not sure if that Blue one has a Growatt model, but that blue unit is useless they way it was working about a year or so ago? Maybe they sorted it with a firmware update, I really don't know zsde 1 Quote
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