January 26, 201511 yr Hi All, I'm new to the forum and slowly learning of the benefits of solar in our modern day South Africa. I've been busy with a home project already, building my own panels (2 so far) and testing them on some old batteries in different configurations with the charge controller. Very recently I came across micro inverters and have been doing some research on them. Unfortunately they seem to be higher priced in total than just buying a big inverter (3KV or 5KV). Currently my project has come to a stop as I don't have an inverter. I've been scouting out two so far, both mentioned in another post, but which one do I go for? The two are the infini 3000W and the axpert 5000W. But then what about micro inverters? This option really interests me as I can grow my system one panel at a time and the panels don't need to be stringed together. One can also use different types of panels and sizes as they all operate independently from each other. They also allow for shading and having panels on different pole facing sides of the roof without effecting the overall performance. Has anyone had a chance to play with some? They are advertised as a grid tie system, but no where does anyone show you the "end" connection where it actually ties to your home grid. Any extra info someone has will be most welcome! Attached are my two panels I built from scratch.
January 26, 201511 yr I have also heard of these and was wondering how effective they were for the price. If I remember correctly the cost was around R2500 for a 300watt one that can connect to grid and "feed in" during the day. Who knows more about these or has a better priced supplier?
January 28, 201511 yr the infini is a hybrid grid tied unit with battery backup and the Axpert is an off grid unit with UPS function...both same supplier
January 30, 201511 yr The micro invertors is a great idea and concept. Biggest problem is the cost The only units I have seen function like a grid tied invertor, so no battery backup if you looking for it. The main aim of such a system is max power back onto the grid.
January 30, 201511 yr @slayer69 - Great work there on your own PV pannels!!! Care to share a little bit more with us on how you got to this stage?
January 30, 201511 yr Unfortunately they seem to be higher priced in total than just buying a big inverter (3KV or 5KV). The micro invertors is a great idea and concept. Biggest problem is the cost Does anyone have price comparisons? I am also interested in the micro-inverter route for the reasons mentioned in this thread. They do not seem popular in SA yet. I got two quotes for 500 watt - it ranged from R10k to R12k. (two panels and micro-inverter(s)) Thus a 3kw micro
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