December 19, 20223 yr On 2022/12/06 at 8:21 AM, TiaanSmit said: I'm looking forward to the winter month's to see how we can best optimize our system to limit eskom usage to sub 20kWh per month. This is not really possible in Cape Town, have been through 2 winters and the solar radiation is just to bad to make it work. Only a few hours of sunlight, if we have sunlight at all does not help. Only real option is a Generator as opposed to Eskom.
December 19, 20223 yr 2 hours ago, Superfly said: We get a decent amount of sun hours in Bellville - but yah, if in Melkbos etc, a Wind turbine would be cool... no wind here Bellville must have changed since I lived there.🤭 I live in Fish Hoek now, even more wind and benefit would be that wind is on nearly 24/7 including night time. I believe those things are expensive, especially in relation to their power generating capability.
December 19, 20223 yr 59 minutes ago, Rodbuilder said: Bellville must have changed since I lived there.🤭 I believe those things are expensive, especially in relation to their power generating capability. Also research their reliability very well.
December 20, 20223 yr Author 15 hours ago, I84RiS said: This is not really possible in Cape Town, have been through 2 winters and the solar radiation is just to bad to make it work. Only a few hours of sunlight, if we have sunlight at all does not help. Only real option is a Generator as opposed to Eskom. I'm quite confident that I'll be able to limit eskom usage to 20kWh. Last week we had mostly foggy , cloudy , rainy day's. and our system performed quite well. Even if our batteries don't fully charge we still manage to get by. Only time will tell.
December 20, 20223 yr Author 15 hours ago, I84RiS said: System commission date: 3 December 2020. Also added a heatpump at the same time and have been replacing appliances ever since with A++ or A+++ models as they break. Sunsynk 8Kw, 7.2kWp installed PV and 10kWh batteries up to Aug 2021 and 15kWh after that date. Location Western Cape which explains the higher winter usage Electricity bill for 2020 was about R30k (from 1 Dec 2019 to 30 Nov 2020) for the year. This excludes fixed charges. To lazy to add the data into PoweBi, excel will have to do. what was the reason for your appliances breaking? Did it not like the solar electricity?
December 20, 20223 yr 23 hours ago, system32 said: Not sure I would recommend switching off fridges/freezes due to possible food issues. When the device comes on, it will need to run for a while to get the temperature back to the thermostat setting, negating some of the savings. Below is the electricity consumption for my 300L vertical fridge and 300L vertical freezer - they overfull. I would save 0.41kWh (MAX) Nice calculation / graph... 0.41kWh on a 5.1kWh battery (8%) might make the difference for smaller installations... older equipment might even draw more. The main purpose is to shift usage nearer to day time. The same is to be said for geysers. We kick-start our heatpump (with resistor to fool it to think it is cold) at 15h00 to top it up to 58 degrees using solar. Then it does not turn on until the next morning when the sun is shining.
December 20, 20223 yr 23 hours ago, system32 said: Not sure I would recommend switching off fridges/freezes due to possible food issues. When the device comes on, it will need to run for a while to get the temperature back to the thermostat setting, negating some of the savings. Below is the electricity consumption for my 300L vertical fridge and 300L vertical freezer - they overfull. I would save 0.41kWh (MAX) Nice calculation / graph... 0.41kWh on a 5.1kWh battery (8%) might make the difference for smaller installations... older equipment might even draw more. The main purpose is to shift usage nearer to day time. The same is to be said for geysers. We kick-start our heatpump (with resistor to fool it to think it is cold) at 15h00 to top it up to 58 degrees using solar. Then it does not turn on until the next morning when the sun is shining.
December 21, 20223 yr On 2022/12/20 at 8:38 AM, TiaanSmit said: what was the reason for your appliances breaking? Did it not like the solar electricity? Normal wear and tear, most were older than 15 years and were due for replacement.
December 31, 20223 yr I have doubled my battery capacity and feel I have now reached the point of maximum “savings” from my system as I can now run on my batteries for 8 or 9 hours, effectively throughout the night. Bear in mind I am not off grid. The only way I could possibly still increase my saving would be more battery as I do not use all the electricity I generate and could save it that way, but the capital expenditure could not be justified. Another option could be to run my stove and oven from my Inverter, but that seems a bit "risky", its to easy to work in the kitchen and have geyser on as well as stove and then quickly switch on kettle🙄 I also heat my Geyser from my PV. We are at the point of maximum solar generation and minimum night duration! So only my Oven/Stove need the grid. I am considering changing my electric hob to a Gas/Electric more from a point of convenience then anything else. I have been told this installation is not allowed in S.A. Gas and electric next to one another, can someone enlighten me? Note the point I have made in the past, the effect of CTC’s fixed tariff structure, and my expectation that they will continue to increase this fixed cost; my units used from the City has reduced by 64% but my Rand savings by only 44% See new graph. Edited December 31, 20223 yr by Rodbuilder added more info.
January 1, 20233 yr Author Alright. The results for December is in. For the Month of December we used a total of 9.8kWh. last year for the same period we used 495kWH Eskom usage seems more or less the same as last month. September = 21 kWh October = 26 kWh November = 9.5 kWh December = 9.8 kWh
February 2, 20233 yr Author Aight ladies and gentlemen. The results for Januworry is in. We used a total of 7.8 kWh eksdom units for the month of Januworry. 2023 We used a total of 681 kWh eksdom units for Januworry 2022 2022 September = 21 kWh October = 26 kWh November = 9.5 kWh December = 9.8 kWh 2023 Januworry = 7.8kWh Total Eksdom units used in 6 months = 74.1 kWh (R233.41 calculated at our rates -R3.15 per kWh.) Aight nice savings and more money for Alimoney (cough* Cough*) Now to find a practical solution to my fuel expense...... E-bike maybe? Convert a old diesel to run on cooking oil? wind powered sailcart? imagine that🤭 Edited February 2, 20233 yr by TiaanSmit
February 4, 20233 yr Here is my data for January, I turned off my Eskom supply at the begining of December and have only turned it on when I use the AC. All the grid import for January 2023 was the spill over as the CT coil reaction is a bit slow (the Sunsynk CT coil struggles to keep up with the 30000BTU and 20000BTU AC running at the same time resulting in small grid feed and use as the compressors turn on and off). Edited February 4, 20233 yr by I84RiS
February 4, 20233 yr I did not think I could go lower then in Nov but we did, R390 and 90 units. We had very good sun and we are becoming experts at managing the system! I have also installed a Gas cooker and if the weather pattern holds then in theory we should go even a bit lower for Feb, lets wait and see. As I said before, we can never save as much as those who are completely off the grid, but we're doing pretty well I think. Currently we run totally on PV from around 22h00 to around 16h00 the following afternoon. Edited February 4, 20233 yr by Rodbuilder
March 2, 20233 yr Author Good moning Lads. The results for Februworry is in. We used a total of 6.7 kWh eksdom units for the month of Februworry. 2023 We used a total of 751 kWh eksdom units for the same month last year februworry 2022 2022 September = 21 kWh October = 26 kWh November = 9.5 kWh December = 9.8 kWh 2023 Januworry = 7.8kWh Februworry =6.7kWh Total Eksdom units used in 6 months = 80.8 kWh (R254.52 calculated at our rates -R3.15 per kWh.) Woke up this morning to battery bank levels at 36% because my wife decided to cook when it was dark last night and left the slow cooker on during the night with 2 fans running. None the less we only used 0.2 eksdom units during the night which is a win. I'm still saving up for 2 more batteries.
March 2, 20233 yr 7 hours ago, TiaanSmit said: Good moning Lads. The results for Februworry is in. We used a total of 6.7 kWh eksdom units for the month of Februworry. 2023 We used a total of 751 kWh eksdom units for the same month last year februworry 2022 2022 September = 21 kWh October = 26 kWh November = 9.5 kWh December = 9.8 kWh 2023 Januworry = 7.8kWh Februworry =6.7kWh Total Eksdom units used in 6 months = 80.8 kWh (R254.52 calculated at our rates -R3.15 per kWh.) Woke up this morning to battery bank levels at 36% because my wife decided to cook when it was dark last night and left the slow cooker on during the night with 2 fans running. None the less we only used 0.2 eksdom units during the night which is a win. I'm still saving up for 2 more batteries. This is great Tiaan I have a similar system to yours. Would you be so kind as to share your inverter settings?
March 3, 20233 yr Author 18 hours ago, Chris_S said: This is great Tiaan I have a similar system to yours. Would you be so kind as to share your inverter settings? Hi Yes I'll share.
May 3, 20233 yr April was my first full month with panels installed. Quite a few bad weather days aswell. Eskom only used to avoid loadshedding.
August 8, 20232 yr Author Apologies I have not posted anything in a while. Hope everyone had a great winterso far. I'll post my usage for April,May,June and July soon.
August 9, 20232 yr Hi Guys. From my usage stats I think I’m still using more from the grid than I would like to use. Something from my settings or is this line with my settings? Can I redo my settings to use less from Eskom?
August 9, 20232 yr I need some battery power for the early load shedding to heat my geyser I’m usually, with no issues from Eskom with around 49% of power after my geyser (on a timer) heats to 59 degrees
August 9, 20232 yr Just a few comment's:- Past two month we used around 140 units from the grid whereas in Summer we get away with as little as 60 units, that was expected. During the 4 middle winter month my system struggles and I generate around 1/2 the electricity that I can do in Summer and I need to use the grid from time to time. I think most of us in the Western Cape would have this problem unless you have a roof designed for for solar, and even then! Basically the sun angle is all "wrong" for my house this time of the year and from around 13h30 onwards I don't generate more then 1 kw. I also have a chimney on my roof that creates a significant shadow over my array no 2 and reduces my generation around 30% between 13h00 and 16h30, that's not massive but still very noticeable. One other thing, I have a very powerful desktop computer with a 850 W power supply and discovered that this thing was sucking my battery dry at night as it was always on to run my security cameras. I now bought a NVR to run the cameras, this is saving me 200 W constantly throughout the night! My house now at times uses <100 W (fluctuates between 95W and 280W fridges and deepfreeze's do that) at night and my batteries still have 45% charge at 08h00 in the morning. I mentioned before that I installed a two plate gas hob next to my electric one, wife has started to favour the Gas which is not really the idea, I don't want to save grid electricity to pay it away for gas.🙄 I have been making all kinds of financial sums but attempting to improve my generation is not financially viable, even removing the troublesome chimney is not either. Guys want R8 000 to remove the large brick chimney and replace it with a SS pipe and cowl. The benefit of this I would estimate around 200 wats for 3 & 1/2 hours maybe every second day. To buy one additional solar panel would be cheaper and provide more electricity. I concluded that we are prepared to pay for the luxury of not having to worry about the solar and am going to invest in 3 additional panels which should take us off the grid without any worry in Summer and I can also put my stove on to the system. In winter this alteration would also make the system more efficient as I am putting 2 panels on the SW side of my roof. I run my geyser from Solar and two of my stove plates combined use less then the geyser. If we can manage to run both from the inverter we will be using more of the free solar without the hassles constantly monitoring the system.
September 16, 20232 yr Hi all... Thought I'd share my usage stats, system was installed and online from 26 May 2023. System info: 12 x 550w Longi Panels (North Facing) 2 x 5kVa Sunsynk Inverters 1 x 15kWh BSL Powerwall Two main goals were reduce the reliance on the grid and also kick load shedding to the curb. Initially I used the Sunsynk data logger and app, but soon realized its not going to help maximise the system to get the most for our buck...or quite alot of bucks. So I got Solar Assistant and installed on the 16th June...definitely worth that investment. We are essentially 2 x households here so everything is doubled...2 x geysers (4kW and 2kW elements), 3 x fridges and a small chest freezer, 6 x TV's but mostly two are used consecutively...lighting in both houses are 99% LED's with the exception of 2 x sensor floodlights that are 230w bulbs these are on from 6pm - 6am daily. Dishwasher, 2 x washing machines. We have adjusted to running all the heavy lifting appliances during sun hours...washing machines, dishwasher, ironing, vacuuming etc. Everything but the ovens and 1 x stove is on the system. The other stove is converted to gas recently and planning for the other stove to be converted soon. Battery is currently set to 50% across ALL time slots, could maybe go a bit lower to further reduce the reliance on the grid. For now its working out. Geysers run early morning for hot showers both for 2hrs each - controlled by CBi Astute switches, manually set each night based on load shedding times so not to use the battery. Then once the sun is up the 2kW goes on at 08:30 producing enough by then to carry that load with the normal house load until 10:30. At 10:30 the 4kW goes on and runs until 13:00. Then at 13:00 the 2kW goes on again to top up. Battery gets charged on good days up to about 70-80% by 10:30 and then we hit 100% by early afternoon. Most days the generation is between 31-33kWh on better days maximum produced so far was 37kWh to date. Couple of bad days in July used alot more grid the expected and also I was still learning the best fit for our use. In mid-August I stopped running the geyers early morning on Saturdays and Sunday's and that's probable saving us about 25-30kWh alone now per weekend. Small blip on the 12th-13th Sep, I got an SD card for Solar Assistant...I imported the back up fine but then on the 13th I hit the wrong button and it re-restored the backup so I lost about 24hrs of data. Looks like we on track to have a better month in terms of grid usage. Prior to solar we would spend about R3000 - R4000 a month on prepaid, we are now spending between R1000-R1500. We run on battery from about 16:00, still producing some PV under 500w but the load at the time is minimal. Depending on usage we can either hit 50% by 22:00 or earlier or on very good days we only hit 50% battery by like 01:00 - 02:00. Edited September 18, 20232 yr by Carl Anthony
September 16, 20232 yr Hi all... Thought I'd share my usage stats, system was installed and online from 22 May 2023. System info in my signature. Two main goals were reduce the reliance on the grid and also kick load shedding to the curb. Initially I used the Sunsynk data logger and app, but soon realized its not going to help maximise the system to get the most for our buck...or quite alot of bucks. So I got Solar Assistant and installed on the 16th June...definitely worth that investment. We are essentially 2 x households here so everything is doubled...2 x geysers (4kW and 2kW elements), 3 x fridges and a small chest freezer, 6 x TV's but mostly two are used consecutively...lighting in both houses are 99% LED's with the exception of 2 x sensor floodlights that are 230w bulbs these are on from 6pm - 6am daily. Dishwasher, 2 x washing machines. We have adjusted to running all the heavy lifting appliances during sun hours...washing machines, dishwasher, ironing, vacuuming etc. Everything but the ovens and 1 x stove is on the system. The other stove is converted to gas recently and planning for the other stove to be converted soon. Battery is currently set to 50% across ALL time slots, could maybe go a bit lower to further reduce the reliance on the grid. For now its working out. Geysers run early morning for hot showers both for 2hrs each - controlled by CBi Astute switches, manually set each night based on load shedding times so not to use the battery. Then once the sun is up the 2kW goes on at 08:30 producing enough by then to carry that load with the normal house load until 10:30. At 10:30 the 4kW goes on and runs until 13:00. Then at 13:00 the 2kW goes on again to top up. Battery gets charged on good days up to about 70-80% by 10:30 and then we hit 100% by early afternoon. Most days the generation is between 31-33kWh on better days maximum produced so far was 37kWh to date. Couple of bad days in July used alot more grid the expected and also I was still learning the best fit for our use. In mid-August I stopped running the geyers early morning on Saturdays and Sunday's and that's probable saving us about 25-30kWh alone now per weekend. Small blip on the 12th-13th Sep, I got an SD card for Solar Assistant...I imported the back up fine but then on the 13th I hit the wrong button and it re-restored the backup so I lost about 24hrs of data. Looks like we on track to have a better month in terms of grid usage. Prior to solar we would spend about R3000 - R4000 a month on prepaid, we are now spending between R1000-R1500. We run on battery from about 16:00, still producing some PV under 500w but the load at the time is minimal. Depending on usage we can either hit 50% by 22:00 or earlier or on very good days we only hit 50% battery by like 01:00 - 02:00. Not sure why signature doesn't show when viewing from mobile. Mind sharing to system specs?
September 16, 20232 yr Not sure why signature doesn't show when viewing from mobile. Mind sharing to system specs? Yeah sure...edited the original post as well. 12 x 550w Longi Panels (North Facing) 2 x 5kVa Sunsynk Inverters 1 x 15kWh BSL Powerwall
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