Hi all,

I presume this might have come up before.

We are in the process of totally moving away from Eskom towards a off-grid solution on a farm and removing the Eskom line.

We are looking for a reliable off-grid inverter that will be capable and will last running on solar and batteries..

I know Sunsynk is not typically known for only being a off-grid inverter but rather a all round hybrid. I have had experience with Sunsynk before and had excellent results/feedback.

What is the trend these days for reliable off-grid inverters.

 

 

The Axpert ESS 8kw is an off grid unit that works fantastically. It comes with a dedicated battery that integrates seamlessly so no need to worry about battery communication etc. Additionally, you can parallel up to 3 of them. So you can get up to 24kW of power or 3 phases that are 8kW each. As far as I am concerned they are way easier to install since they come with ESS batteries and you can use a mobile/PC app to monitor and control the system.

Honestly, at this point most inverters have all the bells and whistles its just about personal preference. I only recommend these since I have gotten a lot of Voltronics back for repairs but I have never been asked to repair an ESS and the installation is super basic.

To answer this question I would say depends on lots of factors. Cost one of them as well as personal preference. That preference relates to you having an already good experience with a Sunsynk. The Sunsynks & Deye inverters are quality but in my opinion is an expensive option especially if wanting to run in Islanding mode/ Off grid mode. 

I would Install an Off Grid inverter from Voltronics. The model depends on your needs. The battery would also depend on your budget & needs. A 7.2kW or even a 10kW inverter from Voltronics paired with a FreedomWon Lithium battery is hard to beat. That stacked up with a large PV Array can be the solution to your initial problem. 

If Single phase is not your thing there is the 3rd Generation Infinisolar machine that is 12kW & also 15kW 3 phase & is also hard to beat when paired with a FreedomWon or might I say a Humble Felicity Solar Lithium battery. 

 

 

 

To add to the Voltronics inverter package is the Batteryless operation. Unfortunately the SunDeye cannot accomplish this. Why do I mention this? Simply because, in today's world of Chinese Electronic equipment to which our Solar world is a big subscriber. Things can & do go wrong. At least with the Voltronics your options are slightly more. The Voltronics does not need the Grid to unleash the power of its PV Array with out a Battery like the SunDeye. 

I have actioned warrantied Lithium batteries replaced & this took 3 weeks from Segen Solar. Which are a good reputable Solar supplier. Thats a long time the SunDeye would have been all dressed up & nowhere to go. Being on a farm with a large fridge a lot of food would have been thrown away. With the cheaper Voltronics you would have had your fridge & freezer cold during good sunny days.

The ability to harness the Sun's energy without a battery is an absolute must on my list of priorities. See the Pics below of the 7.2kW Voltronics pulling a load of 1.22kW with just Solar PV connected. 

If prepared to pay for the Sunsynk rather go larger with a Bigger off grid Voltronics. 

I work & install both types, this is just my honest opinion especially because you will have no grid for your SunDeye which this machine really needs to explore it's full Grid interactive capabilities. 

Edited November 21, 20223 yr by Steve87
Added content

Thanks for the feedback. Any experience with the victron units?

Inverter/battery charger with separate MPPTs.

 

53 minutes ago, schalkvstaden said:

Thanks for the feedback. Any experience with the victron units?

Inverter/battery charger with separate MPPTs.

Not a Vicron person... In this case, I have only seen one person with that kind of setup and ended up convincing them to swap to a unit with MPPT built-in. If you have a separate solar charger any excess solar goes to waste, but his wasn't a Victron so they may have a method of sending excess energy to grid rather than going to waste. Maybe someone with more practical experience with the units can clarify but I didn't see anything about it in the manual (Took a quick glance at the manual and looks like there isn't a way for their Blue Power MPPT to send excess to an inverter)

On 2022/11/21 at 7:14 PM, Steve87 said:

To add to the Voltronics inverter package is the Batteryless operation. Unfortunately the SunDeye cannot accomplish this. Why do I mention this? Simply because, in today's world of Chinese Electronic equipment to which our Solar world is a big subscriber. Things can & do go wrong. At least with the Voltronics your options are slightly more. The Voltronics does not need the Grid to unleash the power of its PV Array with out a Battery like the SunDeye. 

I do not quite understand your arguing. I think our friend @schalkvstaden also needs electricity at nights, not only during sunshine.

In a totally off-grid installation reliability must be a prime concern. You do not want to be in the dark if only one component fails. Therefor I installed 2 5kW Axpert MKS5K inverters in parallel. In case one fails, I can still operate with the one in working order until the failed unit is repaired, even with somewhat limited power. In your case I presume you need more power. You may install even more inverters in parallel. Then, if one fails, the impact on the whole system would be even less. 3 ore more such units may be connected to a true 3-phase system. Another main concern are the batteries. Make sure you got enough kWh capacity to ensure electricity even in winter during 2 or 3 cloudy days. And of course enough solar panels to recharge the batteries.

I think what Steve is trying to say that if en when you get a problem with your battery/Batteries you can still have power during the day when solar is available. I am not aware of any other inverter that can do that.

6 hours ago, Beat said:

I do not quite understand your arguing. I think our friend @schalkvstaden also needs electricity at nights, not only during sunshine.

I think @Steve87was referring to when the battery may need to go in for repairs, not to run full-time battery-less. This possibility can be very handy in an off-grid situation.

13 minutes ago, jumper said:

I think @Steve87was referring to when the battery may need to go in for repairs, not to run full-time battery-less. This possibility can be very handy in an off-grid situation.

I think it is unlikely that all battery packs fail at the same time. And I think that shalkvstaden needs several packs.

Edited November 24, 20223 yr by Beat

@Beatyes highly unlikely, but probable. But yes I get your point of view & your argument is cogent. I have seen 2 packs of Pylontechs go up in smoke & all because they had an induced higher than normal voltage setup. These were the 2 X 10.5kWh Kodak Force 1 block battery's which are Pylontechs in Yellow. 

Now if the battery choice was a FreedomWon or something of higher quality I'd say not probable but sorry to say some battery manufacturers make me think that anything can & will happen. 

One doesn't plan for these things but mistakes in software or human interface errors do occur. All I know is that batteryless operation is a plus when the chips are down. I certainly don't plan for such just love having the insurance policy should I be down the creek without a paddle.