https://shop.thesunpays.co.za/products/the-sun-pays-450w-a-grade-mono-6bb-solar-panel

I took the risk to buy one of these panels as a test. A new pallet was opened and when loading I could see no defects. At home I checked the Isc and got 10.8A vs 11.48A under STC which I thought was good for Gauteng at 14h peak period. 

Connected in series with another 480W from the same seller. Happy with the output. I then connected the above panel to the Axpert and allowing a minus 20% for Gauteng it would appear as my panel can be rated at about 410W. This I am very happy with. Panel working fine in series with the 480W. Both have about the same Voc and Vmp. STC a bit lower. 

Overall I am happy at the reduced output/price performance. 

Edited December 26, 20222 yr by Scorp007

58 minutes ago, Scorp007 said:

Connected in series with another 480W from the same seller. Happy with the output. I then connected the above panel to the Axpert and allowing a minus 20% for Gauteng it would appear as my panel can be rated at about 410W. This I am very happy with. Panel working fine in series with the 480W. Both have about the same Voc and Vmp. STC a bit lower. 

Looks interesting - thanks a lot for sharing 

I trust you are aware that putting these panels in series with your 'real' 480W panels will also reduce the max production of those panels. Just something to keep in mind

30 minutes ago, wolfandy said:

Looks interesting - thanks a lot for sharing 

I trust you are aware that putting these panels in series with your 'real' 480W panels will also reduce the max production of those panels. Just something to keep in mind

Yes I am aware of it. This panel is giving about 9A vs the 480W with a STC of 11.3A. I am not concerned at all as these 2 provide more power for the normal load as well as charging the lithiums. If I compare the output of this 890W (NEW STC) string with the 870W I got a while ago during cloud EDGE with the output of my other 6 panel string on a 2nd inverter its doing very well. At times it even provides quite a bit more than the main string. Anything over 80% of STC in Gauteng for me is great. 

 

On 2022/12/26 at 12:53 PM, Scorp007 said:

Yes I am aware of it. This panel is giving about 9A vs the 480W with a STC of 11.3A. I am not concerned at all as these 2 provide more power for the normal load as well as charging the lithiums. If I compare the output of this 890W (NEW STC) string with the 870W I got a while ago during cloud EDGE with the output of my other 6 panel string on a 2nd inverter its doing very well. At times it even provides quite a bit more than the main string. Anything over 80% of STC in Gauteng for me is great. 

 

Just an update during cloud edge of my 480W panel with the downgraded 450W in series. Also happy with my clone's performance. 

 

48 minutes ago, Scorp007 said:

Just an update during cloud edge of my 480W panel with the downgraded 450W in series. Also happy with my clone's performance. 

 

Great, and also at least you have pv power. Here in JHB south its in extreme short supply. 

I suppose the last 5 weeks here in gauteng is nightmare for offgrid systems. 

10 minutes ago, BritishRacingGreen said:

I suppose the last 5 weeks here in gauteng is nightmare for offgrid systems.

That is dependent on the amount of Solar panels.
My offgrid system has served me well. I used 25kW Eskom power since the end of November and that was mor a cautionary usage as I like to prevent my battery from dropping below 30% SOC

This morning it's been the lowest since July at 25% SOC.

Right now the solar is only giving me around 250W as it's gone dark again with heavy thunder and it started raining.
But I heated my geyser this morning and did all the high power usage for the day. So the battery is full again too.

It's manageable is what I am trying to say if one oversizes the panels within the Inverter limits of course.

Edited January 1, 20232 yr by zsde

7 minutes ago, zsde said:

It's manageable is what I am trying to say if one oversizes the panels within the Inverter limits of

Yes i must agree i have 4.6kw panels, and i have been impressed the last couple of weeks  the amount of energy harvested under poor conditions.  We had a number of outages longer than 24hrs during that time, and i managed not only to limp thru, but also powering nicetohaves like computer, kettle, pool etc. 

Geyser i can only entertain with good yield during the day. 

EDIT my system is 6kw bat, 5kw inv, 4.6kw pv

Edited January 1, 20232 yr by BritishRacingGreen

41 minutes ago, BritishRacingGreen said:

Great, and also at least you have pv power. Here in JHB south its in extreme short supply. 

I suppose the last 5 weeks here in gauteng is nightmare for offgrid systems. 

Although not off grid one has to manage loads carefully. In my case this is what my grid tied looks like. So not withstanding the loss of production during LS Nov was a lot worse than Dec . Dec we only had 4 bad days and 2 of them were in the last 3 days. Graph dates not clear but they start on 01 Nov.

 

Edited January 1, 20232 yr by Scorp007

5 minutes ago, Scorp007 said:

LS Nov was a lot worse than Dec

Quite possible. Of course one's production is directly proportional to the usage and available panel power.
So in my case it would be a wild guess as it could well be a lower usage in November than December. Looking at my battery data though I used more battery in December, meaning less solar?  Marginal but visible.
Too many variables to come to any conclusion, i.e. what load at what time and what solar energy was present at that time as that will influence the stats directly. So much idle time in the day that equates to lost available energy. 

In your case where you max out your panel yield mostly, it is easier to establish the solar harvest over a month.

25 minutes ago, zsde said:

Too many variables to come to any conclusion, i.e. what load at what time and what solar energy was present at that time as that will influence the stats directly. So much idle time in the day that equates to lost available energy. 

In your case where you max out your panel yield mostly, it is easier to establish the solar harvest over a month.

 

Yes you are spot on about viariables. So at times I can have a double dose of the bad tasting stuff. LS as well as lots of cloud. So my figures will only be a proxy for PV available during periods of no LS and we know it is ongoing. The days with LS 06h-08h or after 16h00 does not impact me so much as other times during the day.