Posted March 22, 20231 yr I have not received my dongle/data logger yet. This is a big frustration. I have 8 X 550W candian panels. How do I see how many kWh's have been generated in a day?
March 23, 20231 yr 10 hours ago, Nature said: I have not received my dongle/data logger yet. This is a big frustration. I have 8 X 550W candian panels. How do I see how many kWh's have been generated in a day? @Nature Bottom left so far you have generated 42 KWH, you can check this every day.
March 23, 20231 yr The inverter itself only shows the accumulated total generated. As Antonio has indicated, you would need to check the daily total and use that to calculate the daily generation until you have the dongle or a 3rd party solution.
March 23, 20231 yr Author 6 hours ago, Antonio de Sa said: @Nature Bottom left so far you have generated 42 KWH, you can check this every day. This is for 5 sunny days. Is it possible to only generate 8.4kWh per day?
March 23, 20231 yr Author 6 hours ago, zsde said: The inverter itself only shows the accumulated total generated. As Antonio has indicated, you would need to check the daily total and use that to calculate the daily generation until you have the dongle or a 3rd party solution. You have given me a lot of advice i the last few days. Thank you so much. This is for 5 sunny days. Is it possible to only generate 8.4kWh per day?
March 23, 20231 yr The generation depends on the usage. You would need to compare your kWh generation to what you actually used in the time that you had solar energy on the day. Your peak would be around 11 to 13:00 in your case around 4000Watt should be possible. Lets assume a 50% of your total generation power for a period of 6 hours. Thus around 2000W for 6 hours would be a rough guestimate, i.e. around 12kWh for the day in full sun. Of course early morning and late afternoon will be a lot less. But we want to speculate an expectation here. The only way to to check more accurately would be a load that equals the max production for the duration of the day.
March 23, 20231 yr 31 minutes ago, Nature said: You have given me a lot of advice i the last few days. Thank you so much. This is for 5 sunny days. Is it possible to only generate 8.4kWh per day? On a good sunny day you could comfortably get 20kWh or more per day, assuming you're actually using the power by running loads during the day, or storing the power in batteries with big enough capacity, and assuming that there's not some other inherent flaw in your installation like panel layout or shading, etc. Hard to say more without knowing the full details of your installation, batteries, inverter, configuration and settings, and how much are your loads, and when you run them.
March 23, 20231 yr Perhaps some data to make it a bit clearer. And this data is courtesy of Solar Assistant. Guys like Antonio have even better overview with their own developed software. My own system really only produces 1 third to one half of it's possible production. But that is based on my fairly moderate usage. In the example, a typical day that depicts my loads and the solar peaks. You will see that at some stage earlier in the morning I actually drew more power than the available solar but later in the day the solar always matched and exceeded the demand. In fact you will see peaks of 5kW where the load was not that high but the max was pulled as battery charge was in progress simultaneously. Now imagine if I had been pushing a 4 to 5kW load for the 2 to 3 hours where the solar peak was 5kW+. On this day my 6+kW panels provided for the demand and the batteries. You can well imagine the SolarPV if I had the need to use more and this was a "high usage" day as we used the oven for quite some time too Load SolarPV Charge Discharge If I however then compare that to my typical monthly average in summer, then the daily SolarPV will reflect lesser values as my usage on average is really 10 to 12kWh per day. Feb was an average daily SolarPV of 13,7KWh Mar so far is an average of 14,4kWh Solar PV Thus, to test your solar potential would need some load testing to see what your system could produce.
March 23, 20231 yr As explained by zsde and Greenfields it depends on the usage, (You would need to compare your kWh generation to what you actually used) looking at the picture you posted, at that specific time your load is only 313 VA so looks like your load is very low.
March 23, 20231 yr 9 minutes ago, Antonio de Sa said: As explained by zsde and Greenfields it depends on the usage, (You would need to compare your kWh generation to what you actually used) looking at the picture you posted, at that specific time your load is only 313 VA so looks like your load is very low. As you can see from the dashboard my system 12 X 415 solar panels generate a daily average of 15 KWH per day, could be much more as basically from about 12 o'clock my battery will be fully charged my geyser done and from there until the wife starts to use the oven for cooking at about 4 o'clock the system is basically idling. I would like to stress that I run my system on SUB, battery is only there for load shedding however, sometimes I do make use of it's power during the night.
March 23, 20231 yr Author 4 hours ago, Antonio de Sa said: As explained by zsde and Greenfields it depends on the usage, (You would need to compare your kWh generation to what you actually used) looking at the picture you posted, at that specific time your load is only 313 VA so looks like your load is very low. Everything is on timers. I am still playing around with this. Not everything will run each day. Based on a sunny day. Inverter not programed properly yet. Waiting for installer with dongle and to make program changes. Dishwasher - 8:30 to 11:00 (1.5kW) Geyser - 12:00 to 13:00 (3kW) Swimming pool - 13:30 to 15:30 (1.5kW) Washing machine 15:30 to 16:00 (0.5kW) Airfryer 16:30 to 16:45 (0.5kW) Battery (4.5kW) 8:00 tot 17:00 charging. Other (1.5kW) 8:00 tot 17:00 Total day - 13kW Battery supply 4.5kW (hubble 5.5kWh) from 17:00 to 03:00. Eksom should then carry the house load till 8:30. Not charging the battery. No "heavy" appliances from 03:00 to 8:30. Total night - 6.5kW Eskom 2-3kWh form 03:00 to 8:30. Eskom usage before solar was between 12 and 14 units a day. The above "plan" is for 18.5 unit. Way over actual usage. Will my plan work with this system? What am I missing? 1 X Growatt 5000ES Inverter 1 X Hubble 5.5kWh battery 8 X 550 Canadian panels Edited March 23, 20231 yr by Nature
March 23, 20231 yr 18 minutes ago, Nature said: Everything is on timers. I am still playing around with this. Not everything will run each day. Based on a sunny day. Inverter not programed properly yet. Waiting for installer with dongle and to make program changes. Dishwasher - 8:30 to 11:00 (1.5kW) Geyser - 12:00 to 13:00 (3kW) Swimming pool - 13:30 to 15:30 (1.5kW) Washing machine 15:30 to 16:00 (0.5kW) Airfryer 16:30 to 16:45 (0.5kW) Battery (4.5kW) 8:00 tot 17:00 charging. Other (1.5kW) 8:00 tot 17:00 Total day - 13kW Battery supply 4.5kW (hubble 5.5kWh) from 17:00 to 03:00. Eksom should then carry the house load till 8:30. Not charging the battery. No "heavy" appliances from 03:00 to 8:30. Total night - 6.5kW Eskom 2-3kWh form 03:00 to 8:30. Eskom usage before solar was between 12 and 14 units a day. The above "plan" is for 18.5 unit. Way over actual usage. Will my plan work with this system? What am I missing? 1 X Growatt 5000ES Inverter 1 X Hubble 5.5kWh battery 8 X 550 Canadian panels Based on the above your yield from panels is very low.
March 23, 20231 yr 2 hours ago, Nature said: Everything is on timers. I am still playing around with this. Not everything will run each day. Based on a sunny day. Inverter not programed properly yet. Waiting for installer with dongle and to make program changes. Dishwasher - 8:30 to 11:00 (1.5kW) Geyser - 12:00 to 13:00 (3kW) Swimming pool - 13:30 to 15:30 (1.5kW) Washing machine 15:30 to 16:00 (0.5kW) Airfryer 16:30 to 16:45 (0.5kW) Battery (4.5kW) 8:00 tot 17:00 charging. Other (1.5kW) 8:00 tot 17:00 Total day - 13kW Battery supply 4.5kW (hubble 5.5kWh) from 17:00 to 03:00. Eksom should then carry the house load till 8:30. Not charging the battery. No "heavy" appliances from 03:00 to 8:30. Total night - 6.5kW Eskom 2-3kWh form 03:00 to 8:30. Eskom usage before solar was between 12 and 14 units a day. The above "plan" is for 18.5 unit. Way over actual usage. Will my plan work with this system? What am I missing? 1 X Growatt 5000ES Inverter 1 X Hubble 5.5kWh battery 8 X 550 Canadian panels Suspect you could optimise somewhat through changing the settings or timers. For e.g. from 08:00, with a SOL+UTI charge source, you're quite possibly charging your Hubble predominantly from the grid. Maybe Solar priority could work better, or try delaying the charging to later when the sun is higher. In general though, You seem to be over-panelled relative to your loads (good for Winter). Might be an option to add more loads, or just run your existing loads less frugally. Extended pool filter time, or run the longer washing machine cycles instead of the 30-minute quick-wash, at higher temperatures, use the stove instead of the airfryer, slow-cook a roast, warm the geyser for longer/hotter, etc. Since you've got the power, may as well use it.
March 23, 20231 yr Author 1 hour ago, GreenFields said: Suspect you could optimise somewhat through changing the settings or timers. For e.g. from 08:00, with a SOL+UTI charge source, you're quite possibly charging your Hubble predominantly from the grid. Maybe Solar priority could work better, or try delaying the charging to later when the sun is higher. In general though, You seem to be over-panelled relative to your loads (good for Winter). Might be an option to add more loads, or just run your existing loads less frugally. Extended pool filter time, or run the longer washing machine cycles instead of the 30-minute quick-wash, at higher temperatures, use the stove instead of the airfryer, slow-cook a roast, warm the geyser for longer/hotter, etc. Since you've got the power, may as well use it. Thank you very much. I increased the geyser time and temperature already. Most of our cooking is done on the gas top. I will tell my wife to increase the cooking in the oven. Also to use the slow cooker once a week. I have no knowledge on the programming side. I am also "blind" because the dongle and app has not been installed and setup. All that I can see is that we are using way to much Eskom. You are right when saying the battery is mostly charged by the grid. This must stop but I dont want to fiddle to much.
March 24, 20231 yr One can also add a single plate induction stove, to use during the day. Saves gas and increases solar usage like the one below. https://www.mhcworld.co.za/products/defy-2100w-single-induction-hob-ihb2160b?variant=39572294402137 Usually we use ours on the 500w/800w/1000w/1200watt settings which is plenty to cook with or boil the kettle works like a charm and extends time beyween between gas refills for the gas stove.
March 24, 20231 yr Author 11 hours ago, Arandoza said: One can also add a single plate induction stove, to use during the day. Saves gas and increases solar usage like the one below. https://www.mhcworld.co.za/products/defy-2100w-single-induction-hob-ihb2160b?variant=39572294402137 Usually we use ours on the 500w/800w/1000w/1200watt settings which is plenty to cook with or boil the kettle works like a charm and extends time beyween between gas refills for the gas stove. Our electric kettle lid broke just before installing the solar. I decided not to replace it. I need to rethink this decision.
March 25, 20231 yr Checkers has an inexpensive metal kettle for about R200.00 that works on both gas or induction, alternatively consider a normal electric kettle as well as the metal one for the gas stove, this way you have both options, electric when theres lots of pv / good weather / daytime, and gas for night time / early mornings / bad weather days etc. https://www.checkers.co.za/All-Departments/Household/Appliances/Kitchen-Appliances/Kettles/Blue-Stainless-Steel-Whistling-Kettle-2-5L/p/10770432EA I found the Cheapie to be the best as over time, the colour discolours or burns, especially when used on Gas and its put on the large burner, not so much on induction. Also when used on gas, the handle gets a lot hotter, whereas when used on induction its cool to the touch, The efficiency of gas vs induction.
March 26, 20231 yr On 2023/03/25 at 7:53 AM, Arandoza said: Checkers has an inexpensive metal kettle for about R200.00 that works on both gas or induction, alternatively consider a normal electric kettle as well as the metal one for the gas stove, this way you have both options, electric when theres lots of pv / good weather / daytime, and gas for night time / early mornings / bad weather days etc. https://www.checkers.co.za/All-Departments/Household/Appliances/Kitchen-Appliances/Kettles/Blue-Stainless-Steel-Whistling-Kettle-2-5L/p/10770432EA I found the Cheapie to be the best as over time, the colour discolours or burns, especially when used on Gas and its put on the large burner, not so much on induction. Also when used on gas, the handle gets a lot hotter, whereas when used on induction its cool to the touch, The efficiency of gas vs induction. Just a question around your PV production figures. Yes it is not related to this topic. What changes did you do to improve your efficiency from 6-7kWh/kW installed Jan-Apr 2022 to the current level of 9-11.
March 26, 20231 yr We migrated to Pylontech UP5000's from a TE35 x 8, 245 ah battery bank that had come to near end of life, and was only used for backup / load shedding at night, for about 1-3 hours. Pylontechs added in sets of 3 x UP5000's at a time to keep the ah load per battery low (still tried to keep to max 10% of ah rating for charging / discahrging) even though Lifepo4 manufacturer specs say they can take the punch, and I am also now seeing folks saying that many of the Lifepo4 specs are being "inflated" by manufacturers a bit so they can seem more competitive and better value for money. Most folks seem to suggest that if you have a light load on the lifepo4's you will get a good lifespan, and I subscribe to that thinking at this point. It also translates to lower cycles. I was so impressed with the pylontech performance added a total of 12 units, 9 last year, and then 3 more Jan23. Since then the inverters now run at full PV load to recharging the batteries each day, so we get more production from PV. Previously we did load shifting and tried to use as much pv power during the day as possible, but still could not use everything the system could make, since adding the pylontechs our PV generation is running all day, and we dont switch back to eskom at night, but keep the loads low, and still do load shifting to dayime hours. So we have basically gone off grid, but still with prepaid, which we still buy and accumulate, for the odd bad weather day, and for winter where the days are shorter. Always good to have a backup Depending on usage, during the winter months this year, I am expecting we may need to occassionally switch to eskom, during non peak times to carry the load, and allow the pv to be dedicated to recharing the batteries, its cheaper this way due to the up to 20% more power needed to recharge the batteries due to system losses, so rather charge via pv and the losses dont cost anything. Also with the bigger than needed pylontech bank, we find on cloudy days production is better, and also the battery cycle count is currently about +/- 140 cycles, considering we have almost been using the pylontechs around 12 months now, its not 365 cycles and the max charge and or discharge amps per battery does not seem to exceed much over 10-15 amps, so very happy with the system Other things that also influenced production previous years was bad weather months and rainy months, check Oct 2022 vs Nov22 which had about 3 weeks of dark cloud and rain in Nov22. Also Jan 23 vs Feb23 which had cloud and rain we lost about 1/4 production in Feb23. March 23 has been much better but my prediction due to recent cloudy days is that it will be 1950 Kw/h for march?? Will see soon if we are about right? I also see a notable drop off in production from april onwards, with June and July being the worst months typically about 50kw/h per day being generated on these months, and an average monthly generation of around 1500 kw/h per month, due to shorter days, less irridiance, dust / dirt buildup on the panels etc. but still typically only a 1/4 month production drop all things considered, and winter also tends to have no really cloudy/rainy days, otherwise this may drop further. I see a lot of folks asking whcih battery banks are the best and lots of complaints about lead acid, agm, gel, and would simply not even consider going there again, after using lifepo4 its the only way to go. However I do see a lot of folks complaining agout C rating 0.5c vs 1c, again I subscribe to the thinking the harder you work the battery the shorter the lifespan. Install 1 or 2 lifepo4's, enough to carry your night time load, without causing them to alarm, and buy something that you can get support and spares on (BMS failures can happen, even out of the box, cells can become dodgy etc) and then condsider adding and growing your bank so it doesnt work too hard and hopefully it will endure.
March 26, 20231 yr 47 minutes ago, Arandoza said: We migrated to Pylontech UP5000's from a TE35 x 8, 245 ah battery bank that had come to near end of life, and was only used for backup / load shedding at night, for about 1-3 hours. Pylontechs added in sets of 3 x UP5000's at a time to keep the ah load per battery low (still tried to keep to max 10% of ah rating for charging / discahrging) even though Lifepo4 manufacturer specs say they can take the punch, and I am also now seeing folks saying that many of the Lifepo4 specs are being "inflated" by manufacturers a bit so they can seem more competitive and better value for money. Most folks seem to suggest that if you have a light load on the lifepo4's you will get a good lifespan, and I subscribe to that thinking at this point. It also translates to lower cycles. I was so impressed with the pylontech performance added a total of 12 units, 9 last year, and then 3 more Jan23. Since then the inverters now run at full PV load to recharging the batteries each day, so we get more production from PV. Previously we did load shifting and tried to use as much pv power during the day as possible, but still could not use everything the system could make, since adding the pylontechs our PV generation is running all day, and we dont switch back to eskom at night, but keep the loads low, and still do load shifting to dayime hours. So we have basically gone off grid, but still with prepaid, which we still buy and accumulate, for the odd bad weather day, and for winter where the days are shorter. Always good to have a backup Depending on usage, during the winter months this year, I am expecting we may need to occassionally switch to eskom, during non peak times to carry the load, and allow the pv to be dedicated to recharing the batteries, its cheaper this way due to the up to 20% more power needed to recharge the batteries due to system losses, so rather charge via pv and the losses dont cost anything. Also with the bigger than needed pylontech bank, we find on cloudy days production is better, and also the battery cycle count is currently about +/- 140 cycles, considering we have almost been using the pylontechs around 12 months now, its not 365 cycles and the max charge and or discharge amps per battery does not seem to exceed much over 10-15 amps, so very happy with the system Other things that also influenced production previous years was bad weather months and rainy months, check Oct 2022 vs Nov22 which had about 3 weeks of dark cloud and rain in Nov22. Also Jan 23 vs Feb23 which had cloud and rain we lost about 1/4 production in Feb23. March 23 has been much better but my prediction due to recent cloudy days is that it will be 1950 Kw/h for march?? Will see soon if we are about right? Thanks for the information on your system. I just find 11kwh/kw installed even if all PV used is very high for Centurion. I see you mention figures for export yet you are on a prepaid meter. Is this a special bi-directional prepaid meter that you are using? I can agree with the figures for different months. I also use all my PV everyday and yes my winter with shorter days but no cloud does actually very well. Summer has high peaks but huge losses like yesterday I only yielded 10% of normal sunny days.
March 26, 20231 yr I use a older version of the ICC software bought probably about 4 years ago, and I am not sure the "Export" number is correctly calculated? I also took it that it was to indicate how much power is exported to the grid, but It makes no sense? as we use RCT axpert inverters which cannot export? The generation number is more aligned with what the ICC software reports. For example the icc emoncms dash is currently showing 59.1 kwh pv generation for today, pvoutput is showing 59.360kwh ? Not sure where the extra 260 watts is coming from? Another issue we see with icc - pvoutput, is that even though icc posts every 5 minutes or so, that there are breaks in the daily data, almost like the posts are being rejected by pvoutput. Its not a connectivity/bandwidth issue, but rather something with the icc software and pvoutput side. However the daily totals on pvoutput are close to icc daily totals, maybe due to rounding or averaging? Typically we see this happening from around 9am till late in the day, but there is no consistant pattern to the breaks in the data.
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