40 minutes ago, Bobster. said:

Now you made me go and google "solar insolence"

Got me looking too and for the boffs - https://pvpmc.sandia.gov/modeling-steps/1-weather-design-inputs/irradiance-and-insolation-2/, the difference between irradiance and insolation.

1 hour ago, Peter V said:

Got me looking too and for the boffs - https://pvpmc.sandia.gov/modeling-steps/1-weather-design-inputs/irradiance-and-insolation-2/, the difference between irradiance and insolation.

I thought it was about the sun being disobedient.

8 hours ago, JustinSchoeman said:

Huh? This seems to see you have the 4 East and 4 West panels in series?  That sounds like a remarkably bad idea.

Sorry @JustinSchoemani think the way i wrote it is not clear 4 panels east in series with 4 panels facing North and 4 panels North in series with 4 panels West.

12 minutes ago, Derek3 said:

Sorry @JustinSchoemani think the way i wrote it is not clear 4 panels east in series with 4 panels facing North and 4 panels North in series with 4 panels West.

That is still not a great idea. Output of the entire string will be limited by the lowest producing panel.  That is a significant loss in efficiency there.

23 minutes ago, JustinSchoeman said:

That is still not a great idea. Output of the entire string will be limited by the lowest producing panel.  That is a significant loss in efficiency there.

That is the reason i ask these questions on this forum as there is a lot of installers with experience especially on solar orientation. Remember i was a active electrical engineer in HV distribution and substation design 8 years ago until i started farming. I am really not clued up on solar system design so thank you for pointing this out what configuration would you suggest? Should i face all 16 panels North connected in series 8/Mppt. Below a link to solar radiation in Upington.

https://www-tutiempo-net.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.tutiempo.net/amp-en/solar-radiation/upington.html?amp_gsa=1&amp_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQIUAKwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From %1%24s&aoh=16804452476358&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com

Edited April 6, 20233 yr by Derek3

Thank you very much @Kelvin very informative graphs and yes definitely no space constraint so makes sense to orientate all 16  panels North. Much appreciated.  

In all likelihood, 16 North facing panels would give you the best production.  Unless you need early morning and/or late afternoon production, in which case other options could be investigated.

 

1) 8kw Sunsynk inverter.

2) 1 x 10/8 Freedom Won Lfp battery.

3) 12 x Canadian Super high Power Mono Perc Hiku7 Evo2 Solar Panel - 600W.

Stick with this option and 2 strings of 6 panels per mppt. If you are going for the Valsa option you will regret it. 

59 minutes ago, Flipper said:

 

 

1) 8kw Sunsynk inverter.

2) 1 x 10/8 Freedom Won Lfp battery.

3) 12 x Canadian Super high Power Mono Perc Hiku7 Evo2 Solar Panel - 600W.

Stick with this option and 2 strings of 6 panels per mppt. If you are going for the Valsa option you will regret it. 

@Scorp007 what are you confused about? The wishlist I refer to is an option from @Derek3 himself. I only added the pv array layout which I think he should follow and not that layout by Valsa’s quote because panels on the same string facing different directions will not work, unless he uses a solar edge micro inverter system. I hope that clears it up.

1 hour ago, Flipper said:

@Scorp007 what are you confused about? The wishlist I refer to is an option from @Derek3 himself. I only added the pv array layout which I think he should follow and not that layout by Valsa’s quote because panels on the same string facing different directions will not work, unless he uses a solar edge micro inverter system. I hope that clears it up.

Thanks for the reply. I did not see the post from Derek3. 

Sorry then for the remark. 

I have been trying to assist a friend where panels in series on a Deye 8kW single input were fitted 4xNE and 2xNW. I pointed out the throttling but have to say the string is doing much better than I thought it would. 

Typical townhouse roof where 4 sides meet at the ridge. Not much space for panels in any direction. 

12 minutes ago, Scorp007 said:

Thanks for the reply. I did not see the post from Derek3. 

Sorry then for the remark. 

I have been trying to assist a friend where panels in series on a Deye 8kW single input were fitted 4xNE and 2xNW. I pointed out the throttling but have to say the string is doing much better than I thought it would. 

Typical townhouse roof where 4 sides meet at the ridge. Not much space for panels in any direction. 

No problem @Scorp007. The sun is up and we’re making power. Enjoy your day. ☀️

4 hours ago, Flipper said:

 

 

1) 8kw Sunsynk inverter.

2) 1 x 10/8 Freedom Won Lfp battery.

3) 12 x Canadian Super high Power Mono Perc Hiku7 Evo2 Solar Panel - 600W.

Stick with this option and 2 strings of 6 panels per mppt. If you are going for the Valsa option you will regret it. 

@Flipper 

Edited April 7, 20233 yr by TaliaB
Sorry wrong post

2 hours ago, Flipper said:

No problem @Scorp007. The sun is up and we’re making power. Enjoy your day. ☀️

Lots of cloud building up on Western side here but the morning was great for PV. Peaks were lower than other days. 

42 minutes ago, Scorp007 said:

Lots of cloud building up on Western side here but the morning was great for PV. Peaks were lower than other days. 

Unless you can go N, E and W (in the Southern hemispher) there is no solution that works all the time. I have half my panels facing East, and my peak production time is about 11:30. So what makes me grumpy is overcast mornings and clear afternoons. If onky those panels were facing WEST!

But I think that I tend to not notice and not count and not think about the days when the morning is bright and the afternoons are not so great.

34 minutes ago, Bobster. said:

Unless you can go N, E and W (in the Southern hemispher) there is no solution that works all the time. I have half my panels facing East, and my peak production time is about 11:30. So what makes me grumpy is overcast mornings and clear afternoons. If onky those panels were facing WEST!

But I think that I tend to not notice and not count and not think about the days when the morning is bright and the afternoons are not so great.

And out of the blue skies came 20 drops about 50cm apart for 20 seconds.

On 2023/04/06 at 7:56 PM, Derek3 said:

Thank you very much @Kelvin very informative graphs and yes definitely no space constraint so makes sense to orientate all 16  panels North. Much appreciated.  

Hi @Derek3

I personally prefer an East/West split on the panels because, whilst it has a slightly lower overall panel efficiency (+-10% less) it produces good power over a longer period of time with lower maximum peaks. In my experience, which will obviously vary according to your site, I get on average about an extra 60 minutes of solar production time over a North facing set of panels (more in summer, less in winter). 

As most of a households energy usage is in the early morning & later afternoon/evening, it makes sense to have as high as possible energy production directly from panels - AC during these times reducing your reliance on the battery. 

It is also much cheaper to just add 2 extra panels to make up for the loss in efficiency than an extra battery.  

 

 

 

 

 

On 2023/04/10 at 1:30 PM, Sc00bs said:

Hi @Derek3

I personally prefer an East/West split on the panels because, whilst it has a slightly lower overall panel efficiency (+-10% less) it produces good power over a longer period of time with lower maximum peaks. In my experience, which will obviously vary according to your site, I get on average about an extra 60 minutes of solar production time over a North facing set of panels (more in summer, less in winter). 

As most of a households energy usage is in the early morning & later afternoon/evening, it makes sense to have as high as possible energy production directly from panels - AC during these times reducing your reliance on the battery. 

It is also much cheaper to just add 2 extra panels to make up for the loss in efficiency than an extra battery.  

 

 

 

 

 

@Sc00bsGood evening and thank you very much as this was my thinking initially, but after deliberation with the installer i am going with 20 x  505W panels all facing North the extra panels will assist having output earlier in the morning and later in the afternoon. I will post pictures as soon as the panels are mounted. Sorry for the late response been busy it is now harvesting season for Pecan nuts. Have a good evening. 

@Derek3 Sounds like a good plan 🙂, it is much easier when you have the inverter installed and have an accurate record of when energy is actually being used.

You can then work on a strategy to fill in the gaps in the most economical  way possible. 

Good evening all forum members been n busy week solar panels are up just busy digging 3 earth pits to get them properly grounded. The installers was not at least pleased when they saw the earth pits construction details. Lightning can be severe from time to time with direct hits. Often overlooked are the dangers of indirect strikes. Two of the most common indirect strike dangers include ground current,step potential and side flashes. So rather be safe than sorry hence the reason for proper grounding.

Picture of panel ground installation almost done. Still need to dig the trench for the 3 core Swa(armoured cable) running 30 meters to the farm house.

Good afternoon everyone. Since my last post a lot have changed concerning my installation. I did have the 20x 505wp panels installed but then we had quite a few unscheduled outages from Eskom besides the LS schedule.

I decided to go off grid and be rid of Eskom once and for all. So here is the new upgraded installation, commisioned and running very well.

Initially 10kwp solar array.      16 kwp solar array added.    4x 12kw 3ph Sunsynk inverters.                                  3x Freedom Won Lite 40kwh lfp batteries in parallel. The new packing station in the background also done and just in time as harvesting is done. All have a good Sunday evening.                  Edit: Thanks to @TaliaB that sorted the mains supply db panel and assisted with the commissioning. 

                             

 

 

 

15 minutes ago, Derek3 said:

Good afternoon everyone. Since my last post a lot have changed concerning my installation. I did have the 20x 505wp panels installed but then we had quite a few unscheduled outages from Eskom besides the LS schedule.

I decided to go off grid and be rid of Eskom once and for all. So here is the new upgraded installation, commisioned and running very well.

Initially 10kwp solar array.      16 kwp solar array added.    4x 12kw 3ph Sunsynk inverters.                                  3x Freedom Won Lite 40kwh lfp batteries in parallel. The new packing station in the background also done and just in time as harvesting is done. All have a good Sunday evening.                  Edit: Thanks to @TaliaB that sorted the mains supply db panel and assisted with the commissioning. 

                             

 

 

 

That looks like a pretty sweet installation :-) 

8 minutes ago, Sc00bs said:

That looks like a pretty sweet installation :-) 

Thanks very much @Sc00bs must say so far i am impressed especially with the Freedom Won batteries they seem to perform very well even the Sunsynk inverters but it is early days.