2.5kw+3kva+1300w panels vs 5kva+5ka with no panels

[Docs]

Hello

 

What would be a better option for backup to lights, TV, electric blankets, chargers. Average usage during loadshedding I would estimate around 300 to 400 watts if controlled. We do extended outages beyond loadshedding in our area fairly often.

Option 1

Growatt 3kva 24v + 2.56 Essener lithium + 2 mono panels 660w each.

How long would the batteries take to charge with this setup.

 

Option 2

Luxpower SNA 5kva

5kw lithium battery

No panels

Both could come in around a similar budget but option 2 doesnt have any panels. Would 2x660w panels put a dent in the Charing of the batter on option 1 and be enough to at least see some saving on electricity

Thanks

 

[SFW]

Wrong section this is FOR SALE

[Flouw]

my 2c. based on my own experience (3kw 24v inverter with 2.56kw battery - no panels) all lights and plugs connected, except the kitchen and laundry plugs (anything with a element)

daytime load shedding is not an issue. (we work from home most of the time aswell) so the little bit of electricity used by the laptops is minimal, and no lights on either during daytime. my fridge is also connected to the essentials. and we do 4 hours comfortably. 

the only time i have wished i had panels, is when its laundry day and we have LS. then i connect the washing machine aswell, with the cold weather, clothes takes longer to dry, and if you wait till 10 to start washing, it never dries in time to iron before LS starts again. the amount of PV ill have to have on the roof to run tumble dryer and/or an iron doesnt make financial sense. so im installing 600w only only on the roof to help daytime LS relief on the battery. 

 

night time LS. kids are home, lights are on, TV is on, computers on sometimes when working late. still. 4 hours LS comfortably. i have used a microwave aswell on the backup to heat my food. - the esener battery has a 1c rating, so its fine with the high discharge for 2minutes.

hooking warm blankets on aswell i cant say what will happen. dont know what the rating is. 

 

in short, what im saying. im happy with the 3kw rating. more than that will need serious battery during LS. 

the 5kw kit mentioned will be able to do exactly what the 3kw can do. and you can always expand later with panels. 

growatt inverter is noisy (fans running) 

and i believe Luxpower does the same. 

[Docs]

3 hours ago, SFW said:

Wrong section this is FOR SALE

Looks to be in the correction section unless someone has moved it for me

[Docs]

3 hours ago, Flouw said:

my 2c. based on my own experience (3kw 24v inverter with 2.56kw battery - no panels) all lights and plugs connected, except the kitchen and laundry plugs (anything with a element)

daytime load shedding is not an issue. (we work from home most of the time aswell) so the little bit of electricity used by the laptops is minimal, and no lights on either during daytime. my fridge is also connected to the essentials. and we do 4 hours comfortably. 

the only time i have wished i had panels, is when its laundry day and we have LS. then i connect the washing machine aswell, with the cold weather, clothes takes longer to dry, and if you wait till 10 to start washing, it never dries in time to iron before LS starts again. the amount of PV ill have to have on the roof to run tumble dryer and/or an iron doesnt make financial sense. so im installing 600w only only on the roof to help daytime LS relief on the battery. 

 

night time LS. kids are home, lights are on, TV is on, computers on sometimes when working late. still. 4 hours LS comfortably. i have used a microwave aswell on the backup to heat my food. - the esener battery has a 1c rating, so its fine with the high discharge for 2minutes.

hooking warm blankets on aswell i cant say what will happen. dont know what the rating is. 

 

in short, what im saying. im happy with the 3kw rating. more than that will need serious battery during LS. 

the 5kw kit mentioned will be able to do exactly what the 3kw can do. and you can always expand later with panels. 

growatt inverter is noisy (fans running) 

and i believe Luxpower does the same. 

Thanks appreciated

[GMAC]

I using an 3 kw inverter and was on 1 Esener lithium 25.6 v now on 2 Esener lithium and we use kettles , bread  toasters . Microwave , small twin element oven , frontloader washing machine   , hear dryer on high at night   with out issues .

You will be surprised what all you can run from just an 3 kw inverter and lithium battery  only issue with 3kw  is you have to manage the system so one high Wats load  appliance at a time with lights fridge TV and pc running.

I have 2060w solar and that helps through the day  but on 40 amp charge rate only from solar  by the time a go look around 9am in the morning the batterys are around 90% soc  after 6 to 8 hours load shedding through the night .

With 2 Esener lithium we run microwave for 20 minutes at high and then double element oven for half an hour with lights , fridge ,TV and pc running in the evening and still go through 6 to 8 hours load shedding through the night with out charging battery between load shedding  with out issues . 

I only charge my lithium from solar to save electricity units  .

 

Edited June 4, 2023 by GMAC

[Flouw]

16 hours ago, GMAC said:

I using an 3 kw inverter and was on 1 Esener lithium 25.6 v now on 2 Esener lithium and we use kettles , bread  toasters . Microwave , small twin element oven , frontloader washing machine   , hear dryer on high at night   with out issues .

You will be surprised what all you can run from just an 3 kw inverter and lithium battery  only issue with 3kw  is you have to manage the system so one high Wats load  appliance at a time with lights fridge TV and pc running.

I have 2060w solar and that helps through the day  but on 40 amp charge rate only from solar  by the time a go look around 9am in the morning the batterys are around 90% soc  after 6 to 8 hours load shedding through the night .

With 2 Esener lithium we run microwave for 20 minutes at high and then double element oven for half an hour with lights , fridge ,TV and pc running in the evening and still go through 6 to 8 hours load shedding through the night with out charging battery between load shedding  with out issues . 

I only charge my lithium from solar to save electricity units  .

 

i cant seem to find a post with your full setup. 

i also have a 3kw inverter, and 1 x Esener battery. are you running 24v or 48v? parralel or series with your 2 batteries?

what inverter with a decent solar array? 

[LLawrence]

To add on I would recommend the Luxpower from a scalability perspective, often times when specing a system you have an idea of what you essentially need backed up but as you start using it you may find that there are additional items you may want to power.

Like mentioned by @GMAC when you find that you would like to add items with heating elements such as kettle, toaster, microwave if you try using the kettle and microware at same time you will quickly reach the limit of the 3KW Growatt inverter. At this point when you want to upgrade the system you will need to but a bigger inverter and battery which is the bulk of your initial investment wasted.

Another thing to consider is the voltage difference between the 2 units, the Growatt being 24v would use double the amperage supplying the the same load as the Luxpower 48v Inverter. Meaning your batteries in the 24v system is going to be working twice as hard when supplying the same power.

Lastly the price on the Growatt with battery and panels, does this include installation and mounting hardware for the panels? If not the initial cost would most likely be greater than the initial setup cost of first doing the Luxpower setup. At a later stage, save up for solar panels, mounting hardware and installation.

[GMAC]

2 hours ago, Flouw said:

i cant seem to find a post with your full setup. 

i also have a 3kw inverter, and 1 x Esener battery. are you running 24v or 48v? parralel or series with your 2 batteries?

what inverter with a decent solar array? 

Hi .

I have an old 5 year old MKS 2 plus 3 kw 24v  inverter  with an 60amp mppt controller .

2 Esener 25.6v lithium connect in parallel .

I have 4 330w panels and 2 370 solar panels 2 series 3 parallel so 3 strings ,  makes 2060w . Reason for different panels is the system was slowly upgrade with time 

The  2 lithium can discharge 200amps continues  and the inverter can draw a max load 120amp so the 2 lithium handle the loads with out issues . 

The inverter mppt is now limiting me to go more solar so a new 3 kw inverter is in the budget . 

We don't want an bigger inverter as 3 kw is working 100% and it's just my wife and I  in the house so managing the system is not an issue just more solar will help on rainy days  .

I could go 5 kw inverter and connect the lithium in series but then more cost for bigger inverter and for balancer to balance the the 2 25.6v lithiums.

 

Edited June 5, 2023 by GMAC

[Flouw]

21 minutes ago, GMAC said:

Hi .

I have an old 5 year old MKS 2 plus 3 kw 24v  inverter  with an 60amp mppt controller .

2 Esener 25.6v lithium connect in parallel .

I have 4 330w panels and 2 370 solar panels 2 series 3 parallel so 3 strings ,  makes 2060w . Reason for different panels is the system was slowly upgrade with time 

The  2 lithium can discharge 200amps continues  and the inverter can draw a max load 120amp so the 2 lithium handle the loads with out issues . 

The inverter mppt is now limiting me to go more solar so a new 3 kw inverter is in the budget . 

We don't want an bigger inverter as 3 kw is working 100% and it's just my wife and I  in the house so managing the system is not an issue just more solar will help on rainy days  .

I could go 5 kw inverter and connect the lithium in series but then more cost for bigger inverter and for balancer to balance the the 2 25.6v lithiums.

 

 

Thank you for the response. 

i have a Mecer 3kw inverter, but not the plus model. limited to 600w solar. - which i have not connected as yet. so running without solar at this stage. what is your experience on fans? high, low loads etc. does the fans run permanently during the day with PV coming in? 

 

ive been disregarding some inverter models as a potential replacements due to fans running constantly. as my unit is dead quiet when in bypass mode. and fans only runs when charging, and when loads above 230w while on battery. the fan noise is however acceptable on this unit. 

im concerned that that when i put PV on this inverter, that the fans might run regardless. and then ive been disregarding other units as potential upgrades due to this fact. 

Luxpower seem to have fans running constantly aswell when there is PV input. and frankly, i can afford any thing more than that anyway. so if the fans will be running, regardless of what i do, i might just go to a lower/cheaper tier that has decent monitoring interface, im also happy to stick to 3/3.5kw on 24v. 

[GMAC]

2 hours ago, Flouw said:

 

Thank you for the response. 

i have a Mecer 3kw inverter, but not the plus model. limited to 600w solar. - which i have not connected as yet. so running without solar at this stage. what is your experience on fans? high, low loads etc. does the fans run permanently during the day with PV coming in? 

 

ive been disregarding some inverter models as a potential replacements due to fans running constantly. as my unit is dead quiet when in bypass mode. and fans only runs when charging, and when loads above 230w while on battery. the fan noise is however acceptable on this unit. 

im concerned that that when i put PV on this inverter, that the fans might run regardless. and then ive been disregarding other units as potential upgrades due to this fact. 

Luxpower seem to have fans running constantly aswell when there is PV input. and frankly, i can afford any thing more than that anyway. so if the fans will be running, regardless of what i do, i might just go to a lower/cheaper tier that has decent monitoring interface, im also happy to stick to 3/3.5kw on 24v.

 

Under loads my fans work similar to yours and fans  start at around 250w and rpm increase with load or temp increase .

With PV it's similar have not check at what temp or loads do the fans start at but I have charge amps set at 40amps so that's about 1000w so the fans are running full rpm and are a bit noisy but as the Wats or amps drop as the battery reach 100% charge and it switch's from bulk to float charge  the fans slow down and at around 250 - Wats from mppt the fans do stop and any thing between 250 to 500wats we can hardly hear the fan  . Or if a cloud comes over and the Wats drop the fan also slow down .

But the fans are not any noiser and react about the same as when it charges from utility which is not very often,  really only on really bad rainy days for 2 or 3 days constant were the PV panel don't charge sufficient and high load shedding levels  .

Can't say all inverter work the same but this MKS 2 plus has verbal fan speeds 

Edited June 5, 2023 by GMAC

[Flouw]

8 minutes ago, GMAC said:

Under loads my fans work similar to yours and fans  start at around 250w and rpm increase with load or temp increase .

With PV it's similar have not check at what temp or loads do the fans start at but I have charge amps set at 40amps so that's about 1000w so the fans are running full rpm and are a bit noisy but as the Wats or amps drop as the battery reach 100% charge and it switch's from bulk to float charge  the fans slow down and at around 250 - Wats from mppt the fans do stop and any thing between 250 to 500wats we can hardly hear the fan  . Or if a cloud comes over and the Wats drop the fan also slow down .

But the fans are not any noiser and react about the same as when it charges from utility which is not very often,  really only on really bad rainy days for 2 or 3 days constant were the PV panel don't charge sufficient and high load shedding levels  .

Can't say all inverter work the same but this MKS 2 plus has verbal fan speeds 

thank you very much for sharing.  

 

would also be interesting to know your charge, float and bulk settings. since these inverters are not really meant/designed for Lithium.

as ive mentioned in another post that my inverter seems to bulk charge to 27.4V only. and then the fans switch off. perhaps with PV connected it will actually go to 28.2v on bulk. 

[Eugenevz]

On 2023/06/02 at 7:05 AM, Docs said:

Hello

 

What would be a better option for backup to lights, TV, electric blankets, chargers. Average usage during loadshedding I would estimate around 300 to 400 watts if controlled. We do extended outages beyond loadshedding in our area fairly often.

Option 1

Growatt 3kva 24v + 2.56 Essener lithium + 2 mono panels 660w each.

How long would the batteries take to charge with this setup.

 

Option 2

Luxpower SNA 5kva

5kw lithium battery

No panels

Both could come in around a similar budget but option 2 doesnt have any panels. Would 2x660w panels put a dent in the Charing of the batter on option 1 and be enough to at least see some saving on electricity

Thanks

 

So first off i realise all these decisions are dictated by budget, so this will depend on your budget. But personally i would go for the bigger setup, my reasoning for this is that i decided to go with a 3kva trolley setup with 2.56kw hubble batteries, for financial reasons as well as because i currently live in a apartment. But after using it for a while now (and it does work great), the more and more i realise i would have preferred a bigger option that i could upgrade in the future.

Combine that with that the current trend of loadshedding becoming just slightly worse each year, planning your system around future loadshedding stages is in my mind the most prudent coarse of action. And might actually save you money in the end.

[Flouw]

13 minutes ago, Eugenevz said:

So first off i realise all these decisions are dictated by budget, so this will depend on your budget. But personally i would go for the bigger setup, my reasoning for this is that i decided to go with a 3kva trolley setup with 2.56kw hubble batteries, for financial reasons as well as because i currently live in a apartment. But after using it for a while now (and it does work great), the more and more i realise i would have preferred a bigger option that i could upgrade in the future.

Combine that with that the current trend of loadshedding becoming just slightly worse each year, planning your system around future loadshedding stages is in my mind the most prudent coarse of action. And might actually save you money in the end.

what are currently connected? and what would you have added if it was a 5/8/10/12kw system running off batteries. so, whatever you use, you need to replace once power comes back, "plus vat" for efficiency losses. 

 

 

[GMAC]

2 hours ago, Flouw said:

thank you very much for sharing.  

 

would also be interesting to know your charge, float and bulk settings. since these inverters are not really meant/designed for Lithium.

as ive mentioned in another post that my inverter seems to bulk charge to 27.4V only. and then the fans switch off. perhaps with PV connected it will actually go to 28.2v on bulk. 

The Esener  25.6 is an 8 cell pack so I set my bulk on 28.4 and float on 27.4 but with a multimeter on Lithium they test 27.1 so inverters not perfect but close I have plaid around with setting but 27.4 v on inverter is good . 

1 hour ago, Eugenevz said:

 

Combine that with that the current trend of loadshedding becoming just slightly worse each year, planning your system around future loadshedding stages is in my mind the most prudent coarse of action. And might actually save money in the end .

When we started with cheap mod wave  inverters years ago we quickly got an idea what will work for us so we decided on 3kw as bigger going to cost more than we need and just going to be a waist of money so we started with this 3kw hybrid inverter 2 gel batterys then 4 gels 2S 2P  and 2 solar panel and worked great with stage 1 and 2 load shedding but with stage 6 plus we need more battery power and solar panel as 3kw is all we need but gels could not handle the loads over time and so voltage drops and inverter shut down due to low volts under load from warming appliances .  

So we first upgraded to 6 PV panels worked great at day but at night gel still a problem so we bought first one lithium then a second . 

Now with this system we run at day from solar making the system pay for it self  and utility at night and battery at night in load shedding and charging only from solar  . Our load is low max at night 300w 12amps unless we use warming appliances this giving 15 hours run time if the load is constant all night but 22h is bed time and  it drops to 150w when the fridge runs   . So I have enough battery storage and solar to go 24/7 if need be .

For me any bigger system of 120k to 220k  would just be a waist of money as my system as it stands is about 60k , perfect 24/7 system if need be 

I have gas stove and gas water warmer  (geyser) so what more do I need there's always hot  water always electricity 

But others have 5+ plus people in the house aircons and pools and so a perfect system for most will be about an 5 to 8kw inverter with 3 lithium and 12 panels 

Edited June 5, 2023 by GMAC

[Flouw]

3 hours ago, GMAC said:

The Esener  25.6 is an 8 cell pack so I set my bulk on 28.4 and float on 27.4 but with a multimeter on Lithium they test 27.1 so inverters not perfect but close I have plaid around with setting but 27.4 v on inverter is good . 

My bulk is set to 28.4 aswell. with float on 27.6V. as i said. my battery never actually reached 29.4, unless i do equalize. 

i have attached a amp meter while charging,, and on 27.6v it use to absorb about 10 amp for 20 minutes or so after the fans stopped. ive tested with volt meter, my inverter is out by 0.2v. which i can live with. (confirmed with 2 x different volt meters.)

 

if possible, could you post a photo of your inverter specs? im trying to wrap my mind how you have 2000w odd PV connected to the Plus model that can only take 1500w according to my findings on google. your system is pretty much what im after, only issue i have currently is the 600w capability of my current inverter. hence me lookin at upgrading. something with SUB function, to benefit even more from the panels.

[Eugenevz]

5 hours ago, Flouw said:

what are currently connected? and what would you have added if it was a 5/8/10/12kw system running off batteries. so, whatever you use, you need to replace once power comes back, "plus vat" for efficiency losses. 

 

 

So my setup is very simplistic, basically a glorified ups. I can run most essentials (tv, lights, wifi, fridge) from it. My issue is that i'm moving soon to a bigger place with a pool and borehole. And only now discovered that the 3kva inverter cannot handle the borehole pump start up spike, i realize there are ways around this, ie replacing the pump with a more efficient/solar pump, but those things would not have been needed if i thought my purchase through a bit better

[GMAC]

1 hour ago, Flouw said:

My bulk is set to 28.4 aswell. with float on 27.6V. as i said. my battery never actually reached 29.4, unless i do equalize. 

i have attached a amp meter while charging,, and on 27.6v it use to absorb about 10 amp for 20 minutes or so after the fans stopped. ive tested with volt meter, my inverter is out by 0.2v. which i can live with. (confirmed with 2 x different volt meters.)

 

if possible, could you post a photo of your inverter specs? im trying to wrap my mind how you have 2000w odd PV connected to the Plus model that can only take 1500w according to my findings on google. your system is pretty much what im after, only issue i have currently is the 600w capability of my current inverter. hence me lookin at upgrading. something with SUB function, to benefit even more from the panels.

You can over size Wats but never volts  but with my solar setup I have 1 string facing the afternoon sun so I will never get the full 2060w  this gives me a longer day but still on sunny days under load the controller does limit to 1550wats . 

On specs rated amp is 60amp so about 1500wats 

You can go 800wats panels  on your inverter and should not be an problem . 

You said you have the Esener lithium and with lithium you must never use equalize mode that's only for gel and lead batterys 

Edited June 5, 2023 by GMAC

[Flouw]

10 hours ago, GMAC said:

You can over size Wats but never volts  but with my solar setup I have 1 string facing the afternoon sun so I will never get the full 2060w  this gives me a longer day but still on sunny days under load the controller does limit to 1550wats . 

On specs rated amp is 60amp so about 1500wats 

You can go 800wats panels  on your inverter and should not be an problem . 

You said you have the Esener lithium and with lithium you must never use equalize mode that's only for gel and lead batterys 

 

the only way for me to get the voltage above 28.4 is with equalize function. otherwise it just charges to 27.6v, and stays there. 

and my concern is that the voltage is too low to activate the internal BMS for balancing.

perhaps with PV installed, it will actually charge properly, instead of just from utility that never goes to the higher bulk set voltage.

[GMAC]

1 hour ago, Flouw said:

the only way for me to get the voltage above 28.4 is with equalize function. otherwise it just charges to 27.6v, and stays there. 

and my concern is that the voltage is too low to activate the internal BMS for balancing.

perhaps with PV installed, it will actually charge properly, instead of just from utility that never goes to the higher bulk set voltage.

There is very little on what BMS is in these Esener lithium and what I understand is it can take hours to days for an BMS to balance an out of balance cells .

Unless your inverter has an setting that can hold the bulk charge for say 2 hours before it switch to float bulk not going to help as the moment these inverter volt hit bulk it switches straight to float .

From the month that I have now been running these Esener the 27.1 volt seem to be high enough for the BMS to balance as at night my lithium allows settle at 26.8 even if I float charge for hours at 28.4  .

I so far have not noticed a change in the settle voltage of 26.8 so can only think the BMS is maintaining balance at our float volts .

The only way of really knowing is  to  remove the sticker over one screw and void the guarantee to open it to  check each cell with an multimeter 

[Eugenevz]

On 2023/06/05 at 4:24 PM, GMAC said:

The Esener  25.6 is an 8 cell pack so I set my bulk on 28.4 and float on 27.4 but with a multimeter on Lithium they test 27.1 so inverters not perfect but close I have plaid around with setting but 27.4 v on inverter is good . 

When we started with cheap mod wave  inverters years ago we quickly got an idea what will work for us so we decided on 3kw as bigger going to cost more than we need and just going to be a waist of money so we started with this 3kw hybrid inverter 2 gel batterys then 4 gels 2S 2P  and 2 solar panel and worked great with stage 1 and 2 load shedding but with stage 6 plus we need more battery power and solar panel as 3kw is all we need but gels could not handle the loads over time and so voltage drops and inverter shut down due to low volts under load from warming appliances .  

So we first upgraded to 6 PV panels worked great at day but at night gel still a problem so we bought first one lithium then a second . 

Now with this system we run at day from solar making the system pay for it self  and utility at night and battery at night in load shedding and charging only from solar  . Our load is low max at night 300w 12amps unless we use warming appliances this giving 15 hours run time if the load is constant all night but 22h is bed time and  it drops to 150w when the fridge runs   . So I have enough battery storage and solar to go 24/7 if need be .

For me any bigger system of 120k to 220k  would just be a waist of money as my system as it stands is about 60k , perfect 24/7 system if need be 

I have gas stove and gas water warmer  (geyser) so what more do I need there's always hot  water always electricity 

But others have 5+ plus people in the house aircons and pools and so a perfect system for most will be about an 5 to 8kw inverter with 3 lithium and 12 panels 

I guess financial sense depends on each person.

For example, 200K at fixed interest rate of 10% is pretty decent, but it provides you with a rand value of R1666 a month, if this covers your electricity bill than great, if you cover you electricity bill and make a small profit from it fantastic.

But now the reveres logic applies, if i spent 200K on a solar setup and it saves me R1666 a month in electricity, its a bit of a either or situation, but add in the possibility of a average annual increase of 15% a year in electricity price, a 200K investment sounds a lot better with a 15% interest rate. 

Factor in the fact that most homes and apartments do not come standard with gas geysers, which will require a conversion cost and that this adds an additional monthly running cost and a bit of a logistics headache as you are only legally allowed to store 100kg of gas on a domestic property, you need to balance this with your usage requirements, add in the fact that gas itself is subject to prices fluctuations as well as availability issues. And if you use a service which handles the logistical headache for you, this comes with its own set of charges

I do feel that if we are going to advise someone on options, we do need to point out that other capital expenditures where made, and the running costs need to be weighed up. I realise counter arguments for solar maintenance and replacement applies, as you essentially become your own utility service provider, but factoring in a "maintenance" plan becomes a bit of a headache to calculate, so i will leave it there.

[GMAC]

3 hours ago, Eugenevz said:

I guess financial sense depends on each person.

For example, 200K at fixed interest rate of 10% is pretty decent, but it provides you with a rand value of R1666 a month, if this covers your electricity bill than great, if you cover you electricity bill and make a small profit from it fantastic.

But now the reveres logic applies, if i spent 200K on a solar setup and it saves me R1666 a month in electricity, its a bit of a either or situation, but add in the possibility of a average annual increase of 15% a year in electricity price, a 200K investment sounds a lot better with a 15% interest rate. 

Factor in the fact that most homes and apartments do not come standard with gas geysers, which will require a conversion cost and that this adds an additional monthly running cost and a bit of a logistics headache as you are only legally allowed to store 100kg of gas on a domestic property, you need to balance this with your usage requirements, add in the fact that gas itself is subject to prices fluctuations as well as availability issues. And if you use a service which handles the logistical headache for you, this comes with its own set of charges

I do feel that if we are going to advise someone on options, we do need to point out that other capital expenditures where made, and the running costs need to be weighed up. I realise counter arguments for solar maintenance and replacement applies, as you essentially become your own utility service provider, but factoring in a "maintenance" plan becomes a bit of a headache to calculate, so i will leave it there.

No were did I advice any one on my setup   but only shared my experience only at the end did I mention a bigger system would be better for bigger family and loads.

When is comes to gas for me take note FOR ME gas works for us as we only 2 in the house and both shower so 10kg gas bottle last us 2 month in summer to shower and cook, an 10kg bottle cost R280 swop so R140 month on gas but using gas was not for saving but was to get around shower in cold water due long hours of load shedding or power failure,  the saving is just an bonus  . This setup won't work for bigger family that bath and shower . 

A friend wanted to install an 12kw system at a cost of R400k plus but only him and his wife in the house I showed him my system take note SHOWED him not adviced him  and he decided on an 8kw system as he then understand more about what can all run from smaller system and so he  realized an 12 kw system was totally over rated  

For most in SA going solar and gas is just to get through this load shedding frustration and saving if any is just an bonus. 

 

 

[SolarDIY]

On 2023/06/02 at 7:05 AM, Docs said:

Hello

 

What would be a better option for backup to lights, TV, electric blankets, chargers. Average usage during loadshedding I would estimate around 300 to 400 watts if controlled. We do extended outages beyond loadshedding in our area fairly often.

Option 1

Growatt 3kva 24v + 2.56 Essener lithium + 2 mono panels 660w each.

How long would the batteries take to charge with this setup.

 

Option 2

Luxpower SNA 5kva

5kw lithium battery

No panels

Both could come in around a similar budget but option 2 doesnt have any panels. Would 2x660w panels put a dent in the Charing of the batter on option 1 and be enough to at least see some saving on electricity

Thanks

 

I will personally go for option 1 purely based on the panels. I run a similar setup but with 2 essener 25.6 lithiums and 4 x 350w panels. The panels assists the batteries during the day. I'm about to add 2 additional panels as i see the benefits.

[Crazy Kaktus]

So just my take on the matter. I work from home. I run a fully fledged TV studio… 3 Apple Macs, a server, a charge bay for Tv Cameras and batteries, a VHS analogue duplicating bay, a fridge, Microwave , air fryer, 1800w over and a PS5 - obviously not all the high current item at the same time, but the TV studio runs 80% of the time. The tv 3 to 4 hours a day. The fridge is on all the time. Air fryer I run at times 2 to 3 times a week mainly at night. I don’t have a stove or geyser as both are gas.
 

I am off the grid 100%. With a 5Kva LuxPower unit 2 lithium batteries 2 x 5 panel solar strings running on the inverter and its is solid. I generate around 2500 - 3000 W of charge power  during the day on 5 panels at a time as I get morning sun on one side of the house and afternoon sun later. 
 

I would definitely do LuxPower. But add a few solar panels if you can. 3. Might be a small for the system. If you do 4 you will get at least 2000W of charge on solid sunny day which means your batteries should be charged by 1 each day depending on what sun you get. 
My system allows me to run my studio and the entire house 100% off solar 

my entire system cost me R155k and it’s the best investment ever. 
 

 

Edited August 3, 2023 by Crazy Kaktus
Added facts

[Docs]

Thanks for all the feedback. I ended up going with the Growatt 3kw + 1 Essener battery and 2 X 540w panels. It's been in for just under 2 months and so far seems to doing the job for my requirements. Have never dropped the battery below 60% since it was installed and that's with a couple extended load shedding sessions we had due to power not restoring on time, I do however control the electric blankets during loadshedding and only use them on power level 1 or 2 when LS.