Hi everyone, please I would want someone to explain something in lay man terms 

 

Max AC current? What it means, what is it for? 

 

I noticed a 5kw Deye inverter has max AC current of 25 A of which an 12 kw inverter has max AC current of 27 A

 

Only to find out that an 8kw has something like 36 A all with the same AC continuous pass through of 50 A

 

Thanks Regards 

Tapiwa 

Edited June 3, 20233 yr by Taps

Hi @Taps

The maximum AC voltage refers to the maximum power that can flow through the essential load side of the inverter. On the 8Kw inverter it is 50A or approximately 11.5kW (50A x 230V = 11.5kW).

Any additional power above the 8kw the inverter is capable of generating will come from the grid. For example, if you have a load of 11kW and sufficient solar or battery power available, 8kW will come from the inverter, and the remaining 3kW will be drawn from the grid. If your battery settings/state only allows for generating 4kW of solar/battery power, it will provide 4kW, and the remaining 7kW will come from the grid. However, the total power cannot exceed 11.5kW, as that would cause the inverter to trip out.

Power used by non-essential loads does not pass through the inverter. Instead, the inverter feeds the excess power back to the grid, up to the point where the CT clamp is installed. This operation is similar to a grid-tie inverter. The maximum power it can feed back to the grid is equal to the size of the inverter, which is 8kW in this case. The limit to the power you can use on the non-essential size is only limited by the size of your Eskom breaker

In the case of a 5kW inverter, the limit on essential loads is 35A, equivalent to approximately 8kW.

These limits are applicable only when the inverter is connected to the grid. If the grid is off or disconnected, the largest load that can be supported is the size of the inverter itself as there is no griod power to blend with.

 

 

 

Edited June 3, 20233 yr by Sc00bs

39 minutes ago, Sc00bs said:

The maximum AC voltage refers to the maximum power that can flow through the essential load side of the inverter. On the 8Kw inverter it is 50A or approximately 11.5kW (50A x 230V = 11.5kW).

Any additional power above the 8kw the inverter is capable of generating will come from the grid. For example, if you have a load of 11kW and sufficient solar or battery power available, 8kW will come from the inverter, and the remaining 3kW will be drawn from the grid. If your battery settings/state only allows for generating 4kW of solar/battery power, it will provide 4kW, and the remaining 7kW will come from the grid. However, the total power cannot exceed 11.5kW, as that would cause the inverter to trip out.

Why then do they market the inverter as 8kw? Not trying to catch you out. Mine is 4.6kW continuous, and 6.9kW for a few seconds. Is the Deye then 8kW continuous and 11.5kW for short peaks?

11 minutes ago, Bobster. said:

Why then do they market the inverter as 8kw? Not trying to catch you out. Mine is 4.6kW continuous, and 6.9kW for a few seconds. Is the Deye then 8kW continuous and 11.5kW for short peaks?

AFAIK all inverters are rated on the output power. Some might provide more from PV but offer less from battery. 

Sc00ps provided a great insight into the Sunsynk inverter. Sunsynk also seem to have a great bypass current compared to other makes. Some specs refer to 53A while 50A was used to get to 11.5kW.

The same cannot be applied to other makes. 

Edited June 3, 20233 yr by Scorp007

On 2023/06/03 at 9:55 AM, Bobster. said:

Why then do they market the inverter as 8kw? Not trying to catch you out. Mine is 4.6kW continuous, and 6.9kW for a few seconds. Is the Deye then 8kW continuous and 11.5kW for short peaks?

Hi @Bobster. Um no, you are misunderstanding what I said.

Let me try again:

You said you have a 4.6kw, if your load goes more than 4.6kw for any extended length of time, it trips the inverter. 

The Sunsynk is different in that it will blend in power from the grid if you go over 4.6kw (8kw for the Sunsynk) up to the limit of 11.5kw. This is on the essential load side. 

It also has a non-essential load where you can pull as much power your breaker will allow from the grid and the inverter will back feed to power as much of it as it can when settings allow. When there is no grid, non-essentials are without power. 

2 hours ago, Sc00bs said:

Hi @Bobster. Um no, you are misunderstanding what I said.

Let me try again:

You said you have a 4.6kw, if your load goes more than 4.6kw for any extended length of time, it trips the inverter. 

The Sunsynk is different in that it will blend in power from the grid if you go over 4.6kw (8kw for the Sunsynk) up to the limit of 11.5kw. This is on the essential load side. 

It also has a non-essential load where you can pull as much power your breaker will allow from the grid and the inverter will back feed to power as much of it as it can when settings allow. When there is no grid, non-essentials are without power. 

Thanks for that explanation.