Hi Guys, I'm new to the forum. Been reading up to find a solution for my home. I am looking to install a hybrid type solar system. Hoping fellow members can point me in the right direction if/when I get stuck.

Hi Nemo,

Welcome. we can help. 

But before we go too far, start here, future proof or not:

 

Thanks for that info.

 

So I figured I'd add some context to my intro & share my take on a solution I'm hoping to achieve.

I recently moved into my new home within a newly built complex. I have municipal gas which is used for cooking (stove & oven), water heating (Paloma gas water heater/geyser) & heating (gas fireplace), as such my electricity bill is not very high truth be told. Currently I utilize about 12kWh per day during summer & 20kWh per day during winter and we are on a prepaid system. However having experienced summer & winter, I am strongly considering the addition of 2 inverter type 12000BTU aircons, for my bedroom & tv lounge which are situated upstairs & have double volume ceilings. The main reason for this is to efficiently heat my place, as keeping the place cool is not a problem, the unit is very well insulated. Further to this I plan on changing the gas water heater/geyser to a solar geyser, with the gas water heater/geyser as a backup, should the temp drop or hot water run out. I find my gas bill a bit high & I estimate that 70% is due to the water heater/geyser. So moving over to solar should pay for an average system within 3.5 years.

Now, to design a system that can help with reducing my footprint, electricity bill & dependence on Eishkom!

Based on my use, I have estimated the following: 5kW Hybrid inverter, 10 x 320W Solar panels, 4-6kWh of storage Lithium battery. If my basic calculations are correct, I should be able to yield roughly 15kWh per day & have enough storage to see me through most power outages. I'd like to system to have some sort of monitoring software that allows an easy way to track the system.

 

Any thoughts, concerns or suggestions?

So I figured I'd add some context to my intro & share my take on a solution I'm hoping to achieve.

I recently moved into my new home within a newly built complex. I have municipal gas which is used for cooking (stove & oven), water heating (Paloma gas water heater/geyser) & heating (gas fireplace), as such my electricity bill is not very high truth be told. Currently I utilize about 12kWh per day during summer & 20kWh per day during winter and we are on a prepaid system. However having experienced summer & winter, I am strongly considering the addition of 2 inverter type 12000BTU aircons, for my bedroom & tv lounge which are situated upstairs & have double volume ceilings. The main reason for this is to efficiently heat my place, as keeping the place cool is not a problem, the unit is very well insulated. Further to this I plan on changing the gas water heater/geyser to a solar geyser, with the gas water heater/geyser as a backup, should the temp drop or hot water run out. I find my gas bill a bit high & I estimate that 70% is due to the water heater/geyser. So moving over to solar should pay for an average system within 3.5 years.

Now, to design a system that can help with reducing my footprint, electricity bill & dependence on Eishkom!

Based on my use, I have estimated the following: 5kW Hybrid inverter, 10 x 320W Solar panels, 4-6kWh of storage Lithium battery. If my basic calculations are correct, I should be able to yield roughly 15kWh per day & have enough storage to see me through most power outages. I'd like to system to have some sort of monitoring software that allows an easy way to track the system. I'm uncertain if I will be able to feed access into the grid, but will do some research.

 

Any thoughts, concerns or suggestions?

Overall you seem to have given it some serious thought. Brilliant.

Geyser is a big user, so your thoughts there, spot on. I prefer EV tubes to putting panels on PV panels, as tubes work under clouds also, panels not so much.

And EV tubes are more efficient in harvesting energy for water heating, than panels.

And geyser on solar requires a bigger inverter and more panels, versus the loads that cost money, are the ones below 1000w on average over 24 hours.

And when all is asleep, check one day how much power is then used.

Lowering the 24/7 average load is where the biggest savings lie. Not the peak loads that required a few minutes per day, necessitating a bigger investment.

Me and Plonsker, two users wh have done this yonks back, reducing the average loads, peaks right back on Eskom.

 

10 minutes ago, nemo_jhb said:

I should be able to yield roughly 15kWh per day

Yes, but the caveat is, when do you use the most power, daytime or evenings when all come home and cooking starts, early morning when breakfast is prepared, and there is no sun really?

Batteries used in evenings, not power failures, are more expensive per kw/h than Eskom, more so if you are already on a lower rate because you have reduced the overall average use.

So when do you use most of the power? During the peak sun hours per day, or evenings?

Software to monitor it all, protect the batteries, all that is easy to get.