Posted August 27, 20186 yr Hi Everyone, Although I've been registered and lurking quite some time, I thought I should at least introduce myself before posting too much more: I'm new to PV in general but have had some exposure to other forms of power generation. Currently we (our household) have a single array attached to an Axpert 5kVA PF0.8 unit with 400Ah of storage in lead acid cells. Although the system operates reasonably well it has some quirks. In the last few weeks we've begun the process of adding a second array and intend to attach this to a second Axpert in parallel (as per one or two of my other posts). Other than the inverter and the solar panels everything else in our system has been designed by me and built in-house (so to speak) and we've put all the bits and pieces together as best as we can. It's been a long road so far, we've worked many long hours and learned some expensive lessons but can proudly say we did it all ourselves. Although we have an operating system I regard myself as a total newb and thus am keen to learn from the many experienced members. Cheers. Nonlinear.
August 27, 20186 yr Welcome, you have bitten into the Magic Apple (Can't let Metro know, but that's exactly how I started - Lessons from mistakes)
August 30, 20186 yr Author Hi Guys, Sorry about the delay, things got a little hectic in the last day or two. See below for some pictures. Unfortunately due to the addition of the new equipment the trunking covers are off, conduit removed and boxes are open. I'm not sure how to "inline" pictures so hopefully these are OK.
August 30, 20186 yr Wow that is neat. Like the thick cables all over ... most definitely non-linear as in not the standard wiring size. Also like oversize and forget about it.
August 30, 20186 yr Author To be honest that was a little bit of future proofing that probably was not necessary. My intention has always been to use the Axpert as a learning curve and finally settle for a more long term (dare I say) higher quality inverter. It seems from what I've seen over the last while that the majority of inverters and panels are moving towards higher voltage/lower current and thus thicker wire is not required but just in case I do ever need to drop my voltages and up my current then all I need to do is swap out the fuses and possibly breakers and I should be good to go.
August 30, 20186 yr 1 hour ago, Nonlinear said: ... future proofing ... just in case I do ever need to drop my voltages and up my current then all I need to do is swap out the fuses and possibly breakers and I should be good to go. Amen to that. Just wish I did that day 1. Over the years I flopped from 24v to 12v to 24v ... therein me having upgraded my cables to far exceed the 24v requirements ... oversize and basta with worries. We don't even think of cable losses, as there are none that feature. If you go grid tied for example, 600v is becoming the new norm, but that only affects the part from the panels to the controller/s. Ps. I smiled at you (dare I say).
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