So i finally ordered.

Here are the specifications.

Solar

• 3 x Synerji 5kVA/5kW 48v Hybrid Plus Inv 80A MPPT
• 24 x Risen Energy 72Cell 330w PV Module
• 1 x BYD 10Kwh Lithium Ion 48V Battery Bank 
• 3 x Synerji V18/H18 5kVA Parallel Kit

Power Saving

• 150x 3W LED Lights
• Changed 1x Geyser element from 3kW to 2kW
• Replaced Kettle with a 200W 1L Kettle
• Replaced 2x 200L Geysers with 2x 10L Gas Geysers (No-one living in the additional two flats on my plot)

The Synerji Inverters are hybrid and comes with Charge Controllers,  the three parallel kits allow me to connect the three separate inverters to my existing three phase grid and allows me to run my boreholes from them. Added benefit is that if one of the inverters packs up i have two others that can run perfectly.

Total cost, including brackets, rails and power cables (6mm) is a whopping R 135,392.85 incl VAT @ 15%.

I'll be updating the thread with pictures as installation starts.

 

Edited December 10, 20187 yr by soic

18 minutes ago, soic said:

3 x Synerji 5kVA/5kW 48v Hybrid Plus Inv 80A MPPT

Good luck sir. 

2 minutes ago, Jaco de Jongh said:

Good luck sir. 

Geniune well wishes? or is there something i need to know about these inverters?

9 minutes ago, soic said:

Geniune well wishes? or is there something i need to know about these inverters?

I always feel bad telling people after they have already ordered.  This is a very bad Axpert Clone, and known to give all sorts of issues. From inconstant charge to who know what else.  

Its one of the lowest priced inverters on the marked and in the Solar world you always get what you pay for. In general they just don't have a good rep. 

@Chris Hobson i cant seem to find that post of yours about this inverter. 

12 minutes ago, Jaco de Jongh said:

I always feel bad telling people after they have already ordered.  This is a very bad Axpert Clone, and known to give all sorts of issues. From inconstant charge to who know what else.  

Its one of the lowest priced inverters on the marked and in the Solar world you always get what you pay for. In general they just don't have a good rep. 

Thanx for wishing me luck then.

Its a trade-off .... i either get one 3-phase inverter for 50-80k and have all my eggs in one basket, or i get three smaller ones and have more options. They are cheap enough to not worry too much if i need to replace them @ 11k incl. i am willing to take the risk is suppose.

Believe me, it was something i considered when ordering it.

In general though ... people post more when they have issues, and less when everything is running smoothly. This is by no means my yardstick though.

Edited December 10, 20187 yr by soic

6 minutes ago, soic said:

i am willing to take the risk is suppose.

If this is the case, and you are aware of the risks, then I support your decision. 

13 minutes ago, soic said:

They are cheap enough to not worry too much if i need to replace them

Well that is good, because you're going to do so very soon (as in less than 5 years).

My biggest gripe with the Synerji is that in absorb it had serious DC ripple (up to 2V within 10-15 seconds).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFaDvUOeIgo

 

I think it is a good idea to start with cheaper to cheap inverters.

But, would also have gone for cheap batteries, for the part that make me wonder, like in "wow, hold on!" wonder, is this part ...

2 hours ago, soic said:

1 x BYD 10Kwh Lithium Ion 48V Battery Bank 

With this comment ... 

34 minutes ago, Chris Hobson said:

... that in absorb it had serious DC ripple (up to 2V within 10-15 seconds).

How would those batteries behave?
Would the charging affect them?

Edited December 10, 20187 yr by Guest

3 hours ago, Chris Hobson said:

serious DC ripple

I assume this is from the MPPT? Would be interesting to glance inside the case, but such poor ripple would point towards a poorly designed buck converter, possibly too small a capacitor on the output side, and perhaps it also isn't interleaved like the one in the Axpert (I think that one is interleaved). Now when the LFP battery isn't full yet, I expect the lower inpedance of the battery to remove much of the ripple, but once the battery fills up... that's when it is going to get interesting.

How did you measure the ripple? Scope? What kind of frequency?

Could It be a "stoic" decisión??😉

Edited December 10, 20187 yr by Javi Martínez

9 hours ago, plonkster said:

 

How did you measure the ripple? Scope? What kind of frequency?

No not necessary it was visible on the BMV and the inverter's own voltmeter. Like I said serious ripple.

Ill try and find a video.

 

44 minutes ago, Chris Hobson said:

No not necessary it was visible on the BMV and the inverter's own voltmeter. Like I said serious ripple.

Ok then we're talking about a different kind of ripple. The ripple I was thinking of would be a 1V or 2V square wave on top of the battery voltage at a frequency in the tens of Khz (where buck converters normally operate). Looks lik you're talking about poor voltage regulation?

17 hours ago, stoic said:

1 x BYD 10Kwh Lithium Ion 48V Battery Bank 

Morning, may I ask where you bought this. 

That kind of ripple, big period, use to be related to a bad, or horrible  this time, regulation on input voltage of MPPT. As PV voltage is not stable, energy coming from PV modules changes a lot.

1 hour ago, Jaco de Jongh said:

Morning, may I ask where you bought this. 

Herholdts (Bloem), Apparently new stock coming in on Monday... im collecting next week Tuesday

Edited December 11, 20187 yr by stoic

16 hours ago, Chris Hobson said:

My biggest gripe with the Synerji is that in absorb it had serious DC ripple (up to 2V within 10-15 seconds).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFaDvUOeIgo

 

I don't speak the lingo   what does that mean? and what is the end effect it has?

Edited December 11, 20187 yr by stoic

We bought a hybrid 5kw last year for testing by Chris Hobson, it failed within 2 days. Returned the unit , was repaired and got it back December 2018.

Not bad for a cheap inverter !!

13 minutes ago, Chris-R said:

We bought a hybrid 5kw last year for testing by Chris Hobson, it failed within 2 days. Returned the unit , was repaired and got it back December 2018.

Last year... as in 2017? So it took a year to get it back? :-)

Yes, if I'm lucky I will actually collect it tomorrow !

@stoic, if you got hold of a reputable installer, and cancelled  your recent purchases, you would end up up with a better result for cheaper.

End of my advice.

3 hours ago, phil.g00 said:

@stoic, if you got hold of a reputable installer, and cancelled  your recent purchases, you would end up up with a better result for cheaper.

End of my advice.

and who would that installer be?

In the past week you got a lot of advice from this board.

In a remarkably short amount of time, it appears you have got burnt, on both the inverter and the battery front. This solar thing is a steep and very expensive learning curve. 

As for an installer,  someone who has references, someone who is not necessarily the cheapest, apply due diligence, same as vetting any contractor. 

Plenty of installations and contacts and opinions on this forum.

Like I say undo what you have done and  take stock, or don't, its your money.

 

At least for myself, if not also for some of my contemporaries, there is a bit of a love-hate relationship in this. I love everything about renewables and solar energy, I love the technology and the equipment and the can-do attitude, the geekiness of the software solutions. But I hate how much it costs. Or to put it differently: We are fully aware that this tech costs a lot of money, we are fully aware that people are trying to get a value for money proposition... like buying a Ford Ranger instead of a Hilux (now I'm looking for trouble!). The issue in this industry is that there isn't many options in the "middle" tier. There isn't a "Foton Thunda < Mahindra Bolero < Tata Telcoline < Ford Ranger < Toyota Hilux" spectrum for inverters :-)

(Oh.. and that bit about "contemporaries"... stole that from Huxley...).

1 hour ago, phil.g00 said:

In the past week you got a lot of advice from this board.

In a remarkably short amount of time, it appears you have got burnt, on both the inverter and the battery front. This solar thing is a steep and very expensive learning curve. 

As for an installer,  someone who has references, someone who is not necessarily the cheapest, apply due diligence, same as vetting any contractor. 

Plenty of installations and contacts and opinions on this forum.

Like I say undo what you have done and  take stock, or don't, its your money.

 

yup ... i manged to cancel my order.