Warren Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Hi allI recently remembered that I actually registered here in May. Wow where has the time gone. In any case just want to share what I have and what I have done. For some reason my pics stop my topic from being post so i used dropbox. Just click on the links to viewSo I built my house 3 years ago in Midstream Centurion / Midrand and did a lot of ground work before deciding to go solar. Solar Geysers LED lights Cook on gasJust with this I have maintained a power bill of between R400 and R600 per month. Average 9 kilowatt /h /day. Not to bad. This is for the house and a cottage. 3 adults 2 children. I think many skip this part and jump straight to solar.So I finally bit the proverbial bullet and bought my system. Axpert 5KVA inverter 3 x 250 Watt panels 4 x 105Ah batteries.and all the other bits and pieces that are part of the installation. So my idea was to run all my lights and selected plugs off solar and slowly add panels and batteries as I go along till I reach a point where i am almost totaly totaly offgrid.So my main DB was in a difficult place to work with so I decided to place my Inverter DB in a different place. https://www.dropbox.com/s/xj6td4kdrzfhdk0/Photo%202015-07-11%2C%204%2037%2058%20PM.jpg?dl=0 I cannot say much for the electrican who installed my main DB. Very untidy and he made mistake which I later had to fix. See below https://www.dropbox.com/s/blrsg2c9psi8nl4/Photo%202015-08-10%2C%2011%2057%2053.jpg?dl=0 So I placed my inverter and inverter DB panel in a better place and started wiring it all up https://www.dropbox.com/s/fhosa40auew77jp/photo%202015-08-10%2C%2011%2057%2048.jpg?dl=0 Close up of inverter DB panel. So i have now installed the earthing which is not in this picture and I still need to install the EL for the plugs which I am doing on Saturday https://www.dropbox.com/s/fk70dl7l11ha38z/closup.fw.png?dl=0 So below are the plugs I will be installing in certain parts of my house https://www.dropbox.com/s/pdryxsmsry230d3/photo.JPG?dl=0 So my next little project was building the following. Hehehe. Lets see who can guess what it does?This is a working prototype below. Still needs some tweaking and a little more work. https://www.dropbox.com/s/3562phwxv7kdu9k/Photo%202015-08-02%2C%2011%2056%2043.jpg?dl=0 I am hoping to finish my installation by the end of this month hopefully. Tel me what you think. Suggestions, comment and constructive criticism welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eugene Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 You have too many bends in the conduit between the 2 DB's, you could have lowered the inverter DB and entered on the side with all of the conduits, also fitted a 100 x 100 draw-in box at the bend above the existing DB. Don't envy you installing the earth wires at this stage. A surface installation using pvc ducting would have been an easier option. Why use a surface and not a flush DB ?. Why is the ELR drawn on the side of DB, can't it be fitted in the DB ?. Would like to see how your solar tracking frame works. Steelwork is quite substantial but appears to pivot on a single small bolt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted August 15, 2015 Author Share Posted August 15, 2015 Yeah. I realized only after my guy finished cutting the wall that I had to many bends. Lol you learn by your mistakes. I prefer the cables in the wall. I don't really like trunking. I chose to use the surface mount as it was the cheaper option and does the same job. There is no EL I still need to install it. What you see are circuit breakers. One for inverter AC in and one for inverter AC out so I can isolate each side. I struggled with the earths but finally got them in. The solar tracking system works well. The only reason I built such a strong frame as the panels are quite heavy. It actually pivots quite well. It runs off a 18vdc cordless drill motor with the gearbox. I have the solar tracking circuit which I still need to by the components. I will take a video and post the link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superdiy Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 I wish I could see the pics - dropbox (any file sharing website) is blocked at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted August 17, 2015 Author Share Posted August 17, 2015 I wish I could see the pics - dropbox (any file sharing website) is blocked at work. I will edit the post and see if I can get the images to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superdiy Posted August 17, 2015 Share Posted August 17, 2015 I will edit the post and see if I can get the images to work. Appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charl Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 I know this is a late reply, but im new around here. I am about to install my own inverter, and have bee looking around at how other guys have done it. It seems like in your main board, you have power from your main Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 I know this is a late reply, but im new around here. I am about to install my own inverter, and have bee looking around at how other guys have done it. It seems like in your main board, you have power from your main Hi Charl If I understand you correctly. On the Axpert inverter it has a built in MPPT charge which allows you to charge your batteries from your incoming power eg Eskom if you do not have solar panels. It also allows you to go into Line mode which means the output of your inverter can draw power directly from eskom and feed it to the output of the inverter. Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sethm Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Hi Charl If I understand you correctly. On the Axpert inverter it has a built in MPPT charge which allows you to charge your batteries from your incoming power eg Eskom if you do not have solar panels. It also allows you to go into Line mode which means the output of your inverter can draw power directly from eskom and feed it to the output of the inverter. Hope this helps MPPT does not have anything to do with Eskom charging. The Axpert has an MPPT solar charger and an AC charger which allows you to charge your batteries from either solar or Eskom. The eskom input port can also act as a bypass should your batteries reach a certain voltage specified to you (Eg 24/48V), and then switch back to grid power in order to protect your batteries from excessive discharge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 MPPT does not have anything to do with Eskom charging. The Axpert has an MPPT solar charger and an AC charger which allows you to charge your batteries from either solar or Eskom. The eskom input port can also act as a bypass should your batteries reach a certain voltage specified to you (Eg 24/48V), and then switch back to grid power in order to protect your batteries from excessive discharge. That's what I actually meant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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