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Finally going down this road


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Hi everyone

After many years we have finally started down this road. After 7 hours of loadshedding (5 minute break in between) it was time to install the following:

 

Axpert 5K inverter (48v, 5000w)

4 x Delco AGM BR12V-100 Batteries (connected in series)

1 x AC-DC SF2P-063 Change over switch

 

Reasoning behind config:

1. Axpert 5K will in the next year be connected in parallel with another Axpert 5K

2. Axpert supports 80A Solar charge current through MPPT

3. We will install solar panels in our new house (relocating to the Swartland later this year)

4. We will increase / reconfig the batteries over a period of time

5. Current need is to drive 2 x laptops, 1 x ADSL router, 2 x LED TV's with DSTV,  Drive a number of LED lights,  Drive 2 x A+ Fridges and 1 x A+ freezer

I am experimenting to see if I can get 4hrs run time from the 100AH AGM battery and to see what the discharge level is. Also note that I have left the Axpert in default config.

 

1 Issue:

Since adding the change over switch, the LED's in my kitchen (4 x 3W) are flashing when switched off. This was even before I connected the output from the inverter. Seems that I might have to replace those globes - strange but true.

 

1 Question:

What should I do with the inverter earth.? Can I connect it to the house earth in my DB? 

 

ANY COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS WILL BE APPRECIATED

Cardiff Inverter.pdf

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22 minutes ago, wimsza said:

What should I do with the inverter earth.? Can I connect it to the house earth in my DB? 

Yes - the inverter earth should be connected to your house earth.  

Obviously for safety your earth should be effective with a low resistance to ground but that should have been checked when your install was CoCed.

Others may correct me but I understand that the neutral on the "output side" of your inverter should be kept separate from the mains neutral.

Regards,
Elbow

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Now for a strange one:

 

Everything was working fine before load shedding with the ACDC 2 pole change over working like a charm. Load shedding came and 3.5hrs later we were back to Grid power. Switched change over back to Grid and all fine. Switched power on to charge Inverter and all fine. 

10 Minutes later EL tripped - no problem switched all circuits off. Will not reset. Change over to all off (middle position) EL resets. Switch to Grid power and EL trips immediately even with all breakers down. Now switch to inverter, and EL resets. Even with inverter being charged (circuit from main switch with own EL - sub DB), EL still good. Even if I unplug the mains to inverter for charge (at this stage it still goes through a plug - will go through breaker tomorrow) with change over set to Grid, still full trip.

 

Interim solution - Back to running lights and plugs on EL from inverter. Inverter connected to grid via a secondary circuit (sub DB with own EL) and no trips.

 

So what is common:

Earth from Axpert inverter output is connected to Earth at Main DB. I have a few LED circuits which seems to have a leakage (flashing LED's). So tomorrow the search starts, only question is where and how?

Any advise would be appreciated, and if this post is in the wrong section, please move

tks

 

 

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9 hours ago, wimsza said:

ACDC 2 pole change over

Get rid of that crap! Get at least one of these. (The picture on the site is incorrect, it shows the SF264. The 263 is two-pole).

 

10 hours ago, wimsza said:

EL trips immediately even with all breakers down

You have a leak from Neutral to earth. The breakers only isolate the live-side. Any fault between neutral and earth need only pass around 15mA to cause nuisance tripping. Two things I can think of:

1. Disconnect the inverter input and output and see if the RCD (aka EL) will reset. This part is easy as it only involves two connections. Also, if you have a double-pole isolators on the input of the inverter (as you should) it means you only need to open that isolator. The changeover already does the same thing on the output. The thinking behind this: It sounds as if things were fine before the inverter was introduced, so rule it out first.

2. If that fails, then you have to start disconnecting the neutrals on the neutral bar to find the circuit with the fault on it. Here the theory is that if all the breakers are open (all the lives are disconnected), and the neutral on the fault circuit is also disconnected, there can be no fault current. Whichever neutral wire stops the tripping... that is your bad circuit.

Warning: Be very careful when disconnecting a neutral wire. A neutral wire hanging in mid air, with its corresponding live-side breaker turned on... is live!

Second warning: It goes without saying that a qualified sparky should really be doing the work... just saying :-)

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  • 3 months later...

PLEASE ADVISE ON CONFIGURATION

 

It took some scratching but I got my Energy Consumption Meter out of the cupboard and here are the results from the main Eskom feed at our current premises in PE. We will be relocating to Darling WC and I want to ultimately disconnect from the grid (with existing prepaid as an emergency backup). Note: Swartland Municipality apparently do not have the same requirements as Cape Town for PV.

 

As stated previously, my ultimate aim is to disconnect from ESKOM, and to this aim I started with a 5kW Axpert (5000W) to deal with load shedding, and will most probably have to add another parallel unit.

Since we are relocating to a far smaller stand in WC, the lawnmower (2000W) will be replaced with a much smaller unit. We will still have a 1.2kW pool pump, and unless someone has a cost-effective solar/PV friendly unit, this will be it (we are putting in a new pool with roof heating hence the bigger motor).

North facing roof space is limited, so I am looking for the most efficient panels (400W +).

Next issue is that the inverters, batteries and switch gear will be stored in the basement and then linked back to the main DB. The feed from the existing prepaid meter will be rerouted to a new DB with a breaker and Change Over switch for emergency power. BTW, I also have a MaxWatt 5500W petrol gennie that I could use for my MIG welder and other power tools [if need be]

 

Major consumers currently:

   a. Pool pump

   b. Heat pump & separate geyser

   c. Borehole pump and pressure pump (irrigation)

   d. Lawn mower / weed eater once a week (mostly at startup) 

 

1. Daily consumption profile

This profile does not change much, always peaks at 9am when pool pump kicks in

 

671196557_Dailyconsumptionprofile.JPG.5b40405b5fff6c34a26902adb2c9359d.JPG

 

2. April 2019

I only started measuring on the morning of 10 April, so the real picture emerges from 11 April 2019.

   Note the peak consumption of 13.68kW on 20 April. This was mostly due to me using a chop saw for cutting aluminium tubing.

912636553_April2019Cardiff.JPG.6ec19452bfffa5ae36becf8e6779119b.JPG

3. May 2019

   Peak consumption of 8.44kw on 7 May at 9:39 can be attributed to washing machine + weed eater/lawn mower + pool pump + Heat pump

 

675846575_May2019Cardiff.JPG.da2bf87a11c1d5f8d07e58102844d607.JPG

 

 

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