June 2, 20242 yr Hi All, Not really "new" to solar, but I now have installed at how (been up and running since Thursday), yesterday being the first true test with washing, ironing etc. and happy to see consumption almost halved, and the weather was pretty meh yesterday as well Looking forward to the journey.
June 29, 20242 yr Why don't you use any battery power during night time? It looks like your setup is more as a ups for loadshedding and not to save max money. What battery do you have ? Because a working (regularly used, but not abused) battery is a happy battery.
June 29, 20242 yr 7 hours ago, Vaal said: Why don't you use any battery power during night time? It looks like your setup is more as a ups for loadshedding and not to save max money. What battery do you have ? Because a working (regularly used, but not abused) battery is a happy battery. I was thinking the same thing. The system is clearly set to not discharge the battery past 80%. But battery capacity is a consideration here. But @Gavin van Dam looks like you are doing as much as possible whilst the sun is high. That's a good method.
July 6, 20242 yr I know the battery is the most expensive component and people want it to last longer but I discharge mine to 40% everyday. If it goes will just upgrade no point having a battery that will not be used when loadshedding starts again I will keep more charge.
July 9, 20242 yr Author On 2024/06/29 at 3:04 PM, Bobster. said: I was thinking the same thing. The system is clearly set to not discharge the battery past 80%. But battery capacity is a consideration here. But @Gavin van Dam looks like you are doing as much as possible whilst the sun is high. That's a good method. Been adjusted since last post, now running in max savings mode, and fitted timers to pool and geyser yesterday to make the most of the available battery and solar production.
July 9, 20242 yr 2 hours ago, Gavin van Dam said: Been adjusted since last post, now running in max savings mode, and fitted timers to pool and geyser yesterday to make the most of the available battery and solar production. Using the battery down to 40% you must be using very little grid based on your earlier posts.
July 10, 20242 yr Author 21 hours ago, Scorp007 said: Using the battery down to 40% you must be using very little grid based on your earlier posts. Correct very little grid usage, why I now run my pool pump from 2 hours after sunrise to 4 hours before sunrise, and then let the geyser run until sunset. Still tweaking the rest of the house
July 13, 20242 yr Author and then comes the weekend... home service making up for the savings and I've turned off the geyser and pool
July 18, 20242 yr Author 2022 vs 2024 (skipped 2023 due to load shedding, as there was less load shedding) Despite the tariff and rate increases. I'm managed to avoid grid consumption and bring grid reliance right down. Next steps, investigate going pre-paid and adding more panels and battery to the system.
July 19, 20242 yr 14 hours ago, Gavin van Dam said: 2022 vs 2024 (skipped 2023 due to load shedding, as there was less load shedding) Despite the tariff and rate increases. I'm managed to avoid grid consumption and bring grid reliance right down. Next steps, investigate going pre-paid and adding more panels and battery to the system. You'll be aware of the controversy around pre-paid and the surcharges that City Power have introduced. BUT you can still save money on pre-paid, just not as much as used to be the case. Note that the first 2 or 3 months are actually more expensive, because you are paying down the post-use balance on the conventional tariff AND feeding the meter. There will also likely be a once off charge for the conversion (may involve a new meter), but they will quote you on that. If my calculations are correct, you'd pay R1295 for that 394 units at current (not June) tariffs. So there's another grand-and-a-bit in your pocket. Recalculate your bills on the CURRENT pre-paid tariff, get a quote for a conversion, and then see how long it's going to take you to recover the cost (I'd say not long). Remember that the post-paid tariff also increased July 1st, so in fact your savings will be a bit higher. 14 hours ago, Gavin van Dam said: Your PV production seems not very good. Conditions in Jhb have been good the last couple of weeks, yet you're still doing 12.something kWh per day. You post two graphs one shows you barely getting 2kW, the other (weekend) shows not even 2kW. So your battery doesn't get properly charged and hits the 40% limit early AM, so you are running the house off of grid anyway. You don't say what battery you have, nor how many panels you have.
July 19, 20242 yr Author 8 hours ago, Bobster. said: You'll be aware of the controversy around pre-paid and the surcharges that City Power have introduced. BUT you can still save money on pre-paid, just not as much as used to be the case. Note that the first 2 or 3 months are actually more expensive, because you are paying down the post-use balance on the conventional tariff AND feeding the meter. There will also likely be a once off charge for the conversion (may involve a new meter), but they will quote you on that. If my calculations are correct, you'd pay R1295 for that 394 units at current (not June) tariffs. So there's another grand-and-a-bit in your pocket. Recalculate your bills on the CURRENT pre-paid tariff, get a quote for a conversion, and then see how long it's going to take you to recover the cost (I'd say not long). Remember that the post-paid tariff also increased July 1st, so in fact your savings will be a bit higher. Your PV production seems not very good. Conditions in Jhb have been good the last couple of weeks, yet you're still doing 12.something kWh per day. You post two graphs one shows you barely getting 2kW, the other (weekend) shows not even 2kW. So your battery doesn't get properly charged and hits the 40% limit early AM, so you are running the house off of grid anyway. You don't say what battery you have, nor how many panels you have. 4x 550 panels and 1x 5kWh battery. Still new to all this
July 19, 20242 yr 2 hours ago, Gavin van Dam said: 4x 550 panels and 1x 5kWh battery. Still new to all this Something else is happening here. You're showing in 2022 you were averaging 44.6kWh per day, and now 12.313kWh per day. This drop in consumption cannot be explained by 4x550w panels, especially in Winter. Those panels would generate approx 10-12kWh per day on average during the year, and less this time of the year. Could it be that you just became more frugal?
July 20, 20242 yr Author 10 hours ago, GreenFields said: Something else is happening here. You're showing in 2022 you were averaging 44.6kWh per day, and now 12.313kWh per day. This drop in consumption cannot be explained by 4x550w panels, especially in Winter. Those panels would generate approx 10-12kWh per day on average during the year, and less this time of the year. Could it be that you just became more frugal? More frugal, and two less people in the house. I need to go through all my COJ bills again
July 20, 20242 yr 12 hours ago, Gavin van Dam said: 4x 550 panels and 1x 5kWh battery. Still new to all this OK... So 2kW is not far off the limit.
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