I've been very happy with my home solar installation, just from a cost savings perspective, and now looking at the price of panels I am wanting to install some panels at the work premises. 

My thinking is to install 30 panels. I don't need battery backup this would be to purely to reduce the electricity bill which is around R5000pm. The business is on a single phase line and consumes roughly 2000kw a month and it has the good ol' reverse spinning meter from 1970, the same as I have at home. 

What inverter type would you recommend? Hybrid wont work because it requires a battery to function so I would think an on-grid or grid tie inverter 

Love to hear some thoughts 

36 minutes ago, cp69 said:

I've been very happy with my home solar installation, just from a cost savings perspective, and now looking at the price of panels I am wanting to install some panels at the work premises. 

My thinking is to install 30 panels. I don't need battery backup this would be to purely to reduce the electricity bill which is around R5000pm. The business is on a single phase line and consumes roughly 2000kw a month and it has the good ol' reverse spinning meter from 1970, the same as I have at home. 

What inverter type would you recommend? Hybrid wont work because it requires a battery to function so I would think an on-grid or grid tie inverter 

Love to hear some thoughts 

I cannot think of any other make than my 2 grid tied Solis 4G mini. Various models up to i think 4.6kW. Needs only 3 panels to start. Can fit many inverters without hassle of comms. 

They have never missed a beat in over 5 yrs. The cherry on the cake is I have never heard of any of these having a problem. Also quit with no fan. 

Some hybrids do work in grid tied mode without battery like the Deye/Sunsynk but more expensive if you only want the saving. 

Edited July 10, 20241 yr by Scorp007

5 minutes ago, Scorp007 said:

I cannot think of any other make than my 2 grid tied Solis 4G mini. Various models up to i think 4.6kW. Needs only 3 panels to start. Can fit many inverters without hassle of comms. 

They have never missed a beat in over 5 yrs. The cherry on the cake is I have never heard of any of these having a problem. Also quit with no fan. 

Some hybrids do work in grid tied mode without battery like the Deye/Sunsynk but more expensive if you only want the saving. 

Awesome I'll have a look at the Solis grid tied range. Can these be paralleled like the hybrids? My hybrid at home is a 6kw Solis and it has been flawless, Solis support is on point as well.

Another option to consider multiple micro inverters but seems a more expensive route 

9 minutes ago, cp69 said:

Awesome I'll have a look at the Solis grid tied range. Can these be paralleled like the hybrids? My hybrid at home is a 6kw Solis and it has been flawless, Solis support is on point as well.

Another option to consider multiple micro inverters but seems a more expensive route 

Each of these I mentioned just connect to the grid and each will synch and self adjust. No need for comms. Each unit can be switched off if it needs to be by merely disconnecting the AC input. 

I have mine connected via Sonoff smart remote timers. 

2nd hand units are going for cheap as all people using them are upgrading to battery systems. 

Edited July 10, 20241 yr by Scorp007

Given the low price of the Hybrid inverters I'd go for the Hybrid Solis as your S6 8kW or even the Deye 16kW MAX. The Deye Max is in a class of its own & it can run without a battery although will only Grid tie. So that way you have future proof options. The day that comes & you need a battery because the politics of the day dictates, guess what you just add a battery. 

If budget is tight get an OG10 or OG7.2. They can even run batteryless when the Grid is down & you have good sun & that massive array will keep a very reasonable load running all without a battery or Grid power present. The pricing has literally fallen out the sky like Sweets from heaven. 

Don't get me wrong purely Grid tie machines have their place. But the politics of the day changes like the seasons. One more thing, if you in CPT then forget the OG series all together...Please send pics once done ✅ 

The 16kw is a beast. Ticks all the boxes but possibly overkill and will stretch the roi. I was considering the OG7.2 and running 2 of them. Only issue is they are designed for off-grid and don't support our grid code. So during load shedding or outages the unit will just be feeding back to the grid. 

I'm thinking the pure grid tied machines are the way to go. The business has always been on a lucky power grid where even on stage 6 we never had loads shedding during business hours. We have a 8kva backup generator which has done less than 20hrs in 2 years! 

23 minutes ago, Steve87 said:

Given the low price of the Hybrid inverters I'd go for the Hybrid Solis as your S6 8kW or even the Deye 16kW MAX. The Deye Max is in a class of its own & it can run without a battery although will only Grid tie. So that way you have future proof options. The day that comes & you need a battery because the politics of the day dictates, guess what you just add a battery. 

If budget is tight get an OG10 or OG7.2. They can even run batteryless when the Grid is down & you have good sun & that massive array will keep a very reasonable load running all without a battery or Grid power present. The pricing has literally fallen out the sky like Sweets from heaven. 

Don't get me wrong purely Grid tie machines have their place. But the politics of the day changes like the seasons. One more thing, if you in CPT then forget the OG series all together...Please send pics once done ✅ 

Tending to like the idea of a hybrid as well. From the point of view, for the amount of power, 30 panels, so let's call it 15kW-16kW, I'm struggling to find a suitably-sized Solis inverter that's single-phase. By the time one's bought three of the 4.6kW grid-tieds to connect in parallel, you're virtually in the price territory to start looking for bargains on the 16kW Deye or maybe an over-panelled 12kW.

2 minutes ago, GreenFields said:

Tending to like the idea of a hybrid as well. From the point of view, for the amount of power, 30 panels, so let's call it 15kW-16kW, I'm struggling to find a suitably-sized Solis inverter that's single-phase. By the time one's bought three of the 4.6kW grid-tieds to connect in parallel, you're virtually in the price territory to start looking for bargains on the 16kW Deye or maybe an over-panelled 12kW.

Another option I could consider is a 3 phase inverter(more cost effective). Is this possible even tho the grid feed to the property is single phase. I would also still like to be able to feed back to the grid 

33 minutes ago, GreenFields said:

Tending to like the idea of a hybrid as well. From the point of view, for the amount of power, 30 panels, so let's call it 15kW-16kW, I'm struggling to find a suitably-sized Solis inverter that's single-phase. By the time one's bought three of the 4.6kW grid-tieds to connect in parallel, you're virtually in the price territory to start looking for bargains on the 16kW Deye or maybe an over-panelled 12kW.

You have a good point around price and the added value of a hybrid. I purely mentioned based on the pure grid tied function. I have not looked at the ruling price for a long time. 

10 hours ago, Scorp007 said:

Each of these I mentioned just connect to the grid and each will synch and self adjust. No need for comms. Each unit can be switched off if it needs to be by merely disconnecting the AC input. 

I have mine connected via Son off smart remote timers. 

2nd hand units are going for cheap as all people using them are upgrading to battery systems. 

 

Mind pointing me in the direction of the 2hand units or where they are selling them? I need to keep an eye our for them

Edited July 11, 20241 yr by Stefan Cornelissen

The idea of a 3 phase inverter hybrid cannot work without a 3 phase grip supply. It's essentially a 3 phase hungry appliance. With a single phase input from the Grid it remains off-grid.

The OG7.2 I would not advise to parallel single phase & well is not allowed in Cape Town so there goes the OG completely. 

30 panels is a heap of energy. Prices of panels has dramatically dropped. Good market for buyers...

45 minutes ago, Steve87 said:

The idea of a 3 phase inverter hybrid cannot work without a 3 phase grip supply. It's essentially a 3 phase hungry appliance. With a single phase input from the Grid it remains off-grid.

The OG7.2 I would not advise to parallel single phase & well is not allowed in Cape Town so there goes the OG completely. 

30 panels is a heap of energy. Prices of panels has dramatically dropped. Good market for buyers...

Ah thanks that answers my 3 phase question. At these panel prices it just makes sense as the roi can be within 36 months. I might consider looking at some 2nd hand options. Like 2 x 8kw sunsynks for under 40k that would get the install to around 100k without batteries. That gets the roi to around 30 months. I would also be future proof with the ability to add batteries 

2 hours ago, Stefan Cornelissen said:

 

Mind pointing me in the direction of the 2hand units or where they are selling them? I need to keep an eye our for them

We have seen some here and I myself bought one here. Also on FB marketplace and carbonate. Co. Za

Right now there is a 3ph 36kW at a good price and 3 mths old. 

Edited July 11, 20241 yr by Scorp007

Based on rough figures the 16kW Deye will fall a bit short to cover the load of 2000kWh.

Step approach for high ROI. 2 X 3kW 2nd hand Solis available in Gauteng. 8 panels will provide a saving of R1000 pm. Thus 4.5 months and 6 months to pay back each inverter based on the price quoted. Panels not taken into account as either system needs panels. 

The Deye 16kW can still be used and using the 3kW Solis on the Aux port will supplement the main inverter to cover the bill in full. This if no battery is used on the Deye 16kW.

@cp69 

As mentioned before my 2xSolis with a capital cost of R23000 for panels and inverters have already saved me R43000 in 5.25yrs. This is based on the actual price of power over the period. 

Not easy to find this kind of ROI for doing nothing after install. This is including the many hrs of LS where the inverters were idle. 

Backup provided by a 3rd inverter with batteries for my convenience and no cost included for it. 

Edited July 11, 20241 yr by Scorp007

Yeah i am liking the stepped approach but I think I must pull the trigger with panels asap. I have found a used 8kw sunsynk for 18k. Then i can always keep and eye out for another down the line. I can survive on a 8kw inverter, just run less lights etc through it. I am able to backfeed so even if the geysers and Aircons aren't connected to the inverter they can still run off eskom and then the excess sun will still feed these during the backfeeding. 

OR..... i go full hog and go with the 16kw Sunsynk inverter with 30 panels. 150k investment, future proof and the ROI would still be around 36months(no batteries). which is still unbelievable!

49 minutes ago, cp69 said:

Yeah i am liking the stepped approach but I think I must pull the trigger with panels asap. I have found a used 8kw sunsynk for 18k. Then i can always keep and eye out for another down the line. I can survive on a 8kw inverter, just run less lights etc through it. I am able to backfeed so even if the geysers and Aircons aren't connected to the inverter they can still run off eskom and then the excess sun will still feed these during the backfeeding. 

OR..... i go full hog and go with the 16kw Sunsynk inverter with 30 panels. 150k investment, future proof and the ROI would still be around 36months(no batteries). which is still unbelievable!

Or just bite the bullet and go to the powerforum shop and get a decent New 10kW SunSynk hybrid for just on R40 K. Comes with 3x amazing MPPT's which will handle all your panels.

https://powerforum-store.co.za/products/sunsynk-10kw-1p-hybrid-pv-inverter-48v-c-w-wifi-dongle-ip65?pr_prod_strat=e5_desc&pr_rec_id=c1afdfa25&pr_rec_pid=7294411964486&pr_ref_pid=6836779450438&pr_seq=uniform