My current setup, installed in 2017, is a Kodak OG 5.48 with a 1x Narada 48NPFC100, and 8x 400w Canadian mono panels.

It is wired to supply the whole house, excluding a gas-stove/electric oven, they 200L (4000w) geyser, a 750w pool pump and 3000w inverter-heatpump.  There's also a 13KVA diesel genset with auto/manual-changeover.

Requirement: I would like to have, as a minimum, the pool pump and heat pump run off solar during the day as much as possible.  I am not looking to put the geyser and stove-oven on the inverter as yet.

I obviously need to replace the current inverter with a hybrid model, first, whilst thinking of scaling up later on as cash becomes available.  My questions are:

• What size hybrid inverter should I consider (8kW vs 10kW)?
• What compromises come with buying a R12-18k 10kW hybrid (e.g. Sun/Fivestar/Ecco/etc) over a R35k Deye/Synsynk/etc?
  • Asking since I would like to add 8x 500w mono-panels as well, whilst trying to come in under R35,000.

Adding battery storage will come after the above.

Any other suggestions welcome!

Edited November 25, 20241 yr by LCBXX

Hi,

 

Hybrid vs Grid-Tie - my understanding is you are looking for grid-tie as the Kodak is hybrid, working on either solar/battery or Grid. The term hybrid however is not consistent.

 

I'm running 2x Kodak OG5.48 King inverters in parallel and can run 2x geysers at the same time without any problems.  I'm also automatically switching on and off pool pump as well as geyser with ICC (https://iccsoftware.co.za/)

My opinion would be to add another Kodak run them in parallel, add some more panels (as you have have another MPPT input) and use software like above to manage the loads.  Only then add some more batteries.

 

Kodak (RCT / Mecer Axpert included) is a great inverter but doesn't have proper management interfaces - with additional software it however becomes the best of both worlds

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good evening @LCBXX and welcome to the forum

2 hours ago, LCBXX said:

I obviously need to replace the current inverter with a hybrid model, first, whilst thinking of scaling up later on as cash becomes available.  My questions are:

What size hybrid inverter should I consider (8kW vs 10kW)?

I would opt for 2 or 3 x Kodak Max 7.2kW units in parallel unless you want to feed power back into the grid then it is either the 2 of 8kW or 1 of 16kW Deye or Sunsynk.

 

3 hours ago, LCBXX said:

What compromises come with buying a R12-18k 10kW hybrid (e.g. Sun/Fivestar/Ecco/etc) over a R35k Deye/Synsynk/etc?

The cheaper inverters (e.g. Sun/Fivestar/Ecco/etc) are similar to the Axpert type inverters which cannot feed power back into the grid where the Deye and Sunsynk can feed power back into the grid or use solar power to power non essential loads depending where the current transformer is placed. 

 

3 hours ago, LCBXX said:

I would like to have, as a minimum, the pool pump and heat pump run off solar during the day as much as possible.

If you opt for the cheaper inverters which cannot feed power back into the grid and you want the pool pump and heat pump to run off the solar then I would use timers and contactors to switch those loads, with the Deye and Sunsynk there are timers which can be set when the unit is allowed to power non essential loads.

 

3 hours ago, LCBXX said:

Asking since I would like to add 8x 500w mono-panels as well

The inverter chosen will determine which wattage and how many solar panels can be used with the said inverter e.g. the Kodak Max 7.2kW inverter has two solar power inputs each input is 4kW and a maximum open circuit voltage of 500V so 8 x 500W solar panes are on the power limit, I know that there is a bit of a grace but I would not push that limit power wise, voltage wise or current wise, also remember that there must be enough roof space to accommodate more solar panels.

I had a quick look at The Power Forum Store website and the Kodak Max 7.2kW inverter is currently just under R10k and 7 of JA Solar 505W would be just over R10k, the solar panels that are already installed can also be used with the Kodak Max 7.2kW inverter without any re- configuring because the current inverter has a high voltage solar power input where some of the other cheaper brands would be low voltage then there would to be a solar combiner box installed and the solar panels be reconfigured which add additional cost.

If I were you I would stick to known good brands like Kodak or Axpert some of these other inverter brands (e.g. Sun/Fivestar/Ecco/etc) are not bad but what happens if something goes wrong or you want to buy another one to be used in parallel at a later stage and the firmware version is different, where do you go for support.

 

3 hours ago, LCBXX said:

I am not looking to put the geyser and stove-oven on the inverter as yet.

If there is enough roof space available after all the solar panels has been installed also consider an evacuated tube solar geyser and use that in line with the current geyser.