March 1, 20251 yr Hello! Im buying solar stuff bits by bits preparing for load shedding. I recently bought a Magneto 5KW Inverter. I would like to know which other components & ratings do i still need to buy. Thank you Ndlovu
March 1, 20251 yr 1 hour ago, Ndlovu said: which other components & ratings do i still need to buy You would, obviously need solar panels, maybe 8 X 550/560W panels, which you would need to connect in 2S4P configuration and a battery or two... you would need to look at your consumption over the period you'd want to have power, assuming the grid is gone and unavailable and then you can work out how much battery capacity and how much solar panel power you would need. Note that it seems you inverter can only charge the battery/ies with 60A from the solar side, so that's app. 3kW, I assume it can use the balance of 4.4kWp panels' power to run loads, but I don't know your inverter so I can't be 100% certain, I would imagine though that it can, else they may as well advertise it as a 3kW solar/5kW inverter... additionally, obviously, maybe, is a structure to mount the panels on, cabling and conduiting to connect the panels to the inverter, cabling for the battery/ies you'd want to use and I guess some Surge Protection devices between the inverter and the solar panels as well as DC Trip switches (really for isolating the panels from the inverter) and also a DC Circuit breaker between the battery and the inverter + cabling of appropriate ratings... I'm sure there's something I'm not thinking of now, I'm sure someone else is likely to add to the list... 1st, though, you need to look at the consumption and duration you want to cater for... Edited March 1, 20251 yr by Kalahari Meerkat additionaly
March 1, 20251 yr 55 minutes ago, Kalahari Meerkat said: 1st, though, you need to look at the consumption and duration you want to cater for... This 👆 And also think about what you MUST have backed up when the grid goes down. This will probably not be everything in your house. Typically the geyser and electric stove are not backed up because they will deplete the battery too quickly (also, in your case, the combined load from those could exceed 5kW and then your system trips). I can't prove it, but chats I've had with people suggest to me that if you just get "solar" put in, then it might not work as well as you'd like. If you do a little bit of analysis and planning you will be a much happier solar owner. Edited March 1, 20251 yr by Bobster.
March 1, 20251 yr Author Thank you Lobster,Thank you Kalahari Meerkat. For now as im currently staying at a rented apartment, i will be charging from the grid. Id be using it only for lights,tv & decoder during Eskom/Municipality load shedding hours. Thank You
March 1, 20251 yr Author As im a beginner,i will later buy solar panel & do upgrades once i move to my own place. For now i just need a simple connection which will cover me during load shedding hours. I will be charging from the grid. I just need a diagram as well as the components/cables ratings, battery sizes. I'll be only needing it for 4 lights,Tv,Decoder and charging phones and laptop during loadsheding hours. Thank you
March 1, 20251 yr 1 hour ago, Ndlovu said: Thank you Lobster,Thank you Kalahari Meerkat. For now as im currently staying at a rented apartment, i will be charging from the grid. Id be using it only for lights,tv & decoder during Eskom/Municipality load shedding hours. Thank You Buy a good battery now. At least 5kWh capacity, and a good brand so that you know you can double up later. 5kWh, fully charged, will easily back up the load you describe, and beyond a load shed. So if there's an outage for some other reason you will have several hours of backup. You'd have to get this wired into your DB, so you will need an electrician to do that. There will be sundries - circuit breakers, some cable - but that should be in the electrician's quote to you. Still do the breakdown that's been mentioned. If the electrician wires it up so that it backs up all the plug sockets or even the whole DB there could still be heavy loads placed on the inverter & battery (EG a hair dryer or a dishwasher). Maybe you want lights and only one or two plug circuits backed up. Your landlord might have a view on having the DB changed.
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.