xinath Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 Hi I am new to solar and did a bit of homework before taking the plunge, not familiar with all of the lingo, configurations etc. I have a 5KW Goodwe Inverter, 3.96kw solar array and a pylontech 9.6kw battery backup. I purchased the battery to be able to run my night use, set at a daily 70% DOD, with a 20% set aside for emergency load shedding. I would like to know how best can I maximize use of this system. I have not yet changed over to a solar geyser, still looking at gas vs heat pump vs extra panels vs changing the element. Currently configured to run household needs during the day (I have a helper so washing, ironing, pool pump) and excess power then diverted to the battery, if additional power is needed then its Eskom. If there is cloud cover the battery kicks in and any additional load is pulled from Eskom. My 200l 4KW geyser is currently connected to the battery, so when the timer kicks in, it severely drains the battery to the point where the SOC drops to 30% and I have to use Eskom at night. I changed the timer set-up to early morning 4am -6am when the battery has been depleted to 30%SOC however this doesn't help when I need hot water at night. I have heard of people saying that they use excess PV to supplement the electric geyser. Can this be set up easily without having to use the battery? Does there need to be a separate DB board etc? What is the best option in terms of minimizing geyser usage through Eskom, lower KW element or additional panels dedicated to the geyser? Can the system be set up where around 5pm the SOC should be 100%, so that I can have night use? Can there be changes made to make max use of the system? I would really appreciate your responses. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaws Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 Who installed your inverter ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xinath Posted March 29, 2019 Author Share Posted March 29, 2019 I had an installer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuenkli Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 23 hours ago, xinath said: Can the system be set up where around 5pm the SOC should be 100%, so that I can have night use? sorry only just read this post now. As explained in the other post you can program your inverters use of the batteries. You can choose when to charge and when to discharge. Just remember that when it is programmed to charge the batteries and there is insufficient PV power it will take it from the grid. Charging batteries from the grid under normal day to day use is not really a good idea. The exception is if load shedding looms and there was insufficient sun to charge the batteries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xinath Posted March 30, 2019 Author Share Posted March 30, 2019 so as it stands, please correct me...... it is better that when PV power is not enough during the day for essentials, it pulls from the battery. Even though I may get to a situation where the battery is not fully changed for night use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuenkli Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 25 minutes ago, xinath said: so as it stands, please correct me...... it is better that when PV power is not enough during the day for essentials, it pulls from the battery. Even though I may get to a situation where the battery is not fully changed for night use? yes. Just make sure you set the minimum SOC at a reasonable level to achieve the highest ROI for the batteries. If there is insufficient battery power at night the inverter will just take it from the grid. The only problem is that if load shedding hits you with an empty battery you will have no power on the back up output . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xinath Posted March 30, 2019 Author Share Posted March 30, 2019 9.6 battery fully charged for night use is at 70% DOD, I use about 60% by 6am, try not to use toaster and kettle prior to 6am. There is a further 20% allocated for load shedding, which as of yet I have not used...as the PV and batteries are sufficient to cover me. Come to think of it, I cant think of when that 20% will come into use? Would this be a possible situation: at 6am i have used my 70% battery, it is extremely cloudy so no PV input and then eskom load sheds? 10% not in use at all Does this sound about okay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuenkli Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 (edited) 49 minutes ago, xinath said: Would this be a possible situation: at 6am i have used my 70% battery, it is extremely cloudy so no PV input and then eskom load sheds? in order to discharge the batteries further you would have to change the DOD setting of the inverter. Not a good situation to be in sitting in the dark with wife and kids screaming . That is why i have changed the inverter settings during the recent stage 4 load shedding disaster to "back up". In this mode the inverter keeps the batteries always at 100% Edited March 30, 2019 by Fuenkli Johandup 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johandup Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 (edited) Is there any reason why you don’t change to a gas geyser setup? I run two bathrooms off one and am very happy with its performance. My paloma system can cope with 600l an evening when the kids come to visit. So nice not hear grumbling anymore. And two little blonde swambos are not pleasant when they are unhappy I would not want to make my system more complex than it is already. Edited March 31, 2019 by Johandup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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