anotherbrownbear Posted May 5, 2019 Share Posted May 5, 2019 Everytime i see that name starting with an R I feel a bit of vomit coming up. Somehow I end up having to help their customers figure stuff out at least every 2nd week. (sorry for the rant) Yes I do have stock, please send me your email in PM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roarty Posted May 5, 2019 Author Share Posted May 5, 2019 (edited) 46 minutes ago, anotherbrownbear said: sorry for the rant No problem, it is better to ask the questions before end up buying stuff that doesn't work the way it's supposed to, as well, it doesn't hurt to have someone like you on the forum that knows what to do...and you can gain some extra business...win-win for us newbie's as well. Thank you again for all the info!!! I pm you my email address... Edited May 5, 2019 by Roarty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roarty Posted May 9, 2019 Author Share Posted May 9, 2019 @Fuenkli @The Terrible Triplett @plonkster Quick question and a check for me please? I bought a system and mounting kit from SolarAdvice, but according to the minimum layout I can do, it is not enough. They've send me less, critical items and more non-critical items. HOUSE ROARTY SOLAR ARRAY MOUNTING LAYOUT REV 01.pdf Gabriël 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roarty Posted July 13, 2019 Author Share Posted July 13, 2019 (edited) Sunny Winter Day ... 4577 W 6600W Sun panels at 24 ° ... 56 ° is a better angle for the winter sun in the Cape ... from the horizontal ... The normal ... home use ... washing machine ... tumble dryer ... boiler ... kids on their playstations ... mom on her soapies ... I love the power and grace of our great boss ... ... Can't wait for Christmas ... not for gifts ... but ... God's warmth through His sun rays ... more power ... Bye bye Eskom ... Thanks to @Fuenkli @plonkster @The Terrible Triplett and those I can't remember... It's not 100% to my liking, but I am out of the country at work for two months...will play and talk to you guys again and ask for help... 100% Self-install...got the ok from an electrician friend that everything is OK...just waiting for the electrician to do the CoC inspection... Edited July 13, 2019 by Roarty Gabriël and Fuenkli 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roarty Posted July 16, 2019 Author Share Posted July 16, 2019 34 minutes ago, Pietpower said: It seems to draw a bit from the battery. Do you have a 4kW element in the geyser? My geyser is seperate from the backup load. I asked my wife to run the tumble dryer, kettle and a few other things she can think of just to see the power usage. I am currently working in Zambia and can only look at the usage on PC and the app. Would've loved to be home to play. I am currently talking to Robin Emley at mk2pvrouter.co.uk about their MK2 Power Router. I want to divert the surplus energy to my geyser. Currently I have a 3.5kW element in a 200L Kwikot. I am exporting 0kW to the grid although I am connected for the darker days for incase. He said that for off-grid systems, a "Frequency Controlled Switch" will be the best to use. http://www.windandsun.co.uk/products/Shop-By-Brand/Amber-Control. Like I've mentioned, I am a newbie with the solar but would like to do a proper job at it. What do you guys think? Can I use the MK2 with the Hybrid Inverter that is grid-tied but isn't exporting anything or must I go with the Frequency control Switch. I'll add Robin Emley's comments in his email in this post for your information to help me making a better decision. "Thanks for your enquiry. Yes, my standard Mk2 PV Router design does indeed rely on being connected to the grid. Surplus power is supplied to one or more on-site dumploads on a fully modultated basis (i.e. fully on or fully off) so a small amount of energy reciprocates to and from the grid. Because the energy state of the premises is held to a relatively constant level (to within a couple of hundred Joules), most types of electricity meter will ingore that activity. By "ignore", I mean that the user will not be charged or otherwise penalised. I have also supplied a few controllers for off-grid systems. For this purpose, the frequency is monitored rather than energy flow. As the frequency rises, power is gradually increased to one or more dumploads using phase-angle control. This prevents the inverters reducing their output as the batteries become full. This type of diverter is acting as a bank of Amber switches, each controlling just a small part of the available load:http://www.windandsun.co.uk/products/Shop-By-Brand/Amber-Control The BTA41 triac in my standard output stage is rated at 40 Amps so can drive loads of up to 10kW at 230V. However, the standard small heatsink that I use is only recommended for 4kW max. With a larger heatsink or forced cooling, larger loads could be driven. Solid State Relays can also be used but they will also require some cooling. Because of the rate at which the ouput needs to be switched on/off, a mechanical relay is not suitable for this application. I've supplied several 1-phase "Mk2" diverters to SA, and possibly one for a 3-phase system, but these have all been grid-connected." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roarty Posted July 16, 2019 Author Share Posted July 16, 2019 (edited) @Pietpower Today, starting on a very cloudy day but has opened up so far. Edited July 16, 2019 by Roarty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roarty Posted July 16, 2019 Author Share Posted July 16, 2019 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Pietpower said: geyser fed From the grid. I have put in an isolator in to control the grid when I needed it. Switch it on/off as required. It is fed in from the grid side but still consumes when it wants to. I left for Zambia before I could triple check everything. I saw on the Goodwe 5048ES wiring diagram that in Australia it is required to bridge the neutrals off the on-grid and backup lines with each other. I didn't do that. Will it help to draw power via a timer from 11:30 to 14:30 from the PV panels to assist the geyser? The batteries will be charged to 100% at 11:30 and the kids will be back from school at 14:30...on good dsay...sunny day. Edited July 16, 2019 by Roarty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roarty Posted July 16, 2019 Author Share Posted July 16, 2019 Just now, Pietpower said: separated Yes, and that is how I've done it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roarty Posted July 16, 2019 Author Share Posted July 16, 2019 (edited) 52 minutes ago, Pietpower said: sonoff wifi My house is filled with Sonoff switches and it works great. I've ordered a 20A Wifi MCB to do just that what you are talking about. You can even remotely, away from home, switch it on and off. I am gonna get more so that you can control your house when you are away on holiday. I've send you a message with my final layout which I've installed. See if you can see where I've gone wrong...PLEASE. Edited July 16, 2019 by Roarty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roarty Posted July 16, 2019 Author Share Posted July 16, 2019 4 minutes ago, Pietpower said: es, I also have a Goodwe. The installation looks fairly similar to yours. Your geyser is connected to the grid side same as mine where it can draw power from the solar panels but I can't see it on your graphs. It should show up as heating spikes during night time when reheating or a jump of 3.5kW in the graph with constant use when heating after water usage. With the position of your ez-meter ct-clamp it should also indicate geyser power usage. Do you maybe have one of the isolators between the DB feeding the inverter switched off? I don't see any dips in the orange line. Thus you are not using any grid power according to the inverter graphs. My wife has switch on the grid for the geyser...here it shows...I don't know more to say. Everything is connected The electrician from a solar company is coming Friday to check everything for the CoC... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Vader Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 We just had a Goodwe ES5048 & panels with 2 PylonTech US3000 batteries installed but up to date it seems as if all PV generated power is wasted, according to the SEMS portal graphs the batteries SOH never falls below 97% or so, I am guessing the setup is wrong. Please tell me which option you select in PV master? The installers configured ours for Economic mode with both power limits set at 70%, charge times from 17h00 to 09h00 and discharge time from 09h00 to 17h00. Is this the correct settings? SEMS graph below. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Vader Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 22 minutes ago, Pietpower said: Guessing here: I think your charge and discharge times should be the other way around if you use this function. So that the panels can charge the battery between 9h00 and 17h00. But if your discharge is limited to night time then the batteries won't discharge to cover loads higher than the solar panels can provide. You batteries will be fully charged early in the day and you don't use their capacity. My feeling also. But the chinglish on screen is also not that clear, for economical mode it says: "Charge/Discharge power limit: max battery charge/discharge power from grid (percentage of nominal power of the hybrid inverter)." So does that mean if the power limit% is set at 70% it will allow DoD of 30%? or 70%? Has anybody used this mode before? And according to PV master user manual: "If you choose Economical Mode, it will show options for charge/discharge management. Note: Charge/discharge time and Rated Power only valid when grid is available,Now the inverter supports up to four group configurations Battery Mode: There are charge and discharge mode. Start time: start time for charge or discharge. End time: end time for charge or discharge Rated Power: max charge or discharge power ( % of nominal power of the inverter) Eg. for GW3648D-ES, rated power set as 50%, then max charge power of battery from grid will be 50%*3600W=1800W during charge time when battery mode set discharge Repeat: set weekday for charge or discharge" BTW my PV Master app does not have the multiple days option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Vader Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 After more googling, found this in an old EZManage manual. Charge Manage: Set a time range and percentage of rated power for battery charge. Charge time: during charge time, battery will not discharge unless grid is unavailable. Charge Power Limit: max battery charge power from grid (percentage of nominal power of the hybrid inverter) Eg. power limit set as 50%, then max charge power from grid will be 50%*3600W=1800W Discharge Manage: Set a time range and percentage of rated power for battery discharge. Discharge time: during discharge time, battery will always discharge unless grid is unavailable or SOC is low. Discharge Power Limit: max battery discharge power to grid (percentage of nominal power of the hybrid inverter) Eg. power limit set as 50%, then max discharge power to grid will be 50%*3600W=1800W Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Vader Posted July 17, 2019 Share Posted July 17, 2019 Thanks, I will change tonight and see how it goes. At the moment I have a very expensive UPS and my Eskom bill is actually more after installing the system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Vader Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 I thought I would just share some feedback, after changing the settings nothing really changed. In desperation I contacted David from Segen and he checked the logs remotely and advised that the CT was installed the wrong way round. I got hold of the installers and they sorted it quickly and now all is looking much better. Youda 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youda Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 5 minutes ago, Darth Vader said: I thought I would just share some feedback, after changing the settings nothing really changed. In desperation I contacted David from Segen and he checked the logs remotely and advised that the CT was installed the wrong way round. I got hold of the installers and they sorted it quickly and now all is looking much better. Oh my GOD! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Vader Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 Those were not my first thoughts.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie Green Posted August 25, 2019 Share Posted August 25, 2019 Good day, I have replaced my pc that monitor my solar system. I installed watchpower on the new pc. My questions are How can I get the history data that has been logged by watchpower, on my old pc, to my new pc so that I can still view the stats? Where does watchpower save this data and what is the file called? Thanks Ernie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wetkit Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 @Roarty, did you ever do the wind power? At one stage I also looked at that, but 48V units is very rare. Another option was to do a grid-tie system, but then I am not 100% sure how it would work with the Goodwe unit. With the Victro units you could connect it on the output side of the invertor, but not sure about the Goodwe. Regarding your geyser, why not also go for solar on the geyser? I have 2 x 200L geysers with 2 x 20 tubes. Have not switched on the power now for 3 years If there is a huge issue, then I have gas geyser backup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roarty Posted October 13, 2019 Author Share Posted October 13, 2019 To all that assisted me...just an update... I am totally off the grid by means of a manual transfer switch. Still battling with the CT monitor clamp. I think it is not functioning the way it should or it is to close; how far away from the main earth leakage should it be? It does not show the grid flow in or out. But I will get someone out to check it and/or explaining to me how it should work when I am back in SA in December. Thank you all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roarty Posted October 13, 2019 Author Share Posted October 13, 2019 On 2019/09/15 at 12:11 PM, Wetkit said: wind power I have not gone that way yet...battling with the monitoring of the current system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John G Posted January 28, 2020 Share Posted January 28, 2020 @Roarty Would it be possible to post your PDF of your final system setup again? I have I have the same 4.6 Goodwe ES and my setup is almost the same with a few variations. Wanted to see how close they are. The old post where you included the PDF has a dead link. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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