Hi

I'm new to this solar thing and I'm looking for some advice

Looking for suggestions on brands / models of inverters to look at

Looking to run a 3kva. Just to run the house while we are at work. Dont have enough money for an entire setup of inverter, panels and batteries. So looking for something that can run without batteries and give house power during daylight time. At a later stage I will add batteries and possibly an additional inverter to run in parallel 

Thanks in advance

@AdrianUrie,

Welcome to the Forum, and may you have many sunny days.

Your question will no doubt have many answers, and the correct answer is not always at hand.

The newest generation of single in/output Inverters, e.g. SMA, Solis, Hauwei, etc, are actually quite inexpensive, even compared to the Voltronic stuff, but in that lies a hidden "flaw". 

But for some people a flaw is a feature, and to others it's a (useful) function.

So what happens when Eskom disappears during the day, those type of bi-directional feed inverters shut down. It depends on 220V to power the Inverter. 

Most of these probably have a setup to solve this, like an "Island" type of device. And them Anti-Islanding devices are not cheap, around the same price as inverters, so one is stuck between Anti-Islanding device or Batteries.

In my opinion, batteries are more useful, and with the newer Lithium based ones, one can start small (2.4kW) and expand as the need/budget warrants.

So, in a nutshell, start small, but make sure the equipment you buy is expandable, like "Pay as you Grow". If not, then at least wait till you can buy the correct item.

Many of us here have paid school fees. I'm on Version 3, and if I'd had to start from scratch, I'd save up and wait till I can afford Version 3, and not go through the effort of V1, V2....V3.

For others on the forum, please add to the discussion, as people need to be "helped" with useful information. I can still learn from the forum.

Lastly, like in property, the rule of location, location, location for us off-griders is read, educate, google.

 

1 hour ago, Sidewinder said:

The newest generation of single in/output Inverters, e.g. SMA, Solis, Hauwei, etc, are actually quite inexpensive, even compared to the Voltronic stuff, but in that lies a hidden "flaw". 

Agreed. The newer SMA inverters (the nice small ones made in China, with no LCD and just WiFi... which causes many an installer to hate them) are quite affordable. I'm told ABB inverters are a good 20% cheaper than Fronius as well, and even a Fronius isn't that badly priced for what you get (IP65 enclosure, warranty, really solid build, support...). Of course all of these are going to cost you between 20k and 30k, and if that is too much, you're going to have to look at a Solis... and I've heard a few things about those 🙂

Thanks guys...already more things I need to read up on to make informed decision

Basically dont need backup power as I have smaller ups to take care of critical equipment. So if eskom does go off not an issue if house powers down

So the idea is just try run as much on sun power as possible.  So geyser on timer to only come on during daylight hours, fridges ect. Will also change some habits like dishwasher & washing machine to be put on during daylight hours. Will also power my indoor orchid greenhouse lights. Powering those 600w bulbs ain't cheap

In my googling I came across the Axpert vmiii which seemed nice cause as I understood it can run without batteries and still supply power but seems not available in SA

Could anyone recommend online sites where I could find some of the SMA inverters you have both mentioned 

 

29 minutes ago, AdrianUrie said:

Could anyone recommend online sites where I could find some of the SMA inverters you have both mentioned 

Well, you can start with sonopsolar and even sustainable, you don't have to buy from them, but you get an idea of the prices you might be looking at. Sustainable is generally around 20% more than the rest, but I am told they deliver. Once you made the call you'll probably end up buying from rubicon or segensolar, but as an introvert I hate having to call someone to get the price first... which is why I tend to window shop in one place and buy in another 🙂