Hi guys, very glad to have found this forum, some real good gen here. However I couldn't find a definitive answer to this Q...

We have a 60A main circuit breaker. This limits our inverter to max 3.5KW, right?

Does same apply even if not feeding back to Eksdom? Or is this rule only applied to feed-in systems?

Thanks, Markus

 

Edited February 8, 20205 yr by markus_m2

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We have a 60A main circuit breaker. This limits our inverter to max 3.5KW, right?

If you are within the City of Cape town, then generally correct - as per page 18 of the following document:

Requirements for Small-Scale Embedded Generation.pdf from COCT's webpage Going Solar

However, apparently this does not mean directly that your inverter is limited to 3.5kW. I have a 4kW Axpert installed and am certified by COCT - however I only have 3kW of solar panels installed (on which the generation capacity in the letter of certification is based)

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Does same apply even if not feeding back to Eksdom? Or is this rule only applied to feed-in systems?

Applies to both (I am not feeding back to grid)

Thank you @wolfandy,

I am in Pretoria, not Cape Town. Power from CoTshwane.

However. From what I can tell that 25% rule is a NRS097 rule, not Cape Town specific, I.o.w. the whole country needs to abide by it? 

And if it is indeed the whole country; how strict are they about it - can one generally get away with it or are you looking at replacing the inverter (or scaling down on installed panels) down the road?

If not whole country, but similar laws to be introduced in future, will existing systems be exempt from this rule?

Am I stressing about nothing or should I look at complying with max 3.5KW on my 60A MCB?

(I note that many solar installers will happily quote me on a 5KW system)...

 

 

5 minutes ago, markus_m2 said:

I am in Pretoria, not Cape Town. Power from CoTshwane.

if the CoT does not enforce registration at the moment I would not stress about it. I think our laws will probably change soon in any case. If we follow the rest of the world you will be allowed to install more inverter power for self consumption. There will however always have to be some kind of maximum power feed in control.  

huh, so a 10kVA (2 x inverters) and 4kW PV install be illegal?