oddysee Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 Greetings all! It's been a long time since I've been lured out of the shadows into signing up on a new forum. What a great place this is - hats off to all the community leaders! While I'm new to solar energy, I'm a long time petrol generator user. In my previous city, it was commonplace to use a generator when the grid choked. In the land of wine and fynbos, however, I hear no generators and I'm loathe to disturb the peace - not to mention that I no longer have a dedicated generator circuit. So, I've decided to part ways with my Honda 6.5kVA genny to pave the way for some Vicron goodness. Things appear to be worse than they've ever been so going green and sustainable seems inevitable. Until recently, I decided I would "settle" with Goodwe due to the integrated MPPT charge controller, cost saving and NRS approval. My first love was always a Victron though and I'm leaning more towards this brand once more. I'm particularly sold on the rave reviews, flexibility and their app. The VictronConnect app has to be the best there is! I'm an IoT guy and this sorta thing is super important to me. I don't only want to consult a small LCD screen on the wall or do battle with an app that doesn't update properly. My casual obsession and nightly research has led me to plan a system around the Victron MP II 48/3000. While I'd love to spring for the 48/5000, it's not possible right now. In order to get a "foot in the door", I figured I'd start with the 3kW now and then add another 6 months later. Good or bad idea? In terms of solar panels, I'm not really sold on anything right now. Battery-wise, I started off being 100% sold on PylonTech US2000B but I'm now intrigued by the UFO 5kWh. I don't have a ton of garage floor space but have some great wall space that is already next to a mini-DB. Fire away, gents! Wick and Energy-Jason 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mstott Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 @oddysee I have a 3kva victron and solar MD 7.4kwh battery . I have been very happy thus far and cycle my battery every night . On a decent sunny day I generate just over 21kwh . francois and oddysee 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mstott Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 2 hours ago, oddysee said: My casual obsession and nightly research has led me to plan a system around the Victron MP II 48/3000. While I'd love to spring for the 48/5000, it's not possible right now. Can always add fronius in the future and run a mini grid system , this is how I would expand on mine if I did . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddysee Posted February 17, 2020 Author Share Posted February 17, 2020 (edited) @calypso I’ve seen your thread mentioning this topic. Going Big Bang off-grid isn’t an option, maybe down the line...I’m guessing this is the approach of the majority. @Mstott your install thread is what got me to join up. Absolutely epic! I’ll be keenly following your updates. I’ll look-up your Fronius reference - thanks My summer daily usage hovers around 17kWh while in winter it peaks at 35kWh . In winter, oil fin heaters are to blame for sure. I realise that going solar can be an education and some change may be needed. Edited February 17, 2020 by oddysee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VisN Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 (edited) Here's Victron's battery compatibility list https://www.victronenergy.com/live/battery_compatibility:start I would stick to what's on the list. You would need 2 PylonTech modules to be compliant with their minimum requirements. I would stay with the tried, tested and trusted combinations. For me that is :- MPII 3kVA, Venus GX device , 2 x US3000B , BlueSolar MPPT, ET112 The Victron stuff might be slightly more expensive but their combination of hardware, software, constantly improving firmware, support etc. makes them worth the extra expense. Edited February 17, 2020 by VisN ___ and oddysee 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniemare Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 14 minutes ago, VisN said: Here's Victron's battery compatibility list https://www.victronenergy.com/live/battery_compatibility:start I would stick to what's on the list. You would need 2 PylonTech modules to be compliant with their minimum requirements. I would stay with the tried, tested and trusted combinations. For me that is :- MPII 3kVA, Venus GX device , 2 x US3000B , BlueSolar MPPT, ET112 The Victron stuff might be slightly more expensive but their combination of hardware, software, constantly improving firmware, support etc. makes them worth the extra expense. I saw the 2 x requirement. What will the problem be setting up with 1 at first? I want to use the battery only for critical UPS loads during load shedding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddysee Posted February 17, 2020 Author Share Posted February 17, 2020 P.S. Since this is my intro thread, some minor OT - your DB @Mstott reminds me of my own in my previous place. Very much missed now as I have exactly what I replaced before!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddysee Posted February 17, 2020 Author Share Posted February 17, 2020 (edited) @VisN thanks for that, I will certainly keep it in mind. Edited February 17, 2020 by oddysee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Energy-Jason Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 1997's Abe's odyssey. Nastolgia! Great thread! Promoted. Jay oddysee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VisN Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 42 minutes ago, daniemare said: I saw the 2 x requirement. What will the problem be setting up with 1 at first? I want to use the battery only for critical UPS loads during load shedding Read Jaco's explanation in this thread. https://powerforum.co.za/topic/4986-recommendations-for-installer-in-centurion/?tab=comments# oddysee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddysee Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 (edited) So I’d hate to abandon my solar journey with a once-off intro and then never post again. Perhaps I went overboard with this intro thread and it should be moved to another section? @Energy Also @Energy please can you correct the “Vicron” typo in my thread topic? After the above is decided, I’ve got a very random “solar dishwasher” update. Edited February 23, 2020 by oddysee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anotherbrownbear Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 On 2020/02/17 at 10:01 PM, oddysee said: @calypso I’ve seen your thread mentioning this topic. Going Big Bang off-grid isn’t an option, maybe down the line...I’m guessing this is the approach of the majority. @Mstott your install thread is what got me to join up. Absolutely epic! I’ll be keenly following your updates. I’ll look-up your Fronius reference - thanks My summer daily usage hovers around 17kWh while in winter it peaks at 35kWh . In winter, oil fin heaters are to blame for sure. I realise that going solar can be an education and some change may be needed. You can also use ABB for ESS. https://www.victronenergy.com/live/ccgx:abb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJ Botten Posted April 20, 2020 Share Posted April 20, 2020 Out of interest I was under the impression that ABB was shutting down their inverter division? What is the consensus on whether to use the Victron MPPT charge controllers or a separate PV Inverter with the Victron Multiplus II? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anotherbrownbear Posted April 20, 2020 Share Posted April 20, 2020 9 minutes ago, TJ Botten said: Out of interest I was under the impression that ABB was shutting down their inverter division? What is the consensus on whether to use the Victron MPPT charge controllers or a separate PV Inverter with the Victron Multiplus II? ABB has sold their solar manufacturing facilities to FimerSpa. This includes all three R&D centers as well as the Power-One factory where the string inverters are manufactured. As for the products, they are still exactly the same and operate with the same functions and still 100% compatible with Victron. Only the name changes. We were the technical partner for ABB string inverters in Sputh Africa and we are now the technical partner for FimerSpa. When trying to decide whether to use AC or DC coupled, you have to look at a couple of things. What time of day is your load mostly. How big is you system and to an extent, what size battery do you want to put in. TJ Botten 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.