I know it's overpriced! But it does look nice and helps when you have limited space ;-)

 

Please a bit of detail. Was it easy to instal and what inverter. What kWh etc? Are you charging with solar? Is it worth the price? How many cycles till replacement? Thx.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

The battery cables look extremely thin and are running for quite a distance. What is the nominal battery voltage? What size cable is used, 10mm²?

Tesla batteries if i can remember the spec are at 350 -450V DC hence the thinner cables.

Just now, Chris Hobson said:

Tesla batteries if i can remember the spec are at 350 -450V DC hence the thinner cables.

OK, that is in order then.

The batteries themselves are at a nominal 48VDC but there is a boost converter to take it to the 350-450VDC.

you only get to use 2kw of it, and will last 10 years plus has to bee monitored by Tesla. if not connected to them, no warranty

Solar edge inverter. Their normal operation mode is with "optimizers" (aka boost converters) under each panel, one 350vdc line coming into the house, and then an ac conversion stage on the ground. Seems what they did here is patch the lithiums into that dc rail :-)

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

44 minutes ago, plonkster said:

Solar edge inverter. Their normal operation mode is with "optimizers" (aka boost converters) under each panel, one 350vdc line coming into the house, and then an ac conversion stage on the ground. Seems what they did here is patch the lithiums into that dc rail :-)

Sent from my GT-I9195 using Tapatalk

That is correct Plonkster. Each panel has a "Optimizer"

They had to make a lot of modifications as the power is "prepaid"

The original SolarEdge inverter was a 5KW. That has now been replaced with a 10KW (5KW SolarEdge for sale if anyone interested)

And yes, Tesla monitors the Battery 24/7 and send you reports on a daily basis. They also set it to only go down to 90% DOD

Did a load test and had a 5KW load constantly - Lasted about an hour and 40min

So effectively you're paying a small fortune for a nice system with limited load? The same amount of money can't be used on a "generic" system with more flexibility and growth options?

Check Bloomberg report on Tesla batteries

2 minutes ago, Regie said:

Check Bloomberg report on Tesla batteries

please link to the specific article you found interesting?

Perhaps it was this link?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-29/-tesla-solar-wants-to-be-the-apple-store-for-electricity

I reckon wait for 29th of this month when the gigafactory opens - apparently new tesla battery models, lowered pricing etc

 

2 hours ago, Igubu said:

Perhaps it was this link?

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-29/-tesla-solar-wants-to-be-the-apple-store-for-electricity

I reckon wait for 29th of this month when the gigafactory opens - apparently new tesla battery models, lowered pricing etc

 

I read that article with, well, horror. So they want to monopolize something which should have enabled the poor and destitute to some electricity as well. Why are PC's and PC software so expensive? Cause Apple set a standard and the rest either had to keep up of fall away. 

39 minutes ago, SilverNodashi said:

Why are PC's and PC software so expensive?

Because it takes a lot of engineers to design, build and test hardware to production, and a lot of human hours to develop software. What the rest do after them re. price, should not be blamed on either the developers nor the engineers. 

I on the other hand read the article with interest seeing that he is basically betting it all on the fact that tax cuts, subsidies and grid tie earnings are going to be stopped all over the USA (no wonder CoCT is so reluctant to even start).

If his batteries are cheaper per kW than grid electricity, he is picking a fight again as he did with Tesla like back when he started and California banned the electric car. This time I think he is wiser than then, so lets keep an eye on him. He is as tenacious as only a Saffa can be.

1 minute ago, The Terrible Triplett said:

Because it takes a lot of engineers to design, build and test hardware to production, and a lot of human hours to develop software. What the rest do after them re. price, should not be blamed on either the developers nor the engineers. 

I on the other hand read the article with interest seeing that he is basically betting it all on the fact that tax cuts, subsidies and grid tie earnings are going to be stopped all over the USA (no wonder CoCT is so reluctant to even start).

If his batteries are cheaper per kW than grid electricity, he is picking a fight again as he did with Tesla like back when he started and California banned the electric car. This time I think he is wiser than then, so lets keep an eye on him. He is as tenacious as only a Saffa can be.

Put into perspective, it cost a LOT more than it could cost, and used to cost - before the likes of Apple came to the playground. 

It's easy to say "it cost money for R & D, and marketing, etc, etc. I was there, and I know what the equipment really cost. The same is happening in this market. About 5 years ago my dad phoned me one day and bragged with his 250W panel for R6000. Now, the same panel (with better peformance) cost R2500-odd. The Rand/Dollar screwed up the cost this year. 

Take your broken inverter and go add up the cost of the components + PCB + aluminium case, see what it would cost. Now get prices for the same components per 10,000 (as example) and see how the prices drop. Open an account with the right factory in Shenzhen and it gets even cheaper. 

The software on the MCU, on the other hand does cost a bit more to write, but once the base code is written, it's fairly profitable. 

Before you stop you, look at the many other brands out there, that's not blue and see what they charge for equipment that work the same, or sometimes even better. Axpert is / was the market killer recently, but I'm not referring to them. 

As an example, a 500A shunt cost R900! R900 for a piece of copper with some screw terminals, a piece of copper which is precisely molded to have a specific resistance. Then you go an buy another shunt on ebay for R200 and it does exactly the same thing. Why? Is the "cheaper" one really that bad, or is the more expensive one just so much more overrated because it comes from Company-X? That's just one product, from one brand which I'm using as an example. The same can be said for many products, from many different big companies. 

 

Back to the topic, Apple fit components in their kit which cost 1/3 if you had to fit it into another PC. 1/4 if it's a "home brew PC". Is the more expensive one really that much better? Perhaps, to some degree. They use the same brand, make and model HDD's, RAM and graphics cards than some R10k PC's. 

My Mitsubishi Colt's clutch kit cost R5K - just for the spares. It's a rebranded Luke clutch plate and cost 1/2 the price from a spares shop. Will it break down quicker than the manufacturer branded one? Nope. 

Or the case I once heard of was a brand new Landrover, engine blew needing new pistons.

So the garage owner did some research and came back to the owner and said: "Here are your Landi's pistons (quoted some ridiculous price). Here are (I think he said) Hyundai pistons, from Midas, they are identical, cost a few rand. Which ones must I fit? 

I am all the way with you on this one Silver, all the way.

Just think that Elon is going to kick some arse over there. If we ever see that benefit, I have little hope.

In SA prices are always killed by too much demand. I firmly believe our battery prices are elevated because the UPS market don't mind (aka have no choice) and why lower your price when people keep buying... :-)

31 minutes ago, plonkster said:

battery prices are elevated because the UPS market don't mind

Make sense when some guy goes and gets to the importer as a dealer and start selling at below "market" prices, only to get reprimanded.