jacques85 Posted July 1, 2021 Share Posted July 1, 2021 Good day everyone. Ive installed my system a couple of weeks ago and would like to know if its running as best it could. Installed: 5kw Sunsynk Inverter 12x 365w Canadian Solar Hubble AM2 5.5kwh As per my understanding, my panels are 6x in series and then paralelled. 6x facing west and 6x east. Ive changed my geyser element to a 2kw element to run of the pv during peak time. SOC are set to 30% all the time except from 13-17h its at 80% so that its can be charged again for the evenings. Im not pushing back in the grid and also not charging from the grid. Have a prepaid meter. Everything is connected on the essential side. Im producing around 2.4kw of power during peak. My CT coil is not installed. We will be adding a combiner box soon and move the DC fuse to the battery side. There is also a AC disconnect. We are also planning on adding an additional 4x panels to string the PV 8x in series on 1x mppt and the other string on the 2nd. Will this increase my production? My geyser runs on a timer from 11:30am to 14:30pm and during the summer my swimming pool will also run off a timer. We are not heavy on consumption but our cost per 1kwh is almost R3 atm. We are already seeing a significant saving to the investment. I stay in Upington and we have very hot summers and effeciancy should be a lot better then. See pics attach and advise what you guys would add and change. We are using around 3-5kwh from the grid still daily. Battery last to around 11am in the evenings and then revert to grid. Once enough PV is generated is charges the battery and use the excess PV for load. Im no guru in this. What ive learned is from what i could get on the internet, this forum and my installer the last couple of month. Thanks in advance Jacques Y.Hoosen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellow Measure Posted July 1, 2021 Share Posted July 1, 2021 (edited) 32 minutes ago, jacques85 said: Good day everyone. Ive installed my system a couple of weeks ago and would like to know if its running as best it could. Installed: 5kw Sunsynk Inverter 12x 365w Canadian Solar Hubble AM2 5.5kwh As per my understanding, my panels are 6x in series and then paralelled. 6x facing west and 6x east. Ive changed my geyser element to a 2kw element to run of the pv during peak time. SOC are set to 30% all the time except from 13-17h its at 80% so that its can be charged again for the evenings. Im not pushing back in the grid and also not charging from the grid. Have a prepaid meter. Everything is connected on the essential side. Im producing around 2.4kw of power during peak. My CT coil is not installed. We will be adding a combiner box soon and move the DC fuse to the battery side. There is also a AC disconnect. We are also planning on adding an additional 4x panels to string the PV 8x in series on 1x mppt and the other string on the 2nd. Will this increase my production? My geyser runs on a timer from 11:30am to 14:30pm and during the summer my swimming pool will also run off a timer. We are not heavy on consumption but our cost per 1kwh is almost R3 atm. We are already seeing a significant saving to the investment. I stay in Upington and we have very hot summers and effeciancy should be a lot better then. See pics attach and advise what you guys would add and change. We are using around 3-5kwh from the grid still daily. Battery last to around 11am in the evenings and then revert to grid. Once enough PV is generated is charges the battery and use the excess PV for load. Im no guru in this. What ive learned is from what i could get on the internet, this forum and my installer the last couple of month. Thanks in advance Jacques Nice install. The only potential issue that I see is DC and AC in the same trunking, although there may be separate conduit inside that I cannot see? I don't think that the 12 panels are paralleled, because then the combined VoC would close to 600V (dangerous even for a E<-> W install). I suspect that you have 6 in series on each MPPT (the 5K has two). This means that you could increase this comfortably to 9 panels for each MPPT for a total of 18 panels, maybe even more if the data supports it on a E<-> W install. You will soon get the hang of tweaking it, it's simply a matter of having enough generation capacity and storage, and then to change some consumption habits. I have had my system for almost one year now, 16x 380W panels on a 5K Sunsynk, albeit a North facing install, and in May I bought 5kWh from Eskom, June was 0.4kWh. So it gets better and better! Edited July 1, 2021 by YellowTapemeasure typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buyeye Posted July 1, 2021 Share Posted July 1, 2021 33 minutes ago, jacques85 said: Good day everyone. Ive installed my system a couple of weeks ago and would like to know if its running as best it could. Installed: 5kw Sunsynk Inverter 12x 365w Canadian Solar Hubble AM2 5.5kwh As per my understanding, my panels are 6x in series and then paralelled. 6x facing west and 6x east. Ive changed my geyser element to a 2kw element to run of the pv during peak time. SOC are set to 30% all the time except from 13-17h its at 80% so that its can be charged again for the evenings. Im not pushing back in the grid and also not charging from the grid. Have a prepaid meter. Everything is connected on the essential side. Im producing around 2.4kw of power during peak. My CT coil is not installed. We will be adding a combiner box soon and move the DC fuse to the battery side. There is also a AC disconnect. We are also planning on adding an additional 4x panels to string the PV 8x in series on 1x mppt and the other string on the 2nd. Will this increase my production? My geyser runs on a timer from 11:30am to 14:30pm and during the summer my swimming pool will also run off a timer. We are not heavy on consumption but our cost per 1kwh is almost R3 atm. We are already seeing a significant saving to the investment. I stay in Upington and we have very hot summers and effeciancy should be a lot better then. See pics attach and advise what you guys would add and change. We are using around 3-5kwh from the grid still daily. Battery last to around 11am in the evenings and then revert to grid. Once enough PV is generated is charges the battery and use the excess PV for load. Im no guru in this. What ive learned is from what i could get on the internet, this forum and my installer the last couple of month. Thanks in advance Jacques Plan and system are good. After you add the panels you can add another battery then you should hardly need anything from the grid since you are already only using a low amount in winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nexuss Posted July 1, 2021 Share Posted July 1, 2021 From what i can see in the pictures it seems you are only using one mppt?(with the 2 strings parallel) That would be a major mistake and you should change it asap. That mppt will be overloaded for sure if that is the case. You should have one string of panels on each mppt. What non essential loads do you have that are not run through the inverter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacques85 Posted July 1, 2021 Author Share Posted July 1, 2021 All is def on one MPPT atm. Cables as fas as im aware runs all in the same trunking but when they install the additional 4x panels they can amend it. They are def on one mppt atm but will change to 8x on one and and the other 8x on the 2nd next week. Plan is to add another hubble later this year. Is the am2 and am3 compatible to be paralelled? As the additional 2.75kwh should be sufficient for my needs. The CT coil also needs to be installed as its not on atm. Ive also attached a screenshot of yesterday's consumption. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nexuss Posted July 1, 2021 Share Posted July 1, 2021 If you go look on the device tab , go to inverter and click on it , then scroll all the way down and check the chart/graph , you can select PV1 or 2 and the current/volts and it will graph it for you. That mppt is getting fried in summer setup like that lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacques85 Posted July 1, 2021 Author Share Posted July 1, 2021 Is this what im should be looking at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nexuss Posted July 1, 2021 Share Posted July 1, 2021 (edited) Ahh yes thats correct,scroll down in that menu to the graph and select parameters pv1 and current pv1 and post the graph from when it was a sunny day , your amps should be pinned at maximum of 11 amps or 13 depending on firmware , i made a mistake in my pm to you , its not the volts that double when u parallel 2 strings but the amps ,silly mistake. But yea thats def overloading the mppt on a sunny day thats for sure.Edit* now that i look at your pic i can actually see the throttling when you are maxing out the mppt ,the top of your blue production 'mountain' is flat and not curved like it should be. Edited July 1, 2021 by Nexuss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yellow Measure Posted July 1, 2021 Share Posted July 1, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, jacques85 said: All is def on one MPPT atm. Cables as fas as im aware runs all in the same trunking but when they install the additional 4x panels they can amend it. They are def on one mppt atm but will change to 8x on one and and the other 8x on the 2nd next week. Plan is to add another hubble later this year. Is the am2 and am3 compatible to be paralelled? As the additional 2.75kwh should be sufficient for my needs. The CT coil also needs to be installed as its not on atm. Ive also attached a screenshot of yesterday's consumption. If I were you would definitely put East on one MPPT and West on the other, you will get far better production. Edited July 1, 2021 by YellowTapemeasure Nexuss and RhysMcW 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nexuss Posted July 1, 2021 Share Posted July 1, 2021 (edited) As your system is now you will probably generate more power in winter than when you separate the stings onto their own mppt. This is not the way it should be though,each mppt can handle max 11 amps . You have 9 amps x2 meaning 18 amps(max power) on one mppt that can only handle 11. Edit*I am thinking your installer must have somehow got confused with the 5kw and 8kw inverter specs ,as that would make alot more sense on the 8kw unit with its 18 amp mppt's. Edited July 1, 2021 by Nexuss Yellow Measure 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacques85 Posted July 1, 2021 Author Share Posted July 1, 2021 Hi Nexuss. Went through a few days. Hitting max 10a as per graph below. My additional 4x panels will be here next week. We will then string them 8x and 8x on their own mppt. We avg temp of around 24-26 the past 2x weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nexuss Posted July 1, 2021 Share Posted July 1, 2021 (edited) You can select the PV1 current and PV1 power under parameters to see it maxing out the amps( i can just see the volts atm) ,maybe post a picture of that aswel for interest sake , 10 amps max you say? Thats intersting . Ask @Leshennicely to do a firmware upgrade . It will be nice to see if the new firmware actually increases the mppt limit to 13 amp. That should instantly get you producing a bit more power. Edited July 1, 2021 by Nexuss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leshen Posted July 1, 2021 Share Posted July 1, 2021 52 minutes ago, jacques85 said: Hi Nexuss. Went through a few days. Hitting max 10a as per graph below. My additional 4x panels will be here next week. We will then string them 8x and 8x on their own mppt. We avg temp of around 24-26 the past 2x weeks. Hi Jacques. Please send me your inverter serial number and I’ll request an upgrade for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacques85 Posted July 1, 2021 Author Share Posted July 1, 2021 Thanks all. Will attend to thread on Sunday. Going on a hunt tommorrow early. Much appreciated. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacques85 Posted July 4, 2021 Author Share Posted July 4, 2021 Hi Nexuss. See screenshot. Looks like its sitting at 10amp peak. My additional 4x panels will arrive later this week then we will change the strings. Will keep the thread updated on the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nexuss Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 Hi , have you upgraded the firmware ? Would love to see what the max amps you get after you upgrade it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacques85 Posted July 4, 2021 Author Share Posted July 4, 2021 Not yet. Did pm leshen with the details he requested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacques85 Posted July 5, 2021 Author Share Posted July 5, 2021 Ok, setup changes done as follows: Leshen did firmware upgrade PV changed to 2x string of 8x365w each Protection added for battery and PV. CT Coil installed. A/C change over still to be installed and will split some breakers to non-essential load. Will monitor tomorrow when it nice and hot and provide feedback. Im not at home atm. Installer sent me the pictures. Pic attached of Inverter setup. Thanks Nexuss and Yellow Measure 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacques85 Posted July 6, 2021 Author Share Posted July 6, 2021 Ok. Production a lot better. Load were low today as my wife's creche is closed atm. CT coil seems to be installed incorrectly. Not showing on flow chart and from what i can remember it shows once connected. My electrician will be changing my DB to split it between essential and non-essential loads and will then wire them to the inverter like that. Will revisit the ct coil and add the changeover switch as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Achmat Posted July 6, 2021 Share Posted July 6, 2021 7 minutes ago, jacques85 said: Ok. Production a lot better. Load were low today as my wife's creche is closed atm. CT coil seems to be installed incorrectly. Not showing on flow chart and from what i can remember it shows once connected. My electrician will be changing my DB to split it between essential and non-essential loads and will then wire them to the inverter like that. Will revisit the ct coil and add the changeover switch as well. On the inverter system mode screen you need to to untick limit to load. The flow chart will then show the house and CT coil even if its installed incorrectly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacques85 Posted July 6, 2021 Author Share Posted July 6, 2021 Does it look right? Unticked the box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Achmat Posted July 6, 2021 Share Posted July 6, 2021 37 minutes ago, jacques85 said: Does it look right? Unticked the box. That looks correct. You can switch on a load before the inverter and see the direction of the electricity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacques85 Posted July 12, 2021 Author Share Posted July 12, 2021 Hi Guys. Just an update and some questions. My electrician splitted my DB to essential and non essential loads. Installer still need to wire them accordingly. Im still running my inverter watercooler cause when we have load shedding in the summer that bad boy needs to run and moved my swimming pool db to essential as well. My pool is closed in the winter and come summertime, it will run off PV during the day hence im not worried. Quick question, if there is no PV, will the non-essential side run from the grid? And when there is excess pv during the day, will the PV supply the non-essential side as well? System is running extemely smooth and i cannot complain. Would still like to use a gas geyser during winter time for the mornings to save some more. Atm, its running from the grid in the mornings and then again when max pv is available but its eating units and as things stand from 1st of June we are paying R2.90 per kwh!!! I'm using about 7kwh a day and 5kwh comes from the 2hours the geyser runs off the grid in the mornings. I've attached a pic of the DB after work was done. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Achmat Posted July 13, 2021 Share Posted July 13, 2021 12 hours ago, jacques85 said: Hi Guys. Just an update and some questions. My electrician splitted my DB to essential and non essential loads. Installer still need to wire them accordingly. Im still running my inverter watercooler cause when we have load shedding in the summer that bad boy needs to run and moved my swimming pool db to essential as well. My pool is closed in the winter and come summertime, it will run off PV during the day hence im not worried. Quick question, if there is no PV, will the non-essential side run from the grid? And when there is excess pv during the day, will the PV supply the non-essential side as well? System is running extemely smooth and i cannot complain. Would still like to use a gas geyser during winter time for the mornings to save some more. Atm, its running from the grid in the mornings and then again when max pv is available but its eating units and as things stand from 1st of June we are paying R2.90 per kwh!!! I'm using about 7kwh a day and 5kwh comes from the 2hours the geyser runs off the grid in the mornings. I've attached a pic of the DB after work was done. Thanks Yes. With no pv it will take what it needs from the grid. If the CT coil is installed correctly, then excess pv will go to the non essential loads of you remove the tick from zero to load. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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