Yes. My pitch is east west also but I’ve got a small north facing that accommodates exactly 6 panels. No room for expansion there. Need a plan b if I’m going to expand.
Solar, inverter, battery thread
- Thread starter Rudolph Hart
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Yes. My pitch is east west also but I’ve got a small north facing that accommodates exactly 6 panels. No room for expansion there. Need a plan b if I’m going to expand.
Johnatan56
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My inverter system cost me R4k and ~20 hours of my time, came with some light snow this week as well. 
biometrics
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Snow sucks though.My inverter system cost me R4k and ~20 hours of my time, came with some light snow this week as well.
My solar install is still a work in progress.
Inverter + batteries installed and hooked up to the DB. Pretty much the whole house except over, geysers and 5.5kW aircon.
Still waiting on panels. Initially waited on CoCT SSEG application, now waiting on time from installer.
Anyways, at least for now, loadshedding is a thing of the past.
This shows, a typical day and we had loadshedding from 12-14h00. The pool pump usually start at 10am and run for 4-5 hours. However with some automation from Home Assistant, when loadshedding starts, to save the batteries, the pump is turned off and the 4-5hour timer is paused. Then when power return, a start-up timer of 5 minutes first happen, before resuming the pool pump. Geysers are also on timers, and will also pause for loadshedding. The geyser timers were a nice saving on power usage from eskom.
This shows the loadshedding from yesterday 12-14h00 and again we got shed at 4-6am this morning.
Batteries go from 100% to just over 80% in 2 hours then spend just over 4 hours to recharge. I worked out, without solar, we can easily run right through even on stage4 loadshedding. With Stage5 and up I will need that boost from the sun.
Really can't wait to get the panels added. Having a system like this is pretty much a necessity now that work from home is becoming a standard thing for me and the wife.
Inverter + batteries installed and hooked up to the DB. Pretty much the whole house except over, geysers and 5.5kW aircon.
Still waiting on panels. Initially waited on CoCT SSEG application, now waiting on time from installer.
Anyways, at least for now, loadshedding is a thing of the past.
This shows, a typical day and we had loadshedding from 12-14h00. The pool pump usually start at 10am and run for 4-5 hours. However with some automation from Home Assistant, when loadshedding starts, to save the batteries, the pump is turned off and the 4-5hour timer is paused. Then when power return, a start-up timer of 5 minutes first happen, before resuming the pool pump. Geysers are also on timers, and will also pause for loadshedding. The geyser timers were a nice saving on power usage from eskom.
This shows the loadshedding from yesterday 12-14h00 and again we got shed at 4-6am this morning.
Batteries go from 100% to just over 80% in 2 hours then spend just over 4 hours to recharge. I worked out, without solar, we can easily run right through even on stage4 loadshedding. With Stage5 and up I will need that boost from the sun.
Really can't wait to get the panels added. Having a system like this is pretty much a necessity now that work from home is becoming a standard thing for me and the wife.
Is it a switchover system, or are you going to run full-time off the batteries when the panels are installed?
It is a full hybrid inverter, so kinda yes. Though planning on a few automations, which will dynamically set the DoD point based on predictions of how much sun will be available the next day. So might not used up the full amount of the batteries over night.
Also considering, that if Eskom starts loadshedding, to change the mode from Normal to Backup, where it will use both Eskom/Solar to recharge the batteries and only use them when he hit a loadshedding slot. All with the idea, to make sure we dont have flat batteries in the morning before the sun is able to charge them up.
biometrics
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Vokkit, another five years! Time to seriously consider an upgrade. @Spizz send me your quote please (I know some of it's not relevant) and also your contact. Might as well get a quote for my setup, might not need as large a system as you do.
www.news24.com
UPDATE | Brace for another 5 years of electricity deficit, says Eskom | Business
Eskom, which is in the process of conducting maintenance at its ageing fleet of coal-fired power stations, says its system remains "vulnerable and volatile".
www.news24.com
Yeah I went with 2z us3000 batteries. One day if I save up enough will want to upgrade to 4. But for now I first want 1st set of panels to go up.
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biometrics
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Would you mind listing your major components and prices (battery and inverter).
Sure.
2x US3000b Pylontech batteries. R19000 ex vat (per battery)
GoodWe GW5048D-ES 4.6kW inverter. R27600 ex vat
10x 320W chinese panels. R1700 ex vat per panel
DC combiner box at R4500 ex vat
Also added pylontech battery pack and battery cabinet that can house 4x US3000 batteries.
Future plans at the time was to be able to upgrade from 2 to 4 batteries and from 10 to 20 panels.
You still need roof mounts and stuff for your roof type and a bunch of other cables etc.
This was all ordered March 2020 pre-lockdown and my final price was around R135k with labour included.
So I will have 3.3kW panels, 7kWh battery storage with an inverter that is 4.6kW.
Generally the house idles at 350-550w with devices that can spike around 2kW each.
Geysers are infront of the inverter, but this hybrid inverter can push back to reduce their use on Eskom when Eskom is not down and when there is excess solar power. So idea is to schedule these in the afternoons after batteries have charged. I have a 4kW and 3kW geyser.
biometrics
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I assume you have more than two people in your household and run plenty of appliances? I think I can get away with something smaller than yours and @Spizz's setup.
Thinking maybe 3-3.5kWh battery, 3-4kW inverter. Grid tied (online/auto switch over or whatever you call it). With the ability to add solar panels later.
Half my electric charge is a service fee anyway, can't get away from that.
If I can comfortable get through 2 x 2h load sheds and boil a kettle while running two laptops and lights, then I'll be happy.
Would prefer to spend less than R50k.
Mmm, think I need to move this to the other thread...
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Yeah look it depends on your needs. Both me and the wife work from home and we have a little one.
So we power lights, fridges (1 big, 1 bar, 1 wine cooler), most things from the inverter.
You need to figure out what you want to power from your inverter, what their constant and peak usage is combined, and how many watt hours you need. A loadshedding solution can be much smaller than a whole house solar solution.
I started out with a 600w pure sinewave inverter with 102ah battery and trolley, that would power the internet and wifi and a TV+android box for streaming. Thats a less than R10k solution.
For R50k you can already get something nice. 1 battery as you say, and a decent inverter.
Go with Sunsynk.
See: https://www.solar-shop.co.za/sunsynk-deye-hybrid-inverters/406-sunsynk-5kw-hybrid-inverter.html
R20k for that.
Spend another R20k on a battery.
The final R10 should go for everything else, then you have a decent loadshedding solution.
Only wire in the absolute must haves.
It also leaves plenty of space for upgrades down the line.
Like later on, add panels to it. Or maybe if you can squeeze in a few panels in that R10k.
I think I replied on the Eskom thread
biometrics
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I think I moved it.I think I replied on the Eskom thread
Düber
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I think the general consensus is to go with a reasonable size inverter( bigger than you think you need) as the other bits are more modular and can be added over time.
The Lithium batteries are IMO the only ones to go for, the guys that installed with lead-acid a year or two ago are already having issues and mine have never lasted.
Düber
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That is a very nice inverter.
Yip. If I were to start from scratch now, I would go with a sunsynk inverter.
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biometrics
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Design modifications at Medupi and Kusile: Peak performance unlikely to ever be achieved
Much has been written about the cost and time overruns at Eskom’s flagship new-build mega-projects – the Medupi and Kusile coal-fired power stations in South Africa. This article focuses on the boiler plant design defects and the status of rectification work currently in progress.
www.dailymaverick.co.za
I will be investing in an online system soon. This is going to go for another five years and I’m gatvol of it. Since 2008!
Lol if you think it will be fixed in five years you're an optimist.Design modifications at Medupi and Kusile: Peak performance unlikely to ever be achieved
Much has been written about the cost and time overruns at Eskom’s flagship new-build mega-projects – the Medupi and Kusile coal-fired power stations in South Africa. This article focuses on the boiler plant design defects and the status of rectification work currently in progress.
I will be investing in an online system soon. This is going to go for another five years and I’m gatvol of it. Since 2008!