Solar, inverter, battery thread

[Spizz]

That's why I added 2x factor for the lithium (50% DoD lead-acid), but you know this.

Quite a bit of spec on this page.

Hubble Lithium - 48V 4.8KW 100AH Lithium Battery available to buy online at @TAKEALOT We offer fast, reliable delivery to your door. https://www.takealot.com/hubble-lithium-48v-4-8kw-100ah-lithium-battery/PLID70915909

 

[biometrics]

Quite a bit of spec on this page.

Hubble Lithium - 48V 4.8KW 100AH Lithium Battery available to buy online at @TAKEALOT We offer fast, reliable delivery to your door. https://www.takealot.com/hubble-lithium-48v-4-8kw-100ah-lithium-battery/PLID70915909

Rackmount. Ok, this is not a little system. Maybe not @Sinbad level, but very nice.

 

[dabean]

This should probably be in a different thread, but Eskom are really pricing themselves out of the market with their increases.

Lots of unexpected capital outlays have kept me with them this year, but going solar is definitely #1 on my to-do list.

 

[Sinbad]

That's why I added 2x factor for the lithium (50% DoD lead-acid), but you know this.

With daily cycles at 50% your LAs will not manage 2 years

 

[biometrics]

@Sinbad, since it's auto switch does that mean they need to keep the house below the inverters 5kW? Or does it switch between mains and battery?

 

[Sinbad]

@Sinbad, since it's auto switch does that mean they need to keep the house below the inverters 5kW? Or does it switch between mains and battery?

Don't know about that one, but mine could feed 100A through from mains while providing 5kva of inverted power from DC sources. So total output of 125A or 28.7kw.

 

[Spizz]

@Sinbad, since it's auto switch does that mean they need to keep the house below the inverters 5kW? Or does it switch between mains and battery?

If I understood correctly most of the power in the house in the daytime will be drawn from the PV panels while some heavy items will still be on the mains. So if there is loadshedding, those heavy load items such as the geyser and tumble drier will not be getting power from the battery hence lowering the overall draw and increasing the time the house can run from the battery.

 

[biometrics]

If I understood correctly most of the power in the house in the daytime will be drawn from the PV panels while some heavy items will still be on the mains. So if there is loadshedding, those heavy load items such as the geyser and tumble drier will not be getting power from the battery hence lowering the overall draw and increasing the time the house can run from the battery.

Dual wiring? /confused

 

[Spizz]

Dual wiring? /confused

I’m not sure what you mean by dual wiring, but the main purpose of this system is as a backup for when loadshedding kicks in so that most things in the house automatically switch to draw power from the battery. Some items such as the geyser and tumble drier will not be wired to run on this back up system as they will only be wired to run from the grid. This will limit the draw on the battery to the essentials such as the fridges, lights and plugs etc and in effect we will carry on like normal and just “manage” the situation regarding the use of the geyser and tumble drier drier.

 

[Spizz]

I just had a chat with the guy who is installing the gear and he said that the system will be set up so that there will be a priority system for drawing power.

PV-battery-grid.

So in the day the house (apart from the tumble drier and geyser which will always be on the grid ) will use the PV panels to run everything. If too much load then it will draw from the battery.

At night it will draw from the battery and if that expires it will draw from the grid.

So whether loadshedding in daytime or not it will not really matter, power coming from the panels. At nighttime the consumption is reduced so longer battery life if loadshedding kicks in and even if it goes on for several hours more than scheduled we will get though the night on battery.

 

[biometrics]

I just had a chat with the guy who is installing the gear and he said that the system will be set up so that there will be a priority system for drawing power.

PV-battery-grid.

So in the day the house (apart from the tumble drier and geyser which will always be on the grid ) will use the PV panels to run everything. If too much load then it will draw from the battery.

At night it will draw from the battery and if that expires it will draw from the grid.

So whether loadshedding in daytime or not it will not really matter, power coming from the panels. At nighttime the consumption is reduced so longer battery life if loadshedding kicks in and even if it goes on for several hours more than scheduled we will get though the night on battery.

Nice.

Makes sense why installation is like R20k as you need separate circuits to achieve that.

Iirc @Sinbad's worked differently, where it would keep the batteries topped up at all times? @Sinbad?

PS, is there an app?

 

[Spizz]

Nice.

Makes sense why installation is like R20k as you need separate circuits to achieve that.

Iirc @Sinbad's worked differently, where it would keep the batteries topped up at all times? @Sinbad?

PS, is there an app?

Indeed. Sinbad had twice as much battery and panels.

 

[Spizz]

Indeed. Sinbad had twice as much battery and panels.

I forgot to ask about an app. Hope so.

 

[biometrics]

I forgot to ask about an app. Hope so.

Oooh, am a bit jealous. But have other priorities.

 

[Sinbad]

Nice.

Makes sense why installation is like R20k as you need separate circuits to achieve that.

Iirc @Sinbad's worked differently, where it would keep the batteries topped up at all times? @Sinbad?

PS, is there an app?

No, mine had different modes, selectable depending what you want.

Normally it would run the batteries down to a set point each night, then charge up from surplus sun the next morning.
You could change the set point depending how much reserve power you wanted to keep back for load shedding.

You could also set it to keep the batteries charged at all costs. Then surplus solar is either discarded or fed back to the grid according to config. After load shedding it would charge the batteries as quickly as it could from both grid and solar.

 

[biometrics]

No, mine had different modes, selectable depending what you want.

Normally it would run the batteries down to a set point each night, then charge up from surplus sun the next morning.
You could change the set point depending how much reserve power you wanted to keep back for load shedding.

You could also set it to keep the batteries charged at all costs. Then surplus solar is either discarded or fed back to the grid according to config. After load shedding it would charge the batteries as quickly as it could from both grid and solar.

Thanks, think I get it now.

 

[biometrics]

@Spizz up and running?

 

[Spizz]

@Spizz up and running?

Tomorrow apparently. Might run over to Thursday due to the plate of spaghetti previously known as my DB. But 4 of the 6 panels are up with 2 to go, and the inverter has been mounted on the wall in my garage. I decided not to go with the outside housing but rather house the inverter and battery in the garage instead and the installers agreed.

 

[Quetzalovercoatl]

Company is gearing up to go the solar way. Can recoup the expense in less than 2 years.

Still on the table for discussion, there's a couple of points we want to discuss with the supplier/installer before we sign up for it.

 

[Lara]

Exciting times.

Do you have a grid-tied system or a UPS?