Solutions for loadshedding

[Vetplant]

2 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

Internet is another sub-set of issues ....

 

Lots of fibre nodes dont have enough backup for multiple loadshed.  And with more and more people gearing up to work through a loadshed some of these areas goes off air for part of the loadshed.  Some friends struggle with coming back on line as well ...

 

Ironically my old ADSL line is better for this 

Luckily, have not experienced this yet during working hours on my Fibre Line(Openserve/Afrihost) . But if they ramp up to stage 6 orders 8, we might start to struggle. 

Worst loadshedding to date has been two blocks of 2 hours in a day and the network stayed up. Maybe we just lucked out on proper backup at our exchange. 

[Frosty]

I have a 5-10 minute down time on the fibre line when load shedding starts. That’s my signal for a coffee break.

with data prices coming down, I might think about a LTE backup, but it’s not essential at this time.

[Frosty]

1 hour ago, Steady Spin said:

So my new house has 16 solar panels installed with the inverters etc to power the house when it is nice and sunny outside. 
On average a family of 4 with staff and working from home only uses about R300 of electricity from the grid. 

The system is not setup for batteries at this stage and my estimate is around R60k to add the right bits and pieces to get off the grid completely. 

That is a LOT of money but with loadshedding becoming more and more severe with zero chance of it going away any time soon I'm considering it. 

Just need to find a reputable installer now. 

Your R60k estimate is about right if you’re considering up to 10KWh worth of batteries (brand dependent). If you have an access bond, and it was me in your shoes, I would buy the batteries through that, i.e. finance it on your bond. Load shedding between 18:00 and 21:00 sucks (or used to for me). 

I have everything connected to my inverter, except the gas oven/stove (obviously), and the old solar geyser.

Working from home, I average 500W/h during the day (excluding when I run the 2KW element on the geyser to boost the solar geyser).

About 350W/h when sleeping, and about 650K/h from an hour before sunset up to bedtime.

I used about 90-110 kWh from the grid per month, of which the first 100 units are free, so my monthly spend is less than R50, if anything. The grid is used to prevent my battery from shutting down in the early hours; I only have one 5.1kWh battery, but plan to add another one next year.

[Steady Spin]

7 minutes ago, Frosty said:

Your R60k estimate is about right if you’re considering up to 10KWh worth of batteries (brand dependent). If you have an access bond, and it was me in your shoes, I would buy the batteries through that, i.e. finance it on your bond. Load shedding between 18:00 and 21:00 sucks (or used to for me). 

I have everything connected to my inverter, except the gas oven/stove (obviously), and the old solar geyser.

Working from home, I average 500W/h during the day (excluding when I run the 2KW element on the geyser to boost the solar geyser).

About 350W/h when sleeping, and about 650K/h from an hour before sunset up to bedtime.

I used about 90-110 kWh from the grid per month, of which the first 100 units are free, so my monthly spend is less than R50, if anything. The grid is used to prevent my battery from shutting down in the early hours; I only have one 5.1kWh battery, but plan to add another one next year.

No need to finance luckily. I worked the R60k into our renovation cash stash. 

I won't be off-grid completely and I would want to sell back to the Eskom as well. Might as well have the system pay itself back a little as well. 

First step is to plug in one of those meter things to see what the peak current draw is and then go from there. 

Thanks for the input. I tried posting on power forum and got such *** treatment for not knowing all the terms etc. 

 

 

[The Ouzo]

4 minutes ago, Steady Spin said:

 

Thanks for the input. I tried posting on power forum and got such *** treatment for not knowing all the terms etc. 

 

 

kinda like a newbie gets here when asking cycling related questions or trying to sell something.

 

 

[Steady Spin]

Just now, ouzo said:

kinda like a newbie gets here when asking cycling related questions or trying to sell something.

 

 

The internet is serious business. 

[Karman de Lange]

6 minutes ago, Steady Spin said:

No need to finance luckily. I worked the R60k into our renovation cash stash. 

I won't be off-grid completely and I would want to sell back to the Eskom as well. Might as well have the system pay itself back a little as well. 

First step is to plug in one of those meter things to see what the peak current draw is and then go from there. 

Thanks for the input. I tried posting on power forum and got such *** treatment for not knowing all the terms etc. 

 

 

cant sell back more than you use, and you get ALOT less R for the units you sell than what you pay.

wen IPP comes into play, they might change this (i'm hopeing)

 

Edited June 11, 2021 by Karman de Lange

[Eddy Gordo]

As far as I understand, you will need a ups specific for fibre. I know you get ones are dedicated to fibre use.

Currently I am running a silver calcium battery which has lasted about 10 years now. Mainly used on lights and has powered a fridge a few times. It is housed in a national lune box, so its quite versatile

Edited June 11, 2021 by Eddy Gordo

[The Ouzo]

3 minutes ago, Eddy Gordo said:

As far as I understand, you will need a ups specific for fibre. I know you get ones are dedicated to fibre use.

I think the issue lies rather with the fibre provider not having power backup on their side (exchanges or whatever they go through)

 

For home use my simple UPS powers the OTE and Router just fine. Although with the continuous drain to empty days I'm now lucky to get 1 hour of use out of it. Will have to replace the batteries soon.

[Eddy Gordo]

Yes, that is the route I wanted to go, then I was recommended that fibre specific ups for fibre as the power drain is too high. I have seen some options for fibre, and am considering one. 

My main concern is the ability to ad solar to the equation. Right now I dont mind charging up batteries.

[The Ouzo]

4 minutes ago, Eddy Gordo said:

Yes, that is the route I wanted to go, then I was recommended that fibre specific ups for fibre as the power drain is too high. I have seen some options for fibre, and am considering one. 

My main concern is the ability to ad solar to the equation. Right now I dont mind charging up batteries.

I'd love for someone that knows more to explain how the power drain is more. My OTE takes a simple 12v AC/DC plug like just about any charger out there these days, maybe I'm missing something crucial.

[Karman de Lange]

12 minutes ago, Eddy Gordo said:

Yes, that is the route I wanted to go, then I was recommended that fibre specific ups for fibre as the power drain is too high. I have seen some options for fibre, and am considering one. 

My main concern is the ability to ad solar to the equation. Right now I dont mind charging up batteries.

BS

Fibre draws almost f-all power,  should be on the box/fibre converter.   Laser printer on the other hand is beach.  has rather spikey power usage.

Also, don't by normal UPS, the battery's are not made to cycle more than few times, its for backup .. not often use.  Also, they take about 24 hrs to recharge, so never charged on stage 2 shedding.   lots of people is learning this the hard way at moment.

UPS is just a inverter /charger and battery .

Very basic setup:

Buy a Kodak/Axpert or what eve 12 or 24v inverter .. get 2 x >100 gellcell deap cycle type battery (no fumes) and connect a multiplug into the output and plug the input into a wall socket with 3 point plug.

ITs fully legal as its not permanent and have all the disconnects needed

Will cost about R10k 

Later when you know/learned more .. get things done proper ????

EDIT: disclaimer .. there to many question, i'm to old to keep track of all so  i'm answering in general

 

Edited June 11, 2021 by Karman de Lange

[Karman de Lange]

For indicative pricing, see  https://powerforum.co.za/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=18136

Edited June 11, 2021 by Karman de Lange

[ChrisF]

1 hour ago, ouzo said:

I'd love for someone that knows more to explain how the power drain is more. My OTE takes a simple 12v AC/DC plug like just about any charger out there these days, maybe I'm missing something crucial.

 

We have a "clip on power meter" (electrical power)  Something as simple as a dstv decoder .... anything from 150 to 300W between different models.

 

Pretty sure the wifi component, or rather potential signal amplifiers, may get power hungry.

 

 

Also, the term "UPS" is almost as encompasing as "bicycle" .....

 

Those little 7Ah units are only good to shut down a PC.  In which case a dedicated unit would be needed for the fiber router.

 

Most of what we have been discussing here start from 100A.h, with powerful inverters.  These units easily handle so much more than a router and computer.

 

[Frosty]

3 hours ago, Steady Spin said:

No need to finance luckily. I worked the R60k into our renovation cash stash. 

I won't be off-grid completely and I would want to sell back to the Eskom as well. Might as well have the system pay itself back a little as well. 

First step is to plug in one of those meter things to see what the peak current draw is and then go from there. 

Thanks for the input. I tried posting on power forum and got such *** treatment for not knowing all the terms etc. 

 

 

My mate also got a basting because of his inability to explain his problem in a way the forum would understand.
Irritates me when I see it happen, even here.

[Lamber]

On 6/11/2021 at 2:14 PM, Karman de Lange said:

BS

Fibre draws almost f-all power,  should be on the box/fibre converter.   Laser printer on the other hand is beach.  has rather spikey power usage.

Also, don't by normal UPS, the battery's are not made to cycle more than few times, its for backup .. not often use.  Also, they take about 24 hrs to recharge, so never charged on stage 2 shedding.   lots of people is learning this the hard way at moment.

UPS is just a inverter /charger and battery .

Very basic setup:

Buy a Kodak/Axpert or what eve 12 or 24v inverter .. get 2 x >100 gellcell deap cycle type battery (no fumes) and connect a multiplug into the output and plug the input into a wall socket with 3 point plug.

ITs fully legal as its not permanent and have all the disconnects needed

Will cost about R10k 

Later when you know/learned more .. get things done proper ????

EDIT: disclaimer .. there to many question, i'm to old to keep track of all so  i'm answering in general

 

This is a very accurate post and probably the most cost effective solution.

Just note that the term "deep cycle batteries" can be deceiving. Your depth of cycle severely impacts your battery's lifetime, my rule of thumb for sizing Deep Cycle batteries for systems are double capacity so that discharge never exceeds 50%. I believe that is what Karman has done as per quote (i.e. one battery will do the job but two batteries will protect the discharge).

While deep cycle is cost effective most professional installers will opt for a lithium solution today seeing as they have 10 years' warrantee on the units which they need to cover. Lithium can also be specced at full capacity for discharge with no threat of damage to the battery (where a BMS or PCM is installed).