Solutions for loadshedding

[Frosty]

On 7/1/2022 at 11:08 AM, l4y3rcake said:

Resurrecting this thread. My wife and I have decided to forgo some of the renovations we had planned and rather install a solar system for our home. We use between 650 and 800 a month. We want to install a system that can run everything including geysers, oven etc. Our stove is on gas and all the lighting in the house is LED. All our appliances are A or AA rated.

Is it possible to run all of the above on solar or should I first look at installing gas/solar geyser?

650-800? units (kWh) or Rands?

Yes, it's possible BUT... it depends on a few things:

1. The size of your system, i.e. inverter, number of panels and the battery (for night use, and also when it's overcast/rainy weather + load shedding at the same time);
2. What you use, how much power it consumes and how long you use it for;
3. What you use concurrently (you are limited to the size of the inverter + 100% for up to 30 seconds).

I.t.o. the geyser, and depending on the size of the inverter you get - nothing less than 5kVA will work - you should get a 2kW element. This will then allow you to use other appliances at the same times as the geyser. I'm not talking about the basics, eg. lights, fridge, alarm, modem, etc. but rather something big, like a microwave, coffee machine, vacuum cleaner, iron, etc.

I was using about 600 units a month, and have had a solar geyser since 2013 prior to installing solar in 2020. I'm still consuming the same about of power per month, but we run as much as we can when the sun shines. It means having time slots for everything, so that we don't overload the inverter, and also allow the battery to charge up to 100% before the sun drops below a certain point.

[Frosty]

2 hours ago, urbanroyal said:

Hi...adding to the resurrection bid, I have a question. With the stage 6 load shedding schedules, my 100ah linknet gel batteries last about 90 mins, so can I connect the Linknet inverter to a generator to  charge the batteries during  that extra stage in the day ?  In this way the batteries  will last the stage at night, powering cctv and alarm. This is for a business btw. Or will the generator mess up the invertor ? Its a Ryobi 7.5 kva. TIA.

It depends on the inverter brand. 
I have a Sunsynk, and they work well with a generator.

I don't have one (generator) but a friend's father has one, with a generator connected.
It regulates the power from the generator and only pulls what it needs, when it needs it, i.e. no surges, and will only start charging a battery when it's stabalised the battery. Very clever programming on the unit.

[l4y3rcake]

12 hours ago, Frosty said:

650-800? units (kWh) or Rands?

Yes, it's possible BUT... it depends on a few things:

1. The size of your system, i.e. inverter, number of panels and the battery (for night use, and also when it's overcast/rainy weather + load shedding at the same time);
2. What you use, how much power it consumes and how long you use it for;
3. What you use concurrently (you are limited to the size of the inverter + 100% for up to 30 seconds).

I.t.o. the geyser, and depending on the size of the inverter you get - nothing less than 5kVA will work - you should get a 2kW element. This will then allow you to use other appliances at the same times as the geyser. I'm not talking about the basics, eg. lights, fridge, alarm, modem, etc. but rather something big, like a microwave, coffee machine, vacuum cleaner, iron, etc.

I was using about 600 units a month, and have had a solar geyser since 2013 prior to installing solar in 2020. I'm still consuming the same about of power per month, but we run as much as we can when the sun shines. It means having time slots for everything, so that we don't overload the inverter, and also allow the battery to charge up to 100% before the sun drops below a certain point.

We use between 650 and 800 units a month. We have 3 aircons in the house but I'll keep those on the grid as we hardly ever use them.

I just want to find out from others on here whether running a geyser on the system has affected them in any way. The reason I ask is because of the wording used by the guys that do the rent-to-own systems. They basically don't allow you to run your oven, geyser and aircons on the system. I'm going to finance the system on my bond so just want to know if I may void any warranties or guarantees  if I connect my "non-essential" appliances to the solar system?

 

My thinking is to get a big inverter(10kw+) and at least 15kw battery backup with 12-16 450w panels. 

I understand having to schedule your big appliances, but we actually have to do that during load-shedding in anyway.

[Frosty]

8 hours ago, l4y3rcake said:

We use between 650 and 800 units a month. We have 3 aircons in the house but I'll keep those on the grid as we hardly ever use them.

I just want to find out from others on here whether running a geyser on the system has affected them in any way. The reason I ask is because of the wording used by the guys that do the rent-to-own systems. They basically don't allow you to run your oven, geyser and aircons on the system. I'm going to finance the system on my bond so just want to know if I may void any warranties or guarantees  if I connect my "non-essential" appliances to the solar system?

My thinking is to get a big inverter(10kw+) and at least 15kw battery backup with 12-16 450w panels. 

I understand having to schedule your big appliances, but we actually have to do that during load-shedding in anyway.

I have never heard of warranties being voided due to non-essential loads added. Just make sure it’s insured with your house policy (structural).

If you get an 8kW inverter, the optimal panel quantity will be 20x 450W, otherwise you’ll struggle on the bad UV days. Depending on the brand you go for, 8kW should be adequate. Lots of friends have this combination and they are setup well for those dark times.

Edited July 4, 2022 by Frosty

[Katy]

Does anyone have any recommendations for someone who can install a couple of panels and an additional battery? I've got the equipment already. 

[Jehosefat]

1 hour ago, Katy said:

Does anyone have any recommendations for someone who can install a couple of panels and an additional battery? I've got the equipment already. 

It would be useful to know where in the country you are before giving recommendations.

[fanievb]

On 7/3/2022 at 7:09 PM, urbanroyal said:

Hi...adding to the resurrection bid, I have a question. With the stage 6 load shedding schedules, my 100ah linknet gel batteries last about 90 mins, so can I connect the Linknet inverter to a generator to  charge the batteries during  that extra stage in the day ?  In this way the batteries  will last the stage at night, powering cctv and alarm. This is for a business btw. Or will the generator mess up the invertor ? Its a Ryobi 7.5 kva. TIA.

generator needs to exceed or at least match your invertors' rating.

[Katy]

5 hours ago, Jehosefat said:

It would be useful to know where in the country you are before giving recommendations.

Joburg please

[TheoG]

18 hours ago, Katy said:

Does anyone have any recommendations for someone who can install a couple of panels and an additional battery? I've got the equipment already. 

Try these guys, I also had the stuff already, they just installed for me.  Very professional job.

James Goosen

Sunergy Projects
433 Killarney Road
Bredell
Mobile: 0765302199

[The Ouzo]

Did anyone see the solar farm during the TdF yesterday ?

[Frosty]

13 hours ago, ouzo said:

Did anyone see the solar farm during the TdF yesterday ?

Yes

We have one south of Jozi, behind the brewery; not a big one but probably 10MW.

Edited July 8, 2022 by Frosty

[Schnavel]

On 7/4/2022 at 10:28 AM, l4y3rcake said:

We use between 650 and 800 units a month. We have 3 aircons in the house but I'll keep those on the grid as we hardly ever use them.

I just want to find out from others on here whether running a geyser on the system has affected them in any way. The reason I ask is because of the wording used by the guys that do the rent-to-own systems. They basically don't allow you to run your oven, geyser and aircons on the system. I'm going to finance the system on my bond so just want to know if I may void any warranties or guarantees  if I connect my "non-essential" appliances to the solar system?

 

My thinking is to get a big inverter(10kw+) and at least 15kw battery backup with 12-16 450w panels. 

I understand having to schedule your big appliances, but we actually have to do that during load-shedding in anyway.

Never heard of this before, but I guess their concern is overloading the system, as that will lead to shorter life spans on equipment.

I use around 700kWh a month, and have been 96% off-grid for the past year. I have a 7,2kW inverter, with 14x 435W panels and 10,5kWh of battery storage. This system allows me to heat 2x geysers during the day, run my pool pump, and charge my batteries. I run the entire night on batteries and I can even use my oven for up to an hour at night and still have sufficient power to reach sunrise.

One of the best investments I have ever made - save for my neighbours generator, I don't even know when there is load shedding.