Loadshedding solutions

[M L]

9 minutes ago, BlinkFan said:

When I started doing research I couldn't figure out why the Sunsynk and Deye were double the price, and I was seriously considering just going with the "cheaper" solution. BUT after a lot of reading and research to just understand what all the mumbo jumbo in the specs mean I did end up going with Deye (Sunsynk is the exact same hardware, just different UI and better local support).

• 5 year warranty vs 1/2 years for Axpert (and its derivatives)
• AC passthrough feature - my 8kW inverter has 10kW AC passthrough (the 5kW interver has 8kW passthrough), meaning that when there is grid power I can basically do whatever I want. without risk of tripping. The house has a 60A breaker, so the max I can draw anyway from Eskom is 13kW and you really need to switch on everything in your house to get close to 10kW (in my house anyway)
• True hybrid inverter with excellent PV/Batt/Grid blending. Mine is set up to use PV during the day to power the load, and excess is used to charge the battery. If PV isn't enough for the current load then the battery will supplement (if above x % state of charge). IF PV and battery isn't enough, then grid will supplement further. This means that during the day I use basically use no Eskom power (battery is typically fully charged by 12:00).
• Grid feedback. So right now I can't feed back to the grid (meter doesn't allow it), but the inverter can measure the power draw of the non-essential stuff on my DB and then push back just enough to supplement Eskom power for those loads. For e.g. my pool pump is on my non-essential side, and 13:00 when the pump goes on the sun is typically good and PV power my pool pump fully even though it's not connected on my inverter. My Geyser is also set up to run for an hour or two during the day using the feature. The geyser always draws more than PV can supply, but then my battery (which is now fully charged) supplements the PV. And then there is mostly still enough time to charge the battery back to 100% before 17:00.

If the finances allow I would advise people to go with a true hybrid. I was lucky that my work helped finance loadshedding solutions, otherwise I would have gone with Axpert.

Can you please share photos of your inverter settings - interested to know how you set it up to allow the above.

[Jehosefat]

10 minutes ago, M L said:

Can you please share photos of your inverter settings - interested to know how you set it up to allow the above.

Which bit of the above?

Most of those are simply the default settings on a fully hybrid inverter as far as I know.

If you mean the non-essential loads. The key to those is how they are wired up more than the settings. They need to be wired into the mains supply between the inverter and the CT and the inverter needs to be set to "Zero Export" but not limited to load and then those loads act as grid-tied (i.e. they will only run when there is grid power but will use the PV and/or battery while they are running assuming there is enough)

Edited November 23, 2022 by Jehosefat

[TheoG]

11 minutes ago, Jehosefat said:

Which bit of the above?

Most of those are simply the default settings on a fully hybrid inverter as far as I know.

If you mean the non-essential loads. The key to those is how they are wired up more than the settings. The need to be wired into the mains supply between the inverter and the CT and the inverter needs to be set to "Zero Export" but not limited to load and then those loads act as grid-tied (i.e. they will only run when there is grid power but will use the PV and/or battery while they are running assuming there is enough)

Not sure what you mean with "fully hybrid" ... mine is hybrid enough for me ... 🤪🙈

I went for a 5kW Lux-Power at half the price of a 5kW Deye and don't regret my decision for one second.

Switch over between grid/battery/solar is seamless, don't even notice it.  Very user friendly to setup and monitor on my cellphone via WIFI or on my PC.

In our complex we are 4 out of 6 units with inverters, 3 of the 4 is Lux-Power and not a single complaint so far ....  

Edited November 23, 2022 by TheoG

[BlinkFan]

7 minutes ago, M L said:

Can you please share photos of your inverter settings - interested to know how you set it up to allow the above.

You need to make sure your CT Coil is installed correctly (this is the hardware that measures the grid power draw)

(sorry about the red text...)

 

 

 

[TheoG]

I have 10 x 455W panels, 2 of them are dedicated to heating the geyser.

So 8 x 455 = 3640W.  Interesting enough since I'm on the new inverter I saw a number of times more than 3640W coming from the panels.  I even saw just over 4000W once.

With my previous "Axpert inverter" (with crappy mppt controller) I got 2500W max.

I did not know the charge controller can make such a big difference.

[BlinkFan]

12 minutes ago, TheoG said:

Not sure what you mean with "fully hybrid" ... mine is hybrid enough for me ... 🤪🙈

I went for a 5kW Lux-Power at half the price of a 5kW Deye and don't regret my decision for one second.

Switch over between grid/battery/solar is seamless, don't even notice it.  Very user friendly to setup and monitor on my cellphone via WIFI or on my PC.

In our complex we are 4 out of 6 units with inverters, 3 of the 4 is Lux-Power and not a single complaint so far ....  

I think the Lux power is an excellent option. The addition features of the Deye comes at a price and it will take me quite a long time before I pay it off using the savings.

In short - it will take me longer before I can buy a new bike.

[BaGearA]

2 hours ago, Jensie said:

I am going this route as my UPS is not working as intended. Batteries does not last. 
https://www.takealot.com/ultralan-mini-ups-17w-8-8ah-wifi-fibre-router-including-dc-split/PLID70776331
 

I got that gizzu thing and other than the cables it came with being crappy it works great.

 

Got some proper cabling at communica and haven't even thought of the thing since 

[Frosty]

8 hours ago, BlinkFan said:

 

• AC passthrough feature - my 8kW inverter has 10kW AC passthrough (the 5kW interver has 8kW passthrough), meaning that when there is grid power I can basically do whatever I want. without risk of tripping. The house has a 60A breaker, so the max I can draw anyway from Eskom is 13kW and you really need to switch on everything in your house to get close to 10kW (in my house anyway)

Sunsynk, 5kVA, shows 35A ac pass through, and a peak power output of 10000W for 10 seconds.so it’s not possible to run beyond 5500W without the risk of a trip.

The DB breakers are:

- Main Switch is 45A
- Earth Leakage is 63A
- Plugs/Lights/Geyser are 15-20A
- Stove has 30A, but is full gas, so the piezo igniter and light are the only source of power on that circuit.

[BlinkFan]

9 hours ago, Frosty said:

Sunsynk, 5kVA, shows 35A ac pass through, and a peak power output of 10000W for 10 seconds.so it’s not possible to run beyond 5500W without the risk of a trip.

The DB breakers are:

- Main Switch is 45A
- Earth Leakage is 63A
- Plugs/Lights/Geyser are 15-20A
- Stove has 30A, but is full gas, so the piezo igniter and light are the only source of power on that circuit.

35A x 220V = 7.7kW for AC passtrough?

My house has a 60A main breaker and 63A earth leakage. This dates from the 1980's though, so new stuff might be different.

[-cK-]

18 hours ago, BlinkFan said:

You need to make sure your CT Coil is installed correctly (this is the hardware that measures the grid power draw)

(sorry about the red text...)

 

 

 

I found that Load first the battery tends to trickle down a bit and being on a smaller setup right now and trying to squeeze out every last penny out of the system I've setup a SOC profile that effectively achieves a load first state while still charging up the battery and keeping me off grid during the day but ensuring the batter charges up to 100% for the time slot I run off grid in the evenings.  Planning on adding a few more panels and battery to get closer to a state I can go "off grid" if I really tighten the screws in the evenings or reduce my current reserve I want to keep in the battery for that "just in case the transformer blows up again".  Going truly off grid can get real expensive real quick. 

[M L]

19 hours ago, BlinkFan said:

You need to make sure your CT Coil is installed correctly (this is the hardware that measures the grid power draw)

(sorry about the red text...)

 

 

 

Thanks for this 👏

Adjusted our settings close to what you have.

We have a large battery with plenty of PV so not going to charge the battery from the grid at this stage.

[BlinkFan]

12 minutes ago, M L said:

Thanks for this 👏

Adjusted our settings close to what you have.

We have a large battery with plenty of PV so not going to charge the battery from the grid at this stage.

Ya I still only have 5kWh of battery. So I need to limit my discharge during the night, and even top it up with grid. Because if my battery is at 20-30% at 06:00 in the morning and I get hit with loadshedding I'm screwed.

When I have money again I'll get another battery. Or a bike. Depends on how Cyril handles Eskom.

[ChrisF]

22 minutes ago, BlinkFan said:

Ya I still only have 5kWh of battery. So I need to limit my discharge during the night, and even top it up with grid. Because if my battery is at 20-30% at 06:00 in the morning and I get hit with loadshedding I'm screwed.

When I have money again I'll get another battery. Or a bike. Depends on how Cyril handles Eskom.

 

Sad REALITY:

1. MOST of our old power stations are fast approaching end of life ... expect more and more to go off line and replaced with PV, as they did last month.

2. This will leave us with even less power at night.

3. Building a new power station is a TEN YEAR project - from concept through approval, the planning and construction phases .... NO new power stations are in the pipe line at the moment.

 

 

 

We are heading towards many years of very bad load shedding !!!!

 

Edited November 24, 2022 by ChrisF

[tinmug]

On 11/9/2022 at 2:04 PM, TheoG said:

My damn inverter is acting up.  Producing power from the batteries and supplement with Eskom as and when required, but the flippen solar charge controller is not cooperating.

In the past every 2 to 3 days I have to reset it and then it works fine for a while until the next time.  Today however it refuse to reset and start working, guess it time for a new inverter ...  

Ouch. What brand is your inverter?

 

Edit: Don't worry, saw your subsequent post. 👍

I'm mentally filing away what works and what doesn't for future reference. Mistake I first made was inadequate research and this burnt me a little, but believe I now have a reasonable (and expandable) system (Sunsynk inverter, Revov batteries, JA Solar PV panels). We learn as we go ...

... one thing is for sure: we are all going to have to become independent of Eskom (but luckily tech is becoming cheaper by the day). Just beware of the flood of sub-par (c)rap out there. 

Edited November 24, 2022 by tinmug

[TheoG]

19 minutes ago, tinmug said:

Ouch. What brand is your inverter?

 

Edit: Don't worry, saw your subsequent post. 👍

I'm mentally filing away what works and what doesn't for future reference. Mistake I first made was inadequate research and this burnt me a little, but believe I now have a reasonable (and expandable) system (Sunsynk inverter, Revov batteries, JA Solar PV panels). We learn as we go ...

... one thing is for sure: we are all going to have to become independent of Eskom (but luckily tech is becoming cheaper by the day). Just beware of the flood of sub-par (c)rap out there. 

The old inverter was a "Synerji", Axpert derivative.  I sold it together with 4x200Ah lead-acid batteries for enough to have a 80% deposit on another LiFePO4 battery , just waiting for stock ...

[tinmug]

Thanks. What inverter are you currently running?

It seems that the Axpert, Synerji, Mecer and Kodak inverters are all (barring a few minor differences) the same. And all of them with iffy support ... and have heard of many of them with MPPT failures. Buyer beware. 🙈