Loadshedding solutions

[-cK-]

3 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

Exactly what I use. Turned it off the morning we left, then decided to turn it on the day before we came back, because it’s on a timer and I wanted to make sure that even if there was load shedding, there would at least still be warmish water in the geyser on our return. 

Also on my shopping list to get seeing as my old dumb timer broke so might as well go with the smart timer option (well technically I do currently control it with my phone but that is via whattsapp messages 😅)

[-cK-]

3 minutes ago, Pure Savage said:

Have our solar geyser coming Monday and then full 8 pannel, 5Kvh inverter and 10Kwh battery in Jan

Welcome to the other watt obsession.  It is kinda like w/kg but just w/hr 😁

[dave303e]

12 minutes ago, -cK- said:

Welcome to the other watt obsession.  It is kinda like w/kg but just w/hr 😁

* silently closes the python sdk being used to build a pipeline from the data logger to a personal db....

[TheoG]

On 12/15/2022 at 12:58 PM, 117 said:

Err... If you thought load shedding is equal around the country... It's not

"The eThekwini Municipality in KZN experienced severe flood damage earlier this year, therefore their load shedding is largely limited due to major infrastructure repairs and maintenance that is ongoing"

This was posted on the Ekurhuleni Ward 106 DA Telegram group as the "excuse" for this 🙈.

[-cK-]

31 minutes ago, TheoG said:

"The eThekwini Municipality in KZN experienced severe flood damage earlier this year, therefore their load shedding is largely limited due to major infrastructure repairs and maintenance that is ongoing"

This was posted on the Ekurhuleni Ward 106 DA Telegram group as the "excuse" for this 🙈.

And here we had loadshedding from 20:00-00:30 and 02:00-06:30 last night and this morning, effectively 8-9hrs I had to power of my single battery setup before I could recharge from PV again.  In theory I only have about 10hrs capacity for my current consumption and setup 🙈.  The margins was tight 😅

[TheoG]

23 minutes ago, -cK- said:

And here we had loadshedding from 20:00-00:30 and 02:00-06:30 last night and this morning, effectively 8-9hrs I had to power of my single battery setup before I could recharge from PV again.  In theory I only have about 10hrs capacity for my current consumption and setup 🙈.  The margins was tight 😅

We have 2 x 4 hour and another 2 hours today, 10hrs in total.  Thats without the fact that they normally switch as on 30min late on average, hence another 1.5 hours .... 🤦‍♂️

Luckily solar was good the last 3 days, my batteries are cruising through this, no problem .

[ChrisF]

2 hours ago, -cK- said:

And here we had loadshedding from 20:00-00:30 and 02:00-06:30 last night and this morning, effectively 8-9hrs I had to power of my single battery setup before I could recharge from PV again.  In theory I only have about 10hrs capacity for my current consumption and setup 🙈.  The margins was tight 😅

 

Our battery was still on boost charge from multiple session over night when we hit 8.00 to 12.30 .... 😵‍💫

 

Thankfully the load is now carried from solar, so the battery gets a breather ...

 

 

10+ hour sessios for us on Sunday

[🌞]

https://lunperformancewheels.co.za/product/xplova-noza-one/

Complete Zwift rides anywhere with 2 AAA batteries.

 

 

 

[taito]

Can someone comment on 12v carbon battery VS lithium battery plz. Deep cycle is out as they dont last.

[TheoG]

22 minutes ago, taito said:

Can someone comment on 12v carbon battery VS lithium battery plz. Deep cycle is out as they dont last.

I have zero experience with Lead-Carbon batteries, in fact this is the first time I heard of them 🙈.

A quick google search tell me they are better than Lead-Acid but not better than LiFePO4.

Discharge to 50% only where LiFePO4 you can take down to 20% and even lower according to some manufacturers.

Price is going to be the determining factor.  If they are significantly cheaper than LiFePO4, it might be worth it.

Edit:  Pb-C batteries is basically an incremental improvement on Pb-Acid (AGM/Deep cycle incuded).  Give 3500 cycles compared to 1500 cycles.  Apparently they also better in temperatures below freezing.

Edited January 5, 2023 by TheoG

[taito]

Thanks I was quoted R 4500 inc --so I will give it a go. I chatted to a mate that runs a battery outlet and it seems the lead/carbons will become the go- to  battery if you dont want to spend the money on Lithium.

 

[TheoG]

1 minute ago, taito said:

Thanks I was quoted R 4500 inc --so I will give it a go. I chatted to a mate that runs a battery outlet and it seems the lead/carbons will become the go- to  battery if you dont want to spend the money on Lithium.

 

For what size (Ah) battery is that?

Edited January 5, 2023 by TheoG

[taito]

Theo I must check but I will revert 

[ChrisF]

18 minutes ago, taito said:

Thanks I was quoted R 4500 inc --so I will give it a go. I chatted to a mate that runs a battery outlet and it seems the lead/carbons will become the go- to  battery if you dont want to spend the money on Lithium.

 

 

Please keep us posted.

 

 

With loadshedding at level 4 batteries have a very hard life.  At level 6 it becomes a mission to recharge it in time for the next session ....

 

It is physically not possible to recharge a lead acid fast enough, this is why they dont last.

 

A Gel battery can recharge faster, than a lead acid.  But at level 6 even a gel battery cant recharge fully.  

 

 

Adding a small pv system to keep the battery full during day time loadsheds makes a massive difference 👍👍

[TheoG]

Just now, ChrisF said:

Please keep us posted.

With loadshedding at level 4 batteries have a very hard life.  At level 6 it becomes a mission to recharge it in time for the next session ....

It is physically not possible to recharge a lead acid fast enough, this is why they dont last.

A Gel battery can recharge faster, than a lead acid.  But at level 6 even a gel battery cant recharge fully.  

Adding a small pv system to keep the battery full during day time loadsheds makes a massive difference 👍👍

PV does make a huge difference.  In the day (when not overcast) my batteries is charging and supply power to the house, regardless whether Eksdom is on or off.

Hence I can easily deal with Stage 6 provided that I get about 3-4 hours of sunshine during the day.

[The Ouzo]

3 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

Please keep us posted.

 

 

With loadshedding at level 4 batteries have a very hard life.  At level 6 it becomes a mission to recharge it in time for the next session ....

 

It is physically not possible to recharge a lead acid fast enough, this is why they dont last.

 

A Gel battery can recharge faster, than a lead acid.  But at level 6 even a gel battery cant recharge fully.  

 

 

Adding a small pv system to keep the battery full during day time loadsheds makes a massive difference 👍👍

Thats all assuming you are discharging the battery substantially during LS times. (which I guess most people do as over speccing backup supply is rather costly)

My little trolley inverter is overspecced for what we bought it for, so even though I have a few extra things plugged in, we make sure to not or sparingly use them during LS times. Hopefully this will help the Gel batteries last a little longer.