Loadshedding solutions

[Frosty]

https://powerforum.co.za/topic/11806-sunsynk-connection-to-home-assistant/

[Comrade J]

43 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

This topic is getting more and more time at each fire design conference.

 

Annual fire statistics started making specific mention of PV and battery system fires when publishing the 2021 annual data.  LOTS of issues around this, especially as only the Western Cape seems to enforce some rules on these installations.  These systems pose a real life risk to fire fighters !!

 

In comparison - a generator is required a "firemans switch" in SOME MUNICIPAL areas, in order to ensure there is no live electrical systems when the wet stuff goes on the red stuff.  Very few solar systems provides an external shut point for the fire services ....

 

Will be interesting to see how the 2022 annual data deals with this topic.

 

And then to see how the National building regulations and/or By-Laws are amended to address the safety issues for fire services.  In the Western Cape it is currently only Stellenbosch that already cover this in their By-Laws, and on building projects they DO check that external fireman's switches are provided.

 

PS - the 2020/21 PV regs did introduce a requirement for signage and a switch "available to the local authority".   Yet to see the Pr Eng for the solar installation actually enforcing this on their new installations.

Thanks Chris

For the other hubbers here

Failure of a lithium battery may cause thermal runaway, which is a self-sustaining uncontrolled increase in temperature within the battery. Thermal runaway often results in fire caused by the ignition of the flammable gases vented from the battery.

[Pure Savage]

I am concerned with the temp of the inverter as there are no external fans, just passive cooling fins and its getting warm, like 72 degrees warm. 

Any suggestions for some fans beneath the inverter to push air over the Alu fins? 

 

Thinking 3 PC fans that come on when gets above 60 degrees.

[Comrade J]

4 minutes ago, Pure Savage said:

I am concerned with the temp of the inverter as there are no external fans, just passive cooling fins and its getting warm, like 72 degrees warm. 

Any suggestions for some fans beneath the inverter to push air over the Alu fins? 

 

Thinking 3 PC fans that come on when gets above 60 degrees.

If it's in your outbuildings and you can install one of those Whirly Bird exhaust fans above your inverter, it does make quite a differeance and increases the Air Flow

[Pure Savage]

47 minutes ago, Comrade J said:

If it's in your outbuildings and you can install one of those Whirly Bird exhaust fans above your inverter, it does make quite a differeance and increases the Air Flow

I am just concerned about water proofness, I replaced the entire garage roof in December to remove the leaks.

Think I could put it on the other side of garage and still have an effect?

[-cK-]

19 minutes ago, Pure Savage said:

I am just concerned about water proofness, I replaced the entire garage roof in December to remove the leaks.

Think I could put it on the other side of garage and still have an effect?

https://sinetech.co.za/sol-vent-solar-powered-roof-ventilation.html

Maybe something like this or equivalent would be better, looks a bit more water proof and "active" instead of passive operation 🤷‍♂️  

Trying to find a better solution to a whirly bird as well due to the water proofing concerns for the heat build up in my garage in summer.

[Schnavel]

4 hours ago, TheoG said:

I just ordered an Orange Pi with SA.  I'm not clear however on the communication with the batteries.

I have a Lux-Power inverter and Mecer M3000 (Dyness B3) batteries.  The inverter and batteries are connected with a LAN cable and the BMS on the master battery tell the inverter how it want to be charged/discharged.

How does this work with the Pi & SA?  As far as I know the current cable between the batteries and inverter is replaced with one between the PI and the batteries, is this correct?

If correct, how does that work then?  The BMS communicate with the PI and it then tell the inverter what to do?

Sorry for all the questions, SA is very slow to respond to emails and that seems to be the ONLY means of coms with them.

With your current setup, the inverter is connected directly to the batteries. As you have the Dyness battery with BMS (battery management system), the batteries are feeding information to the inverter (SoC, charge rates etc.). The issue with this is that often the cheaper inverters (Lux power, Axpert etc.), when compared with lets say Victron, is the charge managemnet and control isn't that great - it gets the information from the batteries, but the software isn't that good at interpreting and using that information.

With the Pi setup, the Pi becomes the "brains" of the operation. You need to plug both the batteries and the inverter into the Pi (no direct communication between the inverter and batteries). The Pi then uses the information from both the inverter and BMS to determine the correct state of charge etc.

I use ICC to control my setup. Here is a screenshot of the information received from the batteries:

[Schnavel]

2 hours ago, Pure Savage said:

I am just concerned about water proofness, I replaced the entire garage roof in December to remove the leaks.

Think I could put it on the other side of garage and still have an effect?

You will be surprised at how much cooler the unit runs, with just a bit of cross flow draft. I have windows on the opposite side of my garage, which I leave open. I recently installed one of those extractor fans in the wall near my inverter (the one with the louvres on the outside that open when the fan is running) - what a massive difference it has made to my inverter temperature.

On the really hot days, the inverter was reaching a maximum temperature of around 76 degrees. With the extractor fan running (based on temperature of the garage and time of day), the resulting draft means that I have now only seen a maximum of 67 degrees

[mikkelz]

1 hour ago, Schnavel said:

On the really hot days, the inverter was reaching a maximum temperature of around 76 degrees. With the extractor fan running (based on temperature of the garage and time of day), the resulting draft means that I have now only seen a maximum of 67 degrees

Damn, that is hot!

Just had a look on VRM now, we're running off the inverter: Temperature 34 °C

[madmarc]

I just wanna say something

All you okes commenting & posting on this topic should all go work for ESKOM - This countries sh$t will be sorted in a week.

[Frosty]

59 minutes ago, madmarc said:

I just wanna say something

All you okes commenting & posting on this topic should all go work for ESKOM - This countries sh$t will be sorted in a week.

We don’t have big enough FTPs… we talk in 3-16kW, but Eksdom is in MW

[RatX]

On 2/1/2023 at 4:34 PM, VeloRacer said:

https://suntrix.co.za/product/lifelynk-4000w-all-in-one-solar-inverter-and-battery/

 

Hi guys, can I get your advice on this product please?

UPDATE - looked more closely at specs, the 4kW figure is peak, so it might not be as useful as I thought.

UPDATE 2 - nominal 3.6kW should still offer headroom over cheapy 3kW units.  If you read the manual on the the product page, it looks like the included batteries are Synsynk branded so should be a safe bet: https://www.sunsynk.org/lifelynk

Yo did you find any info on that unit?  It looks very promising.  I'm on a tight budget and been shopping and shopping.  4kW is a great capacity for a smallish home, to enable mostly normal operation during loadshedding (gadgets and lighter appliances).  I'm looking for something to slot in to address immediate need but that I can add solar to as budget permits, in order to offset Eskom spend and make this a less catastrophically bad investment.

The closest I've been able to price out thus far is a LuxPower 5kW + a dubious "Fox ESS" 2.56kWh lithium battery for about R27k excl installation hardware and labour.  The LuxPower seems to be a good unit according to feedback received elsewhere, certainly a step up from the endless Voltronic clones, but not Sunsynk grade and I don't know about that battery.

If the batteries aren't fooyongpingpongs I would say your linked product looks like a very solid option.  It is a slight concern they don't list the make of the battery - if it was good I feel they would say.  MPPT is apparently the better solar charging option, which is included.  I just can't find out what the bypass wattage is, my understanding is that this is relevant if you want to run as normal when utility power is available (e.g. heavy load appliances on plugs circuit).  The capacity it can take from solar charging is also important, but I don't have a deep understanding of the numbers there yet.  Just seems some of the cheaper 3kW/24V clone units are a bit rinky dink in this respect.

Please don't make any buying decisions on my input, though - I'm a total amateur also trying to make sense of all of this BS and find an affordable solution.

Edited February 3, 2023 by RatX
Added updates on capacity and batteries

[dave303e]

23 hours ago, Comrade J said:

Just going to add a bit o the thread, my son is a Firefighter with Fire Ops SA, from January this year about 70% of the structural fires have been indirectly caused by Inverter and Lithium Battery issues.

The early summer lightning storms, saw may houses being indirectly struck via Palm Trees, Vibracrete Walls, and into the batteries (If COJ get to house first and they water on hand they do not assess the cause of the fire and are intent on putting the "Wet Stuff" on the "Red Stuff". We all know how Lithium reacts to water.......(now the whole house catches alight, Fourways in December)

Beware of the cheap Chinese batteries

Use a proper electrician (yesterday’s fire the wires were under spec) 

DO NOT PUT THE BATTERIES IN YOUR HOUSE

Place a highly visible sign on your property that you have Lithium batteries, and indicate the Type, as each chemical mixture reacts differently, and requires a different response.

When the batteries burn (which they are going to do at some point) they emit a highly toxic gas, that will scorch your thought and lungs. My son has been burnt twice now)

Forget about trying to use your Fire Extinguisher, just get out

Our company has had the head offices evacuated multiple times the last few weeks with generator overheating and tripping fire alarms. Fire Ops response was impressive.

[Pure Savage]

Does anyone just turn the tumble dryer on in the afternoon when you have excess solar, just for fun?

Its like a nice white noise maker.

#SolarProblems

[Pure Savage]

18 hours ago, Schnavel said:

You will be surprised at how much cooler the unit runs, with just a bit of cross flow draft. I have windows on the opposite side of my garage, which I leave open. I recently installed one of those extractor fans in the wall near my inverter (the one with the louvres on the outside that open when the fan is running) - what a massive difference it has made to my inverter temperature.

On the really hot days, the inverter was reaching a maximum temperature of around 76 degrees. With the extractor fan running (based on temperature of the garage and time of day), the resulting draft means that I have now only seen a maximum of 67 degrees

I am going to look at getting a fan under the unit to start, as we had the garage door open and did not really help.

[Frosty]

39 minutes ago, Pure Savage said:

Does anyone just turn the tumble dryer on in the afternoon when you have excess solar, just for fun?

Its like a nice white noise maker.

#SolarProblems

The aircon is switched on in the main bedroom. It’s an old portable unit with the flexible pipe out the window.