Loadshedding solutions

[splat]

1 hour ago, The Ouzo said:

In an effort to fine tune my geyser power usage I purchased a SONOFF POW. The idea is to monitor the usage on the current on/off schedule for a week, then run the geyser on full time for a week and compare. From there to fine tune it.

Installed the unit on Friday, only to discover I bought the 16A version, so as soon as the geyser kicked in the unit would turn off due to overload.

Had to go out and buy the bigger version.

But I've wired the 16A one onto a 3 pin plug and have been using it to check the power usage of the bigger appliances in the house.

My geyser is a 200l and from the power usage it appears to have a 4kw element.

Will report back with my findings.

Those Sonoff gadgets are clever!
I use one with a timer to turn my coffee machine on and off.

[The Ouzo]

6 minutes ago, splat said:

Those Sonoff gadgets are clever!
I use one with a timer to turn my coffee machine on and off.

I've got a few of them scattered around the house, coupled with a google speaker for when I'm to lazy to open the app or want to turn something on/off outside of scheduled times.

If I wasnt so poor I'd have them on every switch / outlet in the house.

[Vetplant]

2 hours ago, The Ouzo said:

I've got a few of them scattered around the house, coupled with a google speaker for when I'm to lazy to open the app or want to turn something on/off outside of scheduled times.

If I wasnt so poor I'd have them on every switch / outlet in the house.

Brilliant setup, we've also got the same.

"Hey Google, driveway lights on"

"Hey google, Open Gate"

eWelink App takes too long to load, so voice commands are a game changer

[The Ouzo]

2 minutes ago, Vetplant said:

Brilliant setup, we've also got the same.

"Hey Google, driveway lights on"

"Hey google, Open Gate"

eWelink App takes too long to load, so voice commands are a game changer

I've actually got iOS shortcuts on my phone for some things.

For instance I have a scene to turn on all the lights in the back yard. I use this when I come home in the dark or if I hear something outside. Quick and easy to swipe right on the phone and hit the "Backyard On" button.

[johnson]

Load shedding really became a problem at my workshop. Years ago when load shedding started I built a 63kva generator. Works like a charm and everything goes on as usual. Fast forward a decade or so and it's become a nightmare running it for 2 to 6 hours a day with the last couple of year's diesel price. I Started using it less and less but that meant loss of income and, and , and........ all the rest of the problems I'm sure everybody knows. So same as at my house I sat down and started doing the math. The estimated saving on the power bill and diesel costs together with no down time in production looked good. So I decided to invest a small fortune in a solar setup. I Already knew the right guy for the installation so that was the easy part. The installation consists of 3 16kw inverters, each one running a phase. A 40kwh lithium battery and 72 545w solar panels. It's been in use for three months now and I haven't regretted it for one second. The panels give me close to 40kw of PV on most good weather days. That is enough to power the workshop and have the battery fully charged by mid day. My diesel supplier is not happy at all and neither my municipality.      

[Frosty]

43 minutes ago, johnson said:

It's been in use for three months now and I haven't regretted it for one second.

Well done!

Almost everyone I have been in contact with, that has installed a “system”, has said the same thing, me included.

[The Ouzo]

On 8/29/2023 at 8:43 AM, The Ouzo said:

In an effort to fine tune my geyser power usage I purchased a SONOFF POW. The idea is to monitor the usage on the current on/off schedule for a week, then run the geyser on full time for a week and compare. From there to fine tune it.

Installed the unit on Friday, only to discover I bought the 16A version, so as soon as the geyser kicked in the unit would turn off due to overload.

Had to go out and buy the bigger version.

But I've wired the 16A one onto a 3 pin plug and have been using it to check the power usage of the bigger appliances in the house.

My geyser is a 200l and from the power usage it appears to have a 4kw element.

Will report back with my findings.

right, so some interesting feedback after 2 weeks of use.

For the first week I ran the geyser on my normal schedule, as follows

Weekdays

On 04:00 - 07:30

On 16:00 - 19:00

Weekends

Saturday

06:00 - 08:00

16:00 - 20:00

Sundays

06:00 - 09:00

16:00 - 19:00

 

The average usage per day during this period was 17.46Kw

I then turned off the schedules for a week, the average usage over that week was 19.12 Kw

The only thing that might have influenced the second week was Stage 6 loadshedding with long hours of no power, but looking at the graphs of what the usage did, the geyser did not turn on when the power came back, i.e. the water was warm enough that it did not need to heat up.

 

From this morning I've tweaked the schedules slightly, I think I can save around 1.5 - 2 Kw per day.

 

What this has left me with is a need to investigate where the rest of the 10 - 13 Kw per day is going.

Next up I'm going to log the pool motor, its should be using 1Kw/h, only running for 3 hours a day. But I'd like to make sure.

 

My Dishwasher uses 1 Kw for a cycle on Auto. The Toploader washing machine is rather efficient only using 0.35Kw per cycle. Gas oven/stove combo, but the airfryer is power hungry.

[Vetplant]

2 hours ago, The Ouzo said:

right, so some interesting feedback after 2 weeks of use.

For the first week I ran the geyser on my normal schedule, as follows

Weekdays

On 04:00 - 07:30

On 16:00 - 19:00

Weekends

Saturday

06:00 - 08:00

16:00 - 20:00

Sundays

06:00 - 09:00

16:00 - 19:00

 

The average usage per day during this period was 17.46Kw

I then turned off the schedules for a week, the average usage over that week was 19.12 Kw

The only thing that might have influenced the second week was Stage 6 loadshedding with long hours of no power, but looking at the graphs of what the usage did, the geyser did not turn on when the power came back, i.e. the water was warm enough that it did not need to heat up.

 

From this morning I've tweaked the schedules slightly, I think I can save around 1.5 - 2 Kw per day.

 

What this has left me with is a need to investigate where the rest of the 10 - 13 Kw per day is going.

Next up I'm going to log the pool motor, its should be using 1Kw/h, only running for 3 hours a day. But I'd like to make sure.

 

My Dishwasher uses 1 Kw for a cycle on Auto. The Toploader washing machine is rather efficient only using 0.35Kw per cycle. Gas oven/stove combo, but the airfryer is power hungry.

Apologies for being that guy, but please note the following with regards to UNITS of measure:

kW is the rate of consumption. Think of it as speed.

kWh is the total amount of energy used. This is what you get billed on by the municipality. Think of it as distance traveled.

 

Example:

Your geyser has a 3kW element that heats the water.

If it is on for 2 hours, the amount of energy consumed is as follows:

RATE x Time = ENERGY

3kW x 2 hours = 6kWh  

3kW x 0.5 hour  = 1.5kWh

[Frosty]

3 hours ago, The Ouzo said:

right, so some interesting feedback after 2 weeks of use.

For the first week I ran the geyser on my normal schedule, as follows

Weekdays

On 04:00 - 07:30

On 16:00 - 19:00

Weekends

Saturday

06:00 - 08:00

16:00 - 20:00

Sundays

06:00 - 09:00

16:00 - 19:00

 

The average usage per day during this period was 17.46Kw

I then turned off the schedules for a week, the average usage over that week was 19.12 Kw

The only thing that might have influenced the second week was Stage 6 loadshedding with long hours of no power, but looking at the graphs of what the usage did, the geyser did not turn on when the power came back, i.e. the water was warm enough that it did not need to heat up.

 

From this morning I've tweaked the schedules slightly, I think I can save around 1.5 - 2 Kw per day.

 

What this has left me with is a need to investigate where the rest of the 10 - 13 Kw per day is going.

Next up I'm going to log the pool motor, its should be using 1Kw/h, only running for 3 hours a day. But I'd like to make sure.

 

My Dishwasher uses 1 Kw for a cycle on Auto. The Toploader washing machine is rather efficient only using 0.35Kw per cycle. Gas oven/stove combo, but the airfryer is power hungry.

My low demand power overnight ranges from 350W to 490W per hour. This is for fridge, alarm, 2x routers, one outside light, appliances on standby and charging (computers). Assume the mid-point, 420W per hour, equals 10kWh per 24 hours. This is 50% of my daily usage (18-20kWh).

Then add the on-demand items:

Pool (0.75*4.5=3.3kWh)

Dishwasher: 1.2kWh

Washing machine: 0.8kWh

Geyser: 3-4kWh (0:45 to 1 hour)

TV/lights: 2-3kWh per day

Edited September 12, 2023 by Frosty

[The Ouzo]

not really load shedding, but no power.

Our substation released all its smoke in the early hours of the morning beginning of the week, the result being we've had zero power for a few days now.

My wife, working from home, was using the inverter the first day. When it dropped to around 50% she turned it off.

I thought no problem, I have a generator, I'll get that running that evening, charge garage and gate batteries, have some lights running and charge the inverter. It seems the inverter did not like the input power and clicked on/off all the time. So I disconnected it.

Did a small amount of research and the internet said perhaps revs were to low of gennie to produce the correct amount of power. Next night I turned up the revs, now the inverter starts charging and then you hear the gennie taking strain, voltage drops and inverter turns the charger off, gennie recovers, rinse and repeat.

This is with only the inverter connected, nothing else drawing power from the gennie. 

It seems like my old chinese gennie is not able to produce enough power to charge the inverter.

[Vetplant]

21 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

not really load shedding, but no power.

Our substation released all its smoke in the early hours of the morning beginning of the week, the result being we've had zero power for a few days now.

My wife, working from home, was using the inverter the first day. When it dropped to around 50% she turned it off.

I thought no problem, I have a generator, I'll get that running that evening, charge garage and gate batteries, have some lights running and charge the inverter. It seems the inverter did not like the input power and clicked on/off all the time. So I disconnected it.

Did a small amount of research and the internet said perhaps revs were to low of gennie to produce the correct amount of power. Next night I turned up the revs, now the inverter starts charging and then you hear the gennie taking strain, voltage drops and inverter turns the charger off, gennie recovers, rinse and repeat.

This is with only the inverter connected, nothing else drawing power from the gennie. 

It seems like my old chinese gennie is not able to produce enough power to charge the inverter.

Some Inverters have a setting where you can dictate how many AMPS it can charge the batteries at from "GRID". I set mine to the lowest possible value(I think it is set to 16A at 48V) to be able to use my 2200W generator. It strains, but doesn't pull the generator down too much.

[The Ouzo]

1 minute ago, Vetplant said:

Some Inverters have a setting where you can dictate how many AMPS it can charge the batteries at from "GRID". I set mine to the lowest possible value(I think it is set to 16A at 48V) to be able to use my 2200W generator. It strains, but doesn't pull the generator down too much.

I saw that just now during one of my searches, will check the inverter manual tonight and see if I can find a setting for that. It makes sense that it should have that setting, considering this inverter is able to take solar charging.

[The Ouzo]

Day 7 without power.

Whilst its to late for this time around, with the increase in loadshedding and the continuous increase in electricity costs, we've decided to bite the bullet and start getting quotes for solar install.

what should I look out for ? brands to avoid?

For the geyser I'm thinking gas, will probably put it inline with the normal geyser, just turn the power off to the normal geyser. Or should I look at some sort of solar option for the normal geyser ?

The pool has a 1kw motor and I run it for around 3 hours a day. If it stays off for a few days its not a problem as its covered so doesnt get that dirty and chemicals last longer.

If I exclude the geyser and the pool, the house will use around 7 - 10 kwh per day.

[Frosty]

4 hours ago, The Ouzo said:

Day 7 without power.

Whilst its to late for this time around, with the increase in loadshedding and the continuous increase in electricity costs, we've decided to bite the bullet and start getting quotes for solar install.

what should I look out for ? brands to avoid?

For the geyser I'm thinking gas, will probably put it inline with the normal geyser, just turn the power off to the normal geyser. Or should I look at some sort of solar option for the normal geyser ?

The pool has a 1kw motor and I run it for around 3 hours a day. If it stays off for a few days its not a problem as its covered so doesnt get that dirty and chemicals last longer.

If I exclude the geyser and the pool, the house will use around 7 - 10 kwh per day.

The real answer is... it depends (on your needs).

Sunsynk is probably the most installed unit in the country. They have a few problems, but some of it is ignorance from users and some is genuine problems. They have a 5 year warranty, and it's extendable to 10 if you install a Sunsynk battery together with the inverter.
Growatt and Deye are the other popular inverter brands.

Lithium batteries are next, and here you can never have enough. Sunsynk, BSL, Lithium Batteries SA, Pylontech are some of the brands sold by installers I have worked with, or rather recommended by them. There are others.

If you have your geyser on the inverter, set the timer to switch on at midday (30-45 minutes either side of midday). The pool can run before and after that time. Other appliances can then run when needed, except when the geyser is running.

Size matters, and it's a lifestyle change to make the unit efficient and use minimal power from the grid. Your stove, if not gas, would have to be on the non-essential side. I have a 5kW unit, which limits me to using a limited number of appliances concurrently, eg. dishwasher, washing machine, pool, coffee machine, etc., but I can get everything done every day without using Eskom power. Some friends have 8kW units and they're able to run more appliances at the same time than I can. 

For the solar geyser vs gas vs element, the answer is on this page and the previous. Ideally, you'd want to use the sun as much as possible to heat your geyser, and everything else in the house. Only use gas as an alternative source on the lousy solar days. @johnson has installed a unit (top of page 68) that is "semi-smart" (installed a solar bypass valve), and I would recommend this as it will spread your reliance on heating over more than one source. Geyserwise make a dual element controller, that can use power from panels and the grid (backup). The latest units are wifi-enabled, so you can control it on your phone. I bought a pc board for @TheoG when I bought mine, so he can give feedback on the dual element option, which doesn't need the inverter to operate.

[The Ouzo]

5 minutes ago, Frosty said:

 

If you have your geyser on the inverter, set the timer to switch on at midday (30-45 minutes either side of midday). The pool can run before and after that time. Other appliances can then run when needed, except when the geyser is running.

 

5 minutes ago, Frosty said:

For the solar geyser vs gas vs element, the answer is on this page and the previous. Ideally, you'd want to use the sun as much as possible to heat your geyser, and everything else in the house. Only use gas as an alternative source on the lousy solar days. @johnson has installed a unit (top of page 68) that is "semi-smart

Thanks, this might just be the route I go, makes sense. The problem I have now is that my daughter will drain the geyser when she showers at night, so for my morning post ride shower I'd need something other than the sun to heat the water.

 

6 minutes ago, Frosty said:

Size matters, and it's a lifestyle change to make the unit efficient and use minimal power from the grid. Your stove, if not gas, would have to be on the non-essential side. I have a 5kW unit, which limits me to using a limited number of appliances concurrently, eg. dishwasher, washing machine, pool, coffee machine, etc., but I can get everything done every day without using Eskom power. Some friends have 8kW units and they're able to run more appliances at the same time than I can. 

There will need to be some changes, but nothing drastic is needed.

Stove and oven are gas, will need to get the wife to rely on the airfryer less though.

Dishwasher I'm already able to schedule to it run only after a certain amount of hours, but could even stick that on a smart switch for better control.

Washing machine I've measured the consumption and it much more efficient than I thought, using only 350kwh for a full cycle, but getting the timing right on the use would be beneficial.

 

Thanks for your input. This is a long thread and I didnt really want to read it from the start again. But maybe i should.

[The Ouzo]

On 7/15/2022 at 7:36 AM, Dexter-morgan said:

As posted on another thread, 3kva(2400w) inverter, with 2 x 100AH deep cycle Gel batteries in series for a 24v system, it is fully automated, I do not even know when the power goes off a small beep from the garage where my DB is located, I have used the dishwasher and washing washing at the same time with no issues, I have not seen the batteries anywhere below 70%, the best money I have spent, the whole system cost me around R14k and did all the work myself. Have to add the inverter is Solar ready with a built in 30A MPPT

how did this work for you this past week with the substation issue ?