Loadshedding solutions

[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 ?

[Dexter-morgan]

37 minutes ago, The Ouzo said:

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

Short answer, it didn't but we made a plan, I used the generator during the day to charge the inverter's battery and used it during the night.

As mentioned previously, I did set my inverter down to 20A charging, then the genie could do its trick but I am still going to invest in a proper AVR.

We bought an inverter generator for the complex and it charges the trolley inverter with no problem.

Edited September 26, 2023 by Dexter-morgan

[Fisan]

Need some Hub advice and experience for a relatively clueless person here.

The EcoFlow range is currently on sale, and one particular option intrigues me: the Delta2 powerstation with a auto transfer switch - allowing you to hook up the powerstation to your house/apartment's DB.

I have an apartment, so solar isn't an option, an my db board is located in a smallish kitchen - so size wise this makes sense to me (the 'standard' inverter units+batteries would definitely not fit).

I'm aware that the capacity would just be enough for essentials, but that's fine. And yeah, I'm not helping to reduce the electricity load in any way, but, this household doesn't use a lot to begin with.

So what am I missing here? 

[BaGearA]

2 hours ago, Fisan said:

Need some Hub advice and experience for a relatively clueless person here.

The EcoFlow range is currently on sale, and one particular option intrigues me: the Delta2 powerstation with a auto transfer switch - allowing you to hook up the powerstation to your house/apartment's DB.

I have an apartment, so solar isn't an option, an my db board is located in a smallish kitchen - so size wise this makes sense to me (the 'standard' inverter units+batteries would definitely not fit).

I'm aware that the capacity would just be enough for essentials, but that's fine. And yeah, I'm not helping to reduce the electricity load in any way, but, this household doesn't use a lot to begin with.

So what am I missing here? 

If wiring into the DB get a professional that will sign off on it after they're done 

 

Not splitting properly can cause multiple issues which the insurance and landlord won't take kindly to if done by someone random 

[Fruity]

Loadshedding solutions? well, I have a UPS that's just enough to power our router, I bought a 2nd wireless powerbank for my phone yesterday, and I have 2 braai's, that's enough for us, for now.

[The Ouzo]

Some advise please.

 

With electricity prices going up and the frequency of outages in my area I'm strongly considering solar and gas geyser to be as much off grid as possible.

The thing is, I'll need to do one of the rent to own options as the bank wont approve finance for me.

What I want to know is, will it be cheaper month to month renting solar vs paying eskom.

Currently using around 25 kwh per day

Geyser is around 12 of those, so gas will right away drop that. Our showering/bathing times means either running geyser from batteries or going gas, so I'm leaning to gas even though it will be more costly in the long run than solar.

Big power items like pool and dishwasher are easy to schedule to run once batteries are full, so no problem there. I do have a bunch of lights on the outside wall that run all night, but all are LED so power draw wont be to bad.

 

A quick google tells me I can get a rent to own option that will power everything but the geyser for around 50% of my monthly eskom bill. Obviously cloudy/rainy days or weeks will change the balance, that will need to be factored in.

 

Before I go down this route I just want to hear from those with experience on what pitfalls to look out for, anything I'm over looking etc.