Inverter/battery recommendation

[Stokstert]

Picture of my install.

That's a really clean install.

 

[Olorin]

That's a really clean install.

Thanks! My installer was pretty chuffed with how it turned out. He also did the install at my folks place - would definitely recommend him for anyone residing in the Cape Town area.

 

[Lupus]

One can use a lower power kettle to boil the water more slowly:

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Takes longer to boil, got an echo kettle and it takes 5 minutes vs 3 for the 2000w

 

[TheChamp]

Does anyone know if I am reading these inverter specs correctly?
*When electricity is off (inverter mode) and running on battery the inverter will accept up to 120A from the battery?
*When electricity is on (ac charger mode) and charging the battery the inverter will charge the battery up to 30A?

Inverter Mode:​

Rated Power: 1500VA​

DC Input: 12VDC, 120A​

AC Output: 230VAC, 50/60Hz, 5.2A​

​

AC Charger Mode:​

AC Input: 230VAC, 50/60Hz, 6.5A​

DC Output: 13.75V, 30A​

AC Output: 230VAC, 50/60Hz, 5.2A​

The inverter needs 120A of DC amps at 12V to give you the rated power. So yes, it will accept up to 120A DC. When inverting it will give you an output of 230V at 5.2A.

When in charger mode it consumes 6.5A from a 230V socket and output a DC voltage of 13.75V at 30A. You can still draw AC from it up to 5.2A.

 

[Gtx Gaming]

Finally THIS is exactly what I needed. Cos I would run the same as you, actually less cos no Subwoofer you bloody annoyer of neighbours ;-)

I understand that it would run the TV, wifi router, ONT, Laptop or Home PC and lights.
Beyond the above, I needed to know what KVA would ALSO run:

The Microwave
The Kettle

Those are the most important to me during loadshedding to make coffee and to warm up food quickly, just need 2 mins.

So basically you're saying with a 3KVA setup, Lithium Battery and Inverter, I can expect to run the above INCLUDING the Fridge and short cycle washing machine

This is perfect for me then! Thanks for taking the time to explain in detail, that's what i've been needing, what can be run and on what capacity battery.

Can I ask how much this setup cost with the labour included?

I am getting SUCH conflicting prices from R35k to R42k to R60k
Some saying I need a 3KVA, others insisting I need a 5KVA
Also quoting brands to justify their prices

3kva/3.5kva inverter is around R5600 new and 24v Lithuim is about 13k+. Brand depending.

Electricians that does decent job with install is about 10k.

 

[Love Me Tender]

The inverter needs 120A of DC amps at 12V to give you the rated power. So yes, it will accept up to 120A DC. When inverting it will give you an output of 230V at 5.2A.

When in charger mode it consumes 6.5A from a 230V socket and output a DC voltage of 13.75V at 30A. You can still draw AC from it up to 5.2A.

Thanks, appreciate the response.

So can you add batteries more than the accepted 120A DC - e.g. 2x 100A DC batteries? for a longer backup time?

 

[Adeptus Mechanicus]

3kva/3.5kva inverter is around R5600 new and 24v Lithuim is about 13k+. Brand depending.

Electricians that does decent job with install is about 10k.

Unless they are running new circuits or doing anything major in terms of re-configuring the db board the job should really not cost more than half of that, incl re-issue of the COC

 

[Gtx Gaming]

Unless they are running new circuits or doing anything major in terms of re-configuring the db board the job should really not cost more than half of that, incl re-issue of the COC

A decent sub db board with surge, breakers, etc is quite a bit just for the hardware. The electicians prices scale with loadshedding

My guy told me charges 15k if you supply nothing and he is basically fully booked.

 

[TheChamp]

Thanks, appreciate the response.

So can you add batteries more than the accepted 120A DC - e.g. 2x 100A DC batteries? for a longer backup time?

120A refers to the instantaneous current draw, so yes you can add more batteries, but that would not change what the inverter can handle, and that's 120A, 120A x 12V = 1440W, which is the max for the inverter, denoted in VA on the specs.

Remember batteries are specced in Ah, which is different to A, so 100Ah does not necessarily mean you can pull 100A from the battery.

In short yes, you can add more batteries for a longer runtime, which will also result in longer charging times, so bear that in mind.

 

[ld13]

A decent sub db board with surge, breakers, etc is quite a bit just for the hardware. The electicians prices scale with loadshedding

My guy told me charges 15k if you supply nothing and he is basically fully booked.

Crazy. DIY here I come.

 

[Olorin]

Unless they are running new circuits or doing anything major in terms of re-configuring the db board the job should really not cost more than half of that, incl re-issue of the COC

In my case I didn't buy my equipment through my installer because he couldn't source the battery/inverter I wanted so that probably played a role. I'm sure if I had bought the entire solution through him the install price would have been less. How much less is anyone's guess.

However the same installer charged my dad about R5K - but then he bought the whole system through him and on top of that the job was much easier - cable run was like 1 meter whereas he had to run very long cable from my DB board in my lounge to my spare bedroom.

 

[Olorin]

3kva/3.5kva inverter is around R5600 new and 24v Lithuim is about 13k+. Brand depending.

Electricians that does decent job with install is about 10k.

That's true, you can certainly get cheaper Axpert inverters out there. The only reason I was prepared to pay the premium for mine was because of the warranty - mine carries a 3 year warranty, the cheaper units only carry a 1 year.

You can certainly get away with a cheaper battery too but you need to know what you're getting or rather what you are sacrificing by going cheaper. Not all batteries are created equal, so it just depends what you are after.

 

[Love Me Tender]

120A refers to the instantaneous current draw, so yes you can add more batteries, but that would not change what the inverter can handle, and that's 120A, 120A x 12V = 1440W, which is the max for the inverter, denoted in VA on the specs.

Remember batteries are specced in Ah, which is different to A, so 100Ah does not necessarily mean you can pull 100A from the battery.

In short yes, you can add more batteries for a longer runtime, which will also result in longer charging times, so bear that in mind.

Thanks so much, exactly what I wanted to know explained in simple terms. Appreciate the response.

 

[leon.davibe]

It blows my mind that they even make transfer time an option.

The transfer time comes with widening the input voltage

So with voltage dips it doesn't switch over to batteries that soon in a country with super dirty power it makes sense

But yes the default should be ups imo in sa as we don't tend to see dips like that

Our dips tend to be to 0

 

[Olorin]

Okay so my next dilemma is noise. The inverter, besides being a bit noisy during charging is also producing a specific humming frequency that my ears are very sensitive to.

I'm thinking of perhaps closing off the inverter
/battery with a door or something to reduce noise levels. Attached an image so you can see in more detail.

What do you guys suggest and who would I contact in Cape Town to build a cabinet around the equipment or a cover, or something. Advice would be appreciated

 

[newby_investor]

Okay so my next dilemma is noise. The inverter, besides being a bit noisy during charging is also producing a specific humming frequency that my ears are very sensitive to.

I'm thinking of perhaps closing off the inverter
/battery with a door or something to reduce noise levels. Attached an image so you can see in more detail.

What do you guys suggest and who would I contact in Cape Town to build a cabinet around the equipment or a cover, or something. Advice would be appreciated

I'm not sure it's advisable to do that? The thing needs fresh air for cooling. Closing it up could cause thermal issues.

 

[impracticaldogg]

I'm thinking of perhaps closing off the inverter
/battery with a door or something to reduce noise levels. Attached an image so you can see in more detail.

What do you guys suggest and who would I contact in Cape Town to build a cabinet around the equipment or a cover, or something. Advice would be appreciated

I had that done in a flat renovation, using a high kitchen cupboard. Two fans at the top to extract warm air, and several holes at the bottom (hidden by the fridge) to create a through-draft. The fans were pricey, but so far no problems
Have PM'd you the details

 

[Olorin]

I had that done in a flat renovation, using a high kitchen cupboard. Two fans at the top to extract warm air, and several holes at the bottom (hidden by the fridge) to create a through-draft. The fans were pricey, but so far no problems
Have PM'd you the details

Many thanks for the PM

 

[SiIverTongue]

Ive had a induction stove for a while and after getting my inverter and battery installed I noticed that my kettle would often trip the inverter, I decided to start using a powerless kettle that I bought when I got the induction stove and having not really used it before I was pleasantly surprised by it. The stove top use so little power that using its highest setting ‘boost’ and even running 2 or more of the plates on DC don’t even show on the inverters load capacity and it takes just under 2 minutes to bring a full kettle to boil.
I went to buy a single plate induction top specially for the kettle now and people here make so much coffee that last month I actually bought R400 less electricity since we got rid of the electric kettle. I got the cheapest most basic induction plate I could get, was only R499 for a Midea and im completely satisfied with it, got great features to switch off automatically once water boil or on timer etc.
I promise you even if you don’t like induction to prepare food on, you will never look back after using it to boil water with.

 

[SiIverTongue]

View attachment 1458165

By me they installed the inverter and battery on the other side of the wall basically behind the mains, and just drilled a hole from behind into the mains box to connect everything. The inverter and battery is installed about the same height as your mains is on the photo and both just hooks onto some rollbolts sticking out from the wall so they are high enough to not be in the way and you can easily walk under them.
As for the inverter noise everyone seem to be so worried about, the only time it makes a bit of a noise is when power comes back on and it charges, then it will hum a little and the fans might start spinning, but it’s not so loud that it would bother you to much, even if it was right next to your tv and my battery charges so quick after load shedding that you hardly notice when it does make a bit of noise. i have a 5kW lithium battery and after 2 hours load shedding it’s usually at about 73% power and then only takes around 30minutes to charge back to 100% and it don't hum or have fans running the entire time it charges either, usually only when it starts to recharge.