Small solar advice (5KVA hybrid system)

[Lupus]

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Yeah and if you read the article unless he uses no water for a few days it flushes out, so 5 to 6 hours is already enough time to kill it. 65 is way over kill and goes back to why do people want to burn? Or have the hot water tap on so low? You stand more chance of getting it while going to swim.

 

[Pho3nix]

Could probably get a bigger Luxpower instead of the Deye, but I don't think it will be enough for a geyser too without compromising on the current 65c target on a 3kw element that makes sure there's no Legionella.

R81k for Deye 5kw, 5kwh Deye Battery and 12 panels.
He also quoted R126k for a Deye 8kw system with 3x5kwh Deye batteries and 15 panels.

He was upfront about his prices in the beginning about being a bit higher as he makes extra sure all his stuff is compliant with earth point, trunking etc.

Moved up from a 5kw to a 6kw because the 5kw was tripping with the geyser. Haven't had the same issue since thus my suggestion.


1x10kwh battery price vs 2x5kwh?

 

[denmendez65]

Moved up from a 5kw to a 6kw because the 5kw was tripping with the geyser. Haven't had the same issue since thus my suggestion.


1x10kwh battery price vs 2x5kwh?

Wont he lose the silent operation of the Deye? I thought he said he wants to have it indoors or something. He could always parallel another inverter later on to hit 10kW. Just has to tell the installer to factor that in with the space requirements etc.

 

[Pho3nix]

Wont he lose the silent operation of the Deye? I thought he said he wants to have it indoors or something. He could always parallel another inverter later on to hit 10kW. Just has to tell the installer to factor that in with the space requirements etc.

My inverter is in the garage/study and can hear it faintly when I work. Not that bad at all. Maybe the 8kw is worse?
Wouldn't put this in a lounge or kitchen though

 

[Username:]

I haven't read the one million replies but I installed my old 5 kW Deye and two 5 kWh batteries with 8 panels at my folks townhouse when I upgraded my system.

They are basically off grid. Being retired they don't use much

 

[denmendez65]

I haven't read the one million replies but I installed my old 5 kW Deye and two 5 kWh batteries with 8 panels at my folks townhouse when I upgraded my system.

They are basically off grid. Being retired they don't use much

That’s my parents also. Offgrid with a 6.2kW, 9 panels but only 1 dyness 5kWh battery.

They stopped using the gas stove as lots of free power during the day. A 20 year old solar geyser takes care of the bathing.

2 elevated JOJO tanks fills once a week with borehole pump gravity feed the water to the house.

 

[Lupus]

That’s my parents also. Offgrid with a 6.2kW, 9 panels but only 1 dyness 5kWh battery.

They stopped using the gas stove as lots of free power during the day. A 20 year old solar geyser takes care of the bathing.

2 elevated JOJO tanks fills once a week with borehole pump gravity feed the water to the house.

They are the case for legionella bacteria.

 

[denmendez65]

They are the case for legionella bacteria.

They have done that for decades now. I guess it depends on how quickly the bacteria can grow. The water from the tanks is always running, so not necessarily stagnant.

If those 2 2500 litre tanks haven't caused issues with the bacteria, then surely a small 150 litre geyser wouldn't be a problem.

 

[ghaye]

They have done that for decades now. I guess it depends on how quickly the bacteria can grow. The water from the tanks is always running, so not necessarily stagnant.

If those 2 2500 litre tanks haven't caused issues with the bacteria, then surely a small 150 litre geyser wouldn't be a problem.

Also helps if you don't drink your bathwater.

 

[Stonemason]

Yeah and if you read the article unless he uses no water for a few days it flushes out, so 5 to 6 hours is already enough time to kill it. 65 is way over kill and goes back to why do people want to burn? Or have the hot water tap on so low? You stand more chance of getting it while going to swim.

I have two dedicated 550 w panels to run my geyser and most days it heats the water up to 75 degrees. In the winter the temperatures are a bit lower at 65 degrees but I always have hot water and I or my family, have never burnt ourselves with the water.

For the rest of my electricity needs I have ten 550 w panels, 10 kw batteries and a Sunsynk inverter. I also never run out of electricity.
A friend of mine uses 2 Luxpower inverters, 10 kw batteries and 12 550 w panels. He still pays the municipality R2000 per month for electricity because it is impossible to configure the Luxpower inverters in such a way that the power provided by the sun and the batteries is used efficiently.

 

[Lupus]

I have two dedicated 550 w panels to run my geyser and most days it heats the water up to 75 degrees. In the winter the temperatures are a bit lower at 65 degrees but I always have hot water and I or my family, have never burnt ourselves with the water.

For the rest of my electricity needs I have ten 550 w panels, 10 kw batteries and a Sunsynk inverter. I also never run out of electricity.
A friend of mine uses 2 Luxpower inverters, 10 kw batteries and 12 550 w panels. He still pays the municipality R2000 per month for electricity because it is impossible to configure the Luxpower inverters in such a way that the power provided by the sun and the batteries is used efficiently.

What? I've had a luxpower inverter for 9 months and it only touches the grid if I do a smart charge.
Sounds like his installer buggered up his install, as it's actually rather hard to get the Luxpower to use the grid if it has battery and solar available, think he needs to have that checked.

 

[Lupus]

They have done that for decades now. I guess it depends on how quickly the bacteria can grow. The water from the tanks is always running, so not necessarily stagnant.

If those 2 2500 litre tanks haven't caused issues with the bacteria, then surely a small 150 litre geyser wouldn't be a problem.

Exactly, if they are a strong case for the "dreaded" bacteria and they've not had issues, a normal geyser with water rotated daily will be in an even better situation.

 

[Stonemason]

What? I've had a luxpower inverter for 9 months and it only touches the grid if I do a smart charge.
Sounds like his installer buggered up his install, as it's actually rather hard to get the Luxpower to use the grid if it has battery and solar available, think he needs to have that checked.

Normally you do not connect your stove or other power hungry devices to your inverter. That means when the grid is down, those devices receive no electricity. However, when the grid is on, the Sunsynk is clever enough to see that you are using such devices when there is plenty of battery or solar power available and overrides the grid to supply even those devices with power. The Luxpower is not able to do that.

With the Sunsynk I can determine the amount of battery charge that should be available in six different timeslots. That way you can fine tune what mixture of sun, battery or grid should be used during those timeslots.

An example of this is that I can tell the Sunsynk that I want 70% minimum SOC between 6pm and 9pm. When I start using the stove, the inverter sees that there is plenty of battery power and uses that instead of the grid even though the stove is not wired through the inverter. When the battery reaches the predetermined SOC, power is drawn from the grid to maintain the SOC in the unlikely event that it is needed. The Luxpower cannot do that.

 

[Lupus]

Normally you do not connect your stove or other power hungry devices to your inverter. That means when the grid is down, those devices receive no electricity. However, when the grid is on, the Sunsynk is clever enough to see that you are using such devices when there is plenty of battery or solar power available and overrides the grid to supply even those devices with power. The Luxpower is not able to do that.

With the Sunsynk I can determine the amount of battery charge that should be available in six different timeslots. That way you can fine tune what mixture of sun, battery or grid should be used during those timeslots.

An example of this is that I can tell the Sunsynk that I want 70% minimum SOC between 6pm and 9pm. When I start using the stove, the inverter sees that there is plenty of battery power and uses that instead of the grid even though the stove is not wired through the inverter. When the battery reaches the predetermined SOC, power is drawn from the grid to maintain the SOC in the unlikely event that it is needed. The Luxpower cannot do that.

They do, just people don't configure it properly
Luxpower’s "smart load" functionality, available on SNA (5K+ and 6K) and hybrid 12K series, allows users to repurpose the generator port to power heavy, non-essential appliances (like geysers or pool pumps) only when excess solar energy is available or batteries are sufficiently charged.
Plus you can also handle different time slots in the exact same way, so as per my previous comment it is a misconfigured inverter. Can even configure it through Solar Assistant if you want to

 

[denmendez65]

Normally you do not connect your stove or other power hungry devices to your inverter. That means when the grid is down, those devices receive no electricity. However, when the grid is on, the Sunsynk is clever enough to see that you are using such devices when there is plenty of battery or solar power available and overrides the grid to supply even those devices with power. The Luxpower is not able to do that.

With the Sunsynk I can determine the amount of battery charge that should be available in six different timeslots. That way you can fine tune what mixture of sun, battery or grid should be used during those timeslots.

An example of this is that I can tell the Sunsynk that I want 70% minimum SOC between 6pm and 9pm. When I start using the stove, the inverter sees that there is plenty of battery power and uses that instead of the grid even though the stove is not wired through the inverter. When the battery reaches the predetermined SOC, power is drawn from the grid to maintain the SOC in the unlikely event that it is needed. The Luxpower cannot do that.

Me with the Oven and other "high" power devices connected to a 3.6kW inverter...

 

[wingnut771]

Me with the Oven and other "high" power devices connected to a 3.6kW inverter...
View attachment 1902390

 

[denmendez65]

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I wonder how they make money. It has damn everything. Add panels, and you have a full system. I just refuse to upgrade until the bare minimum the system has paid for itself. Next year, in June, I think it will be paid off. And even then, I will want to turn a profit on it. ROI is the name of the game.

 

[wingnut771]

I wonder how they make money. It has damn everything. Add panels, and you have a full system. I just refuse to upgrade until the bare minimum the system has paid for itself. Next year, in June, I think it will be paid off. And even then, I will want to turn a profit on it. ROI is the name of the game.

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They probably not and just trying to clear stock so get it while its hot?

 

[denmendez65]

They probably not and just trying to clear stock so get it while its hot?

Tempting. Could use it to supply the kitchen alone. No panels to it. I just use the non-essential output of the 3.6 to feed into the input of the 5kW inverter. I can set the non-essential output, and then switch off when the sun goes down. Really, it isn't a lot of work wiring-wise to do. Don't need extra DB or anything like that.

 

[Lupus]

Tempting. Could use it to supply the kitchen alone. No panels to it. I just use the non-essential output of the 3.6 to feed into the input of the 5kW inverter. I can set the non-essential output, and then switch off when the sun goes down. Really, it isn't a lot of work wiring-wise to do. Don't need extra DB or anything like that.

It really is tempting, for something small to take extra load off.