All things Sunsynk (Deye, Inge, etc...)

[Dan C]

Dead as a doornail again.

 

[Adeptus Mechanicus]

Why even use the dongle/service if things like SolarAssistant exist?

 

[TedLasso]

Why even use the dongle/service if things like SolarAssistant exist?

Cos it's the only way to get firmware upgrades (if one needs it) and it's 'free'.

To be frank, based on experience, it's only us data nuts that care about historical data , rest of friends and family don't give a crap - just that it works and they can manage it if they need to.

 

[Dan C]

Why even use the dongle/service if things like SolarAssistant exist?

I need to have it as my warranty relies on it. So I have no option.

 

[RonSwanson]

Mine came back again. All the data points for today since 08H30 are still there, so the data upload was still working, just the front-end API that was down.

 

[Dan C]

Yes, back again

 

[lkpat]

Solar Assistant hasn't skipped a beat for almost year now for me.

 

[Katelknaap]

With the prices of solar related items at much lower levels than over the past 2 years, I'm considering adding another battery & 2 more panels to my 5kw Sunsynk inverter.

When my 11 x 460W JA Solars was added last year, I had them leave enough "rail" space, so that 2 more panels can be fitted later. If I do it, it would leave 8 panels on 1 string facing North East due to my roof layout limitations. As I understand it that should be within the inverter's operating limits?

As I'm already commited to team Hubble and mine has not given me any issues over the last nearly 2 years, I'll be looking at adding another. Anything to be wary off / look out for? Would I need another battery disconnect switch?
(The budget wouldn't allow a jump to another brand at this stage).

It looks like I can get another Hubble AM2 and the 2 panels for +- R 25k.
Any ideas on what sort of labour cost I would be in for iro the expansion?

I would appreciate any comments & advice from the solar gurus.

 

[FlashSA]

With the prices of solar related items at much lower levels than over the past 2 years, I'm considering adding another battery & 2 more panels to my 5kw Sunsynk inverter.

When my 11 x 460W JA Solars was added last year, I had them leave enough "rail" space, so that 2 more panels can be fitted later. If I do it, it would leave 8 panels on 1 string facing North East due to my roof layout limitations. As I understand it that should be within the inverter's operating limits?

As I'm already commited to team Hubble and mine has not given me any issues over the last nearly 2 years, I'll be looking at adding another. Anything to be wary off / look out for? Would I need another battery disconnect switch?
(The budget wouldn't allow a jump to another brand at this stage).

It looks like I can get another Hubble AM2 and the 2 panels for +- R 25k.
Any ideas on what sort of labour cost I would be in for iro the expansion?

I would appreciate any comments & advice from the solar gurus.

Your installer will need to software update your existing AM-2 to the same firmware as the new one (on site with a laptop).

I bought an extra AM-2 in September last year along with 3 extra Longi 550w panels.

My installer charged me R10k to:

-Install my own new 3x panels using his rails and roof brackets
-Split the now 11 panels into 2 strings, including new electrical wiring and breaker + surge + fuses for the new 2nd string
-Updated the firmware on all 3 AM-2's and install the new extra battery I supplied. (The extra battery is just daisy'ed inline to the others - Hubble says you can do something like 10 of them in a row like this so it is in spec.)

I felt it was probably heavy by R1-2k, but just wanted it done right by the original installer so did not quibble (My original 8 panels, 5x facing NW and 3x facing NE, had originally been installed on 1 string since the beginning which quickly resulted in a very late wake up in Winter because the 5x NW dragged down the 3 which first got sunlight. I felt this was poor planning by the installer, but bit my tongue about it).

 

[RonSwanson]

With the prices of solar related items at much lower levels than over the past 2 years, I'm considering adding another battery & 2 more panels to my 5kw Sunsynk inverter.

When my 11 x 460W JA Solars was added last year, I had them leave enough "rail" space, so that 2 more panels can be fitted later. If I do it, it would leave 8 panels on 1 string facing North East due to my roof layout limitations. As I understand it that should be within the inverter's operating limits?

As I'm already commited to team Hubble and mine has not given me any issues over the last nearly 2 years, I'll be looking at adding another. Anything to be wary off / look out for? Would I need another battery disconnect switch?
(The budget wouldn't allow a jump to another brand at this stage).

It looks like I can get another Hubble AM2 and the 2 panels for +- R 25k.
Any ideas on what sort of labour cost I would be in for iro the expansion?

I would appreciate any comments & advice from the solar gurus.

13x 460W = 5980W, so ostensibly it sounds well within the SS's 6.5kW MPPT range, but need to check voltages of the string of 8 to be sure. I take it that you used 6mm cabling, or at very least 4mm?

If the cable thicknesses and battery switches / fuses were originally specced correctly, then they should also be OK.

Not sure what installation costs would be, I would go with a rough figure of 10-12K, which should include updating the CoC. But you can shop around, if you aren't happy with the original installer, things are relatively quiet and you may get a good price.

I would also ask for a complete inspection of the existing install, and address anything like loose nuts on connectors, check hot spots with a thermal spot meter and galvanic corrosion on any fasteners that may have reared its ugly head. Just that alone is worth about 3-4k, so see what deal you can strike with a new guy? He may also spot poor workmanship from the previous installer, which would maybe not be reported if it's the same guy.

 

[Heisenborg]

Solar Assistant hasn't skipped a beat for almost year now for me.

Im aware of 3 outages last year. But no longer than an hour or two and all data kept logging on the local device. Could still access everything on local IP.

Cant imagine having a cloud server being the point of failure for a house power system

 

[Clean Green]

Im aware of 3 outages last year. But no longer than an hour or two and all data kept logging on the local device. Could still access everything on local IP.

Cant imagine having a cloud server being the point of failure for a house power system

Solar assistant is offline first which at least solve these kind of issues.

 

[Katelknaap]

13x 460W = 5980W, so ostensibly it sounds well within the SS's 6.5kW MPPT range, but need to check voltages of the string of 8 to be sure. I take it that you used 6mm cabling, or at very least 4mm?

If the cable thicknesses and battery switches / fuses were originally specced correctly, then they should also be OK.

Not sure what installation costs would be, I would go with a rough figure of 10-12K, which should include updating the CoC. But you can shop around, if you aren't happy with the original installer, things are relatively quiet and you may get a good price.

I would also ask for a complete inspection of the existing install, and address anything like loose nuts on connectors, check hot spots with a thermal spot meter and galvanic corrosion on any fasteners that may have reared its ugly head. Just that alone is worth about 3-4k, so see what deal you can strike with a new guy? He may also spot poor workmanship from the previous installer, which would maybe not be reported if it's the same guy.

I'm pretty sure 6mm cable was used, but will have to find the documentation to make sure. I have the JAM72S20-460MR panels as per pic. I can never remember, do u use the Voc or Vmp Voltage values?

As mentioned, the rails are already in place, so just a few clamps to hold the 2 extra panels down and them connecting them up with the existing 6. The current 11 is already split into 2 strings.

I noticed this "discoloration" a while ago on the panel rails. Is this something to be concerned about? They were installed in June 2023.

 

[Katelknaap]

Updated the firmware on all 3 AM-2's and install the new extra battery I supplied. (The extra battery is just daisy'ed inline to the others - Hubble says you can do something like 10 of them in a row like this so it is in spec.)

Are you still happy with your Hubbles? No issues after the expansion & updates?

 

[RonSwanson]

I'm pretty sure 6mm cable was used, but will have to find the documentation to make sure. I have the JAM72S20-460MR panels as per pic. I can never remember, do u use the Voc or Vmp Voltage values?

For max voltage always use VoC. 8 in series should be just over 400V @STC, so that's fine, within the specs, as well as the operating range of the 5K SS's MPPT (unless your location reaches -80 degrees C ). It should perform really well.
4mm cabling is quite OK, 6mm is bonus.

As mentioned, the rails are already in place, so just a few clamps to hold the 2 extra panels down and them connecting them up with the existing 6. The current 11 is already split into 2 strings.

Great, so you are sorted there. Less expense for the installer too.

I noticed this "discoloration" a while ago on the panel rails. Is this something to be concerned about? They were installed in June 2023.

I can't see for sure, but it looks like dirt attached to the plastic wrap's sticky residue, so no worries, but closer inspection by a pro needed to confirm. I would be more concerned at points where dissimilar metals connect / make contact with one another, like roof hooks to rails, rails to panels, plus the fasteners and any washers / spacers. Also, (for the benefit of others) if you are using galvanised conduit, the saddles, their screws and washers. I had to rust-treat mine, paint and replace after they developed corrosion, then again it is an IBR roof. Best to identify any corrosion early and treat it. But I see that you have a tiled roof, and he hid the wiring underneath, so that's great.

 

[FlashSA]

Are you still happy with your Hubbles? No issues after the expansion & updates?

No issues.

 

[bokka1]

I felt it was probably heavy by R1-2k, but just wanted it done right by the original installer so did not quibble (My original 8 panels, 5x facing NW and 3x facing NE, had originally been installed on 1 string since the beginning which quickly resulted in a very late wake up in Winter because the 5x NW dragged down the 3 which first got sunlight. I felt this was poor planning by the installer, but bit my tongue about it).

Explain this to me as I have five panels facing NE and 5 panels facing NW all on the same MPPT, not sure about the same string.

 

[Fcon_Vpro]

Explain this to me as I have five panels facing NE and 5 panels facing NW all on the same MPPT, not sure about the same string.

Are you on a Deye/Sunsynk or what inverter?
The Deye/Sunsynk MPPT's usually have minimum 2 inputs on the MPPT which is used to run different strings.
10 panels is a lot for a series string, so they more than likely setup 5 panels per string, each in series.

Easiest way to check is to look at your DC combiner box. There should be 2 sets of breakers(1 set per string).
You could probably turn 1 set off and see if it halves your production in the middle of the day.
If it turns off your entire production then you only have 1 string which would not be great.

Basically you want all your panels to have the same amount of sunlight as they will be affected by the weakest panels. So for example, some setups get shade(known as shading) on 1 panel in a string from a chimney or satellite dish and it drops their production across the entire string.
So if your nw and ne setup are on the same string, the nw array will slow down the system in the morning, and the ne array will slow down the system in the afternoon.
If they are on seperate strings, then they wont affect each other.

 

[bokka1]

Are you on a Deye/Sunsynk or what inverter?
The Deye/Sunsynk MPPT's usually have minimum 2 inputs on the MPPT which is used to run different strings.
10 panels is a lot for a series string, so they more than likely setup 5 panels per string, each in series.

Easiest way to check is to look at your DC combiner box. There should be 2 sets of breakers(1 set per string).
You could probably turn 1 set off and see if it halves your production in the middle of the day.
If it turns off your entire production then you only have 1 string which would not be great.

Basically you want all your panels to have the same amount of sunlight as they will be affected by the weakest panels. So for example, some setups get shade(known as shading) on 1 panel in a string from a chimney or satellite dish and it drops their production across the entire string.
So if your nw and ne setup are on the same string, the nw array will slow down the system in the morning, and the ne array will slow down the system in the afternoon.
If they are on seperate strings, then they wont affect each other.

I have 5 panels facing NE, 5 panels facing NW and 10 panels facing North, there are two breakers on the solar DB. I have 545w Canadian panels and a Sunsynk 12kw single phase inverter.

My solar capacity is 10900 Watts and the highest I have pushed it was to 9000 watt.

 

[TheJman]

Anyone checked their battery SOH recently - I'm just shy of a year of the system and I've just lost 1% of battery capacity.

So hopefully it isn't a sliding scale....