Backup power for R35k - can it be done?

[Mike Hoxbig]

Are you open to financing it over 5 years?

You can check out my thread and @BadBoyGP's thread if you are.

Otherwise I would suggest buying with the intention of future proofing and working towards a good system. Start with a good inverter and battery for load shedding backup. Add another battery and panels later...

 

[PhireSide]

Are you open to financing it over 5 years?

You can check out my thread and @BadBoyGP's thread if you are.

Otherwise I would suggest buying with the intention of future proofing and working towards a good system. Start with a good inverter and battery for load shedding backup. Add another battery and panels later...

I'm trying to not go the finance route, if possible, but might look into that if I can't manage to get the cash together for an outright purchase. This is what spurred on the idea of starting with something modular and then adding on as I go along.

My initial thought was getting a big inverter, adding batteries as I can afford and eventually adding solar to the mix. But @TheChamp had a good idea in that some inverters can be parallelised, so I could get a 5kW one, and say 1x 2.4kWh battery, and perhaps two or so panels, and build up from there...

 

[Lupus]

Yes, it is a full plug n play solution.

I get you, whatever you do make sure it can cater for your current needs because R35k is just good enough for a 8kW inverter if you are going for the popular Sunsynk.

If I was in your position I would go for a 5kW inverter that is capable of being paralleled at a later stage, R35k would easily get you one and a 3.5 to 5kWh battery, also make sure to go for a brand that supports scalability.

Do note that even if you get the 8kW inverter you are not necessarily going to be able to run 8kW worth of load on it, you would need a massive battery for that, so for now it would probably be an 8kW that is only good for about 3kW depending on what battery you can get in your budget.

Yeah had a place want to charge me 62k to put a 5kw inverter and 5kw battery in, 9500 was installion and 9k was basically the extra he charged for the inverter and battery

 

[TheChamp]

Yeah had a place want to charge me 62k to put a 5kw inverter and 5kw battery in, 9500 was installion and 9k was basically the extra he charged for the inverter and battery

Solar installations is a massive scam for some, installing a battery and an inverter is very basic, with good research on how to set things up anyone can do it, even hooking it up to the DB as long as you have an electrician to sign it off.

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

I'm trying to not go the finance route, if possible, but might look into that if I can't manage to get the cash together for an outright purchase. This is what spurred on the idea of starting with something modular and then adding on as I go along.

My initial thought was getting a big inverter, adding batteries as I can afford and eventually adding solar to the mix. But @TheChamp had a good idea in that some inverters can be parallelised, so I could get a 5kW one, and say 1x 2.4kWh battery, and perhaps two or so panels, and build up from there...

Keep in mind that whatever battery you get is what you'll be stuck with even when you expand. That goes for the size as well.

For that reason you should stick to known brands like Pylontech, Hubble, Dyness, Freedom Won etc., so you won't have an issue sourcing them in future.

In terms of size, if you go too big it's going to be costly to add more. If you go too small you're going to add a lot of a clutter and more points of failure. The sweet spot atm is around ~5kWh...

 

[PhireSide]

Keep in mind that whatever battery you get is what you'll be stuck with even when you expand. That goes for the size as well.

For that reason you should stick to known brands like Pylontech, Hubble, Dyness, Freedom Won etc., so you won't have an issue sourcing them in future.

In terms of size, if you go too big it's going to be costly to add more. If you go too small you're going to add a lot of a clutter and more points of failure. The sweet spot atm is around ~5kWh...

I was thinking along the lines of a 5kW inverter, paired with a 2.4kWh battery of whichever flavour is available and well priced. I'd of course need to check pricing on these, and scale accordingly. I don't want to go down the lead acid route again, and would prefer getting LiFePo4's and then I know that I should be good for at least ten years.

Perhaps then, if I find that capacity is an issue, I could add another 2.4kWh battery into the system, and then add solar as I have the funds available? Is this a viable solution? I'm hoping that I won't need to add another inverter but I would then also stick with reputable brands so that I can easily do that as time goes on. Or, worst case, sell the 5kW unit and buy an 8kW or 10kW or however big I need.

 

[Gaz{M}]

I was thinking along the lines of a 5kW inverter, paired with a 2.4kWh battery of whichever flavour is available and well priced. I'd of course need to check pricing on these, and scale accordingly. I don't want to go down the lead acid route again, and would prefer getting LiFePo4's and then I know that I should be good for at least ten years.

Perhaps then, if I find that capacity is an issue, I could add another 2.4kWh battery into the system, and then add solar as I have the funds available? Is this a viable solution? I'm hoping that I won't need to add another inverter but I would then also stick with reputable brands so that I can easily do that as time goes on. Or, worst case, sell the 5kW unit and buy an 8kW or 10kW or however big I need.

What makes you think you even need more than 5kw?

The "baseload" of my house with 3 fridges is 500W. With the pool pump it is 1.3kw. You could add a bunch of tv's computers and lights and still be under 3kw. Add a heater and you are at 5kw.

The 2.4kwh battery can probably only supply 2kw anyway.

 

[Mzezman]

I was thinking along the lines of a 5kW inverter, paired with a 2.4kWh battery of whichever flavour is available and well priced. I'd of course need to check pricing on these, and scale accordingly. I don't want to go down the lead acid route again, and would prefer getting LiFePo4's and then I know that I should be good for at least ten years.

Perhaps then, if I find that capacity is an issue, I could add another 2.4kWh battery into the system, and then add solar as I have the funds available? Is this a viable solution? I'm hoping that I won't need to add another inverter but I would then also stick with reputable brands so that I can easily do that as time goes on. Or, worst case, sell the 5kW unit and buy an 8kW or 10kW or however big I need.

There is a 2nd hand Deye 5kw for sale for 15k on Carbonite right now... Add 20k for a 4.8 / 5kwh battery and then a couple more for install and you're good to go

 

[Veneficus]

What makes you think you even need more than 5kw?

The "baseload" of my house with 3 fridges is 500W. With the pool pump it is 1.3kw. You could add a bunch of tv's computers and lights and still be under 3kw. Add a heater and you are at 5kw.

The 2.4kwh battery can probably only supply 2kw anyway.

I understand what you mean but we must be carefull with statement like these
Power use like that can easily be broken if no care is taken
Geyser pulls 2-3kW
Kettles also 2-3kW
Oven also 2-3kW
Stove tops average 1kW each
Microwaves 1.5kW

So if someone does not take those into account then they could easily get issues

 

[pinball wizard]

So what with the latest bout of LS, and us finally having the house registered on our name, we can start looking at getting a permanent setup up and running.

I currently have 2x standalone inverters, one powering the reptile tank (Mecer 720W), and the other doing duty keeping the internet/work laptop going during slots (Synapse 600W). The reptile tank has 1x 12V 100aH LA battery, and the other one has 2x 12V 260aH units, but they are at the end of their tether so probably close to 200aH combined capacity for the Synapse.

What I would like to do is get one large inverter that I can connect up with 1x LiFePo4 battery for now, and then gradually expand as I have funds available. I'd ideally like to get solar up and running at a later stage and then up the capacity as and when I am able.

NB points:

• We have a gas hob for cooking, but an electric oven
• We have an electric geyser, but might look at evacuated tube/PV for this if need be
• Our monthly usage is around 350 units per month (prepaid meter)

Is this an attainable figure or should I try and push the budget a bit more? I was thinking of going for an 8kW unit, to ensure I have enough power available if we wanted to run some heavier load items.

Pricing the individual items is easy enough but I'm a bit out of touch when it comes to the ancillaries like a DB, cutover switch if required, labour and miscellaneous expenses so I am not quite sure if my budget would cover the inverter + 1x battery for the time being so that I can run just the basics (lights + few plugs) until we can build up the system bit by bit.

Thanks

Yes.

You can buy quite a large generator for that and have some left over for diesel.

 

[wingnut771]

I would go with a 5kW Sunsynk and 5kW Hubble AM-2, keep the other little inverters (UPS's) installed for redundancy purposes. Then you can add more inverters/batteries/panels as needed.

 

[Katelknaap]

How about this?

Solar Panels, Wind Turbines, Solar Lighting, Solar Geysers | GW Store

Sunsyk 5.5kw inverter paired with a Hubble AM 5.5kWh and all necessary protection systems both AC and DC, fully installed.

gwstore.co.za

I would love to join all our solar brothers with their fully fledged generating systems, but with a university student in the house the finances just doesn't allow it. For R 55k at least u get the very popular 5kw Sunsynk inverter & Hubble battery combo fully installed.

Should sort out most loadshedding issues (for me anyway) and the system should be easy to upgrade/expand later on. I'm seriously tempted as I think we're in for a loooong dark loadshedding winter.

 

[Mzezman]

How about this?

Solar Panels, Wind Turbines, Solar Lighting, Solar Geysers | GW Store

Sunsyk 5.5kw inverter paired with a Hubble AM 5.5kWh and all necessary protection systems both AC and DC, fully installed.

gwstore.co.za

I would love to join all our solar brothers with their fully fledged generating systems, but with a university student in the house the finances just doesn't allow it. For R 55k at least u get the very popular 5kw Sunsynk inverter & Hubble battery combo fully installed.

Should sort out most loadshedding issues (for me anyway) and the system should be easy to upgrade/expand later on. I'm seriously tempted as I think we're in for a loooong dark loadshedding winter.

That will do great, i almost used GW Store before i went with my current installer... someone on the forum used them with no isses. That system is great because it fully upgradeable and you can add solar with no issues in future

 

[bwana]

So what with the latest bout of LS, and us finally having the house registered on our name, we can start looking at getting a permanent setup up and running.

I currently have 2x standalone inverters, one powering the reptile tank (Mecer 720W), and the other doing duty keeping the internet/work laptop going during slots (Synapse 600W). The reptile tank has 1x 12V 100aH LA battery, and the other one has 2x 12V 260aH units, but they are at the end of their tether so probably close to 200aH combined capacity for the Synapse.

What I would like to do is get one large inverter that I can connect up with 1x LiFePo4 battery for now, and then gradually expand as I have funds available. I'd ideally like to get solar up and running at a later stage and then up the capacity as and when I am able.

NB points:

• We have a gas hob for cooking, but an electric oven
• We have an electric geyser, but might look at evacuated tube/PV for this if need be
• Our monthly usage is around 350 units per month (prepaid meter)

Is this an attainable figure or should I try and push the budget a bit more? I was thinking of going for an 8kW unit, to ensure I have enough power available if we wanted to run some heavier load items.

Pricing the individual items is easy enough but I'm a bit out of touch when it comes to the ancillaries like a DB, cutover switch if required, labour and miscellaneous expenses so I am not quite sure if my budget would cover the inverter + 1x battery for the time being so that I can run just the basics (lights + few plugs) until we can build up the system bit by bit.

Thanks

Load shedding at its worse is 3x 2hrs a day and one of those is pretty much guaranteed to be while you’re asleep. Why not just get a small inverter generator for the short term and save for full solar at a later date?

If I was in your shoes I'd prioritise water.

 

[Rickster]

Why are electrician's rates such a rip-off when it comes to solar installations?

You would be surprised what people pay to say FU to eskom and their loadshedding kuk.

 

[SauRoNZA]

So what with the latest bout of LS, and us finally having the house registered on our name, we can start looking at getting a permanent setup up and running.

I currently have 2x standalone inverters, one powering the reptile tank (Mecer 720W), and the other doing duty keeping the internet/work laptop going during slots (Synapse 600W). The reptile tank has 1x 12V 100aH LA battery, and the other one has 2x 12V 260aH units, but they are at the end of their tether so probably close to 200aH combined capacity for the Synapse.

What I would like to do is get one large inverter that I can connect up with 1x LiFePo4 battery for now, and then gradually expand as I have funds available. I'd ideally like to get solar up and running at a later stage and then up the capacity as and when I am able.

NB points:

• We have a gas hob for cooking, but an electric oven
• We have an electric geyser, but might look at evacuated tube/PV for this if need be
• Our monthly usage is around 350 units per month (prepaid meter)

Is this an attainable figure or should I try and push the budget a bit more? I was thinking of going for an 8kW unit, to ensure I have enough power available if we wanted to run some heavier load items.

Pricing the individual items is easy enough but I'm a bit out of touch when it comes to the ancillaries like a DB, cutover switch if required, labour and miscellaneous expenses so I am not quite sure if my budget would cover the inverter + 1x battery for the time being so that I can run just the basics (lights + few plugs) until we can build up the system bit by bit.

Thanks

Simple answer is that a 8kW inverter already blows your budget.

 

[maumau]

That will do great, i almost used GW Store before i went with my current installer... someone on the forum used them with no isses. That system is great because it fully upgradeable and you can add solar with no issues in future

Looks amazing. If you were to get one of these and sell your house could you uninstall and take it with you?

Another question- if batteries are charged to 100% and they aren't used for a few weeks or months does the charge remain 100%?

 

[Lupus]

Load shedding at its worse is 3x 2hrs a day and one of those is pretty much guaranteed to be while you’re asleep. Why not just get a small inverter generator for the short term and save for full solar at a later date?

If I was in your shoes I'd prioritise water.

Actually the worst is 3x4

 

[bwana]

Actually the worst is 3x4

For us it's at most 3x 2hr from stages 4 through 8. Schedules above 8 haven't been made public by the municipality so that's all speculative.

 

[Mzezman]

Looks amazing. If you were to get one of these and sell your house could you uninstall and take it with you?

Another question- if batteries are charged to 100% and they aren't used for a few weeks or months does the charge remain 100%?

You can yes... would just be the reverse of the install, so unmount from the wall and remove the inverter wiring from DB. Its not a small job but can be done

Generally Lithiums dont like being on 100% all the time, its actually better to cycle them