DIY Solar install

Rouxenator

Rouxenator

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I have a very small setup that I happy with - only thing it needs is solar - hence this thread as I am a novice when it comes to that.

Right now I have a 1KW inverter with a 200Ah battery - more than enough for my needs. However, with a recent 25-hour outage still fresh in my mind I would like to add a solar panel as backup.

This is the spec sheet of the inverter:
1685386295624.png

Will a single 400~500W panel work?
How hard is it to install these on a tin roof that is at a 35° angel?
What kind of brackets and cables will be required?

Any advice will be appreciated. I may have my account at Geewiz credited so a panel from them would be ideal.
 
My install is a lot larger than what you're looking for, but it might have some useful info for you.

Speedster's solar journey

I've been prepping a solar system for my home for quite a while, and have certainly learnt a ton along the way. Over the past 18 months or so I've asked perhaps too many questions (to the great annoyance of some forumites), but I've gleaned enough info to have been confident enough to finally...
mybroadband.co.za mybroadband.co.za
 
Rouxenator said:
I have a very small setup that I happy with - only thing it needs is solar - hence this thread as I am a novice when it comes to that.

Right now I have a 1KW inverter with a 200Ah battery - more than enough for my needs. However, with a recent 25-hour outage still fresh in my mind I would like to add a solar panel as backup.

This is the spec sheet of the inverter:
View attachment 1532389

Will a single 400~500W panel work?
How hard is it to install these on a tin roof that is at a 35° angel?
What kind of brackets and cables will be required?

Any advice will be appreciated. I may have my account at Geewiz credited so a panel from them would be ideal.
Click to expand...
The hanger bolts through the plate into the battens is easy
And a dollip of silicone for good measure and then rail attached to it

the screwless sheet has a clamp that goes over the ridge and cups it ie doesn't need to go through the sheet

Is it pwm charge controller?

Having a panel with a voltage way higher than the battery means you sactifice more of the panel output

ie lets say you have a 500w panel that is 50v voc and vmp of 42v ie making its peak power at 42 it would be max 11.9A
So if it gets dragged down to 13.5v x 11.9a you would get 160W out of it

If you get 500w a 41.2v voc panel making its most power at 35v
Then it would be a 14.28A

So now if it gets dragged down to 13.5v x14.28A you would get 192W out of it

So now lets say you get a 300W panel that is 21v making its most power at 18v it would be a 16.66A panel x 13.5v means you would get 225W out of it

Edit this is noon time peak naturally off peak times you will get less

So with pwm less can be more if the voltage is a better match

But
I don't know how they behave in bad weather ie the higher voltage panel may come to peak sooner and perform better in bad weather ie like idling a v8



With pwm it is a balance of tradeoffs

Now naturally if it is mppt all of this doesn't apply
 
Last edited:
You get brackets for different roof types, tile and corrugated iron like IBR and the other type. You can also get the whole thing as kit, mounts, rails and everything.

Installing it is fairly easy, especially on your tin roof where you don't have to remove tiles and do any mods.
 
leon.davibe said:
The hanger bolts through the plate into the battens is easy
And a dollip of silicone for good measure and then rail attached to it
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Now naturally if it is mppt all of this doesn't apply
Click to expand...

It is definitely MPPT.
 
pboy said:
There you go!

1 x https://www.geewiz.co.za/solar-panels/197372-ja-solar-545w-solar-panel.html
1 x https://www.geewiz.co.za/solar-acce...-male-and-female-pair-ip65-weather-proof.html
1 x https://www.geewiz.co.za/solar-products/136939-4mm-solar-cable-black-12m.html
1 x https://www.geewiz.co.za/solar-products/136940-4mm-solar-cable-red-12m.html
1 x https://www.geewiz.co.za/solar-acce...nel-portrait-orientation-onto-tiled-roof.html
Click to expand...

He said a tin roof so the IBR mount kit and I would also add a fuse:

Solar Mount Kit - Single 60 / 72 cell Panel Portrait Orientation onto IBR/Corrugated Roof - GeeWiz

Solar Mount Kit - Single 60 / 72 cell Panel Portrait Orientation onto IBR/Corrugated Roof for sale online at the Best Prices! Door to Door and Overnight Delivery
www.geewiz.co.za www.geewiz.co.za

Solarix Rail Mount 1 Pole Solar PV - GeeWiz

Solarix Rail Mount 1 Pole Solar PV for sale online at the Best Prices! Door to Door and Overnight Delivery
www.geewiz.co.za www.geewiz.co.za

I don't see a fuse on the site but you can get it from a solar place.
 
Thanks for all the feedback and help. I just pulled the trigger and ordered the 545W JA panel. It should fit nicely above our existing solar geyser panels. Geyser blew up 3 weeks ago after 10 years of service so I am already R8k in debt to solar.

The panel will be in landscape orientation and in future I might add 2 more next to it if they fit in that space on the way to the chimney. Maybe 1 more on the stoep roof - but that is future problems.
1685518293203.jpeg

The inverter is MPPT from what I can tell on their website (seem another Must clone):
1685518546099.png1685518796707.png

I am not too keen on climbing up on that roof, so I got a local guy that seems to get good feedback from other people in our estate giving me an estimate of R3k to install it.
 
www.geewiz.co.za

GeeWiz Axpert Type 1000VA (1000W) 1KW PURE Sine Wave Inverter - 60A MPPT (720W) (Hybrid)

Geewiz Axpert Type 1000VA (1000W) Inverter Pure Sine Wave Note: 1) Fan comes on during charging, load shedding and periodically during normal operation 2) If installing in a DB board, please make sure to add a separate Earth & Neutral to the inverter output circuit to mitigate chances of surges
www.geewiz.co.za www.geewiz.co.za

I got this inverter and a single 12V 100ah lifepo battery. How do I decide what panels to add?

Should I go with 1 x 550W or 2 x 350W etc?
Does that make any difference besides the time it takes to charge the battery?

Currently we have 2 hours of shedding twice a day. And on stage 6 there are some days with 3 x 2 hours every 6 hours.

At the moment there is sufficient time between shedding since the battery doesn't even reach 50% discharge after 2 hours.
 
MidnightZA said:
www.geewiz.co.za

GeeWiz Axpert Type 1000VA (1000W) 1KW PURE Sine Wave Inverter - 60A MPPT (720W) (Hybrid)

Geewiz Axpert Type 1000VA (1000W) Inverter Pure Sine Wave Note: 1) Fan comes on during charging, load shedding and periodically during normal operation 2) If installing in a DB board, please make sure to add a separate Earth & Neutral to the inverter output circuit to mitigate chances of surges
www.geewiz.co.za www.geewiz.co.za

I got this inverter and a single 12V 100ah lifepo battery. How do I decide what panels to add?

Should I go with 1 x 550W or 2 x 350W etc?
Does that make any difference besides the time it takes to charge the battery?

Currently we have 2 hours of shedding twice a day. And on stage 6 there are some days with 3 x 2 hours every 6 hours.

At the moment there is sufficient time between shedding since the battery doesn't even reach 50% discharge after 2 hours.
Click to expand...
Well I just took a chance with the same inverter and 1 x 545W panel.... maybe it works?
 
MidnightZA said:
www.geewiz.co.za

GeeWiz Axpert Type 1000VA (1000W) 1KW PURE Sine Wave Inverter - 60A MPPT (720W) (Hybrid)

Geewiz Axpert Type 1000VA (1000W) Inverter Pure Sine Wave Note: 1) Fan comes on during charging, load shedding and periodically during normal operation 2) If installing in a DB board, please make sure to add a separate Earth & Neutral to the inverter output circuit to mitigate chances of surges
www.geewiz.co.za www.geewiz.co.za

I got this inverter and a single 12V 100ah lifepo battery. How do I decide what panels to add?

Should I go with 1 x 550W or 2 x 350W etc?
Does that make any difference besides the time it takes to charge the battery?

Currently we have 2 hours of shedding twice a day. And on stage 6 there are some days with 3 x 2 hours every 6 hours.

At the moment there is sufficient time between shedding since the battery doesn't even reach 50% discharge after 2 hours.
Click to expand...
That would depend on the panel specs. As long as your voltage is between 15-105Vmp either should work. And yes, the higher 2 x 350W will charge the battery faster. The differences would be that two panels would require more cabling and mounting hardware.
 
I've got the VP model. Pity :(

I'm also keen to hook it up and see what it can do with its PWM.

Not keen to drop R3-4k just to test it though.
 
Budza said:
I've got the VP model. Pity :(

I'm also keen to hook it up and see what it can do with its PWM.

Not keen to drop R3-4k just to test it though.
Click to expand...
Thankfully for me it was only R2K I had to drop - this time round. The rest was a credit I got on the Crystal Hybrid I returned.

If this does work, I will be happy. Our family have adapted reasonably well to loadshedding, but more than 24 hours without electricity will be a problem and I am hoping this small setup solves that.
 
Budza said:
How many Watts do you expect to get out of that panel?
Click to expand...
It will be on my north facing roof that has a 35° slope - if the solar geyser we have been using over the past decade is anything to go by it should operate pretty close to it's peak most of the time. So there is a chance I might be over the limit of the inverter by a tad - I am hoping it allows for a reasonable margin of error when it says rated power is 500W :cool:
 
Rouxenator said:
Well I just took a chance with the same inverter and 1 x 545W panel.... maybe it works?
Click to expand...

Please post an update when you do install. I may also get 1 x 545W and add another in a fee months.

Speedster said:
That would depend on the panel specs. As long as your voltage is between 15-105Vmp either should work. And yes, the higher 2 x 350W will charge the battery faster. The differences would be that two panels would require more cabling and mounting hardware.
Click to expand...

powerforum-store.co.za

Solar Panels

Buy solar panels from popular brands including Longi, and JA Solar Panels in South Africa. Check out solar panel system with 360W, 345W, 380W and 540W. Get a free quote now!
powerforum-store.co.za

I'm looking at these, either Canadian or JA solar.

Still on the fence on which I should go with.
 
MidnightZA said:
Please post an update when you do install. I may also get 1 x 545W and add another in a fee months.



powerforum-store.co.za

Solar Panels

Buy solar panels from popular brands including Longi, and JA Solar Panels in South Africa. Check out solar panel system with 360W, 345W, 380W and 540W. Get a free quote now!
powerforum-store.co.za

I'm looking at these, either Canadian or JA solar.

Still on the fence on which I should go with.
Click to expand...

Agree, let us know @Rouxenator what was all done. Lot of us in the same boat.
 
MidnightZA said:
Please post an update when you do install. I may also get 1 x 545W and add another in a fee months.



powerforum-store.co.za

Solar Panels

Buy solar panels from popular brands including Longi, and JA Solar Panels in South Africa. Check out solar panel system with 360W, 345W, 380W and 540W. Get a free quote now!
powerforum-store.co.za

I'm looking at these, either Canadian or JA solar.

Still on the fence on which I should go with.
Click to expand...
My advice on panels is that, as long as you're buying from a tier-1 manufacturer, go for the cheapest per watt.
 
Finally went up today, install was R3k and done very professionally. Unlike yesterday it is raining now so the panel is not outputting much. Will see how it performs in sunshine.

If anyone needs the details of this guy I can provide it, will definitely use him if in future we go from the single panel to a bigger solution.

IMG_20230623_120626.jpg

Yes, I know the gutter needs cleaning - will get to that.
IMG_20230623_141044.jpg

Only getting single digit wattage in the rain.
IMG_20230623_141506.jpg
 
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