DIY Solar install

Rouxenator said:
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.

View attachment 1545345

Yes, I know the gutter needs cleaning - will get to that.
View attachment 1545347
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What output are you getting on a clear day?

Also, isn't your panel too close to the wall? Doesn't that small ledge cast a shadow onto the panel?

I read even the slightest of shade can reduce the solar output
 
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MidnightZA said:
What output are you getting on a clear day?

Also, isn't your panel too close to the wall? Doesn't that small ledge cast a shadow onto the panel?

I read even the slightest of sgade can reduce the solar output
Click to expand...
This,

I shudder when I drive and I see chimneys casting shadows all over ppls arrays >_<
 
Only been up a few hours so I have not had the chance to see what its like on a clear day.

It is as close as possible to the wall since I have very limited roof space and want to fit 3 of them next to each other. See my roof layout here.

The small vertical holes are ventilation goes that goes to the middle of the wall cavity. It is pretty damp over here so you need that to keep the walls dry inside.
 
Rouxenator said:
Only been up a few hours so I have not had the chance to see what its like on a clear day.

It is as close as possible to the wall since I have very limited roof space and want to fit 3 of them next to each other. See my roof layout here.

The small vertical holes are ventilation goes that goes to the middle of the wall cavity. It is pretty damp over here so you need that to keep the walls dry inside.
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You lose 50% output when the shadow hits the panel.
 
Snyper564 said:
and it will take 50% across the array., proportion of shade casts on one panels dials that proportion down across entire array.

In short 2 unshaded panels will be better than 3 with one partially shaded.
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Better to run them in parallel if only 1 panel is enough to start the solar controller.
 
The times during the year then that wall will cast a shadow is minimal however if I do add more panels they will be in parallel. I think a 3000VA/24volt setup will work nicely. Might even be worthwhile to get some kind of angled stand to add another panel on the stoep roof.

For now, at least I have something that should help next time we have to spend a few days without electricity.
 
Pak Fa Fui said:
Whats with all the small vertical holes in your house
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It is called weep holes

Outside walls are cavity walls, if moisture makes its way through the bricks it can run down the inside of the outer layer and weep out the holes

They are situated just above the floor , so double story homes have two sets

Hence less chance of moisture coming through to the inside layer

The two layers are joined by brickforce and butterflies normally alternated ie two layers brickforce two layers butterfly two layers brickforce again rinse repeat, to make them one

If the builders were crappy and did not wash the cavity properly after each day (droppings that land on brickforce/butterflies) you get a link between inside and outside layer causing damp patches in extreme wet times as moisture migrates before the outer layer gets baked dry by the sun

Or if they try and wring as much brick laying time out of brickies
If they finish a bit earlier it leaves enough time to do the cleanup, so leave to little and they say it is clean while it isn't , and if the contractors boepens is to big to climb up there to check if it is indeed clean you may get sub standard


Especially in wet areas like garden route
 
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Snyper564 said:
and it will take 50% across the array., proportion of shade casts on one panels dials that proportion down across entire array.

In short 2 unshaded panels will be better than 3 with one partially shaded.
Click to expand...
The way i have it you can at worst lose 20% of an array amps due to shadding on a oanel

More than 20% shadding would see bypass diodes working

And if half cut and at least half of the/all panel is unshaded you will get no amp limitations
 
Rouxenator said:
The times during the year then that wall will cast a shadow is minimal however if I do add more panels they will be in parallel. I think a 3000VA/24volt setup will work nicely. Might even be worthwhile to get some kind of angled stand to add another panel on the stoep roof.

For now, at least I have something that should help next time we have to spend a few days without electricity.
Click to expand...
You can happily mount it flat on flat roof

Sure you will get reduction in winter output from that panel
As it is in optimum angle for summer, in summer you will get a boost though
Can always lay it on the ground angle of roof check output , lift angle check output

Most likely the bit of gain won't make added complexity worth it
 
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I would loosen the clamps on the panel and slide it a bit away from the wall

That would prevent it from losing half the panel production in late afternoon

Luckily the rails/clamps are arranged that the clamps are on the long side

I get it may have been placed as close to wall as possible to leave enough space for later panel expansion

If more panels are added later you just loosen up the clamps and slide it back to the wall if space is needed

If you only lose a bit and batteries are always full by the end of day , you may decide to live with it as is, higher roof angle may be nice for production in winter but make doing adjustments a crappy experience
 
Having some sunny patches here and there this after noon so I am playing around a bit.

I soon realised that unless you are using it, the wattage shown for the solar panel will be 10 or less. While using the panel the most I have seen was about 350watt when there is direct sunlight.

I changed the settings - please anyone with advise or feedback chime in as I am clueless for the most part. I think this is a standard Axpert type setup.

First I set it to SOL so it prioritises the solar input.
IMG_20230624_143623.jpg

I don't want to use the battery too much, since they are rather old and I am trying to prolong their live as long as possible so I set the low battery voltage to 12.8v in the hope that it will hop over to utility power when solar is not enough.
IMG_20230624_143641.jpg
Will this affect how long it will run when there is load shedding and I want to use as much battery as is needed to get through?

I left the back to battery setting on it's default of 13.5v
IMG_20230624_143725.jpg

Still wondering what setting 12 will do if there is no utility power and the battery goes below that point?
 
SOL tends to be use solar only

SBU is nicer to be able to leave some battery capacity by setting the setting 12 high leaves battery as soon as it dips to that

And starts using eskom

If eskom is shedding it ignores setting 12 and goes to your normal shutdown voltage, ie only applies while eskom is present

In setting 16 you can choose what it uses to charge the battery ie solar only , utility or utility and solar together

(If your menu structure is like mine different axpert kodak)

Setting modes is a lot easier via watch power app on windows with usb cable and if you have chrome remote desktop you can even do check in on the system while out of the home

If you have a spare pi lying around the SMH app from centurion solar is awesome for remote management /monitoring
R50 a month subscription though

A few months is the cost of solar assistant licence with no subscription

Anybody that has used both can chime in on which they like more

Haven't decided which i am gonna go for (if solar assistant had a trial it would help) , but after using SMH a week on trial i won't go without one of the two

My pi is old single core model which works fine for remote and data logging browsing

Any on device settings changing is tedious as the single core gets a bit busy luckily once setup is done it isn't used much

Changing modes/profiles via app is quick and smooth

but with the shortage it seems i will have to wait a while for stock to get a newer device , don't want to go through the extra hassle of having to transfer the licence
 
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The SMH setup has a battery capacity option to switch back to grid

And actually has a nice schedule that you can set the pi to command the inverter at certain times

ie switch to uti mode at 4pm for winter
And set back to sbu in the morning

i believe solar assistant does have a similar tool
For battery capacity

Not sure on the scheduling yet
So many using it that i suppose it must be good, will maybe buy a licence and use it for a few months

To see how it compares if smh is better i can always go the subscription route later
 
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Rouxenator said:
I soon realised that unless you are using it, the wattage shown for the solar panel will be 10 or less. While using the panel the most I have seen was about 350watt when there is direct sunlight.
Click to expand...
When I switched on my solar for the first time I also could not understand why I only get like 200W from the PV's until I realized much later it only produce what the current the demand is.

So I had to go and switch on the kettle, pool pump etc. to see that it is actual doing something.
 
leon.davibe said:
SOL tends to be use solar only

SBU is nicer to be able to leave some battery capacity by setting the setting 12 high leaves battery as soon as it dips to that

And starts using eskom

If eskom is shedding it ignores setting 12 and goes to your normal shutdown voltage, ie only applies while eskom is present

In setting 16 you can choose what it uses to charge the battery ie solar only , utility or utility and solar together

(If your menu structure is like mine different axpert kodak)

Setting modes is a lot easier via watch power app on windows with usb cable and if you have chrome remote desktop you can even do check in on the system while out of the home

If you have a spare pi lying around the SMH app from centurion solar is awesome for remote management /monitoring
R50 a month subscription though

A few months is the cost of solar assistant licence with no subscription

Anybody that has used both can chime in on which they like more

Haven't decided which i am gonna go for (if solar assistant had a trial it would help) , but after using SMH a week on trial i won't go without one of the two

My pi is old single core model which works fine for remote and data logging browsing

Any on device settings changing is tedious as the single core gets a bit busy luckily once setup is done it isn't used much

Changing modes/profiles via app is quick and smooth

but with the shortage it seems i will have to wait a while for stock to get a newer device , don't want to go through the extra hassle of having to transfer the licence
Click to expand...
Cool - thanks for the feedback. Looks like I have it setup correctly then to use solar when possible and fallback to eskom if available leaving as much battery capacity as possible for load shedding.

I have watch power running on a HP thin client on Windows so I'll check that out next time we have sun.
 
GrootVoet said:
When I switched on my solar for the first time I also could not understand why I only get like 200W from the PV's until I realized much later it only produce what the current the demand is.

So I had to go and switch on the kettle, pool pump etc. to see that it is actual doing something.
Click to expand...
I see what you mean. This is far more interesting than I thought as now I am running my PC, two HP thin clients and the washing machine all from sunshine. Pulling about 350watt max. Maybe I should go bigger sooner that I though, feels pretty cool running things powered by the sun. Very impressed with what is possible using only one of these panels.
 
Gotta keep in mind the battery is assisting

If lithium not a problem
Lead acid cycles is a big limitation

If on SOL it may drag batteries down lower than anticipated

A combo of SBU and OSO can see you save power in the day


ie use solar primarily assisting from battery down to whatever then switch load to utility and only recharge any used capacity from solar

if load is less than solar no assiting from battery or running down the battery
 
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