AlphaJohn
Honorary Master
No, go for Victron or Fronius
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Do I really need a Deye/Sunsynk inverter?
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Neuk_
Honorary Master
This doesn't paint a good picture on your Alpha status, John.
AlphaJohn
Honorary Master
Ecco
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Just do it!
DrJohnZoidberg
Honorary Master
I can totally get that.
Yeah no issues my side either.
Though, having said that - if I were to start over again, it would be a Sunsynk or Victron. Whilst the Axpert is OK - it isn't great when adding solar into the mix - no proper way to control it without third party solutions. I use ICC + Home Assistant to run solar automations.
Without the ICC software, you can only really switch to grid from solar based on battery voltage, which is not very reliable as it does not read the BMS from the batteries. Unlike ICC where it does.
I think you will get particularly good support for this. I have done a lot of googling and there is very little independent SA based info available.
Thanks for this link. I did not know they make such a big range of inverters.90% of the inverters in SA come out of the same shop just with different branding:
Voltronic Power Product List
voltronicpower.com
Voltronic Power Product List
Why? Just curious.
Adenoid Hynkel
Executive Member
Better montiroring software and WiFi. My Kodak only has BT and the watch power app is meh.
B-1
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A lot of people are perfectly happy with an axpert inverter. I had a 3kw mecer one and then upgraded to a 8kw sunsynk.
The sunsynk is better but the mecer still did good service and I never regretted buying it.
At the end of the day you have to ask yourself how far you want to go. If you just want load shedding protection and save a little on power the axpert inverters are perfectly fine. If you want to go big one of the better inverters are worth the extra investment.
The sunsynk is better but the mecer still did good service and I never regretted buying it.
At the end of the day you have to ask yourself how far you want to go. If you just want load shedding protection and save a little on power the axpert inverters are perfectly fine. If you want to go big one of the better inverters are worth the extra investment.
AlphaJohn
Honorary Master
Adeptus Mechanicus
Expert Member
Get a Raspberry Pi and SolarAssistant or ICC.
Adenoid Hynkel
Executive Member
Do I need a Raspberry Pi for this? I have multiple Intel NUCs that are catching dust. Could load Linux on them.
DrJohnZoidberg
Honorary Master
The SolarAssistant software is only validated to run on Raspberry Pi and Orange Pi - although I suspect you could get it working with some tinkering on any Linux install if you knew what you were doing. For most people though you should just get their OrangePi kit.
Couple of points - you mention short periods of peak at 6kW - and thats in Summer...- so I'd say it's much easier to trip (ie go over 6kW) than you think. If it's a long term investment, and panels are in the mix there are other important things to consider - I'll list 4...
- Sunsynk is a bidirectional true hybrid inverter, conforming to latest legislation and requirements for registration with municipalities in SA. True BiDi Hybrid means it blends energy sources together - kodaks/axperts cannot - they are not hybrid. Why is this important? If you are just slightly short with a non hybrid (Axpert/Kodak) it switches completely to grid to just top up that 200W you needed for loads. Some can use grid in that scenario to just charge batteries - but that is not the correct definition of a true BiDi Hybrid. With a true bybrid - it takes only what it needs from grid. This sounds like something small - but it has a massive impact on efficiencies wrt consumption of generated PV. Most (all) places in SA at this point, unless you are on Eskom Direct - are not "feedback positive".The schemes don't make sense, it costs too much money to join and buy back rates are to low - so you will probably not feed back for credit. You therefore need to be able to use as much of the PV you generate as possible. This is where the ability to only use what you need from grid vs switching makes a big difference over time.
- Lots of misunderstanding around the "essentials"/" Non essentials"/ " Load" abilities of the true hybrids. In simple terms - it allows you to keep say heavy loads items like Geysers on "GRID" only - so when Grids' on, PV panels generate - it powers everything - including geysers etc no "wasted" power. (which would be the case if you isolated them as non essential on non hybrid inverters) In a grid down scenario - those circuits are off. 2nd option is to split those to non-essentials on the sunsynk - and program say battery % levels to power them with no grid (say till your batteries are 50%) then switch them off - useful for some people. All of this possible without any electrical DB board separation/ re wiring because the inverter offers this out the box because it's a hybrid.
- Thirds reason people will disagree with maybe, but I'm giving you the correct professional advice. All municipalities require you to now register your system professionally - so engineer sign off, COC's etc etc - if you are it Cape Town this is enforced 100% and you get fined very quickly. People who don't add panels skip this step initially, but once panels are in the mix you have no choice. Your insurance ALSO requires a legally issued COC and any certification to prove the hardware (inverter in this case) and service provider (installer's qualifications) are approved before they will cover you - even if you only run Inv and Batteries with no panels. The short of this is - NONE of these Axpert types are approved according to legislation - so technically you cannot get a COC issued, and if an electrician does - they are doing so illegally. Ask yourself if you want to take the chance and something happens. These things do go wrong, fires do start - but it's your own choice of course to risk it. If you ask the installers that's been around for a few years they will tell you the same - they wont touch it if it's not approved, as they cannot issue a COC without risking their own name. The only exception here is if you truly install it as a completely physically disconnected system from your main DB and the Grid - so physical isolated switches and boards - but that's not how most people install them, unless it's a shed in the mountains with no grid. Re-sale of you property is also bound to COC's etc - so again if you don't have the correct approved kit - it will have to be removed or fixed before you can sell your property.
- Last reason is one for the future. Depends where you are in SA - but hopefully municipalities will wake up and change the rules in the next 18 months to allow feedback in a way that makes financial sense - so all those wasted units with prepaid meters where you block export at the moment will be able to feed back, and you might be earning some money. When that happens, you will absolutely need a piece of hardware that conforms to the regulation - so if you have a cheapy - you'll have to replace it and pay a premium to re-wire and install. I see costs of between R10K-R30K based on what some guys are charging at the moment to install just inverters and batteries.
The Inverter part is really the one thing you buy 1 time only in 10 years - so don't buy the wrong one. Maybe buy a 5kW Sunsynk now (they are affordable) - add a 2nd 5kW in parallel in future when money allows.
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Adenoid Hynkel
Executive Member
Not prepared spending that just for monitoring.
This however looks like a decent alternative and makes use of docker.
Programmatically read data from your Solar Inverter (Voltronic, Axpert, Mppsolar PIP, Voltacon, Effekta etc) and interface with Home Assistant via MQTT - Works with RS232 & USB!
Nov 2020 UPDATE: It’s amazing to see how many people are using this and how many Pulls now on Docker hub - Thanks everyone who’s contributed to this project over time… Refer to change log at bottom of this post for updates over time. TLDR: Docker Image: bushrangers/ha-voltronic-mqtt:latest...
community.home-assistant.io